Brain Fertilizer

...and I caught it from Mr Lady.

She took the meme without being asked, and I like it, so I am, too.

If you don't like it, you must blame her for corrupting me, naturally.

Anyway, enough nattering! Here we go:

1. List three books you’ve always meant to read, but haven’t got around to them

2. Share the two books that changed your life

3. Recommend the one book you’ve been talking about since the very first day you’ve read it

1a. Romance of the Three Kingdoms in Chinese.
I'm fluent, so it shouldn't be any problem. But the first page is obscure, flowery prose, and I can't get past it to get to the good stuff. Maybe next time I'll just skip the first page.

1b. Any scholarly work on China. I have a hard time reading non-fiction in general.

1c. Jane Austin. Or one of the Bronte sisters.

2a. The Depression Book. It literally changed my life, as it was the single resource that helped me end my depression for good. Nifty book. Worth 100 times the asking price, if not more. (This might be it.

2b. Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis.
I never really read the whole Bible, so I can't really list that. But Lewis' novel really makes much sense to me. I recommend any and all read it, Christian and non-Christian alike. I go through times where I can see the hand of God clearly in my life, and other times when I think the times I saw clearly the hand of God were just self-hypnosis. This book is best for the latter times.

3. Tie: Silverlock by Jon Myers Myers and The Last Coin, by James P. Blaylock, and The Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny.
That's really cheating, since not only did I not hold myself to 1, the third is a five-book series by itself. (But it was amazingly good in teaching me the power of perspective; and what a swashbuckling adventure novel could and should be)

These three books are must-reads, even for those who don't normally like fantasy/science fiction. Maybe especially for those who don't normally like fantasy/science fiction.

UPDATE: Forgot to add: David J., you are so tagged.