Comments on: What Are Your 15 Most Influencial Books?

By: Another ‘Best Book’ List

Another ‘Best Book’ List — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:40:16 +0000

[...] and Nathan Bransford himself listed this as his fave for writers. I’ve always had Gatsby on my top 15 list of favorite books, too. I think I love it because of the narrator in the story, and the way the narrator tells [...]

By: mizwrite

mizwrite — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 02:40:49 +0000

Hi, Crystal! Yes, that word “influential” tripped me up a bit, too. And maybe I didn’t interpret it correctly, but the way I did interpret it was simply “left an impact on me.” Like I think about those characters/themes/language to this day, even though I read some of those books decades ago. Many of the ones I read back in high school or college I’ve suggested for my current book club, just so I could reread them as an adult. It’s cool how to bring a different sensibility to the books as an adult — you’ve much more likely experienced some of the pain/heartache/death/whatever that books are discussing, plus you’ve met so many more people that certain characters start to ring true for you! : )

By: Crystal Posey

Crystal Posey — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 01:45:49 +0000

On Writing by Stephen King is the only one coming to mind at the moment.

I have lots of favorite books and many that have moved me, but influenced me . . . that’s hard.

By: mizwrite

mizwrite — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:56:06 +0000

Okay, “Atlas Shrugged” has shown up on at least five lists I’ve seen now, here and on FB … I’m going to have to add that to my “to be read” list. … Great lists!!!

And Kat, yes, I do think “When” is hugely important for reading. The Great Gatsby has so many themes about materialism and how money can cause you to do strange things – I don’t believe you can really “get” that in your teens, until you yourself have been driven to do something for love and money. Plus, I loved that that book used the “outside narrator” to tell the story — Nick is kind of giving his own moral perception of what Gatsby is doing. For some reason, I find that kind of book irresistible. (“All the Kings Men” used the same technique.) I like that the storyteller has to grapple with his own morality while watching someone else’s.

By: TexanPenny

TexanPenny — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:26:27 +0000

1. Hamlet – Shakespeare (If plays count. I’ve read and seen this play so many times, even my French-speaking husband can quote from it.)
2. The Virginian – Owen Wister
3. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
4. All Creatures Great and Small series – James Herriot
5. Random Harvest – James Hilton
6. Hornblower series – C.S. Forester (sometimes painfully awful writing, but a great character, if that’s possible)
7. The Prisoner of Zenda – Anthony(?) Hope
8. The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas
9. Gone With the Wind – Margaret Mitchell
10. The Bible
11. Endurance – Alfred(?) Lansing
12. Tiger of the Snow(s?) – Tenzing Norgay
13. Narnia series – C.S. Lewis
14. The Fountainhead – Ayn Rand
15. Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand

Looking at others’ lists, I wish I had thought of To Kill a Mockingbird and In Cold Blood, both devastating in their own special ways.

By: Jersey Girl

Jersey Girl — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:27:02 +0000

I left my list on Facebook but I was thinking of one more that I would add to that list – Shogun by James Clavell. I loved that book!

By: Arlene Hayden

Arlene Hayden — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:11:14 +0000

It’s really a strange thing to let your mind wander back to “collect” books that were what you’d consider “stand outs”. Expecially when you’re OLD!!!! I can easily eliminate anything I might have read during my school years. (David Copperfield – UGH!) So….here are some that just POP into my head as GOOD books that left an impression on me. Leon Erus (Sp?)Exodus, Judgement at Neuremburg, Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, Wambaugh’s “The Onion Field”, (McCullogh)The Thorn Birds, Centennial, The Drifters, (both Michener) To Kill A Mockingbird, my first “romance” book – Mrs Mike. I guess it depends on the era as Laurie says. Some books left an impression on me because they were so scary – some so sad – some just thought provoking, and most just enjoyable to get lost in. I can even remember reading the Alice in Wonderland books, but it evidently didn’t leave ANY impression on me.!!!! (I wish I would have kept the books, they were from the 50″s and a set of two in a jacket box) Anyway, over the years I’ve enjoyed many, many books and try to keep going. Don’t you ever wonder why some people don’t like to read?? How sad.

By: Kat

Kat — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:19:55 +0000

WHEN~! I never thought of it that way but it is so true. Some books resonate so well with us at different times in our lives and later on not so much. I really love the books that as I get older mean so much more to me because I have changed. Maybe I should go back and try reading The Great Gatsby again with that in mind…I had a devil of a time with that book in high school and even into my 20s.

By: mizwrite

mizwrite — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:12:51 +0000

Kat — Your list isn’t lame! No one’s is, really. We’re all influenced by strange and unpredictable things, including books. I was realizing, as I was doing my list, how WHEN we read the book and WHO we know at the time makes a huge difference. Probably true of “Little Women” for you, Kat. Can you imagine how different it would be if you’d read it at a different time? (Believe it or not, I’ve never read that! I really should. Okay. I WILL …)

Anyway, as an example from my own list, I wouldn’t exactly call myself a Hemingway fan (although he’s intriguing to study), and I did NOT want to like “The Sun Also Rises.” But maybe because of something I was going through or who I knew at the time, those characters left a huge imprint on me. I thought about Jake Barnes and Lady Brett for years afterward. I thought they were brilliant characters. I think if I’d never met anyone like them yet, I wouldn’t have been so influenced, but I read that book at exactly the “right” time.

Harry Potter showed up on lots of lists on Facebook, too!

By: Kat

Kat — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 18:33:22 +0000

Gosh. My list is lame. Atlas Shrugged, Christy, Dandelion Wine, Childhood’s End, Ender’s Game, Call of the Wild, Little Women, Harry Potter books,Stranger in a Strange Land. Well, that’s my quick, off the top of my head, don’t think too hard about it list. Since my brain suffers from sloppy filing, I am sure I will think of 20 more as soon as I post this! Wait, wait..Shogun. I loved that book.