I was watching The Daily Show the other night and Jon Stewart made a reference to the book Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes. He immediately told his audience to “Yea, read a f**king book.” It was obvious that many had never heard of the book or even seen the movie, Charley. I have, which made me feel strangely superior. Kind of like when you know the final Jeopardy answer and all the contestants get it wrong.
It’s always seems odd to me that books that have made a real impression on my life could have been missed by so many. I know it’s an important book for me when I retain so much of it. The story affects me in a personal way, has stayed with me for years and I feel for the characters. They are unforgettable. There are several books that do that for me including The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. They all made me think and question. Some scared the heck out of me with their realism.
Of course, this is probably why I moved on to mostly romance. I don’t want to be scared anymore. I love my happily ever afters. It’s nice to be comfortable. I like knowing all will end well and I can have a few moments in my fantasy world.
Does this mean I regret my reading past or I will never read a book that makes me examine uncomfortable subjects? No. I gained a lot of insight into the world and want to keep informed and up to date. Talking to people on a variety of subjects interests me and if I wasn’t well versed in it, I might as well lock myself up and just watch some of the crap that passes itself off as reality tv (Jersey Shore, Real Housewives, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo).
Reading a variety of books, discussing and sharing them with others including our kids brings about understanding and can lead to other topics that may never have been breached before. I wish I could reach out and touch everyone with the gift to love books. It shouldn’t be considered a burden to read, but a joy. Something we can share with one another, no matter the genre of the book.
The scariest book I ever read was Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. It still scares me today. All those burning books make me shudder. I try to do my part by talking about books where ever I go. I pass them out, I share my love for them, I give them as gifts. It may not be much in the grand scheme of things, but it feels right.
What about you? Any books made a profound impression on you? Any you wish you could get others excited about? Any that made you realize that reading was as necessary as breathing for you?
Bottom Line: “Books can be dangerous. The best ones should be labeled ‘This could change your life.’” ~ Helen Exley
Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand. Saved my life. Literally. Gave me the guts to walk away from an abusive relationship before he killed me.
That’s a pretty awesome effect of a book on one’s life.
It’s surprising, to me, since in Atlas Shrugged – and Fountainhead – Ayn Rand portrays the ideal male/female relationship as one where the woman is “taken” by the man. It just goes to show you that the effects of books – and all art – is so much more than the surface content.
Barbara,
Before I even got to the end of your post I was already thinking about Fahrenheit 451. It made a real impression on me. Would I/Could I stand up against the burning of books or banding of books. I think I could and would when necessary. Books do add value to our lives.
Interesting how many of the books mentioned by Barbara are on banned books lists. Just think how even fewer people may have read these books not out of lack of interest, but because the book was taken off the shelves by censorship.
It’s Banned Books Week, so a very timely post! More at: http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/
Exactly my thought, Stephanie. So many of the books on the banned books list are one with the power to change minds and lives and the ones Barbara named have all been challenged, and are still challenged today.
All the books you mentioned were required reading for literature classes back in the day. Now, many have been banned, and why? Because they made people think. The politicos nowadays don’t want people to think; they want loyal little sheep who will support them no matter how egregiously ignorant and greedy they are. It is important that people acquire a broad knowledge of the world so their eyes can be opened to the hoodwinking going on, and how it affects their lives.
I think the books that made the most impression on me were “real” stories with a beginning, a middle and an end. Shakespeake, odd language when I was reading him, but very good. The novelists of the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s. Anya Seton, Jan Westcott, even Frank Yerby. I loved historical novels. Anyone out there particularly surprised? LOL
The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark I don’t usually read westerns but this was a class assignment. The idea of just assuming someone was guilty without all the facts and then hanging them horrified me. That book stayed with me all these years.
Flowers for Algernon was pretty awesome too.
The Little House on the Prairie series of books, because they started me on my lifelong love of reading. There have been some profound books as an adult, but nothing like that. I still remember the moment in the library when my mom handed me Little House in the Big Woods.
