1. Jane of Lantern Hill by Lucy Maud Montgomery (Had this as an audiotape when I was a kid and I used to sit on the living room couch for hours listening to it over and over. I can actually recite most of the first chapter from memory.)

2. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (I was SO excited when this came out. Finally, something to make my long-standing obsession mainstream – thus, easier to find related material.)

3. Anthem by Ayn Rand (Blew me away with the revelation of how important words are and how they help shape the way we see ourselves. Anyone who knows me, knows how seriously I take ‘words’.)

4. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

5. Wild Swans: The Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang

6. The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tam

7. The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama

8. The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer (Again. Duh.)

9. 1984 by George Orwell (When I read the scene with the lights, I was like “Hey! Star Trek TNG totally ripped this off.)

10. You Are My I Love You by Maryann Cusimano Love/Illustrated by Satomi Ichikawa (I was shopping in a bookstore with Nephie and picked this up while he was playing with something because it was the same illustrator as one of my favourite books when I was a child. I read it and started crying…)