Today we’ll be introducing ourselves by selecting

Five Books That Represent Me

 

I’d say let’s start with the obvious but I’m starting to realize that this book might not be so obvious any more.

All Creatures Great and SmallAll Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot

 

“For over forty years, generations of readers have thrilled to Herriot’s marvelous tales, deep love of life, and extraordinary storytelling abilities. For decades, Herriot roamed the remote, beautiful Yorkshire Dales, treating every patient that came his way from smallest to largest, and observing animals and humans alike with his keen, loving eye.

In All Creatures Great and Small, we meet the young Herriot as he takes up his calling and discovers that the realities of veterinary practice in rural Yorkshire are very different from the sterile setting of veterinary school. Some visits are heart-wrenchingly difficult, such as one to an old man in the village whose very ill dog is his only friend and companion, some are lighthearted and fun, such as Herriot’s periodic visits to the overfed and pampered Pekinese Tricki Woo who throws parties and has his own stationery, and yet others are inspirational and enlightening, such as Herriot’s recollections of poor farmers who will scrape their meager earnings together to be able to get proper care for their working animals.”

For veterinarians my age and older this was foundational knowledge. We all knew the whole series. We had all read them over and over. I’ve been shocked to learn that people I work with today, even those planning on going to vet school, have no idea who this is. The surgeon in my practice and I occasional screech at them like wild women, “YOU MUST READ HERRIOT!” Then we collapse into babbing incoherence as we laugh to ourselves about stories in these books and things we’ve tried because it worked for James Herriot. Seriously, if you like animals at all, read these books. Someday, I will take a pilgrimage to Yorkshire to visit the museum there.

The Dance of the Dissident DaughterThe Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd

“Sue Monk was a “conventionally religious, churchgoing woman, a traditional wife and mother” with a thriving career as a Christian writer until she began to question her role as a woman in her culture, her family, and her church. From a jarring encounter with sexism in a suburban drugstore to monastery retreats and rituals in the caves of Crete, Kidd takes readers through the fear, anger, healing, and transformation of her awakening.”

I’ve written about this book before. I reread it every so often and it is so true every time.

The Phantom TollboothThe Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

“Milo mopes in black ink sketches, until he assembles a tollbooth and drives through. He jumps to the island of Conclusions. But brothers King Azaz of Dictionopolis and the Mathemagician of Digitopolis war over words and numbers. Joined by ticking watchdog Tock and adult-size Humbug, Milo rescues the Princesses of Rhyme and Reason, and learns to enjoy life.”

This is the book where I learned that I love absurdity in literature.

Cry Wolf (Alpha & Omega, #1)Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs

Strangely, it is a book series about werewolves that seems to totally get up my relationship dynamic with the husband.

 

 

 

Witches Abroad (Discworld, #12; Witches #3)Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett

The Discworld Witches series is everything I want to be when I grow up!