Some books are meant to leave a deep impact on someone's life and turn life changing.
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The Bible. I was nominally Christian before I read it. Thought I should read it if I was to claim to being a Christian. Once I was finished, I was an atheist.
I read the Bible a few months ago (found a cool old version at an estate sale) and it just made me more atheist. Extra atheist. The athiestest
Kinda cliché but The Little Prince. I read it for the first time when I was about 13 and remember being mocked at because it was a "book for little kids". I could not care less, since I was already pretty sure that kids wouldn't understand the meaning at all, but I never imagined how badly I would want to read it again (which I did multiple times ever since). I really think if we all read it at least once a year we would improve a lot.
Maybe The alchemist, it gave a great lesson about how we see struggles. It's story twist in the last chapter was most memorable.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Little Women. Changed the way I see my situation.
Fahrenheit 451. As young child who loved reading anything and everything and lived in the library. I had never thought of people burning books or censorship. This book made me realize how lucky I was to have books and knowledge readily available to me when there are others who don't have that privilege. The thought of getting rid of knowledge, history, culture, and basically everything just for the sake of control over people was mind blowing to me.
My honors geometry textbook :(
Heartstopper by Alice Oseman, that series was what made me realize that I was definitely gay.
The hitchhikers guide to the galaxy.
Now all i do is daydream about whats out there
I don't think I've ever laughed more with books than when with the hitchhikers guide, amazing choice that deserved to be higher
Johnny Got His Gun. An utterly incredible book. Best book I've ever read. Changed the way I viewed the world.
You can heal your life by Louise Hay
Totally changed my outlook on life made me a more confident positive person.
'Juliette' & 'Justine' from Marquis de Sadé --- technically 2 books, but you can't read one w/out the other to fully process it.
15y/o me got a frightening glimpse into the abysses of humanity, when I read them.
Stay away from any work of Marquis de Sadé until you're at least 20+y/o
The Last of The Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Edwards (aka Julie Andrews). A book that shows you should never let your imagination die due to your age.
A close second is Oh, The Places You Will Go! by Dr. Seuss. This one was a gift from my high school librarian at graduation and meant a lot
Weird answer, but there's a book called the witch king. It's not my favourite book, but it's a book about a trans and gay character written by a trans and gay author and some of the stuff said there really changed my entire outlook on queerness. I've gotten a lot more mentally healthy tbh
The Great Controversy. I was struggling with the spirit world and this book showed me what was going on: demons masquerading as the dead. Most Christians don't understand that.
The Mysterious Benedict Society.
As a gifted kid with bullying & family problems, it made me feel seen in a way i had never experienced before. It told me i could be loved for who i was and that i would find my people one day.
I've read the whole series about twice every year since i was 11 so i know it basically by heart but i love it as much as i did the first time.
The Light Between Worlds by Laura Weymouth. This was the first book that made me cry and it was such a sad and moving story. Now it is my favorite book:)
The Divergent series it really made me think about what it means to love and lose, it also made me realize how much we take our world for granted
I'm not sure if this counts, but the book that I'm writing, Mirae Walkers. It's been so fun to create a world of my own and tell a story full of magic and adventure. Though, it's going to need to be edited severely before it's published, it still feels so cool that it's something that I got to work on with a friend, and I was able to help create something original from nothing.
It's also been fun to think about where I want to take the story in books 2 and 3 (because there was nowhere NEAR enough time to get it all into 1 book) and how the characters will change in their own unique ways.
Sounds super cool! It totally counts :) I became an editor because I always wanted to be a part of the birth of amazing stories, so writing an actual book sounds like an amazing journey! I hope you find a good place to publish it ♡