What book changed your life?

[JLTraveling]

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. A short, easy read that on the surface is a light story about a bird. But it's actually a profound commentary on intelligence, groupthink, self-determination, rising above your circumstances, and ultimately reaching enlightenment. I was about 6 when I read it the first time, and it radically shaped my worldview. I've given away about five or six copies over the years, and both a first edition and a signed copy recently found their way to me. Another of his, One, also shaped me in valuable ways. But I read it as an adult, so it didn't have quite as profound an impact on me overall.

 

[DisneYE]

I read Jane Eyre in high school as part of summer required reading and was absolutely gripped by the story. It sparked a love for the classics that continues today. I wish I could go back in time and tell my teachers how much I loved what we read, everyone else acted like it was torture so I kept quiet about it.

RIght? My love for books was instilled in me by a couple of teachers, they have no idea, I owe them so much.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

“A Tree Grows in Brooklyn”



However, the two books I always recommend are “Not My Fathers Son” by Alan Cumming followed by his second memoir “Baggage”.

Have tissues ready for both of those.

 

[fhtpdw20]

The Bible.

 

[Cadiewampus]

Books and movies have brought great entertainment to me, but never had either change my life.

I would agree with tvguy. Favorite books include Lord of the Flies, The Shanara Chronicle series, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the unbeliever.

 

[delyrium]

“A Tree Grows in Brooklyn”



However, the two books I always recommend are “Not My Fathers Son” by Alan Cumming followed by his second memoir “Baggage”.

Have tissues ready for both of those.

I was coming in here to say A Tree Grows in Brooklyn! It made me determined to continue my education after a difficult and trauma-filled childhood.

Also, The Sandman comics by Neil Gaiman- in that involvement in the fandom made me realize my calling was to be a librarian.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

I was coming in here to say A Tree Grows in Brooklyn! It made me determined to continue my education after a difficult and trauma-filled childhood.

Also, The Sandman comics by Neil Gaiman- in that involvement in the fandom made me realize my calling was to be a librarian.

For me while i always loved to read, ATGIB changed how I viewed literature. Reading it twice for school was the best imho!

 

[disneyseniors]

As I was browsing books on Amazon I came across a review by someone who said a book changed their life.
The review was so compelling I decided to download it.
I read it in 2 days, but I could have finished it in 4 hours, it was so beautiful. I just don't have that many hours devoted to reading in a day.
The book is: "When breath becomes air" - By Paul Kalanithi
I loved it & although I don't feel it would radically change my life, I learned a lot from it and my soul felt refreshed when I finished it.

I'm really happy I came across it and thought I would ask this community.

Is there a book that changed your life? Or one that was really compelling and it helped you become a better (or different) person?

Would prefer to hear about shorter books, not encyclopedic ones like the Bible, or LOTR or Atlas Shrugged or War and Peace by Tolstoy.
These are great, have read all of them when I was younger & are quite inspirational. I just don't have the time to read these type of books.

A book as never changed my life, however, one changed my husbands in a big way!
He was just never one to read for pleasure or fun. It just didn't interest him.
Then along came Harry Potter and their series of fantastic books. I know we both waited impatiently until the next book in the series came. Does anyone remember the craziness of people buying the next book at midnight?
He was a hard sell though. He loved the movies, and I kept telling him that the books had a lot more detail and content than the movies. So, one day, he decided to read the first book. WOW! After that, he read every book over and over, and has been an avid reader since then.
To me, it's somewhat of a miracle. He just never read any books while a young child or teen or adult. He was in his 50's when he read his first book.
I often wonder how many other people started reading just to read the Harry Potter books?

 

[TippyThomas]

The bible but not in a good way.

 

[2SLM]

I don't have books that changed my life, but I do have books that have changed how I think and/or provided greater perspective.

We Need To Talk About Kevin
Maid
What the Eyes Don't See

I agree with the bible (and The Book of Mormon for that matter), but not in the way people may think.

 

[fla4fun]

There are a lot of books that have given me support and enhanced my life. I have been an avid reader since I was three, thanks to my mom being an elementary school teacher.

However, as far as the one that changed my life the most, I would have to say the first one I wrote. I had a story circling around for a while, and had always wanted to be a writer, but it wasn’t until I lost my job due to Covid that I got serious about it. Once the first one was ready to be proofread (my sister is doing that for me) the second tumbled out, and I am about halfway through the third. Whether or not I decide to publish them, they have given me a sense of accomplishment I hadn’t felt before. I have spent a lot of years working in a field that really doesn’t interest me. The feeling of doing something you actually love is liberating.

 

[RangerPooh]

Rachel Carson's Silent Spring.

Along the environmental vein, mine was Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner and the deception, scheming, and destruction that took place throughout our country in order to secure water rights and water storage areas.

I don't have books that changed my life, but I do have books that have changed how I think and/or provided greater perspective.

In terms of perspective and what I consume, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. Read it in high school (90s) and has impacted food choices made since then.

 

[goofyernmost]

When in High School I hated reading. When asked to do a book report I would always pick a James Bond title. My father was an avid reader and joined a book club and one of the titles he got was a book titled "Wind from the Carolinas" by Robert Wilder. It was the first book that I started to read and couldn't put it down. It was the first book that I absolutely put myself in the story and it did something I didn't expect, it got me to like fictional/historical novels. I never thought it to be possible. Not going to do a book report but in capsule form it is a book about a family that owned a large plantation in South Carolina in the late1700's. They were loyal British stock so were unhappy with the Revolution and decided that they couldn't live in what was no longer a colony so they packed up everything, including their huge mansion and move it to Great Exuma Island in the Bahamas. It went through 4 generations of the family that finally ended up back in Charleston.

I wore out my original book and since it was long out of print I found a copy on E-bay. I took a cruise to the Bahama's that used every ounce of my will power to not find a way to Great Exuma and look for the ruins of that fictional mansion. I did allow it to cultivate my love for reading novels and placing myself in as the main character.