TheBookSwarm
Ask Question

There are books in our lives that are/were life changers..what are yours?!

There are books in our lives that are/were life changers…what are yours??!

Susan #questionnaire

153
Reply
Related
What is yours favourite book about books..plz comments
14 answers
Looking for some good Fantasy authors or books. What is a favorite of yours?
71 answers
Who were the people in your lives who inspired you to become a reader, who directed you to wonderful books?
70 answers
Starting Before we were yours….anyone read it??
76 answers
Is anyone reading Before We Were yours by Lisa Wingate?
150 answers
When you buy a book on kindle or kobo is it yours for life then?
14 answers
Thinking of purchasing Before we were yours by Lisa Wingate Thoughts ?
71 answers
Hmmm read more of Before We Were Yours or watch a movie
28 answers
Really disappointed with Before We Were Yours? Anyone else or is it just me?
70 answers
I’m thinking of reading the book, Before We Were Yours. Thoughts on this book??
74 answers

799 Answers

Michele

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and Ishmael by Daniel Quinn come immediately to mind.

2
Reply
Ali

Ishmael changed the way I thought about life and spirituality forever.

1
Sarah

S.E. Hinton is a treasure

1
Patty

Charlotte’s web. I was in 4th grade. I’ve been vegetarian ever since.

9
Reply
Rebecca

Anne of Green Gables

2
Reply
Katie

A Little Princess and 1984

1
Reply
Catherine

Harry Potter

6
Reply
Cristina

Mine too. Didn’t discover the series until I was in my 20’s. However, I was in a place in my life when I needed justification and an army to fight my own dementors.

2
Catherine

I was in my 20’s too.

3
Betsy

1984

5
Reply
Mary

East of Eden. . .

8
Reply
Jack

Boy’s Life by Robert McCammon

1
Reply
Jacqueline

Invisible Man.

1
Reply
Angela

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

11
Reply
June

I started to write about my relationship with this book, but my words would NEVER be able to do it justice!

2
Angela

@June I feel the same.

2
Janice

I heard Viktor Frankl speak in 1972.

2
Tanya

The Dollmaker

2
Reply
Kelly

Life of Pi

2
Reply
Nancy

Ahab’s Wife

3
Reply
June

Awesome book!

1
Stephanie

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

6
Reply
Christi

The Bell Jar

4
Reply
Cass

Kite Runner

5
Reply
Jennifer

Bell Jar

4
Reply
Blair

Catch 22. I will forever see the absurdity of the world.

6
Reply
Vikki

To Kill a Mockingbird

9
Reply
June

My choice, too!

1
Michelle

Catch-22 and The Poinsonwood Bible

1
Reply
Matthew

Gosh. Several. Too many for me to narrow down.

1
Reply
April
2
Reply
Philana

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

3
Reply
Ali

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, The Giver by Lois Lowry, Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, Harry Potter by JK Rowling, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, East of Eden by John Steinbeck, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, The Shack by William P Young, The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis- life changers.

2
Reply
Karen

The Giver. The book thief.

3
Reply
Claire

Simple Abundance & Living A Beautiful Life

4
Reply
Ruth

I love Alexandra Stoddard’s approach to life.

1
Hope

I think about A Brave New World an awful lot (since I read it in high school). Probably weekly. I feel like that and catch-22 have had a significant impact on my view of the world.

3
Reply
Jane

Feminine Mystique

2
Reply
Laura

One second after

0
Reply
Cyn

Poisinwood Bible

9
Reply
Nancy

Nancy Drew. I learned to love reading from them. The rest is history.

17
Reply
Karen

Well said!

0
Liz

Perfect response.

0
Karla

Same here! I loved the Nancy Drew books.

0
Germaine

I wondered when someone would mention Nancy Drew!!!

0
Jennifer

I still have my whole ND collection. Couldn’t part with them.

0
April

@Patrick‘s Name of the Wind.

3
Reply
Judy

The first time was when I was about 12-13 reading Are You There God It’s me Margaret, by Judy Blume and my Mom heard me laughing while reading and she read it after me..so it was the first time we really connected with a book

7
Reply
Andi

Me too!

0
Mary

Most recently The Book of Joy. I first listened to it on CD (library)- very powerful. Purchased the book and now the CD for another listen and another and another.

0
Reply
AnnMarie

When I was a teenager, reading It’s Not The End of the World by Judy Blume.

1
Reply
Amy

The Botany of Desire.

3
Reply
Caren

The Alchemist. Harry Potter.

1
Reply
Kathy

The Five People You Meet In Heaven. I love the idea that Heaven is different for everyone, and when you get there, there are people there waiting for to to help you understand the things you didn’t quite learn in life: Everything that you do affects someone else, even in the smallest way; Sacrifice is a part of life; Forgive people, not just for them but for yourself as well; Love never dies; and Your life matters, you-without necessarily trying-make other people’s lives better. It was a beautiful lesson, and I recommend it to everyone I know☺️

5
Reply
Jo

I was also very struck by this little book & how it made me think about the “why,” “who,” & “when” of death.

