The books that bloomed for me
Oddly enough, I, Maggie Lynch did not read until first grade. I could read, I knew how to read, but I didn’t want to read…until I really, really, wanted to read and then I didn’t stop. Below are some of my favorite books, the most important books of my life, and if I may say so, my recommendations are as precious as the Oprah book club seal.
You’ll notice that I did not include any children’s books, and that is not because children’s books didn’t influence me or spark journeys and joy, but because everyone’s childhood books are sacred. Those books are yours to love, remember and cherish, not for me to forget to include.
The books I did include, oh these books, they are the important ones. Each title I’ve added to the list once brought a tiny piece of wonder to my mind that lead to big slats of knowledge, curiosity, and security of self. While I recommend each and every one of these beautiful gathered and bound pages, I further recommend holding an open mind and letting whatever pages fall in front of you blossom and give you what you are meant to receive.
Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling
The wisdom of the world was given to us, the lucky generation that got to open these books with truly curious eyes, and like the sword of Gryffindor we are presented with life lessons taken from these pages at the times we need them most.
Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
An epistolary novel detailing the incidences of a young man’s freshman year in 1992, but it is also so much more than that. It taught me rebellion and acceptance when it was handed to me my senior year of high school.
Le Petite Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Ah oui le premier livre que j'ai lu en français. Vraiment une histoire de vieillir mais de rester jeune. Mon professeur de français m'a fait le lire, mais j'ai trouvé que les mots que j'avais compris étaient si gentils.
(Ah yes the first book I read in french. Truly a tale of growing old but staying young. My french teacher made me read it but I found that the words I understood were oh so sweet.)
Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison
This was my entry into collegiate literature and what a beautiful door it was. It presents a paradigm of understanding sense of self vs. sense of society through the metaphor of paint.
Delicate Edible Birds - Lauren Groff
A collection of short stories that I spent time pining over in The Bourgeoisie Pig of Lincoln Park. It clued me in about how little I knew about knowing so little.
The Marriage Plot - Jefferey Eugenides
Ah the compendium of female English majors everyone. The Marriage Plot, the basis of many of the world’s most famous novels like Pride and Prejudiced. In this book though, Jeffery Eugenides in his very state of being Jeffery Eugenides, flips the idea of the plot on its head; What if the protagonist knows of the plot? Books like this one, exists for those who found lectures boring.
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns - Mindy Kaling
I don’t think I need to add anything here. If you don’t know about this book, or this author, then I don’t think you should know me.
Infinite Jest - David Foster Wallace
Does adding this in make me seem like a pretentious snob? Yeah? Well, its somehow the least snobby book of all time that has been given the reputation of being the bible of the pompous post-modern lit professors of the world. Listen to me when I say this - never has an author made so much sense by saying so little over so many pages. It was in my deepest writers blocks that I’ve gouged the pages of this book and came out covered in the ink of the annotated margins knowing that words can matter. Alas, it is the manifesto of the 90’s.
Date & Time - Phil Kaye
I purchased this book thinking it was a companion to Sarah Kay’s “No Matter the Wreckage.” While I don’t believe that “Date & Time” was ever the intended compliment to Sarah’s book of poetry, this book connected me to the sensitivity of humans in their early adulthood through poetry and prose that while carefully and deliberately adult echoed youthful memories.
Save Me the Waltz - Zelda Fitzgerald
I’ve written a whole post on the subject but there will never be a book that has made my bones and thoughts and soul feel set right.
On Writing - Stephen King
This was gifted to me by my editor and at first I was surprised as Stephen King never seemed to be an author placed in my pile of library books, but he’s so much more than horror. It’s a damn shame that this book is not taught in writing classes everywhere. King captures his audience using his charisma of a wise guru with a beatnik sense of humor. He taught me that genius comes at the precipice of what you know and what you want to know - and I’ve never looked back at that rule.
The Opposite of Loneliness - Marina Keegan
This book was what pushed me to go to Lake Forest College, to find a small school that made me feel that feeling that sits opposite loneliness, and Ms. Keegan I found it. I read it while in college and a read it post grad and it hits differently now but it still has that feeling of hope in each story no matter how raw they read.
