There are certain pieces of literature which seem to alter us in some way or the other. These books either shatter a long holding belief we had or help us see the world in a new light. The change can be for the better or for the worse.
For me, I just finished reading Sylvia Plath's Bell Jar and the book has somehow instilled a deep sense of melancholy in me. Or maybe it was hidden within me which Plath extracted through her words.
Which book had a long, everlasting effect on you?
by riba06
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Thoreau’s Walden – though I’m aware that he did not live as isolated as portrayed, it’s still a book that holds enormous value for me, as a reminder of how little I really need and the joys and beauty that can be found in solitude, in reading, writing and observing nature.
Then, several books on education. I still don’t have a full developed understanding or opinion on the topic, but Gato’s “Dumbing us down”, Kohn’s “What does it mean to be well educated?” and most recently Livingston’s “Defense of Classical Education” are giving me a lot to think about. I’m intensely curious and value education highly, so reading about different ideas of what the hell that even means and what and how to learn, continue to influence my life and the way I choose to spend my limited time.
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. Taught to appreciate life for the brief moment we are here and make memories.
The 48 Laws of Power, it made me realise a lot of the ways people had manipulated me and how people create the appearance of superiority in general. I learned why people gravitate towards some and avoid others. I learned how celebrities create the appearance of specialness and generate interest in the public.
Personally speaking, I would have to say that The Midnight Library by Matt Haig is the one. As it made me wonder about my own life of regrets, and all the possibilities I missed in my life.
Educated by Tara Westover. My life is very similar to that lol
All of them changed me. Bit by bit, and without books I would be nothing
As a teenager I read “The Other Stories” by Subcomandante Marcos. It’s a collection of short stories. In one of them, Old Antonio’s wife is sick. He can’t do much to help her, so he is making shadows on the wall with his hands to make her feel a little bit better. This is a very tiny part of the book, but had a huge impact on how I perceive love.
The Road.
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky made me reassess what I thought about spiders. I had a terrible fear of them, but this sci-fi book did what countless documentaries couldn’t–mafe me realize that spiders are what they are. I can coexist in a world with them in a way that I could not before.
This is not sarcasm. I am entirely serious. It’s a remarkable after-effect.
The Bell Jar changed me as well! I read it in my early 20’s and couldn’t believe how accurately it described the isolation and loneliness of depression.
“Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World — and Why Things Are Better Than You Think”
– by Hans Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund and Ola Rosling
It completely upended my views on the world and on development and forced me to rethink many things I took for granted. Even more importantly, it gave me back hope for the future.
Dune. I started reading the series in 6th grade, and probably what started me down the path of getting degrees in history and poli sci. Star Trek was the optimistic/romantic counterpart that kept me from getting too pessimistic.
A brave new world
Every (good) book I read gets absorbed into my being and I make it my whole personality for months.
Brothers Karamazov – Dostoyevsky
Crime and Punishment – Dostoyevsky
Many books changed me in some way, so the list is a lot longer, including Rushdie, Murakami, Galgut, Bulawayo, Burns. But these two stand out for dramatically changing the way I look at the world.
Jane Eyre and all of the Narnia books
The Screwtape Letters. For the better, major insights on what I needed to change in my thinking.
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
1) Harry Potter- got me into reading for fun.
2)The River We Remember- William Kent Krueger. Made me realize we’re all just trying to make it through life despite our pasts and mistakes.
3) I’m glad my mom died- Jeanette McCurdy.
Helped me process some of my own grief and trauma.
4) Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: Caitlin Doughty. Helped me develop a more compassionate and positive view of death. I’m not terrified of it anymore.
5) All Quiet on the Western Front: Erich Maria Remarque.
I swear that reading Know My Name finally got me to understand how to properly empathize with others. It’s a shame it happened so late, but it is what it is.
1984. I was 13. Now I am 72. Government is not our friend. Even more convinced now.
L’estranger by Albert Camus and Candide by Voltaire are definitely some. I always believed prior to reading them that we all live in the best of all possible, things happen for the best and there is a purpose to human existence. Turns out, there’s not any of those things so yeah these two bodies of literature totally blew away my 19 year old brain.
Flowers for Algernon… I can’t say how it changed me. I just wasn’t the same after that..
Nickle and Dimed- growing up in white collar suburb, I thought our working class family was poor because I had no real exposure to poverty. It made me realize how much the deck is stacked against people living in poverty and that I was being judgmental about decisions people were making to just survive based on my privilege.
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. I read the first book when I was twelve and it changed how I understood religion and the concept of heaven. It was also the first series that broke my heart.