2
Mike-Barb

Years and years (and years ?) ago, I read Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff and It’s All Small Stuff. It was one of those books you read exactly when you need to read it. Still remember it to this day and probably should re-read after all this time.

5
Reply
Kay

What is the What and Say You’re One of Them tore my heart to pieces.

4
Reply
Jeanne

Totally agree with both.

0
Ana

A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn.

4
Reply
Laura

I second this. It should be required reading in school.

0
Ana

🙂 Amen to that!

1
Maria

Both are non-fiction books, but totally changed my life. Simple Abundance (taught me gratitude in a way where I finally got it), and The Obesity Code by Dr. Jason Fung (newer book, but made me understand my type 2 diabetes and change the way I eat. Nothing any of the thousands of self-help books could do before.

3
Reply
Tina

Loved simple abundance. I reread it every few years.

1
Helen

I read this book when I was in college in Chinese. It enlighten me in many ways. Another book is siddahartha

0
Reply
Diana

The Bluest Eye-Toni Morrison

6
Reply
Tonia

Night by Elie Wiesel

9
Reply
Danielle

There are some good ones on this list, but I would add The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Alchemist, Sophie’s World.

1
Reply
Amanda

Black Beauty and Call of the Wild, I read these when I was young and I grew up to be a horse/dog rescuer and active with several wildlife/wilderness conservation groups.

5
Reply
Vicki

The Giving Tree

4
Reply
Jeff

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. I read it at age 13. It forever changed my view of history and the lies our society tells its children.

10
Reply
Judy

The Little Prince

1
Reply
Lynne

Breaking Night, To kill a a Mockingbird, House Rules,

1
Reply
Kerry

Hardy Boys I learned how to read from them at 14 years old I have dsylexia and never have stopped ?

3
Reply
Leslie

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle.

3
Reply
Andrea

My Year of Meats.
Changed me to a vegetarian! !!

2
Reply
Judy

the suh does shine,

0
Reply
Cindy

Barbara Kingsolver’s The Bean Trees is one.

5
Reply
Sue

China Study

3
Reply
Sharon

True.

0
Penny

In 6th grade, our teacher in Northern Lights ABC School in Anchorage, Mrs Loeck, read The Magician’s Nephew to us. After she finished it, she told us it was a series. I had to go to the school library so I could read more because I was so wrapped up with Diggory and Polly and the Wood Between The Worlds. Anyway, that was the beginning of my love for fantasy. Before that, it was Poe, mythology, Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys, Encyclopedia Brown, etc. So fantasy was a major shift for me. I didn’t even know there was such a genre until Mrs Loeck (my favorite teacher). Tip of the hat to teachers who have touched us in one way or another and are fondly remembered decades later. 🙂

2
Reply
Deborah
4
Reply
Peggy

The Deviners by Margaret Lawrence

1
Reply
Deborah

The Second Sex by Simone de Bouvoir. I read it when i was a teenager. Not only was it an eye opener about gender bias, but she also wrote about independent thinking, that it isnt just about rebellion but forming ones own opinion.

2
Reply
Pat-Chuck

I got caught up in Louisa May Alcott.

2
Reply
Robyn

The Vietnam Doctor by Dr. James Turpin.

0
Reply
Abbie

The Alchemist, The Chronicles of Narnia, A River Runs Through It, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

2
Reply
Kathy

Native Son.

1
Reply
Tara

Flowers for Algernon

6
Reply
Connie

Loved it. It enlightened me on the immigrant struggle.

0
Reply
Sheryl

Which book?

0
Connie

@Sheryl House of Sand and Fog. I was replying to the post asking for this on it.

1
Sheryl

Thanks. I’d like to read that. Somehow your post ended up separated instead of a reply.

0
Connie

@Sheryl oh, thanks. That’s weird.

1
Sungalina

Gone with the Wind

2
Reply
Rachel

The Alchemist, the Red Tent, the unlikely romance of kate bjorkman.

0
Reply
Hope

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

0
Reply
Erika

Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure by Sarah McDonald and The Alchemist

0
Reply
Ricki

Exodus.

5
Reply
Mary

Hiroshima

2
Reply
Kathy

The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav. It changed my view of life.

0
Reply
Kris

All the Light We Cannot See, Nightingale, River Horse

1
Reply
Nora

First two are my favs – I will have to read River Horse. My other two favs are The Postmistress and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

1
Georgia

The Kite Runner. 1000 Splendid suns.

5
Reply
Kris

Both are FABULOUS!

1
JoAnn

The Book Whisperer , Donalyn Miller (I’m a teacher)

1
Reply
Ryan

“Cry, the Beloved Country,” “The Good Earth,” “Handmaid’s Tale,” “Atonement,” “Lord of the Flies.”

3
Reply
Deborah

Lord of the Flies was the first book that ever made me cry and I was in Junior High. That book really upset me and sometimes that is the mark of great literature.

