I’m participating in the A-Z Blogging Challenge, where I post every day in the month of April (except Sundays) and each day is a letter.

My theme for the month is a series of posts about the things that shaped me. I take this particular quote from High Fidelity to heart:

Are these all that matters? No, of course not. But those things can shape your thinking, introduce ideas, frame what is important to you. I guess I would rephrase it as, “what really matters is why you like the things you like.”

(And yes, this book/movie will make an appearance later this month.)

So, here are my important things that start with A (in no particular order):

Anne of Green Gables

When I was eleven, I received a box set of the Anne of Green Gables novels, eight books telling the story of a red-headed orphan who somehow always ran headlong into trouble, spoke without thinking, and lived in her own little world of romantic imagination.

And I absolutely adored her.

I didn’t have a very interesting childhood; smallish town, lived in the same house my whole young life with both parents and some siblings. It was comfortable, and uneventful. I didn’t know drama, except in books. And while Anne’s life wasn’t exciting to today’s standards, it introduced the power of imagination to me. Even when everything around you is dull as dirt, you can imagine the most amazing things.

I still have that same copy; though now it’s dogeared, yellowed, and has the only cracked binding in my entire book collection (I was young, I didn’t know any better back then). But I reread it regularly, and I love Anne still.

BTW: If you need to see Anne on screen, watch the right one with Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst, and <swoon> Jonathan Crombie. Under no circumstances is THIS anything other than a complete travesty and should be avoided at all costs.

Agatha Christie

(I am fudging a little with the letter thing here — it could be a first name, last name, book or movie title, or even character. It’s my thing, don’t judge.)

Speaking of dogeared and yellowed, my first Agatha Christie novels are barely holding it together anymore.

Because around the same time I was introduced to Anne Shirley, I was also introduced to M. Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple.

My mom bought two Agatha Christie books for my slightly older sister, for reasons unknown. She was less than interested, and as I was a voracious young reader, they became my property. I had ventured into mystery stories before (Encyclopedia Brown, anyone?), but this was something entirely new. Her puzzles fascinated me.

The ABC Murders was the first Hercule Poirot novel I read. Again, I’m not sure what my mother was thinking, as a detective chasing a serial killer is not exactly eleven-year-old appropriate reading. It gave me a bit of an uncomfortable feeling, but I’ve loved mysteries and puzzles — and Agatha — ever since.

And when it comes to adaptations of this particular tale, stick with David Suchet. The TV show Poirot was fantastic at hewing close to the original books and doing proper justice to Dame Christie. I tried watching the John Malkovich version, and… no. Poirot is short, slightly rotund, and flamboyant. If you can’t get that right, you just shouldn’t bother.

Amelie

I was in college when Amelie came out in 2001. Right in the middle of my film studies degree came this beautiful, colorful tale of a quiet young woman and her magical Paris life.

There are garden gnomes, lost treasures, photo booths, and the collecting of memories, in a warm palette of reds and yellows, making everything feel cozy and wonderful. Amelie’s introversion and quiet life appealed to me, and I connected with her story. I knew her, very personally.

Auntie Mame

And on the opposite end of the spectrum, you can’t get more extroverted than Auntie Mame:

I met her on film first, before I ever knew there was a book (or rather, a series of books). And if you did not know this before, know it now: there is no one more fabulous than Rosalind Russell.

Auntie Mame lives her life out loud, with plenty of excess and energy, and a ton of heart. She takes in her orphaned nephew and teaches him — and everyone else around her — to “live, live, LIVE! Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!”

I can’t remember why I first started watching the movie, or even how old I was. Maybe early high school? I do know it was on Turner Classic Movies (which is the world’s greatest television channel), and I laughed my ass off. The climactic scene involving some very avant garde furniture and pickled rattlesnake still gets me every time.

I could never be like Auntie Mame, but the world would be a whole lot more interesting if I had someone like her in my life.

So, what do you think of my choices? What things are important to you?

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