What book was most influential on your life and why

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I got my hands on Fool's errand today. I'm on the lookout for the second one, but no luck yet. Thank a lot, man.

TheSonOfBattles

Not that these books had a particularly profound effect on my life or anything, but I know for a fact that reading has been a central part of my life because of the fact that I read David Edding's Belgariad series. It was the first real grown up fantasy series I read. Admittedly it seems kinda childish now, but when I was 7, it was the sh*t.

And I can't leave out the Wheel of Time, that pretty much set my reading habit's in stone. It was just so strong and captivating, and epic as soon as I read it. Still reading it to this day, ten years later, and I still feel like killing Robert Jordan when I realize the fact that i'm going to have to wait two years for the next book, and that there's going to be several more after that before it's wrapped up.

I did love the original Fools books by Hobb also, but I felt so horrible and depressed

when he didn't get the girl in the end. Made me feel *****y and sick for weeks after wards.

Got over it, and loved it all the same though.

Whoops, thanks for covering the spoiler moderator. Forgot about it completely.

Mark

This has taken quite a bit of thinking to narrow down what might have happened if I hadn't started by reading X or if I would have fallen in love with Genre Y if I hadn't read Z. If you catch my drift. Roysh.

1. Fantastic Mister Fox / BFG
   For the life of me I can't remember which one I read first. While I remember they weren't the first books I read, they were the first I read worth remembering.
   
   I loved the imagery in FMF, the description of said Fox sneaking through the tunnels and stealing teh chickens and whatnot while the farmers sat with shotguns (presumably choosing to stay there forever and let their farms fall into disrepair and thus end their careers instead of just putting out some traps) atop the tunnel hole. Plus I love animals so I was all happy when all the local animals ended up living together. God I'm sad.
   
2. The Goosebumps series
   Ok so I'm not wildly proud of it now, but twas these that got me into reading proper when I was 8 or 9 (Until they my brother was the Reader in the family and I stayed away from paper like it was infectious. Tis the opposite now oddly enough.) and I devoured them. Anyway they get a mention for being the proverbial dealer which started my cocanie-esque reading addiction.
   
3. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
   One of teh funniest books I've ever read. Magnificent characters (Marvin, take a bow. Not too likely in his case of couse ), vividly described scenes, so much that you could easily imagine the tone of voice used, facial expressions, the whole shebang really.
   
4. The Colour of Magic
   If I hadn't taken heed of this when I asked for book recommendations a few months ago, I wouldn't currently own about 18 books from the Discworld series, period. It still holds a special place in my heart as well.
   *sniffle* I miss the Broken Drum, none of this hip new Mended nonsense
   
5. A Song of Ice and Fire
   Look I'm sorry but I refuse to Just for Gods Sake Shut the Fuck up about It, Just for Ten Minutes, Five Even, I'll read it Next Week until every last one of the 6000 odd active boards members owns (and indeed would die, and possibly sodomise, for) every last book in this series. My favourite books HEVAR*. I'd ghey secks George R.R. for the fact alone that he's not afraid to kill off some important characters (And for the purpose of the story, not for the sake of losing a character) in fairly grimacing (and frankly tissue reaching fashion in the case of You Know Yourself).
   
   Then there's the massive world he's created, some fairly amazing battle scenes (
   The scene in which Stannis has his fleet ravaged by the wildfire gripped me by the testicles and starting squeezing a page into it. By the end of that epic little battle I was bubbling happily on the ground.
   ), some really amazing non-battle scenes (take your pick), a damn original and exciting story with more plot twists than you can shake a Bolivian carpenter at, I bestow upon it the rating of "Teh Win".
   
   Now buy it or I'll rape yer knees off.

Holy fig this turned out longer than I expected! Some enthralling books over the years that haven't made the list. One in particular was one I read years ago about a family of foxes. The name of it refuses to surface from it's den in meh subconcious (the bastard) and I'm fairly sure the library doesn't have it anymore. Can't actually remember much of what it was about, but I remember loving it.

Goe Reading! :cool:

*Subject to change every seven minutes

Walter_Sobcek

Hmmmmmmm........

Definately The Catcher in the Rye because I was about 15 when I read it so it affected me alot.

More recently I read Che Guevaras biography, which was a bit of a slog but absolutely brilliant.

and Hidden Agendas by John Pilger which is a little dated by now but still excellent.

