Books that influenced you

November

November

Yes Sir, Captain Tightpants
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Jan 20, 2008
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Sineya
What books helped shape your views on living life, the wider world and adventure?
 
Gosh, so many...

When I was a child, Charlotte's Web was one of my all time favorite books. My sister, bless her heart, was so patient with me and read it to me over and over. I credit this book to why I'm a vegetarian, and feel so much compassion for animals, and a desire to save them. The book does such a good job humanizing animals, and I think that's an important lesson for kids to learn; that animals feel pain, and emotions as well as humans do, and that they deserve our respect, compassion and care.

Also, in that vein, Micheal Pollen's "In Defense of Food" was eye-opening and I wish everyone would read it.
 
I don't generally read non-fiction, though I do sometimes have the inclination. I just don't usually end up following through. I've always been much more interested in escapism. There are some that maybe I should go back to and try again with (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, for instance.) I've read On the Road by Jack Kerouac, which is technically a novel, but is essentially a barely whitewashed autobiographical recounting of the author's life. I found that impactful. I've read the biography of Ingrid Bergman (my favorite actress), simply called Ingrid, which I found incredibly moving—it made me laugh, it made me cry, as they say.

I'm looking to read White Oleander by Janet Fitch, which was recommended to me and I expect to find meaningful, but I'm waiting on it to arrive from an interlibrary loan.

I've always been far more impacted by fiction. As I like to say, Star Trek was an important part of my moral development. Maybe I'll go through other people's responses and build myself a little list of books to try to find and read.
 
One book that has influenced me is Generations by William Strauss and Neil Howe. They analyzed American history through a cycle of generations, each of four types repeating. It was first published in 1991 and has had several follow-up books. I've been amazed at how much they predicted has come to pass.
 
machinewolfhear said:
also red a lot of Roald Dahl,
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Roald Dahl wrote some of the greatest books for young people, all of which can still be enjoyed by adults—Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Witches, James and the Giant Peach, etc. He was a brilliant author.

machinewolfhear said:
i was a bookworm then, 3 books in a week, glad to read that everyone got their favorite..read on..
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That's how I grew up. I read constantly. I'd walk around school with multiple books in case my mood was that I'd want to read one book over the other. My first disciplinary action in first grade was for reading Hounds of the Baskervilles in class. I would definitely call myself a bibliophile.

I miss reading that much. I should try to get back to that level of engagement. Reading a good book is one of the few pure enjoyments in life.
 
I loved to read from an early age. Many books impacted me, but a few that really spoke to me were:

Jane Eyre
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Chilly Scenes of Winter
White Oleander
The Secret History
Anne of Green Gables/Emily of New Moon series
The Accidental Tourist
Cat's Eye
The Illustrated Man
Christmas at Fontaine's
The Fellowship of the Ring

I got more lmao
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silvermoon said:
I loved to read from an early age. Many books impacted me, but a few that really spoke to me were:

Jane Eyre
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Chilly Scenes of Winter
White Oleander
The Secret History
Anne of Green Gables/Emily of New Moon series
The Accidental Tourist
Cat's Eye
The Illustrated Man
Christmas at Fontaine's
The Fellowship of the Ring

I got more lmao
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i agree, i read the hobbit too, but couldnt wade thru the two towers etc. maybe someday! movies are pretty darn good!
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machinewolfhear said:
also red a lot of Roald Dahl, i was a bookworm then, 3 books in a week, glad to read that everyone got their favorite..read on..
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i loved charlie and the chocolate factory. he's got a cracking good story called The Hitchhiker, you can find it online. also loved Henry Sugar
 
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XanderesqueMan
Lord of the Rings is a great pick, easily the most influential fantasy novel in modern history.
silvermoon said:
I loved to read from an early age. Many books impacted me, but a few that really spoke to me were:

Jane Eyre
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Chilly Scenes of Winter
White Oleander
The Secret History
Anne of Green Gables/Emily of New Moon series
The Accidental Tourist
Cat's Eye
The Illustrated Man
Christmas at Fontaine's
The Fellowship of the Ring
Click to expand...
Jane Eyre is my all time favorite book.
 
I missed out on that, none of that book reading for me, I preferred to be outside and doing stuff.
 
silvermoon said:
hey wolfheart no im not, but do remember seeing the michael j fox movie once : )
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yes, teen wolf, i think they made a sequel with jason bateman haha, whose sister was on family ties starring michael j fox. i watched wayyy too much tv growing up
 
wolfheart
wolfheart
me too. i remember that was sitting behind the couch when dr.banner turned into the hulk....good ol days
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XanderesqueMan
Teen Wolf is great. Teen Wolf Too is not great. But Jason Bateman is. I always love him, whatever he's in. His sister is Justine Bateman, who played Mallory to Fox's Alex P. Keaton. "Family Ties," is such a good show. :)
"Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
"The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold

These are two books that have stuck with me for years.
 
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