1
Curt

Seven Storey Mountain

0
Reply
Maryah

Atlas Shrugged hands down. I read it shortly after college and the mystery aspect of the plot made it an interesting read but I had a really difficult time reconciling myself to the philosophy. Rand can be difficult to digest because she challenges centuries of conventional thinking about morality. Fortunately, a philosopher friend of mine helped me to better understand her more controversial ideas and led me to view the world and the great minds who shape it in a new light. As I read more of her works, I eventually changed the way I thought about religion, about government, about what gives meaning to life and about the kind of life I want for my children. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is willing to read it with an open mind and enjoys being challenged.

1
Reply
Cindy

I enjoyed the story, but did not embrace the philosophy.

1
Janice

The help

4
Reply
Lindsey

Night by Elie Wiesel. I read it first in the 4th grade, which also tells you my parents just let me read whatever I wanted. Since I was 9 that book has sparked a fire in me to educate myself the best I can on genocide.

8
Reply
Marilyn

The Color of Water by James Mc Bride.

3
Reply
Marilyn

The Drifters, James Michener. I read it when I was 10 or so. I learned that the world was/is so much bigger than my little piece of it at the time.

3
Reply
Richelle

Oh so many…in my early years, Pride and Prejudice and To Kill a Mockingbird. More current The Help and Salt to the Sea, and I recently read The Radius of Us…wow!

1
Reply
Lynda

The Nature of Personal Reality, by Jane Roberts

0
Reply
Dawn

Diary of Anne Frank and The Hiding Place

4
Reply
Nora

The pure innocence of Anne Frank is what got me.

3
Alicia

“The Selestine Prophecy” life theory in the form of a story. Highly recommended for all ages.

0
Reply
Deborah

Doris Lessing: Briefing for a Descent into Hell and May Sarton: From the Legend of Biel

1
Reply
Katrina

Home is a Roof Over a Pig. It’s a memoir about an American family teaching in China. It actually impacted my career.

0
Reply
Brigitte

The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald!

0
Reply
Pat

Handmaid’s Tale

1
Reply
Jaye

Night – Elie Wiesel

5
Reply
Joanne

Approaching Oblivion. It’s short stories but it did change me.

0
Reply
Cheryl

Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood

0
Reply
Taylor

Night, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Bury Me at Wounded Knee, The Giver, When Breath becomes Air…

1
Reply
Barbara

The Chosen. Potok

4
Reply
Patricia

Tomorrow by Phlip Wylie published in 1954. A book about two cities across a river from one another hit by an atomic bomb. One had good civil defense and many survivors. One had no civil defense and they were vaporized. I was 8 when I read it. I was on vacation on my grandfather’s boat in the St. Petersburg downtown marina. I was finishing as the sun sat in the west. The sky was bright orange and I was sure the atomic bomb had exploded. I told my mother I would die here one day. As it turns out, I am retired and live in St. Pete now and probably will die here. But, I can still recall how scared I was.

2
Reply
Vickie

The Three Agreements

1
Reply
Susie

Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

1
Reply
Kendyle

Also her Prodigal Summer

0
Barbara

The Bible.

8
Reply
Angela

Peace Like A River

1
Reply
Kelly

I loved that book!

1
Katie

Just finished that book few days ago. I enjoyed it, although it wasn’t personally a life-changer

1
Julie

Atlas Shrugged

2
Reply
Sue

The Little Prince and Charlotte’s Web. Also On the Day That You Were Born.

1
Reply
Julie

The Game of Life and How to Play It- Florence Schovel Shinn

0
Reply
Amy

Bright Side by Kim Holden.

0
Reply
Debbie

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voscamo

0
Reply
Linda

Outlander

2
Reply
Cyndi

The Bible..

8
Reply
Christa

Absolutely, Cyndi, I totally agree.

0
Julie

100 Dresses

1
Reply
Mark

Johnny Got his Gun

4
Reply
Lea

Read that in jr high

0
Mark

Kept me out of war

0
Lisa

A Prayer for Owen Meany. Its lessons of perseverance and friendship and awareness and responsibility of self still motivate me to be better

6
Reply
Liz

Re-reading for the third time right now. So well written, so many levels.

1
Lisa

@Liz It’s time for me to revisit too.

1
Leah

I’ll Give You The Sun.

0
Reply
Liz

The Goldfinch. Secrets from our past need not haunt us.

2
Reply
Catalina

Centennial by James Michener : made me want to study History, which made me want to be a teacher, which made me want a divorce, which gave me a whole NEW LIFE !

9
Reply
Liz

We all rush to the bookstore!!

1
Mary

Gorillas in the Mist really opened my eyes as a teen to the plight of animals all over the world.

4
Reply
Katie

there’s been a lot of books I’ve Loved over the years, but only two that I can consider as changing my actual life and not just my reading life–Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Won’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain and The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu

2
Reply
Catherine

QUIET definitely changed my life!

1
June

Mine, too!

0
Miranda

Follow The River by James Alexander Thom. Much like @Catalina, it was the first time I actually fell in love with US history and wanted to explore further. It began a love for history that has led me to study, read and learn about things I might never have discovered.

6
Reply
Jannice

My favorite author! I need to read that one again. Since I read it the first time I found out I had family in that area at that time.