And Laura, kudos to you for finding the courage to walk away. I used to work with domestic violence survivors, and I have an amazing amount of respect for the strength it takes to get out.
The Little House books made me A Real Reader, too. I was gone, completely lost in that world. I feel like I’ve spent the last 38 years trying to recapture that magic. Thank you, Laura.
Books that have changed my life drastically (they all change me to some extent!)
Lion Witch & Wardrobe
Hawkmistress
Stranger in a Strange Land
Lord of the Rings
Dance of the Dissident Daughter
Many Lives Many Masters
On The Beach. No other book that I have read haunted me for so many nights sleep after I finished. And that happened both times that i read it.
Dune by Frank Herbert blew me away.
Others:
Lord of the Rings and Terry Brooks’s Sword of Shannara
The Vampire Lestat
Salem’s Lot (still the scariest King story I’ve ever read, with a close second The Shining)
The Fafyrd and Gray Mauser series by Fritz Leiber
Watership Down by Richard Adams (everyone should read this book)
More recently (sort of):
The Game of Thrones
The Life of Pi (looking forward to the movie)
and on and on and on…
Loved Dune. It was funny to see the movie and hear some of the prounications that were quite different from how I was prounouncing them in my head.
Salem’s Lot is def the scariest of King’s I adored but also The Stand. The Island of The Blue Dolphins made a huge impression, along with Where the Red Fern Grows. Loved the Great Gatsby. Lion Witch and Wardrobe. Stein’s The Art of Racing in the Rain was sheer brilliance and I keep rereading it.
Fantastic post. Love thinking of life changing books.
All of Mitch Albom’s books including his latest Time Keeper.
Chung Wenyin: Ahmam’s Islands.
Kite Runner
The Stranger
Echoes in Exile
I can’t believe anyone made it through high school without having to read Flowers for Algernon.
A couple books that I love that made me stop and think are:
Illusions by Richard Bach
To Kill a Mockingbird
Tom Sawyer
The Stand by Steven King
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
Gosh I could go on forever
Guess it depends on the reading circumstances–can’t tell you how much I loathe 1984 and Brave New World to this day after being subjected to then in high school. Same goes for Lord of the Flies and The Pearl. Golly, I hope that last one is off the reading lists! However, there’s Little Women and I got my romance fix starting with the Brontes. Also Mary Renault, especially The Charioteer.
I think between junior high and high school I had to read Lord of the Flies four times and I hated it every single time. The Odyssey was required freshman reading at my high school and I never would have touched it otherwise but it was a great book. But my favorites as a child were The Secret Garden and Mary Poppins. I was an early reader — had a library card at age 5 and have always, always loved to read. I can’t imagine a life without books!
This may sound a little weird, but Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss is the one book that has stayed with me all of my reading life; it’s one of the very first books I read independently. And Horton’s line “a person’s a person no matter how small” has also stayed with me as a great life truth. And yes, I knew, back in first grade, that I couldn’t live without reading.
I have been thinking about The Handmaid’s Tale a lot this past year because of all the vitriol about women trying to control their own bodies. When I read that book I would never have thought we could be this close to having it come true!
Stranger in a Strange Land.
I came out of the closet after reading it and I was only 12. It allowed me to be okay with my bisexuality throughout high school when my other friends were struggling with their sexuality. Although I am not a fan of his politics or his sexism later in life, and I would probably hate the book now, I will always be grateful to Heinlein for showing me that being attracted to both girls and boys was okay.
A Tale of Two Cities did it for me. Questions about justice and disparity in how people live still impact me greatly. I never thought about it much before, but it could have been a factor in my choice to study law and ethics. Something about Pip in Great Expectations also struck such a cord in my childhood. The Lord of the Flies made me sick and I still have issues with how quickly empathy dies. Gave me shivers. Great post. I prefer romance and thrillers now, but that could also be a product of wanting to enjoy myself more in my leisure time
Different books (classic to romance to comedic to non-fiction) have saved my life at just the right time in my life…more times than I can share.
I love the escape.
