Amber tagged me for this. I’ve never been tagged before, so that was kinda cool!
1. One book that changed your life: The Preaching Life by Barbara Brown Taylor. Barbara Brown Taylor, an Episcopal priest in Georgia, writes like a poet and preaches in a way I had never experienced before. Reading her book (which is both a memoir of her calling and a collection of a few sermons), smashed all my stereotypes of preachers and preaching, gave me a whole new understanding of what preaching could be and was instrumental in helping me recognize that I was called to preach.
2. One book that you’ve read more than once: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Brilliant, subversive and delightful. I read this in high school and then read it again earlier this year, after seeing the movie. Austen is a master of the form.
3. One book you’d want on a deserted island: Hmmm, this is a toughie. I should probably say Don Quixote since I couldn’t get through it the first time I tried 2 years ago and on a deserted island maybe I’d have more time and focus. But the truth is, a knitting book would probably keep me entertained and occupied for a lot longer (assuming I also had yarn and needles, which of course I would, but even if I didn’t My Old Man can attest to the fact that I read and reread knitting books even when I’m not working a pattern from them). It would be a tough call, but I guess I’d choose Mason-Dixon Knitting since I haven’t knit anything from it yet.
4. One book that made you laugh: Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris. Wickedly funny. I love me some Sedaris.
5. One book that made you cry: The Woman at the Washington Zoo: Writings on Politics, Family, and Fate by Marjorie Williams. Marjorie Williams was a brilliant journalist for the Washington Post who died last year of liver cancer (outliving predictions of her death by about 4 years). She left behind a husband and two young children. This book is a collection of her best columns, along with personal essays. Her husband collected these and published them after her death. She was a brilliant writer, and an incisive analyst of politics and political figures. I was devastated by the personal essays and found myself reading through tears numerous times. [I actually could’ve listed any numbers of books that have made me cry, as I tend to cry easily and to pick books that induce such.]
6. One book you wish had been written: Oh, probably any of the several novels I have either conceived of or actually started writing over the last 25 years.
7. One book you wish had never been written: Mein Kampf.
8. One book you’re currently reading: Leaving Church by Barbara Brown Taylor. It’s a little unnerving when a preaching icon like Taylor decides she’s had enough of parish life. But I couldn’t not read it, and it is every bit as moving and inspiring as every other book of hers.
9. One book you’ve been meaning to read: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. I originally postponed this one because I didn’t think I could handle another death book right after The Woman at the Washington Zoo. But that was 7 months ago. Don’t know what my excuse is now.
10. Tag six people: Rebecca, Sara Jayne, Becky, yakmidi, Dave, and Vegan Knitting.
earthchicknits 
Thanks for tagging me! 😉 I wish I could learn to knit and read at the same time. I can listen to audio books but it just isn’t the same! This meme has been so fun to read on everyone’s blog!
Great list! The Woman at the Washington Zoo… sounds like an amazing book.
I’d love to read it, but since becoming a mother myself I find books touching on the subject of mother (or child) death so upsetting.
The “made me cry” book on my list was about a mother’s death. I didn’t really know that at the time I started reading it — or I probably wouldn’t have picked it up. It was a wonderful book, and I’m glad I did, but I was just sobbing at the end. Leland (a newborn at the time) was sleeping next to me and I was afraid I’d wake him up because I couldn’t stop crying!