2
Cindy

Mists of Avalon

3
Reply
Kimberly

One of my very favorites!

0
Dawn

Final Gifts, written by two hospice nurses, brought my whole family such peace as my mom was dying from esophageal cancer. I read it and shared insights with my dad, brother, and grandparents through mom’s stay in hospice care. It was a Godsend, and I share it with friends experiencing a loved one’s slow passing.

3
Reply
Kim

5 People You Meet in Heaven and For One More Day by Mitch Albom. I love his books, they discuss faith, but not much religion.

3
Reply
Nancy

Let It Go by T.D. Jakes.

0
Reply
Danielle

Still Alice and Love Anthony. The compassion and understanding the author shows towards the characters with early onset Alzheimer’s and autism respectively was very eye opening.

4
Reply
June

Another real good one about autism is House Rules by Jodi Picoult.

0
Kate

To Kill a Mockingbird

4
Reply
Becky

I read the Handmaids Tale when it first came out and didn’t understand or appreciate it. Reread it two years ago, and it impacted how I think and observe civilization, and how easy women’s liberty can erode.

7
Reply
Pat

I remember at the time, thinking “people will never stop carrying cash”. Ten years later, I didn’t know anyone who did. This book is so relevant right now.

2
Becky

I agree!

0
Diana

I read it every couple of years. When it first came out, I wasn’t a mother, so the next time I read it I had a whole different view of how Offred would feel having one daughter taken away and now another child who would be taken, and each time I read it different things going on in the world and in my life illuminate another part of the story.

1
Roberta

Just read it and cried. It’s scary because of what’s going on right now!

1
Deborah

The Catcher in the Rye

1
Reply
Jean

These Is My Words by Nancy Turner. It has helped me persevere during hard times.

2
Reply
Bridget

To Kill a Mockingbird

3
Reply
Joan

The Artists Way. Harry Potter

2
Reply
Judy

I am so in love with THE ARTIST’S WAY.

1
Connie

Grapes of Wrath

4
Reply
Kelly

The Alchemist

3
Reply
Judy

Loved that book.

0
Gretchen

Tuesdays with Morrie

2
Reply
Carole

Catholic-Protestant Marriages can succeed by Paul and Jeanne Simon

0
Reply
Pam

Seat of the Soul

0
Reply
Sharon

Shogun led directly to a minor in Oriental History in college.

6
Reply
Cindy

That’s a good book!

1
Julie

Great expectations

2
Reply
Renee

Redeeming Love

0
Reply
Annie

Blue Mind

0
Reply
Michele

She’s Come Undone

1
Reply
Luana

The Poisonwood Bible

1
Reply
Karlya

A Day No Pigs Would Die.

1
Reply
Sara

When I was Puerto Rican

0
Reply
Jean

The Catcher in the Rye!

1
Reply
Ruth

Mine is life-changing for a different reason. I found it at a garage sale for $1, and I’ll keep it forever. The Couple’s Guide to Infertility. My son starts college in 6 weeks. ❤️

29
Reply
Susan

Congratulations!! That post made my day!

1
Ruth

@Susan, I’m so glad! I am a life-long reader and there are so many novels that have impacted my life. So it is appropriate that it was a book that completely changed my life. My son will study cello and pre-med, and I couldn’t be a prouder mom.

5
Angie

If I say this, it’s fact, and not meant to be a religious comment, though it is a spiritual comment….the Bible. It answered all the unanswered questions about the universe and mankind, that the leaders of Christendom couldn’t answer….that can really make a difference in your world, lol! Go, books!

6
Reply
Sally

East of Eden

7
Reply
Susan

Into Thin Air

3
Reply
Kaylehn

The Last Lecture

2
Reply
Amar

Mila 18; by Leon Uris, suggested by a friend, 40 years ago, opened my eyes to The Warsaw ghetto .
Since then I liked reading historical fiction.

3
Reply
Linda

Clan of the cave Bears

5
Reply
Roberta

Atlas Shrugged

2
Reply
Sharon

Tuesday’s with Morrie

2
Reply
Tracy

All of them. If I weren’t somehow grown what was the point?

0
Reply
Beth

The Phantom Tollbooth. I was in 3rd grade, had really just caught on to reading, and got really sick (caught the chicken pox; followed them up with the mumps. missed about 4 weeks of school) and my aunt, an elementary teacher, sent me this book in the mail. I re-read it every couple of years. Kids love it, but adults enjoy it more, because they get the word play!

2
Reply
Jessica

Lord of the Flies.

1
Reply
Lauralyn

Roots, The 12 Habits of Highly Effective People, Beach Music, Brighty of the Grand Canyon, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, The Hiding Place. Probably more but these come easily to mind.

1
Reply
Lauralyn

Oh my goodness, totally forgot two of the most important, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Tempest (I know this is a little off topic from the rest, but it was when I learned that words could be as beautiful and perfectly constructed as music)

1
Kim

Yes! Roots is one of my all times too!

0
Lauralyn

@Kim omg, at the end when it revealed that it was Alex Haley’s family, I almost lost my ish.

1
Kim

Yes!!!!