Many of the ones already listed (Fahrenheit 451!) but another that has stuck with me and holds up to rereading (and is just as horrifying in many ways as Fahrenheit) is The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. I don’t think it’s on school lists anymore but it is stunning, sad, and entirely memorable.
One of Mae Nunn’s books, Amazing Love, got me through a difficult time in the PICU waiting room. Fairy tales got me through childhood. Funny, I’m blogging today about those connections we make with books over at the Southern Magic blog in their blog blitz leading up to your (Barbara’s) appearance at their upcoming Readers Luncheon! http://tinyurl.com/8pmgmeq
This is one huge reason why I adored my Kindle (that I gave to my 64-yr-old mother who is in love with it, lol) and why I am so protective of my new iPad2. I’m able to read books that I never had a chance to while growing up. Recently downloaded Dracula and Frankenstein. Yes, I know. It’s tough to believe I’ve never read those before, but I haven’t. One old title I think was years before it’s time is The Awakening by Kate Chopin–awesome book!
The Awakening. Thanks for bringing that one to mind – Chopin was so far ahead of her time.
The book that changed my life was ‘Well Done Secret Seven’. It might sound funny but that book made me fall in love with reading. After reading dull school-prescribed books, I was so captivated by the sense of adventure and mystery, it blew my six-year old mind! I must have read about 150 of Enid Blyton’s books afterwards and I think they were a form of escape for me during an unhappy time while my parents were splitting up. I definitely trace my lifelong love of reading and writing, my literature degree and published work back to the moment I opened that book.
I fell in love again when I discovered the first Harry Potter book at the age of 11. The last book came out just after I finished secondary school and the release of every book and film in between was greeted by lots of excited discussion among my friends. It was such a great bonding experience and it book-ended my adolescence so it was a big part of my experience growing up.
More recently, I fell head-over-heels when I read Kazuo Ishiguro’s ‘Never Let Me Go’. As I turned page after page I became more and more convinced it’s the best book I’ve ever read. A re-read hasn’t changed my mind! It confirmed what I like to read and how I want to write.
Of course, many other great books have affected me (lots of them already mentioned by Barbara in the article) but I think those are the ones that have made the biggest impact…so far!
The Fire Next Time.
Notes of a Native Son. (And everything James Baldwin ever published.)
The Bluest Eye.
Jazz. Beloved.
Song of Solomon. (And everything Toni Morrison ever published.)
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Juno Diaz
The Secret of Joy. Alice Walker
Killing Johnny Fry.
Fearless Jones.
Futureland.
Bad Boy Brawly Brown. (And everything Walter Mosley ever published.)
The Souls of Black Folks.
The Negro. (And everything W.E.B. DuBois ever published.)
Quilting The Black-eyed Pea. Nikki Giovanni
A Call to Conscience. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ragtime. (And most of the works of E.L. Doctorow.)
Freedom. Phaidon publishing.
Danse Macabre. (And most of Stephen King’s published work.)
A Gift Upon the Shore by MK Wren
Weirdly, the His Dark Materials trilogy by Phillip Pullman had a pretty profound effect on me.
I say weirdly because they’re young adult books: not the sort of genre where you expect to find genuinely scary themes.
But in fact, the trilogy is a vast, ambitious work that spans philosophy, spirituality and theology, but all contrasted against this incredibly intense thread of teenage love. I read it at what was probably just the right age, and it resonated with me more powerfully than perhaps any other series I’ve ever read.
The “Left Behind” series was life changing for me. One other book that has stayed with me for several years is “Winter Garden” by Kristen Hannah. It was haunting and had a twist at the end that really took me by surprise.
It is great to see the list of books that have stayed with people. Here are some of mine that impacted my lifelong love of reading through the years:
Anne of Green Gables
I know why the Caged Bird Sings
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Bell Jar
Pet Semetary
The Red Tent
Interview with the Vampire
Memoirs of a Geisha
Pride & Prejudice
Life of Pi
I’m impressed, I should say. Definitely seldom do I encounter a weblog that’s the two educative and entertaining, and permit me tell you, you’ve hit the nail on the head. Your believed is remarkable the concern is some factor that not adequate people are speaking intelligently about. I am incredibly pleased that I stumbled across this in my search for a thing relating to this.
