As I work here at Anthology and shelve and organize books, I cannot help but reminisce about all of the books I have read in my short 23 years. Throughout the years, my favorite books have changed frequently, along with my taste in literature. Thanks to my mother, who used to read a story to me every night before bed, I developed a deep love for books at a young age. The earliest book I can remember as being my favorite was Goodnight Moon by Margaret Brown. This book lulled me to sleep more than any other as a young child. Later on, when I began to learn to read, I found another favorite. Animalia, by Graeme Base is a wonderful childrens book, full of lavish illustrations and clever alliteration. Animalia taught me how wonderful illustrations can be, with their endless possibilities. At some point, I grew out of childrens books, and was more interested in chapter books. In elementary school, I was a big fan of the Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine, and was determined to own them all. Something about the thrill of being scared intrigued me. I also loved the Calvin & Hobbes comics by Bill Watterson, although now I understand the humor a little better than back then. When I entered middle school my tastes changed again. I read Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe which is the story of the sole survivor of a shipwreck who lived on a deserted island for 30 years. I was hooked on adventure stories. Shortly afterwards I read the popular novel Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. I loved the adventure that the main character Brian embarked upon after being the only survivor of a plane crash. In the latter half of middle school, I became entranced with Stephen King novels. I owned and read nearly all of them, but it wasn’t until high school that I encountered my favorite Stephen King, The Dark Tower series. Unlike most other King books, this series isn’t confined to the horror genre. It’s a brilliant mix of sci-fi, western, adventure, and horror, with a philisophical touch, once described as his “magnum opus”. After high school, I opened up a little bit more in my reading interests. I discovered a new favorite: Hanta Yo, by Ruth Beebe Hill. This historical fiction is an epic account of the lives of the Dakota Indians, spanning nearly a century. This novel changed my outlook on life and turned me on to the beauty and majesty of the natural world. Following this, it was only natural that I fell in love with Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. The true story of Thoreau’s two years spent living in solitude on the banks of Walden Pond. From this classic I learned the joy of living a simple life, devoid of unneccessary luxuries. Shortly afterwards I read Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, the true story of a young man, who after college, donated all his money and went off into the wilderness of America in pursuit of a life of ease and simplicity, one with nature. This served to inspire me to further simplify my life and learn to enjoy the little things. Within the past couple of years my reading interests have once again expanded. I discovered the vast wealth of spiritual wisdom of the religions of the east and west. This began when I first read Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda. This beloved spiritual teacher wrote many fascinating books expounding the purpose of human life and of mans ultimate quest. Nowadays I read many different genres of literature and am very grateful to work in a wonderful environment surrounded by books. Some of the most important turning points in my life were with my nose buried in a book, attempting to absorb every drop of delight, sorrow, fear, love, wisdom and all of the other wondrous emotions and feelings that books have to offer.

Thanks for reading,

Matt