What Book Had the Biggest Impact on you?

[Kelli Wheelwright]

I often wonder which book really affected me the most. Whether it was the one that interested me in writing, the one that got me reading, or the one that inspired me to keep moving forward in life- books have such a unique place in each persons life.

 

So I pose the question:

 

Which book had the greatest impact on you?

 

 

Kelli

http://www.ekfamilybooks.blogspot.com

[Kelli Wheelwright]

I think that shows tremendous props to the author.

 

I have found that the books that I am willing to re read again are usually the ones that have touched me the most.

 

Kelli

[Neisa Hutson]

It would be between The Singer of All Songs by Kate Constable and The Outsiders S.E. Hinton.

These were the two books I read back in junior high when I first realized that I love writing! The Outsiders was more of a starter book that made me realize I love reading. The Singer of All Songs is what REALLY sparked my interest though in writing and creating a whole new world that I controlled where anything could happen!

[Matthew]

Great question.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is the book that inspired me to start writing, when I was 17/18 years old.

Money by Martin Amis is the book that inspired me to start my blog.

So I guess up to this point these are the two that have had the most impact on my writing life. I'd also throw in some Sartre and Camus on a more personal level.

:)

Matthew - Bibliofreak.net - A Book Review Blog

 

[Joe Perrone Jr.]

"All My Friends Are Going To Be Strangers" by Larry McMurtry.  I read this book back in 1987, while struggling to support my family by working three jobs.  In the book, the main character, an author, determines to write at least one paragraph a day.  That idea resonated with me, and my wife, Becky, bought me a half-dozen spiral notebooks, on which I began to write "at least one paragraph a day."  Before long, the paragraph turned to a page, the page to pages, and I was on my way to writing my first novel, Escaping Innocence, which took two-and-a-half-years to complete (and that was the rough draft).  Today, I am the proud author of five published books, with a sixth nearly completed.  If it had not been for that book, I seriously doubt that I would have even one book published today.

[Elizabeth Baxter]

There were two for me, in quick succession.

When I was about 10 I was given a reading project at school. I read Watership Down by Richard Adams for the first time and thought it was the best book in the entire universe. But then, guess what? A few weeks later my mum bought me The Lord of the Rings, and then I was sure that was the best book in the entire universe. Even now, those two books immediately spring to mind whenever I'm asked this question.

[Kelli Wheelwright]

Both amazing works, I agree

[nikki broadwell]

It could be Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass--started me on the road of fantasy and imagination...

[Tracy Brown]

Good question! When I was young, both Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth by E. L. Konigsburg, and Blubber by Judy Blume really resonated with me. I think I identified with the introspection and worry of the main characters.

As an adult, there have been many. Two that stand out: I found Life of Pi by Yann Martel to be very spiritual. The Light of the Evening by Edna O'Brien is one of the few books that has reduced me to a soggy mess of tears. The mother-daughter relationship struck a cord with me. Beautifully written, but heart-wrenchingly sad.

[Lana Bradstream]

For me, it was the Dragonlance Chronicles. I read all three in sixth grade and fell in love with books and writing. Before, I liked books and I had an inkling to be a writer. That trilogy cemented it.

[Shaughnesse Lill]

Two books changed my life literally.. and my children have grown up with them as well. Amazingly enough, I read them both in the same year.. 1972 age 10 LOL

 

JRR Tolkien's LotR

and

Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth..

 

 

[Jon Horvitz]

For me, it would have to be one of Henry Miller's books. I don't recall if it was Tropic of Capricorn, or one of the Rosy Crucifixion (Sexus, Nexus, Plexus).  But Miller had a big impact upon my life. 

 

Here's a post I wrote describing a psychologist's (my) take on Miller.

http://brain-and-mind.blogspot.com/2011/09/why-cant-i-be-more-like-henry-miller.html

Jon

[Kathy Maxwell]

When I think of books that had big impacts, I think of those that changed my life forever because of what they taught me.

So the most impactful books were:

The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict and Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box

Both Books are by the Arbinger Institute.  Tremendous narratives on human behavior!