I came to the exact conclusion as well some time ago. Wonderful write-up and I will likely be certain to look back later for far more news.
I enjoyed reading what you had to say, I couldnt support but shed interest soon after a even though
Yay google is my queen aided me to find this outstanding website ! . “How can I be useful, of what service can I be There is something inside me, what can it be” by Vincent Van Gogh.
Hello, you used to write magnificent, but the last few posts have been kinda boring… I miss your tremendous writings. Past few posts are just a little out of track! come on!”Partake of some of life’s sweet pleasures. And yes, get comfortable with yourself.” by Oprah Winfrey.
Hello my friend! I wish to say that this post is amazing, great written and include approximately all significant infos. I would like to look extra posts like this .
Yesterday, while I was at work, my sister stole my iPad and tested to see if it can survive a thirty foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation. My iPad is now destroyed and she has 83 views. I know this is totally off topic but I had to share it with someone!
Wow, marvelous weblog structure! How lengthy have you ever been running a blog for? you made blogging glance easy. The entire glance of your web site is magnificent, as neatly as the content!
wonderful points altogether, you simply received a emblem new reader. What might you recommend about your post that you simply made a few days ago? Any sure?
I conceive this website contains some really fantastic info for everyone. “Variety is the soul of pleasure.” by Aphra Behn.
Hey there, You have done an excellent job. I will certainly digg it and for my part suggest to my friends. I’m confident they’ll be benefited from this web site.
Just wanna remark on few general things, The website style is perfect, the subject matter is very fantastic. “The enemy is anybody who’s going to get you killed, no matter which side he’s on.” by Joseph Heller.
There is noticeably a bundle to know about this. I believe you made various good points in features also.
Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your site and in accession capital to assert that I get actually enjoyed account your blog posts. Anyway I’ll be subscribing to your augment and even I achievement you access consistently fast.
I’m very pleased to uncover this site. I wanted to thank you for your time due to this wonderful read!! I definitely liked every bit of it and i also have you saved to fav to look at new information on your site. I wanted to share with you that, I bookmarked Per Jon Stewart, & at Digg so my family will read it as well. If you don’t mind I would also share a tip. Getting into Medical school can be very tough. I find it most effective to speak to a medical school admission constantant. There consulting tends to make a huge big difference into you getting right into a top notch education or not. Search for consulting to ensure that your admissions into medical school. Thank you.
I do agree with all the ideas you have presented for your post. They are really convincing and can certainly work. Nonetheless, the posts are very brief for novices. May you please extend them a bit from next time? Thanks for the post.
Great blog post. Things i would like to bring up is that computer system memory has to be purchased should your computer cannot cope with that which you do with it. One can deploy two good old ram boards having 1GB each, by way of example, but not one of 1GB and one of 2GB. One should check the company’s documentation for the PC to ensure what type of ram is essential.
I’m very pleased to uncover this great site. I want to to thank you for ones time due to this fantastic read!! I definitely enjoyed every little bit of it and i also have you book marked to check out new information on your blog. I hope you don’t mind, I bookmarked Per Jon Stewart, & at Reddit so my coworkers will learn from it also. Could I also reveal a tip. Buying superb video marketing could well be very tricky. I find it most valuable to talk with a a video clip production specialist. Our team of Video Marketing specilaists are here to assist with all your motion picture and advertising and marketing specifications.
You should participate in a contest for the most effective blogs on the web. I’ll advocate this site!some tips here!
The following time I read a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as a lot as this one. I imply, I know it was my option to learn, however I actually thought youd have one thing interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you possibly can repair if you happen to werent too busy in search of attention.more tips i found on!
Didn’t think that it was a big secret that RVCA is actually pronounced “RUCA” and is the word for clothes in Greek.