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The Tale of Peter Rabbit written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter (1901 - self-published)

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The Tale of Peter Rabbit written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter (1901 - self-published)

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The Tale of Peter Rabbit is one of the stand-out books I recall my mother reading to me as a child. Since she was a single mom working a full-time job and I was her only child, bedtime stories were a sacred ritual in our household. I can't recall ever going to bed without at least having one story read to me or time to flip through books on my own.

Perhaps a prime example of how attentive I was at story time came when I was 2 years old. Settling in with the familiar comfort of a well-loved book, I started to tell the story of Peter and Mr. McGregor's garden. My mom, an avid reader herself, was elated; she had a child genius on her hands! That is until she realized that I was holding the book upside down. Apparently, I had memorized the story, including her inflection points for good measure!

This book serves as my first touchstone because through this story Beatrix Potter, my mom, and the great folks at BBC1 taught me the power of good storytelling. An animated reader can make all the difference especially when it comes to young readers who may need an escape or just some time to connect with another engaged (and engaging) reader. Thankfully, I lost the fear of looking goofy in front of kids a long time ago--it makes for wonderful narrating!

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Charlotte's Web written by E.B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams (1952 - Harper & Brothers)

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Charlotte's Web written by E.B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams (1952 - Harper & Brothers)

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The story of Wilbur--the remarkably lucky runt turned livestock pig turned show pig--and the unlikely friendship that he builds with a barn spider named Charlotte captivated me as a young reader. E.B. White's Charlotte's Web was one of the very first classic "chapter books" that I recall picking up from my school library to read on my own that my mom (my reading guru until this point) hadn't read. For the first time, I was recommending a book to my mom and not the other way around!

After what felt like a lifetime of begging, my mom finally conceded and read the book. The swell of pride I felt upon learning that my mom not only read a book that I recommended but enjoyed it too was a "first" I'll never forget. We've been swapping books ever since.

Recalling my connection to White's classic reminded me of that unmatched sense of joy I felt as a child when I was responsible for putting a book in someone else's hands. While I plan to continue to share stories in this way, as an adult and future public librarian, I hope that I can also serve in the role that my mom played for me as a young reader. In doing so, I hope to impact how kids talk about and share books with each other and the adults in their lives.

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Holes by Louis Sachar (1998 - Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

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Holes by Louis Sachar (1998 - Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

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Holes by Louis Sachar is one of my all-time favorite books. I recall this novel being one of the first assigned readings that my class read together in elementary school. Not only did I fall in love with the story, but I fell in love with talking to my peers and my teacher about what we were reading as well!

This book serves as one of my touchstone books for a few reasons. During this time (4th grade), a lot of the bullying that I endured in my earlier years of elementary school got much, much worse. I was always one of the biggest kids in school and much of my identity centered around shrinking myself to fit in with my peers. However, when it came to talking about Holes, I finally had common ground with my peers as well as a newfound aspect of reading: the sense of community one can form with fellow readers.

This was also one of the first times that a book I was currently reading was being adapted into a film. Our teacher, Mrs. Randolph, made us all promise we wouldn't see the movie before finishing the book. I distinctly remember my friend Meghan coming back to school on Monday and looking at our table with shame and satisfaction: "I saw it." Little did I know that this movie would also catalyst my love of analyzing and studying all kinds of adaptations (and yes, I think Holes is one of the best)!

The next year, my mom began dating someone who lived in England. I really didn't like him and one of the ways we were able to connect was through reading Sachar's novel. I would read him the story over the phone, a chapter or two per day, each character with their own distinctive accent. Serving as a bridge between two dissimilar people, Holes taught me how immersive storytelling can bring people together.

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The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss (1972 - Thomas Y. Crowell Co.)

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The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss (1972 - Thomas Y. Crowell Co.)

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As previously mentioned, I was bullied pretty mercilessly in elementary school by a select few. Until 5th grade, the bullying had almost exclusively been about my size and weight. Ironically, it wasn't until reading Johanna Reiss' The Upstairs Room that I also experienced blatant racism in the classroom from my peers.

In our unit about the Holocaust, our teacher broke down the history of World War II. Upon relaying the attack on Pearl Harbor, my classmates began to concur in hushed tones that Japanese people must be evil. While our teacher didn't hear these comments, a good friend brought them to her attention and mentioned my Japanese ancestry. As I brushed away tears, our teacher immediately put a stop to the side conversations and mentioned her German heritage. She asked the students to think critically about race and trauma in a 5th-grade classroom which I think is pretty impressive!

