books that wow me

Have you ever read a book that you enjoyed so much that, when you finished it, you were sorry it was over? I just finished reading Gathering Blue, by Lois Lowry, and that is just how I felt when I read the last page and placed the book lovingly on my nightstand. It is a book that I will keep on my bookshelf, never to be given away or sold at a yardsale. A book that I will definitely read again some day. Ahhhh...to write a book that would elicit that kind of response from someone--that is a goal worth shooting for.

I wonder if people will enjoy Glint enough to seek out my name just to read more? If their response is anything like my daughter's, I will be more than pleased. She read my first draft through non-stop. She didn't get bored after the first few pages. She didn't put it aside to take a break. But she did say she loved it and "it has to get published." Everyone should have a daughter like that. :-)

That's not to say that she won't tell me when she doesn't like something I wrote. Just yesterday I had her read the first draft of my new picture book, the one about the rattlesnake. She told me it was okay, cute but not great, it was missing something, it didn't wow her, it needed humor. Wow, maybe she has a future as a children's book editor!

Okay, now back to the original point of this post. I thought I would include a list of all the books that I can think of that left me with that "I'm sorry it's over" feeling:

The Giver
Gathering Blue
Messenger
Inkheart
The City of Ember
Clan of the Cave Bear
The Tale of Despereaux
Watership Down
The Lord of the Rings trilogy
The Princess Bride
Out of the Dust

Okay, that's all that come to mind right now. Of that list, I would have to say my two favorites are The Giver and The City of Ember. But all of them have earned a permanent place on my bookshelf.

Happy reading!