The Books That Changed Your Life

[Deep Brunette]

So, what books have changed or inspired you in some way? Really made you think? I have so many..the good one always seem to.

Animal Farm: Firstly, let me start off by saying I hated Animal Farm. I really did. But it taught me about the dangerous dark side of power. It showed me that ultimate power always leads to disaster and dread.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn: Wow..what a beautiful story, showing the melting pot that is America. The end of the book where Francie's heart is broken gets to me every time I read it. Beautiful.

Tuesdays With Morry: Another great one. It showed me that we are never too old, too young, too dumb, or too wise to learn. Every second of life should be truly lived, no matter what.

Letters for Emily: I learned about the power and beauty of love and family. They, and the stories they have, truly are the most valueable things in life. Tough times can always be conquered and in the end, love prevails.

Les Miserables: I learned so much about the multidimensional facets of society and people. It made me rethink my definitions of "good" and "bad", "right" and "wrong". It still makes me think to this day.

 

[adorefaith]

the one book that forever changed me: illusions: adventures of a reluctant messiah (by richard bach)

 

[incogneato]

I would have to say , 'love in the times of cholera'- It really made me look at life differently after reading it.

 

[Erin]

Tuesdays With Morry: Another great one. It showed me that we are never too old, too young, too dumb, or too wise to learn. Every second of life should be truly lived, no matter what.

I couldn't agree more. This book was so touching... and inspiring... I keep all the information I gained from this book close to heart.

 

[*Princesse*]

Brave New World - In a roundabout way. I read this book, and thought it was a completely amazing masterpiece, and I still do now. But it also left me completely depressed about the world and where we are headed. Could our world someday become that of Huxley's imagining? I was 13, and it was my first time experiencing a taste of a possibility of a world without meaning, and I thought, how far away are we from that now? The same day I finished the book, I went to the movie theatre, in no way in the mood for any kind of entertainment. I wanted to think and muse over what I had read, and every person I passed I envisioned as a factory-made clone, like those of Brave New World. I could see a world without meaning, a world without passion. I wasn't in a very happy place. But I went into the theatre, and for three hours I watched The Return of The King as elves, hobbits, dwarves, and men all gave all of their passion for the common salvation of their world. It was complete antitheses of Brave New World, and I realized that as long as we can still think, and feel, and experience passion and life, we'll never become that Brave New World. I also realized that it was everyone, the actors, camera men, costuming designers, everyone who had worked on The Return of The King that had put together a movie, simple entertainment, that had reminded me of this. All of these people had come together with a passion for film making to form this movie into a reality, and that is one of the reason's that I want to be an actress - so that I can entertain, sometimes mindlessly, allowing people to have a good time for a few hours, but also maybe to be able to remind a little girl that she doesn't live in Huxley's Brave New World.

 

[BaroqueRockstar]

the fountainhead
this is going to sound so cliche: anna karenina
naked by david sedaris
1984
huckleberry finn
breakfast with morry
not a book, but a short story: desiree's baby by kate chopin (she also wrote the awakening)
the crucible
a streetcar named desire
farenheight 461

i read a lot

 

[kissmesweet]

Pride and Prejudice - it taught me not to judge people so much, but rather try to understand them

The Great Gatsby - it taught me that sometimes people have problems and they leave you to clean up the mess that they caused and maybe great people aren't really that perfect.

 

[kateelle]

A boy Called IT
Johnny got his gun

 

[astatine]

I would have to say , 'love in the times of cholera'- It really made me look at life differently after reading it.

love in the time of cholera remains one of the very few books i've never managed to finish reading


the kite runner- khaled hosseni
the time traveler's wife- audrey niffenberger

 

[Skirt]

Someone Would Have Talked by Larry Hancock. I'm a history fan, always have been, always will be, and this book really opens your eyes as to a certain aspect of American Presidential history.

Dispatches from the Edge by Anderson Cooper. I'm not a very emotional person usually but this book made me cry. He's so honest and passionate about what he's seen and it's very touching.

All The President's Men by Woodward and Bernstein. This is what made me want to be a journalist, even if I'll likely be working at Vogue instead of anywhere "worthwhile" to the general population.

 

[mirrra]

Master and Margaritha by M.Bulgakov... changed my life.

 

[ivypixie]

No doubt which book!

b*tch: In praise of difficult women by Elizabeth Wurtzel.
This book made me change my view of feminism, and I've tried to be this b*tch she's writing about ever since I read it over a year ago. This book made me really proud to be a woman, and much more secure with myself. All honour to Miss Wurtzel.



I can't come up with any book that has changed me so much as this right now, even though there's no doubt in the world how much books in general has influenced, teached, raised and inspired me since the day I learned to read.

 

[city girl]

to kill a mockingbird. it was the first time i could relate to a character (scout) who felt older than she was and could relate to the opposite gender more than her own. it also taught me about acceptance. beautiful book

 

[Zen]

Travels with Charley- John Steinbeck
The Dharma Bums- Jack Kerovac
The Underachiever's Manifesto- Ray Bennett, M.D.
Beyond Dogma- Dalai Lama
The Anti-Christ- Friedrich Nietzsche

 

[LoveMyBoots]

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton / The first book that took me aback emotionally.
The Hours by Michael Cunningham / I watched the film, then learned it was a book. The combination of watching the former and reading the latter really hit me hard at a certain time in my life.
To the Lighthouse and Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf - Both introduced me to a new form of telling a story, different times and worlds, and a different perspective on life.

 

[11minutes]

the alchemist by paulo coelho...i'm a big fan of his works so nearly all his books have changed my life because they all push the same message

 

[sogangsta]

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe & Siddartha by Hermann Hesse

 

[kissmesweet]

Montana Sky--Nora Roberts.

 

[pinnie]

The Notebook - it shows me how powerful and beautiful love is .. it does change my view about love.i have never get bored of reading it again and again

 

[Couture_Tribe]

to kill a mockingbird. it was the first time i could relate to a character (scout) who felt older than she was and could relate to the opposite gender more than her own. it also taught me about acceptance. beautiful book

you have got me excited to read that book, we will be reading it in class by april