The Upstairs Room also ignited my love for memoir, re-reading cherished stories, and signed copies. Reiss does a brilliant job of making her story accessible to children while also conveying the severity of her trauma. In 7th grade, many of us re-read the book in middle school prior to a trip to our local Holocaust museum. Johanna Reiss came to our school to accompany us to the museum and speak once there. I didn't know she would be signing our books before we left school and I panicked trying to get my step-dad on the phone to bring my copy to school (he had been reading my copy since he was chaperoning the field trip). Finally, with my paperback clutched in my hands, I ran to the library where Ms. Reiss was sitting with one of my classmate's moms. Flustered, I told her why I was late and thanked her for her time. I still have the book to this day.

Reiss continues to write about the importance of remembering the Holocaust by drawing parallels between the past and the recent rise in hate crimes in the U.S. I think that the first-hand accounts of children living through the Holocaust help build not only a historical understanding but a sense of empathy for other children and for the marginalized.

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I Know What you Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan (1973 - Little Brown)

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I Know What you Did Last Summer by Lois Duncan (1973 - Little Brown)

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Lois Duncan is the woman responsible for my love of all things horror, thriller, and suspense. In 6th grade, I randomly checked out a copy of I Know What You Did Last Summer because I recognized the name from one of the movies that my babysitter had that I couldn't watch. After that, I was hooked! I checked out every Lois Duncan book that our school library had to offer, sometimes more than once...and twice.

This is probably one of the few instances that I recall needing books to escape. That same year was rough. Within a span of two months, I'd started middle school, moved into a new house, and my mom got married to someone who really didn't like me. It seemed like everywhere I turned there was another twist that I wasn't anticipating. But then when I started reading Lois Duncan, I found that there were twists and turns that could be exciting and couldn't reach beyond the pages of a book. Despite their themes, I felt comforted in knowing that the chaos was confined and I controlled its pace. I'm not sure Duncan's thrillers have aged well, you'll find that some folks don't quite like the predictability aspect like I recall enjoying, but to be fair I was 12 when I read them!

My experience with Duncan's books serves as a reminder that touchstone books might not be about heavy topics or even topics that directly correlate to what a reader is experiencing. Any book has the potential to be a touchstone book which is why librarians need to curate diverse collections that span a multitude of experiences and stories.

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Forever by Judy Blume (1975 - Bradbury Press)

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Forever by Judy Blume (1975 - Bradbury Press)

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During the fall of 8th grade, it seemed like nearly every 8th-grade girl was passing around a copy of Judy Blume's novel Forever. No one openly talked about the contents of the book (rather via hushed whispers, passed notes, and AIM chat) and yet we all knew what it was about: sex. More importantly, it was a normalized account of first love and sex where no one dies as a moral repercussion!

It only took the library a few months (and probably some phone calls from parents, let's be real) to figure out that their copy of Forever was circulating much more frequently than usual. And pretty soon Forever was off the shelves as were a few other books deemed inappropriate by some. We weren't even allowed to bring our own copies to school anymore. This was my first experience with censorship.

After this incident, I came to appreciate the books I owned and had access to much more. I also began supplementing what our schools removed with resources from the public library. This served as one of the first instances where I had to look somewhere outside of school for answers and realized the restrictions put on educators, teachers and librarians alike. And these are battles we're still fighting today and that I'll likely face as a YA librarian since they don't seem to be going anywhere soon.

Similarly, I believe it's important for young adults to have open and healthy conversations about sex and sexuality in order to stay informed and safe. Rather than making these books inaccessible which continues to stigmatize sex, incorporating sex-positive books allows young adults to learn more about their bodies, their peers, and relationships. Sometimes such books prepare young adults for their own personal experiences as they're able to live vicariously through characters first.

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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960 - J. B. Lippincott & Co.)

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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960 - J. B. Lippincott & Co.)

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I think something transformative happens when a reader finally understands why a book is considered a classic. This was the case for me when I first read Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird in 8th grade.

Our teacher let us pick any book from the library for our first book report of the year. After noticing my selection, my teacher admitted her surprise, "Most students don't read that book until their freshman year of high school!" While some might have been scared off by this, I considered it a challenge. I was ready to start transitioning to more adult literature and this novel felt like the perfect place to start.

Little did I know just how "adult" a book about two children could be. Despite growing up in the capital of the Confederacy, To Kill a Mockingbird was the first book I recall reading that described the reality of the Jim Crow South. Of course, we had learned about slavery and the Civil Rights Movement in bits and pieces throughout school but nothing shocked me quite like Tom Robinson's murder. It was the first incident of police brutality and white rage that I encountered on the page. Although frightening it was more eye-opening and true to history than anything I'd been taught or read previously; it changed my worldview.

To Kill a Mockingbird was not only my first "grown-up classic," it was also the first book that made me question the narratives that I'd been taught and face the legacy of chattel slavery and the reality of racial injustice on a wider scale.

