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wrinklyweenus t1_j9psa5q wrote

You are going to get a lot of Catcher in the Rye, but for me probably Lord of the Flies

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TTzara999 t1_j9psmtg wrote

Catch-22 for me too. I read it so often in high school I could practically reconstruct the plot chronologically.

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Bakkudo02 t1_j9pswwl wrote

Dragon riders of pern really introduced me to high fantasy, and made the way for my love of all things medieval; Orson Scott cards 'Ender' series introduced me to sci-fi in ways only start trek can touch. Anne Rice gave me a dance with the devil with lestat the vampire and gang. There wasn't a singular book that changed my life, it was every book I opened that made my world a little bit bigger.

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vivahermione t1_j9pu490 wrote

The Awakening by Kate Chopin. It showed me how limited women's roles were in Victorian times and still are in more traditional communities, but Edna chose to swim against the current (literally and figuratively). Although Western women today have more choices than Edna, we can't take them for granted, because social progress can go backwards.

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Mean-Buy836 t1_j9pu4cj wrote

The last book in Libba Bray's Gemma Doyle trilogy. It made me rethink my thoughts on a lot of things that I have in this day and age because of the differences between 1890s teenage life and post-2000 teenage life.

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3pbc t1_j9pup83 wrote

The Jitterbug Perfume

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disgruntledgrumpkin t1_j9putdm wrote

I read Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo in my senior year. It's still one of the most impactful books I have ever read, and cannot recommend it highly enough.

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Werthy71 t1_j9pw0e7 wrote

I still think about Crispin pretty often

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chummybuckett t1_j9px9gj wrote

Welp, this thread is definitely going to make me feel old.

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iamwhoiwasnow t1_j9pxqkh wrote

I read A child called It in highschool that really fucked me up.

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TheDustOfMen t1_j9pxw9u wrote

Het Huis van de Moskee (in English: The House of the Mosque) by Kader Abdolah. Beautifully written, interesting characters, against the backdrop of Iran from like, 1950s to 1980s.

It was the first book of that author I read, and boy he did not disappoint.

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autostart17 t1_j9pxxbl wrote

War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning - Chris Hedges

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SGwantpants2 t1_j9py7y8 wrote

Mine was Catch-22 as well. I never thought that a book about war, which is inherently tragic, could also be hilarious. I rarely laugh out loud when reading; this was one of the exceptions. People would ask me “what’s so funny?” and I’d show the them the cover. Cue a look of utter befuddlement.

Now, when I reflect on it as a tired and jaded adult. I’m even more impressed by the book’s ability to be comic and tragic at the same time. I’ve seen more of what war did to people physically and emotionally. I’ve experienced the tenth circle of hell that is bureaucracy. And Heller still makes me laugh.

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boxer_dogs_dance t1_j9pyhdq wrote

Most impactful required book from high school was Death of a Salesman.

Favorite book from highschool is tied between the Sword in the Stone, the Hobbit and Watership Down.

My most impactful college assigned book was the Death of Ivan Illych which I still think is the best book I have ever read.

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llama_raptor89 t1_j9pyt6y wrote

For me it was both Catch-22 and The Poisonwood Bible.

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oldgamer67 t1_j9pza3n wrote

The Lord of the Rings for me too. I was 13 when I got it, but read them cover to cover when I was 15, cut out the maps in the beautiful set my Grandaddy gave me..I have tried to reread it every two years since. The movies made me want to kill the director. So Read The Books!!

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jawnbaejaeger t1_j9pzbrt wrote

Probably Romeo and Juliet.

I realized that Shakespeare could be a lot of fun, that the jokes were bawdy, and the language was actually a treat once I learned how to read it.

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Getmeasippycup t1_j9pzpry wrote

About a boy. I think it was the first time I had experienced humor and sarcasm to that scale in a book. I remember reading it in my British literature class my senior year and getting busted for not reading the assigned text because I burst out laughing.

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anachroneironaut t1_j9pzw4h wrote

Aksel Sandemose, A Fugitive Crosses His Tracks (1923, translated to English in 1936. I read it in Swedish, En flykting korsar sitt spår when I was 16).

It was in a long list of books where we had to pick some of them as required reads. I found it intermittently boring, but it introduces the Law of Jante that became a cultural/sociological descriptor/phenomenon and is often referred to locally in Scandinavia but also internationally. It made me see things about my culture that I had not noticed before as they were so ubiquitous for me, having grown up immersed in it.

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johnclaudevandame t1_j9q00r5 wrote

For me, it's 1984. I did have to read 1984, Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm for school. They all ignited my interest in dystopian stories (movie or book), and they helped me dip into more philosophical conversations.

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grynch43 t1_j9q064f wrote

Elementary school-A Wrinkle in Time

Middle school-Helter Skelter

High school-The Shining

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CitizenNaab t1_j9q0cuz wrote

East of Eden. It gave me an appreciation of love rather than lust.

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annephetamine420 t1_j9q0p0f wrote

Infidel by ayaan hirsin Ali

Talk about an eye opener for a sheltered girl living in rural america

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CrispyCracklin t1_j9q0x2l wrote

Wuthering Heights. It ignited a lifelong love of Victorian lit.

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CrazyCatLady108 t1_j9q1d3y wrote

Hi! Please make the effort to answer your own questions with enough detail to get a discussion going and to give something to other users to respond to. Let us know if you have edited your post.

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_pastel_emo_ t1_j9q1psu wrote

I loved 1984 and anything written by H.G Wells. As far as non required reading there's too many to count.

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BernardFerguson1944 t1_j9q2sgd wrote

Robert Trumbull: The Raft: The Courageous Struggle of Three Naval Airmen Against the Sea.

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CrazyCatLady108 t1_j9q4nz8 wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,945,876)

You are going to have to get more detailed than 'the writing was good'. Aim for a short paragraph per book.

Otherwise, if you are just looking for new books to read you can post in the weekly recommendation thread or /r/suggestmeabook.

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Vendaurkas t1_j9q6ah1 wrote

A small mostly forgotten fantasy novel written in my native language. It was not even good, looking back. But it was the first fantasy novel I have read and entirely changed my life. I have 3 copies of it in fear of loosing it, but not daring to read it again.

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