IgnatiusJRiley

Survivor - By Chuck Palahniuk. Started me reading good books (no more of that Hornby tosh).
I read Generation X recently and thought it a bit too much like Dawson's Creek (characters are self-involved and use big words to show how clever they are)

dudara

the grapes of wrath by steinbeck. very depressing and moving read. In fact anythingby steinbeck is great.

Books that fired my mind when I ws young included "Charlie and the Chocolate factory"by Roald Dahl and "The Chronicles of Narnia" by C.S. Lewis

Sarky

The Discworld series, because it pretty much made me who I am. Those books made me think seriously about life, death, human nature, and so on. They showed me a very good outlook on life that I practice to this day, and introduced me to a biting wit and sarcasm that kinda rubbed off on me to some small extent.

Also, they were a bloody good laugh.

literati

Simu,

Proust! God you've really got your work cut out for you there... Best of luck anyway. I haven't read Proust yet but I hear that he has a completely different [but equally difficult] style to Joyce. Maybe some day....

As regards a good version of Ulysses... The 1984 edition edited by Hans Walter Gabler is the standard text but doesn't come with notes etc. :mad: The Penguin or Oxford 20th century classics versions are good ones and have really decent notes. Both cost about fifteen euros. A really handy supliment to any first time reading of Ulysses is a book called 'The Bloomsday Book' written by a guy called Harry Blamires. It is a standard work even among seasoned Joyceans and is widely available. Really helped me to get through it the first time.

If in doubt with Joyce - read aloud! Joyce wrote to be heard as much as to be read so it is always a good rule of thumb. There is an excellent online Ulysses resource at

http://www.robotwisdom.com/jaj/

Enjoy! By the way, let me know how Proust is going :cool:

literati

smiaras

This post has been deleted.

Walter_Sobcek

Cash by Johnny Cash






Best autobiography ever written







RIP

phoenix2181

Adrian Mole series....... & I nearly forgot.....1984 by our good friend Orwell.....I live everyday by these books...what by reading by big & bouncy mags & avoiding the thought police *read Dave Brent style management*

literati

Cash by Johnny Cash. Best autobiography ever written.

You don't really get out much do you? How in the name of jumpin' Jesus is this the best autobiography ever written? Granted, your thoughts may have been peppered with a little sentimentalism at the time you posted, but come on here people! He could sing, but in my opinion all existing copies of his autobiography should be gathered up and placed.... in a burning ring of fire!

sinclair

http://pachome1.pacific.net.sg/~marklsl/


the bible is the greatest book known to man and should be read regularly as i do. the good word of the lord must be spread in this filthy, devil infested world, with its "rock music", i smote a demon yesterday

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
But those who wait on the Lord

Shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

DublinWriter

Ummm...the Childrens Allowance Book.

Lorddrakul

I would have to say H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos Cycle. Not a book as such, a collection of stories, but it made me want to write myself.

LD

doonothing

the dice told me to post here so...


1. the diceman, luke rhinehart.
changd my life alright!

2. catcher in the rye, jd salinger
moved me, really moved me...

3. his dark materials
when they first came out i was like....i dunno, but they really made me think, and question and....wow....

4. fantastic mr. fox, roald dahl
wow that was my first book i ever read too....

5. the vampire chronicles
really gave me a different view on life... i loved no.'s 4, 5 and 6 the most...


wow, i really feel, looking over that list, that those books really haved influenced me sooooooooo much.....

Envy

Lord of the Flies, William Golding.

Beatrix

1) Care of the Soul by Thomas Moore
This was very important to me- it came at a time that nearly saved my life!

2) The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail
This allowed me to feel sane

3) Sophie's World
It gave me a great interest in philosophy and it's a great book!


I'll probably think of more!

Ruatha

Robot Adept - Piers Anthony....

Ruatha*

Micro1

Id like to say Catcher In The Rye , but with George W in town I dont think that would be such a good idea.

Cactus Col

The Dice told me to kill everyone .... but then I decided to roll again .... and come monday morning I hope to be living under the sea ....

Don't think any book has had any kind of profound impact on my life ... but I'll just list some books that I like: (in no particular order)

1) The Sum of All Fears - Tom Clancy .... just because it got me reading books again at 12 .... still have a soft spot for Jack Ryan books

2) Mankind - A tale of blood and sweatsocks - Mick Foley .... Mick Foley's autobiography .... I've read a number of biographies and autobiographies ... and I have to say this is the best one, surprisingly well written ... and very honest.

