Top Ten Tuesday: Gateway Books

Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish!
Today's topic is Top Ten Gateway Books - books that I credit with my bookishness - things that started me on the path to becoming a bibliophile! (I'm also going to include some books that helped me on my writing path as well...)

1. Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne. This list would be incomplete if it didn't include the book that my father was reading to me when he realized that I could read. I was 3 years old, he was tired, and I corrected him when he misread a word. The rest, as they say, is history. :-)

2. The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. This has been my favorite work of literature for years now, and I still remember sitting on the back lawn, my mother reading The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe to my sister and me. It also shaped many of my early stories.

3. The Inheritance Cycle (Eragon etc.) by Christopher Paolini. This wasn't THE first contemporary book (or books) I read, but it was while reading this series that I realized I wasn't entirely a classics reader anymore. Waiting for Inheritance (book 4) to come out was the first time - ever in my life - that I had waited for ANY book to come out. Before, when I finished one book in a series, I'd just go straight on to the next one.

4. The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander. This should actually have gone before Eragon. Oh well. Anyway, these books are THE books that I read when I realized - hey, the author isn't dead. I can freakin' WRITE to him. Or maybe even MEET him. Of course, right after I had that revelation, Lloyd Alexander died. :-(

5. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This one is a writing gateway. I ADORE Fitzgerald's writing style, and strive for something of that quality. Utter lack of cliches, unique descriptions, saying so much in so few words.

6. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. This made me realize how much I like sort of whimsical writing that borders on magical realism. I really really need to read some magical realism - any recommendations?

Sorry, that's all I have for now - I've got a haircut appointment coming up, and didn't realize how long this post would take. :-)

Oh, but I'll add a sorta 7. My friend's notebook. Another writing gateway. Reading my friend's notebook when I was 8 years old made me realize - whoa, I can be an author! I can actually WRITE those books that I love so much to read.

~Sophia

What about you? What books have been gateways in your reading journey?