0
Judy

The Grapes of Wrath

4
Reply
Lyn

A Gentle thunder.

0
Reply
Staci

The Yearling in 7th grade.

3
Reply
Beth

Gone with the Wind

2
Reply
Tracy

The Grapes of Wrath

4
Reply
Lisa

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

4
Reply
Roberta

The Razor’s Edge taught me the meaning of life: you do not do the right thing for a reward or recognition; you do it because it’s the right thing to do!

6
Reply
Rosemary

The Bible.

7
Reply
Caryl

Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl . . . No matter what the circumstances, you can manage your attitude. ?

5
Reply
Sharon

Of Mice and Men

6
Reply
KS

Tuesday’s with morrie!

2
Reply
Sandy

To Kill a Mocking Bird

4
Reply
Jessica

A Child Called It… Read it when I was a teen. Made a crazy impact

4
Reply
Karla

Quiet by Susan Cain. It really helped me understand and accept myself as an introvert.

6
Reply
June

Me, too!

1
Kathy

Just requested this at the library!

1
Kris

Her TED talk is awesome!! Made me realize I am not alone in preferring solitude and quiet and not antisocial just because I don’t like parties! @Tammy – if you don’t have time to read “Quiet,” then search for her TED talk on YouTube. You will hear references to your family, guaranteed!

0
Lutgart

Americanah

2
Reply
Rosalie

A Loss for Words, Lou Ann Walker

0
Reply
Tracy

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

4
Reply
Carolyn

Nobody Knows My Name, James Baldwin

2
Reply
Shona

Baldwin is one of my favorites

1
Cheryl

“Watership Down”

6
Reply
Mary

Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das

1
Reply
Kim

Reading the Diary of Anne Frank as a 12 year old girl with brown hair and brown eyes. I couldn’t wrap my head around me being where she was at that age. It taught me compassion for all human beings no matter where they lived or who they worship.

10
Reply
Lauralyn

Agreed, and it also reminded me of how tenuous life us.

2
Joan

Taught Anne Frank to 8th graders for 16 years. She still inspires me.

1
Wendy

Patience and Sarah…it didn’t as much change my life as broaden my understanding and sensitivity towards the challenges in some of my friends’ lives.

3
Reply
June

As a youth , To Kill a
Mockingbird. As an adult, Quiet.

1
Reply
Mary

to kill a Mockingbird was a very impact filled read.

0
Nancy

Waking up White by Debby Irving

0
Reply
Kelly

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry

3
Reply
Sandy

The Outsiders by S E Hinton.

3
Reply
Lenore

Black Like Me, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, and A Woman of Independent Means

1
Reply
Melinda

Gwen Cooper’s Homer’s Odyssey, the story of a blind wonder cat. It led me to involvement in animal rescue and my local shelter.

3
Reply
Jan

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

1
Reply
Mindy

Langston Hughes poetry. I Know Now Why the Caged Bird Sings. Out on a Limb. Fear of Flying. The Tortilla Curtain.

6
Reply
Beth

Loved the tortilla curtain

2
Mindy

@Beth It was heartbreaking. And still timely.

0
Lucy

I LOVE The Tortilla Curtain!

1
SusanQuestion author

I always enjoy peoples’ book lists!!!☺️

4
Reply
Amanda

Fightclub. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true. Lol.

2
Reply
Amy

That has one of the best twists. I thought the movie was a good representation of the book.

0
Amanda

Even though I prefer the ending in the book, I love the movie. Lol.

1
Amy

Me too- great character choices. I saw the movie long before I read the book, so that influenced how I read it :).

1
Kris

I have the “Fight Club” bathrobe!!

1
Michele

We Need to Talk About Kevin –

1
Reply
Joyce

Black like Me, Dante’s Inferno

2
Reply
Maddie

Secrets for the mad by Dodie

0
Reply
Beth

That was a great book

1
Reply
Anyte

Diary of Anne Frank

9
Reply
Johanna

The autobiography of Malcolm X

6
Reply
Kathy

Me too! It affected me on so many levels!

1
Barbara

Looking for Mary.

1
Reply
Tiffany

Testament of Youth- Vera Britain / I capture the castle – Dodie Smith

0
Reply
Janice

Mine are Testament of Youth – think it was when I became a die hard feminist and also really learnt about the results of war and The women’s Room by Marilyn French

0
Stefanie

1984

5
Reply
Pamela

The Wizard of Oz; The Stand by Stephen King; Roots by Alex Haley; Star Wars

2
Reply
Melissa

How to Win Friends and Influence People

1
Reply
Freddie

Outsiders

2
Reply
Nancy

I had given up fiction until I read Jan Karon’s Mitford Series. I went on to Anne Tyler and now am back in love with fiction.

4
Reply
Shannan

Harry Potter. I’ve made so many friends through our shared love of Hogwarts. Not to mention lessons on bravery, friendship, loyalty and acceptance.

7
Reply
J.a.

James Herriot’s books – made me fall in love with his part of England and gave me the incentive to go there. Have been back many times since that first time 30 some years ago.