3) The Barrytown Trilogy (especially the Snapper) - Roddy Doyle .... because it's great

Sarky

Originally posted by Lorddrakul
I would have to say H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos Cycle. Not a book as such, a collection of stories, but it made me want to write myself.

LD

I'm currently reading everything I can find by Lovecraft and his fans. Read the 3 Omnibus books in a month, along with a few Mythos stories by others, like the Colour Out Of Space and Cthulhu's Heirs. I'm about to start the Shub-Niggurath Cycle and the book of worms.

Cracking stories, for the most part. Some, like The Case Of Charles Dexter Ward, were genuinely scary, and most of them had some really interesting concepts of time and space...

sweet-sue

I haven't really read a lot of books that aren't children's/young adult books ( i can't seem to grow out of them!). I'd have to say Garrison Keillor's books about Lake Wobegon have had the most impact on me, things from his books are quoted in my house all the time. I find it so impressive when people write about the most mundane, everyday occurences and make them interesting and build a connection with the reader.
Also, Charlie and the Chocolate factory is one of my all time faves, can't wait for the new film!

flyz

1. His Dark Materials - Phillip Pullman
After reading 'Sun holiday' books like Patricia Scanlon and Maeve Binchy it reminded me of the real reason why I enjoyed reading. Hadn't been so absorbed in a book since the Chronicles of Narnia.
plus the only book ever to make me cry! *sniff*

2. Raymond E. Feist - All of them
Mainly the Riftwar Saga but I've just got the King of Foxes to read now and I've enjoyed everyone.

3. Allen Carrs easy way to quit smoking!

Chinafoot

the book that really got me interested in reading is "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. i read it as a child and loved it.

as for the most influential, i would have to say the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson.
i would recomment everyone read some of his stuff. its incredible.

louiec

The Hitchhikers Guide Trilogy in Five parts (especially the first two) had a big impact on my life. Probably too much because when you start quoting it too much in public people think you're a bit crazy.
Orwells 1984 influences a lot of my thinking since I read it. As a result I'm dangerouly paranoid now.
Basically I recomend that nobody combines these two. Bit of a lethal formula for the happy go lucky.

jerenaugrim

1- One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey. Wherever you are, you can make a difference.
2- A Prayer for Owen Meaney, by John Irving. Everything happens for a reason.
3- A Goat's Song, by Dermot Healy. North and South, Men and Women. Illusion and Reality, and the tragedy of the isolated goats.
4- Leaving Las Vegas, by John O'Brien. Tragedy.
5-The Other Side of Brightness, By Colum McCann. Balance, Light and Dark.

Ideally, any book that's worth reading should have that life-changing aim (bar those that are read for entertainment, of course!)

iceman_2001_ie

Maybe a cliche, but profoundly affected me. I was messed up for days after reading it...

1984 - It made me appreciate those liberties that were bought so dearly by the blood of Irish men and women. I acknowledge that I do come across a bit too mellodramatic (sp?) but that is exactly how I felt after finishing it. (I am not a raving Shinner in case anybody accuses me.)

The other one is a little bit obscure.

Big Deal - Anthony Holden.
All I will say is if you have EVER watched "Rounders" (Ed Norton/Matt Damon) and wanted to be 'dealt in', you'll love this book.

ionapaul

1) The Hobbit - like others, this was the first of hundreds of fantasy books I started to read! The Narnia books and the Neverending Story also were early books of importance to me

2) Steinbeck novels - these mean so much to me, particularly the Grapes of Wrath

3) Dostoevsky novels - ditto, only started on these a few years ago

4) Dr. Zhivago - this book rocks and is heart-breakingly sad in parts. Much better than the (excellent) movie! In fact Russian novels are the best around I think, I also really love Tolstoy's War and Peace and Anna Karenina

4) For Whom The Bell Tolls - I have a masters in history so anything with a strong historical aspect to it is going to get me going! This is a wonderful book

5) Guns, Germs and Steel - made a big difference to me, I now read as many or more popular science books as novels or history books. Anyone read Nonzero by Robert Wright?

Frankie Smith

sadly enough, i'd say it was a dick francis book. it took me from the children's section to the adult section in libraries and bookshops at around 11/12.