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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865 - Macmillan)

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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865 - Macmillan)

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The summer before my senior year of high school, I underwent a spinal fusion and osteotomy to correct a severe case of scoliosis. I spent a week in the PICU, barely able to roll over in bed without help. After only one day at home, I was back in the hospital with pneumonia then I developed an allergy to my painkillers a day later. To say it was overwhelming might be an understatement.

For two and a half months, my mom slept on an air mattress next to my bed in case I needed help getting up in the middle of the night. Thankfully one of the only fond (and coherent) memories I have from that summer is of my mom reading to me from her childhood copy of Lewis Caroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. Each night she would read until my meds finally lulled me to sleep. Despite how grown-up I felt at 17, I still very much relied on my mom's help that summer, and our renewed bedtime story ritual provided much-needed comfort during a bleak time.

As a librarian, I think it's crucial to remember that readers are not limited by their age or the intended audience for a book when it comes to having a touchstone experience. A children's book can be just as moving to a 40-year-old as it is to a 4-year-old! Also, I'm a firm believer that no one is too old for a bedtime story--to this day, I always read before bed.

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Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847 - Smith, Elder & Co.)

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Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847 - Smith, Elder & Co.)

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The summer reading list for AP Literature included several classics. Based on what we'd read in 11th grade, not many of my classmates were very excited to tackle it. But with not much else to do except heal from surgery, I started Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. I couldn't believe that I enjoyed the Victorian writing style and the story, too!

Eager to discuss the book with my teacher and classmates, I was completely taken aback when my peers lamented how bored they were when reading this book. For the first time, alongside my teacher, I was trying to convince my peers of the value of reading a book that seemed so distant from our own lives.

Jane Eyre not only provides historical context in regards to the early fight for women's rights it also contains the coming of age experience commonly found in young adult literature.

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (1999 - Pocket Books)

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (1999 - Pocket Books)

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Despite being a book that I saw my peers pick up again and again over the years, for some reason I didn't pick up The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky until I was in college. But Chbosky's epistolary novel is a prime example of how adults underestimate YA lit and how word-of-mouth can affect our reading experiences. After finishing the book for the first time, I took it to my mom and told her I didn't know what people thought the big deal was. It was only when talking about the book with her that I realized I had completely misinterpreted a major plot point in the book. As I rushed back to re-read, I registered that my pre-conceived notions of the book had made me a lazy reader which can completely affect how readers approach and interpret stories.

To this day, I still feel an intense sense of shame knowing that I was speeding through the book to find the "AHA!" moment only to miss it entirely! After this experience, I made it a rule to pace myself no matter what I may have heard about the book from other readers.

Chbosky wrote an afterward for the 20th-anniversary edition.

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The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985 - McClelland and Stewart)

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The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985 - McClelland and Stewart)

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The Handmaid's Tale completely changed how I looked at dystopian literature. Typically, the end-of-the-world scenarios in these novels seemed so fantastical and removed from my reality. Never before had a fictional plot line seemed more plausible. Because Margaret Atwood's Gilead wasn't created by bad wizards or mad scientists, it was built by men and women through Christian extremism, something one becomes all too familiar with when living in the South.

Atwood's writing exemplifies the violence that can exist in small, quiet moments and how good writing sticks with you. After reading this, my Women's Writers class spent a good deal of time trying to figure out what happened to June because this was pre-Hulu series (which I haven't finished because I kind of got tired of the writing) and The Testaments (which I still haven't read because I'm still a bit anxious it won't live up to the first book). This was a book that I recall thinking about long after finishing it. Just like June's predecessor leaves her mark in the closet, so has this story left its mark on me.

Recently, Atwood teamed up with Penguin Random House to benefit PEN America’s work defending freedom of expression and created an unburnable special edition that sold for $130,000 (US dollars, not Canadian--I had to check)! Honestly, Margaret Atwood with a flamethrower is a sight to see.

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We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby (2017 - Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)

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We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby (2017 - Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group)

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As I've gotten older, I've found myself gravitating towards more comedy and essay collections. I firmly believe Samantha Irby is one of the best comedic writers today and she's one of the few authors on my Reading Autobiography whose intersecting identities mirror some of my own. For the first time, I was reading a book by a fat, queer woman of color with a chronic and mental illness who was unapologetically herself. Growing up, the books I read rarely had characters that embodied all of these experiences, maybe one or two, but never so many.

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life was also one of my first experiences with audiobooks. While initially I wasn't a huge fan of Irby's delivery, I came to soon realize that her dry delivery and constant undertone of annoyance were part of her comedic charm. Hearing Irby recount her tales of dating, work, and health feels like catching up with an old friend on all their ridiculous antics.