7
Reply
Kendyle

Reading his books as a child influenced my career choice. Just retired from 30 years as a veterinarian. Loved James Herriot.

0
J.a.

@Kendyle During that trip to Yorkshire I was fortunate enough to meet Mr. Herriot at his “surgery” in Thirsk. He could not have been more down to earth or more welcoming. I also met another vet from Indiana there – he was her hero. One of my favorite travel memories. That trip was magical.

1
Kendyle

J.a. Beck I also met him when he came to speak at a national veterinary meeting shortly after I started practicing. It was like a dream come true, meeting my idol!

0
J.a.

@Kendyle Oh, that’s great – I’m happy that you did! I think he was a wonderful person. His surgery is now a museum and very well done. I think the last time I was there was about 6 years ago. I worry that people won’t be still reading his books and remembering him. I would love to re-read his books.

2
Kevin

Carlos Castaneda…all.

2
Reply
Kevin

The God Delusion, The Ascent of Man, All Dune books. The Tao of Physics.

0
Reply
Cheryl

Recently, Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

1
Reply
Cindy

The Women’s Room by Marilyn French.

5
Reply
Deborah

Why is it that discussions about feminism always devolved to ” who does the dang dishes” or something like that: )

2
Margaret

Me too!!! I read it twice in my twenties and helped me see that SO much was possible, if I had the guts to go for it. Mira had the syreng

2
Margaret

Oops..wasn’t done..not used to my new phone yet…Anyway, Mira had the strength to punch through and follow her gut and go for the intellectual life she wanted, in a time when that was almost unheard of..and she became this strong, cool, interesting person. A good lesson for us all. I loved this book. Now, thirty years later, I think I’ll read it again
Good pick!!!

2
Cindy

@Margaret It’s part of my permanent collection.

0
Judy

OMG! I have been trying to remember the name/author of this
Book, thank you! Yes, life-changing

1
Judy

yes!

0
Janice

Yes this is one of mine – think about it all the time after so many years

1
Sophia

The Yellow Wallpaper!

5
Reply
Joan

Wow! Reading HERLAND now! Yellow Wallpaper next.

1
Sophia

Joan Anderson the 2 works are quite different, but very powerful. In her day, Charlotte Perkins Gilman was comparable to Oprah in popularity and positive influence for Women. She toured the world advocating for Women’s economic independence, beginning with knowledge of $$.

0
Kathy

The Autobiography of Malcolm X. It was then I realized the history books lie. I was shook.

3
Reply
Carol

The Four Agreements

1
Reply
Cheryl

Yes!
The teachings in this book carried me through an awful work situation. ?

0
Gayle

Amityville Horror – read it one day in 5th grade. This cemented my love for reading. Night taught me about the horrors of what people could do to each other. Eat, Pray, Love taught me to make my own destiny.

3
Reply
Lorie

“Lights Out: A Cyberattack, a Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath” by Ted Koppel. Scary how our country is unprepared should another country take out our power grid.

2
Reply
Kathy

Also: To Kill a Mockingbird put the love of literature in my 14yo self.
Night Road by Kristin Hannah changed my approach to parenting my teens. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas solidified my support for groups like BLM and is so valuable in understanding why police treatment of POC is an urgent, complicated, and volatile matter.
The graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman was haunting; both the holocaust take as well as Spiegelman’s tale of his own relationship with his father. One life changing takeaway from that book was that you cannot compete with someone who died young and virtuous (in his case, a brother) because they will remain forever perfect, while the living are judged in their actions and thoughts. How can you compete with a dead brother? I cried throughout this graphic novel. But it was sooooo good.

3
Reply
Becky

The Choice.. a recent read .. made me think about all the blessings in my life and how we each have choices to make the most of each day .. a beautiful memoir.

3
Reply
Dayna

The Handmaid’s Tale, The Poisonwood Bible, She’s Come Undone, White Oleander, and Roots.

0
Reply
Michelle

The Star of the Guardians by Margaret Weiss. This was the series that introduced me to SciFi/Fantasy and I’ve been and huge fan of the genre ever since.

1
Reply
Laura

Books that make me think. The Diary of Anne Frank, To kill a mockingbird, I know why the caged bird sings, 12 Years a slave, Grapes of Wrath.But also, when in my20s, personal, philosophical favorites like “The Worlds Religions” and “Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis” by Erich Fromm. Also read a lot of Carl Jung and I still enjoy reading the Teachings of Don Juan by Carlos Casteneda.

1
Reply
Deborah

Black Like Me

1
Reply
Cindy

The Bible

5
Reply
Dana

I don’t know if I would call it a life changer but The Outsiders was pretty moving it still taken me 40 years to figure out that book man that’s quite a deep book that

4
Reply
Carol

Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

0
Reply
Jordan

The selfish gene. Godel escher Bach. Chaos: making a new science

0
Reply
Lisa

The stand

3
Reply
Lisa

Stephen King is under appreciated in the prestige league, but his stories are incredible

2
Laya

You can heal your life- Louise Hay

2
Reply
Liz

I haven’t thought about that wonderful book in years. I read Louise died. RIP

0
Sandy

The Shack! Are you there God it’s Margaret, Harry Potter

0
Reply
Stephanie

The alchemist

2
Reply
Beth

the anne morrow lindburgh diaries

1
Reply
Melanie

Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick riordan

1
Reply
Lorrie

Breakfast of Champions

0
Reply
Veronica

Nancy Drew, because that is where I fell in love with reading.

