Saturday, September 21, 2013

Powerful Reads

I've been having a bit of fun on Facebook this Saturday morning with a link to a story from BuzzFeed: 32 Books That Will Actually Change Your Life I agree with most of my friends who have commented that the list is a good one, but we're not sure they're really "life changing."  Which set me to wondering whether I'd claim that any book I've ever read (other than the Holy Bible) actually changed. my. life.

 I honestly don't think so.

 But some books have definitely influenced my view of life and/or the world.  Some by opening my eyes to new ideas and possibilities.  Some by confirming my already held philosophies and ideals.  Many by giving eloquent voice to my own thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

 Here is my list of:

Two Dozen Good Books I'm Glad I Read


  1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
  2. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll
  3. All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren
  4. All the President's Men, by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
  5. Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt
  6. Animal Farm, by George Orwell
  7. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
  8. Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson
  9. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, by Fannie Flagg
  10. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
  11. The Hawk and the Sun, by Byron Herbert Reece
  12. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, by Carson McCullers
  13. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
  14. The Long Home, by William Gay
  15. Night, by Elie Wiesel
  16. Other Voices, Other Rooms, by Truman Capote
  17. Reading Lolita in Tehran, by Azar Nafisi
  18. A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens
  19. The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien
  20. The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell
  21. To Dance with the White Dog, by Terry Kay
  22. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
  23. Why We Can't Wait, by Martin Luther King, Jr.


Posted by at

1 comment:

  1. Edward BrumbyOctober 27, 2013 at 9:12 PM

    There are books that changed my outlook on life, such as Joseph Campbell's The Masks of God and Sartre's No Exit. And books that deeply affected me, such as Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. And books that I didn't think I would like, but which blew me away such as Melville's Moby Dick and Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost. And who can forget their journey through hell with Dante. Books that connected with me and amused me significantly, such as A Confederacy of Dunces. Or books that just delighted me when I read them as a child, like A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and The Wizard of Oz. Books that spoke to me when I was reading non-stop as a teenager, like Look Homeward Angel, Babbit, Dodsworth, The Great Gatsby, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Of Human Bondage, The Razor's Edge, Steppenwolf, Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, Stranger in a Strange Land, Catch 22, Catcher in the Rye and The Grapes of Wrath. And books I put off way too long and then connected with like To Kill a Mockingbird. Thinking back on the books in my life makes me want to pick up a new one, even if age makes us set and resistant to the wonders that came all so splendid in our youth.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)