What book has had the greatest influence on your life & why?
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I can think of many books that were/are influential in my life, but you did ask for the "greatest".
The Alchemist - This book taught me to have faith in myself and in my life path. It reminded me that I cannot always dictate the roads I travel, yet I shall reach my destination and I am exactly where I need to be at this moment. It showed me how to make the most of any situation. It helped me open my mind and heart so I could learn things in a new way with a positive attitude.
I read this book each year on my birthday. I think about where my life has taken me... the good and the bad. I think about my future and where I hope my path leads me. I think about the things that I can do to work towards the end result.0 -
The Heroin Diaries by Nikki Sixx.0
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Nobody was pushing the Bible. I love to read. But the Bible is the answer. My choice. Don't knock it. I would have commited suicide without my Savior.0
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I am a huge nerd. I have more books than shoes and I have ALOT of shoes
I would say Atlas Shrugged because it opened my eyes to a different way of thinking. I would list the reasons but until you read the book, most don't understand and I would come off as a very selfish idpndividual which I am not :flowerforyou:0 -
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chobsky
This is one of my favorites. It is currently being made into a movie and I hope it stays true to the novel.
I am an avid book reader and have read most books listed so far. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson got me though high school, the Anne series by Montgomery got me through middle school, and to this day Dr. Seuss' The Places You'll Go speaks volumes.0 -
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chobsky
First read it when I was about sixteen. It spoke so perfectly to that feeling of being a teenager and just feeling so lost and confused about everything in your life. It was the first time I ever felt like I wasn't weird or alone. I wouldn't say it's my all time favorite book, but I don't think I'll ever love a book the way I loved Perks when I first read it.
Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
Read it when I was a freshman in college. So incredibly well-written, and ended up being the final push in me changing my major from journalism to creative writing. The first chapter of Lolita is the most beautifully written passage I've ever read in my entire life Fun fact: when I've been drinking, apparently I'm able to recite the entire first chapter by memory (along with passages from Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet and The Great Gatsby). Not sure why, as I can't do it sober haha
Funny, when I'm drinking I slip into a Southern accent. (This Yankee's got kin in Georgia.) Being an English major and Writer, I'd much rather be able to quote literature. Of course, people think I'm a dead bore when I go on about such things. I'm more of a magpie with bits of poetry stuck in my head like shiny baubles.0 -
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chobsky
This is one of my favorites. It is currently being made into a movie and I hope it stays true to the novel.
I am an avid book reader and have read most books listed so far. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson got me though high school, the Anne series by Montgomery got me through middle school, and to this day Dr. Seuss' The Places You'll Go speaks volumes.
I have high hopes for the movie. It was written/directed by Chobsky, so you have to figure he'll get his own stuff right, you know? But we'll see.0 -
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chobsky
First read it when I was about sixteen. It spoke so perfectly to that feeling of being a teenager and just feeling so lost and confused about everything in your life. It was the first time I ever felt like I wasn't weird or alone. I wouldn't say it's my all time favorite book, but I don't think I'll ever love a book the way I loved Perks when I first read it.
Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
Read it when I was a freshman in college. So incredibly well-written, and ended up being the final push in me changing my major from journalism to creative writing. The first chapter of Lolita is the most beautifully written passage I've ever read in my entire life Fun fact: when I've been drinking, apparently I'm able to recite the entire first chapter by memory (along with passages from Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet and The Great Gatsby). Not sure why, as I can't do it sober haha
Funny, when I'm drinking I slip into a Southern accent. (This Yankee's got kin in Georgia.) Being an English major and Writer, I'd much rather be able to quote literature. Of course, people think I'm a dead bore when I go on about such things. I'm more of a magpie with bits of poetry stuck in my head like shiny baubles.
Luckily, this mostly happened when I lived in Boston, where most of my friends were also huge literature/film nerds, so it never seemed to phase anyone haha.0 -
The Bible It is my Atlas in life!!0
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The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield
Several Insights were written afterwards but the first one had the most impact on me.
Basically it's a spiritual and psychologial journey that teaches everything is relative and there is no such thing as a coincidence if you just slow down and pay closer attention to what is outside your immediate surroundings.
I loaned it out and never saw it again...going to get another one!0 -
The Bible.0
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Well this is going to sound super nerdy... but one day at Barnes and Noble my daughter asked me to ready "Oh the places you will go" by Dr seuss to her....
No ****, that was the day I started to get my life and career back on track. Such a simple book made me realize that the choice is always mine!
To me nothing is nerdy, especially when it not only makes a difference in a child's life but brings focus back into your own life!0 -
The Bible... It has given me all the answers to my life's questions....0
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Another I wanted to throw out there is Ishmael. Very interesting take on man and his interactions with the world and his downard spiral.0
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The Shack and Heaven Is For Real
^^^I agree with this one!!!!!!0 -
The Bible- because it tells me everything I ever need to know, and it comforts me as well!
Absolutely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!0 -
The Shack-Because God is real and there is a heaven
The Vow-marriage is a lifetime commitment even when things get tough
The Bible-It is from God0 -
The Grapes Of Wrath. I've been told it was a required read in high school. I wouldn't know for sure because I dropped out of school and was married at 16. I've read this book a few times through the years and it always leaves me thinking for days. The Bible is the only other book I have read more then once.0
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Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. It shows that no matter what you have done in your past that redemption is possible.0
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Not a book but a poem...I used to suffer from lack of self-esteem and didn't have that good of a self-confidence.
Our Deepest Fear by Marianne Williamson
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”0
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