9
Reply
Bethie

A Prayer for Owen Meaney

2
Reply
Carolina

Man’s search for meaning

2
Reply
Marguerite

Absolutely! For me too.

1
Debra

The Kite Runner

1
Reply
Gloria

The Shack

3
Reply
Janet

A friend in my church recommended it and I was in a group that read it. I thought it was weird and didn’t enjoy it all. But then I admit to not having a lot of imagination.

1
Wendy

The Witch of Blackbird Pond.

4
Reply
Lisa

Omg I loved that book. Read it in 5th grade

1
Laura

Me too!!

0
Andrea

This book earned me an A on a make-up essay test in middle school history class. I had to describe Puritan culture.

0
Mark

Flicker

1
Reply
Gloria

One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Márquez.

3
Reply
Gloria

In the 1980s I attended a genealogy meeting. I was sitting next to a young man from France. He noticed my name tag and said, “Ahhhh, Marquez–like Gabriel Garcia Marquez the famous author.” When he saw my blank stare he turned away with obvious disdain. The next day I went to a bookstore and purchased “One Hundred Years of Solitude.” And thus began my passion for Latin-American/Iberian literature. Thanks to that young man who will never know how he changed my life.

1
Alice

Gone with the wind

2
Reply
Phoebe

Eating animals by saffron

0
Reply
Shelby

Harry Potter. I was always a slow reader, and classmates would make fun of me. When I got to high school, and had a study hall for the first time, I didn’t know what to do with my time after finishing homework. The only books that I owned were the first four Harry Potter books that my parents read to me when I was younger (the others had not come out yet). I decided to bring them and read them during study hall, and it was like someone flipped a switch. I went from a slow reader, who hated to read, and NEVER read for pleasure, to an instant fast reader who reads everyday ever since.

18
Reply
Elisabeth

Girl Interrupted

0
Reply
Theresa

The Poisenwood Bible

7
Reply
Maureen

The Shack, the Alchemist

3
Reply
Lisa

Loved the Alchemist

0
Susie

The Bible.

3
Reply
Donna

if god is love, lost in the middle, why men love bitches

0
Reply
Alice

Same Kind Of Different As Me

2
Reply
Melissa

Besides the Bible…
Wrinkle in Time and From the Mixed up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler are two books that locked me in as a life long reader.

2
Reply
Lisa

Mixed up Files!!! Yes!

1
Melissa

After thinking about it, these were introduced to me in sixth grade but I was already an avid reader by then. So maybe it was Beverly Cleary (Socks was a fave) or Syd Hoff (like Danny and the Dinosaur) or Judy Blume’s Fudge books?
My parents got me books from the Scholastic book club (I loved those take home pages! ❤️) and I think maybe a Disney book club (I had the Mickey Mouse book holder for years after).

0
Jennifer

Really weird, but The Thorn Birds. My own very Catholic grandmother recommended it to me as a teenager, along with Clan of the Cave Bear. These were definitely adult books, and I felt I had arrived somehow. 😉

6
Reply
Valerie

I think I gave both of these to my grandmother. She was a big reader of Zane Gray and Louis L’Amour. Opened some doors for her.

1
Laura

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.

3
Reply
Kelly

In Between My Tears By Me, Kim Kelsey

0
Reply
Martha

How to Be Your Own Best Friend

0
Reply
Sara

To Kill a Mockingbird

3
Reply
Brianne

The Bible of course. And also Lightening by Dean Koontz, because it was the first grown-up book I was allowed to read. And Outlander, which completely ruined other romance novels for me. All other love stories must live up to the Diana Gabaldon level of writing.

2
Reply
Sandra

Johnny get your gun and All’s Quiet on the Western Front. Pretty much became a pacifist after that.

1
Reply
Janis

Johnny Get Your Gun, also changed me. i read it 40 years ago and it stills haunts me.

0
Sandra

@Janis yes I agree. I also read it that long ago.

0
Rachel

Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I learned compassion from this book at an age when I needed to learn it. I have reread it so many times, and I love it so much

6
Reply
Jan

Cinderella doesn’t work here anymore Spiral-bound – 1991
by Louise Spears McCants (Author). A business book that discusses women in the workplace. How professional women were expected to make coffee for everyone in the office and type for men who didn’t know how to type, and other things, plus do their own work. Taught ways to stop doing things like that. Changed my life.

2
Reply
Emma

It sounds crazy, but a book called Who Moved My Cheese literally changed my course to the career I now have.

5
Reply
Vicki

Roots.

1
Reply
Megan

Night

0
Reply
Kelly

The Alchemist

0
Reply
Tracy

Fatelessness by Imre Kertész.

0
Reply
Catherine

Bible. Someone challenged me to read it. I started with Matthew. Life changing.