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Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson (2017 - Harper Collins)

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Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson (2017 - Harper Collins)

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Allegedly could be the definition of a perfectly executed plot twist! As previously mentioned, I used to love horror and suspense when I was younger. But one thing that always stood out to me was the lack of representation in the books and films I loved so much. And even when people of color were present, it usually wasn't for long, and even pointing out the trope wouldn't save a Black or brown person from a grizzly demise.

Tiffany D. Jackson is to horror/thriller/suspense YA lit as Jordan Peele is to horror movies. Just like Peele studied Alfred Hitchcock, Jackson studied Stephen King (Jackson's adaptation of King's Carrie comes out on September 6th). Both are reframing how we approach what scares us in storytelling.

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Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera (2016 - Indie published)

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Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera (2016 - Indie published)

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Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera is the perfect example of a book that I wish I'd had growing up but that I'm so glad exists for kids now! This novel covers a variety of topics such as gender identity, queerness, racism, and intersectional feminism in the perfect bite-sized snippets for young readers to grasp without coming across as a textbook--not an easy line to walk! Perhaps just as significant, Rivera depicts multiple happy, queer, interracial couples who get their own happy endings--something that historically hasn't always been afforded to queer characters of color.

I'm including this book on my Reading Autobiography not only because this is a book that I wish I'd had growing up but because as soon as I finished this book I immediately lamented saying goodbye to some of my favorite characters. Not long after, I got my hands on a copy of the graphic novel and devoured it in one sitting. Juliet's successes and mistakes throughout the novel serve as a reminder that we're all constantly learning and growing. To assume we know it all is usually when life gives us a good swift kick in the butt!

In this BOOM! Chat, Rivera talks about writing a story with a queer Latinx chubby main character who she would have wanted to see at 19. She also credits the works of other queer authors as influential to her writing, underscoring the importance of representation.

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Displacement by Kiku Hughes (2020 - First Second)

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Displacement by Kiku Hughes (2020 - First Second)

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Inspired by Octavia Butler's Kindred, Kiku Hughes' graphic novel Displacement follows a teenager who is suddenly pulled back in time to witness and experience the Japanese internment camps where her grandmother was held. Although too nervous to interact with her grandmother, Kiku learns not only about the history she was not taught in school but about her culture and family history that she wasn't taught at home.

Yet another book that I wish I'd had growing up. While we learned about the camps in school, our teachers never went into great detail about the circumstances. But more importantly for me personally, I'd never encountered a character that felt so far removed from her culture and heritage like I've felt my entire life and still carries the weight of generational trauma. Before Hughes' book, I'd never seen that aspect of my identity expressed on the page. Although I knew my dad, he lived across the country in California so I rarely saw him and when I did, he didn't talk about Japan or his family who all still lived there. I talked about my experience on my Bookstagram.

As she brings one of America's hidden histories to the attention of young readers, Hughes' story draws a poignant connection to the rise in hate crimes against the Asian community today. Books like Displacement serve as great reminders that while we may never know when the events of the past will come creeping back, we can always depend on community to help us survive.

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Broken by Jenny Lawson (2021 - Henry Holt and Co.)

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Broken by Jenny Lawson (2021 - Henry Holt and Co.)

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If you've never read Jenny Lawson before and you're in need of a good chuckle, I highly recommend literally anything that woman has written. In each of her books, Lawson describes her bizarre childhood in rural Texas, her relationship with her husband and child, her social awkwardness that somehow at times outdoes my own, and her struggles with mental illness. And taxidermied animals, can't forget those.

Towards the end of last year, I experienced a pretty severe bout of depression. I've had an anxiety disorder most of my life but depression was something completely new to me and it hit me like a freight train. Although my family was a tremendous support system during this time, I couldn't help but feel unseen in the darkness. Until I listened to Lawson's most recent release, Broken (in the best possible way). I'd listened to Lawson's earlier books and enjoyed her writing but something about Lawson's latest spoke to me on a new level. Something about Lawson's vulnerability mixed with her gentle Southern drawl felt deeply comforting.

When it comes to my journey with mental illness, Jenny Lawson has done for depression what the hosts of the podcast My Favorite Murder did for destigmatizing therapy. These women have encouraged me to seek help and be vocal about my health. Despite growing up witnessing my family’s struggles with mental illness, my experience has been like the world’s worst case of whiplash which just goes to prove that everyone’s experience is unique. You never know whose journey will speak to you and in turn who your own story might reach.

Lawson has a bookstore in Texas called Nowhere Bookshop (so when her husband asked where she's been all day she can say "Nowhere!") Although I have no desire to ever return to the lone star state, I would gladly go out there solely to visit this bookstore. Also, her employees make really fantastic content.

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Me trying to cram every book I've ever read onto this list

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Me trying to cram every book I've ever read onto this list

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Reflection link