What book has had the most influence on you?

Question

What book have you read that has touched you the most and left you with a powerful message or has taught you to look at life in a different way?

Answer 1

Travels by Michael Crichton. The book explores Crichton's experiences and the insights he gain into life as a result. Even people who don't care for his fiction can get something from this book.

Answer 2

I'd say 'The Kite Runner' has left me with a

powerful message. the way the protagonist

went through all his troubles and obstacles

had my heart aching for him, and when he

finally did 'something' (not giving it away!) to

make up for the bad mistakes he made before,

I felt so proud of him, like he was my friend!

so, I'd say 'The Kite Runner' was definitely one

of the best novels I've ever read .. along with

'The Last Lecture' - but that's another story :)

Answer 3

The Bible

Answer 4

The Harry Potter series. I grew up, year after year, with Harry and his friends beside me. Each book brought something new to me that I would continue to use until this day. Loyalty, ambition, the strength of friendship, stay strong even in the darkest of times, listen to your intuition, and when all hope seems lost, keep fighting.  

Answer 5

The book "Life is Celebration!" by speaker and author Sharoll D. Shumate which was self published by Shumate Publications in 1983.

It is a quick read, but helps you understand how to be a person of purpose.

Answer 6

lord of the rings. sigh. it's my precious.

*celebrindal*

Answer 7

Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude.  It is an AMAZING book!  It will stretch your imagination broadly, and through it you experience all sorts of emotions.  It appeals to those who like science, fantasy, and more traditional literature.  The first sentence is probably the best "first sentence" in all of literature.  

Answer 8

My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult, it made me realize that there are things that are worse than what my family's going through. It taught me that, even though i'm young I still have a voice and can fight for what i believe in/want like the main character in this book.  

Answer 9

The Twilight series.

by Stephanie Meyer.

Great books!

Answer 10

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

and

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

They have contradictory messages, but they both make valid points.

Also, to the person down there : Understanding Comics is an amazing book! I am so glad it helped you!

Answer 11

yellow pages

Answer 12

Petey by Ben Mikaelsen. I read it when I was only in 6th grade, but I still love it. Petey is a book about growth, understanding, wisdom and love that shows that beauty can be found inside the simplest things.

and.........

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I read this a while ago too, but it made me realize that good stories can't always have happy endings. I was mad for a while when Tom Robinson died, but this book taught me that sometimes life is just unfair, and you have to deal with it.

Answer 13

the blue is for nightmares series

Answer 14

Two: 1984 by Orson Wells and Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.  Just a coincidence that they have the same first name!

Answer 15

It might sound weird to say this, but here goes.  

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud changed my life.  Not only did it affect how I thought about the world and literature, it changed the course of my academic career.

I'm working on my PhD in English, and I was all set to make my major field of interest poetry, and my two minor fields feminist theory and contemporary American fiction.

And then I read McCloud's book.  I ended up changing my major field to science fiction, and one of my minor fields changed to graphic novels.  (I kept the feminist theory because that's good stuff.)

So...watch out for those dangerous-in-a-good-way books!  You never know when you're going to run into a text that will completely alter the course of your life.

Answer 16

i'd have to say "walk two moons" by sharon creech. it's a story about innocence and hope--not about them being shattered, but the awakening of reality in that life isn''t always fair to you, and you should accept people and the actions they've done in the past, because there isn't much you can do to change them. it's about learning about your past but not dwelling on it for too long; the main character ends up being able to move on from all that has happened to her and is therefore able to love others & herself better. it is an amazing story.

the line that made me look at life differently? "in the course of a lifetime, what does it matter?" this line is so true: so many people waste their lives on irrelevant details that don't matter in the scheme of things. now when i start to panic about some small issue, i ask myself this question, and the answer is always "it won't matter at all."