3
Reply
Tiffany

What is the What, Dave Eggers

1
Reply
Linda

Your money or your life

0
Reply
Sandra

Boys & Girls Together by William Goldman. I love the way he wove his characters together, their lives from children to adults.

0
Reply
Kristy

Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret.

2
Reply
Bette

Captains Courageous by Kipling

2
Reply
Ellie

The Feminine Mystique… Betty Friedan….. a game changer for women in the 60’s……

3
Reply
Sharan

Nonfiction, A Civil Action, also A Midwife’s Tale by Laurel Ulrich and in fiction, The Chamber by John Grisham.

1
Reply
Karen

The People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn. I never saw the world the same afterward.

5
Reply
Sophia

A worthy book to recommend to young people!!

3
Diane

Black Boy

0
Reply
Debbie

Go Ask Alicw

0
Reply
Sue

Rain, Reign impressed me with how painful is is to make the right decision.

1
Reply
Jody

Books that got me reading in gulps? I can hardly remember–I started reading pretty young. Couldn’t hear a thing when I read! But books that marked me and got me to think differently? A Wrinkle in Time by L’Engle. Left Hand of Darkness and The Earthsea Trilogy, both by LeGuin. The Color Purple. Night by Wiesel. A Handmaid’s Tale.

3
Reply
Bette

L’Engle books are among my favorite’s!

1
Louise

Little Women made me want to write, The Handmaid’s Tale cemented my burgeoning feminism, and The 900 Days (non-fiction) made me a pacifist

5
Reply
Kerry

Nickle and Dimed

3
Reply
Sandy

Great book

0
Karen

I haven’t read it but was familiar with it. I remember a little video I saw about awhile back

0
Mary

Hurry Home Candy as a child; The Women’s Room in college; The Stepford Wives in my early 20s; and The Grapes of Wrath and To Kill a Mockingbird EVERY time I read them.

2
Reply
Cathy

Road Less Traveled & People of the Lie.

0
Reply
Cindy

People Of The Lie was good.

1
Cathy

@Cindy – have you read Shadow Syndromes? It’s a real awakening

0
Cindy

@Cathy, I have not. Thanks for recommendation.

0
Cathy

Just because someone is not “full-blown” doesn’t mean they aren’t on the spectrum.

1
Steffaney

The Diary of Anne Frank

4
Reply
JoRita

The Gift of Imperfection by Brene Brown

1
Reply
Thava

There have been many but To Kill A Mockingbird was among the first.

2
Reply
Jim

The Jungle – Upton Sinclair Grapes of Wrath. Count of Monte Cristo.

0
Reply
Kerry

I remember you talking about The Jungle and what an impact it had on you.

1
Kerry

I think everybody should reread The Grapes of Wrath right NOW! Hey Jim, maybe we should start a book club

1
Jim

@Kerry You remember that? Wow.

0
Reaghan

Black Like Me

1
Reply
Karen

I read that when I was a kid.

0
Linda

The Source
By James Michener

2
Reply
Jenelle

Flowers for Algernon – read it in college and was so moved by the big picture of what we value as a society vs. an individual’s pursuit of their best life

10
Reply
Marilyn

I didn’t read the book until after I’d seen the movie on which it was based (Charly). Truly a marvelous book.

1
Jessica

Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Crucible, 1984

3
Reply
Diane

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I re-read it every few years and still marvel at its beautiful prose and themes of idealism and nostalgia.

7
Reply
Marilyn

Blue Highways – William Least Heat Moon

4
Reply
Deborah

The Art Of Motorcycle Maintanence

3
Reply
Cindy

Zen And The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: one of my dear departed dad’s favorites!

0
Deborah

It started me on the path of reading all about Zen Buddhism. Which I must say calmed me down

1
Marie

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. That’s the book that hooked me into being a lifelong reader.

9
Reply
Kate

This is another favorite!

0
Kaye

Little Women

3
Reply
Marian

The holy Bible

2
Reply
Prudence

Walden by Thoreau

3
Reply
Amy

Many years ago in college I took a course in the American Transcendentalists. Reading Thoreau and Emerson were beautiful mind opening experiences for me!

2
Cheryl

Little Women, Hawaii by James Michener, Ordeal by Hunger (about the Donner Party), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and many more.

3
Reply
Kendyle

The Ungodly, which is also about the Donner party made a big impression on me as a teenager and fueled my love of history

1
Shelley

Gift from the Sea, Anne Morrow Lindberg, I read it every summer

2
Reply
Tracy

‘Cry, the Beloved Country’ by Alan Paton really got me in the feels.

2
Reply
Amy

Uncle Tom’s Cabin made me feel so deeply and see love in many ways.

1
Reply
Bonnie

I think for me reading was kind of the opposite. I chose and loved books based on what changes I was already going through. They made me feel less alone a lot of times, less stuck, less different. They took me to new places and expanded my life.

5
Reply
Sharon

Diary of Anne Frank and Night. After Anne Frank I read so many books by survivors of the Holocaust.

5
Reply
Mariana

A wrinkle in time

2