the catcher in the rye. I read it when I was 17 and a bit angsty. As with everyone, I was drawn to the character of Holden Caulfield and found myself to be relating with him. It was exactly what i needed at that time since I was feeling confused about some things then. In deference to what Holden always says, it kills me!

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i read this book by t. morrie, 5 people you meet in heaven. its a light story, but changed my outlook in life, and death.

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It's been a while since the last post here, but I'm going to post anyway, this is question after my heart...

Someone (I think it was Caveman) mentioned Orwell earlier, and I thoroughly agree. 1984 was probably one of the most powerful political satires (or black-humor-book as they call it) I've ever read. I recently re-read Animal Farm for the third time, and it's also a book I like very much, especially the way the pigs keep modifying the commandments (e.g. 'No animall will kill another' --> 'No animall will kill another without a reason'!!).

I'm not sure about life-changing, but a book that did influence me rather deeply was Sophie's World. Then there's Kafka's Metamorphosis and Sartre'sNo Exit; The Stranger by Camus, all of them were... to put it briefly - influential.

Looking forward to more on this -- I'd be curious

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The Bible ...it inspired me all my life, made me laugh cry, given me inspiration a sense of justice and morality. Showed me how we are all human and flawed.

To Kill A Mockingbird I fell in love with the character Scout , daughter of a lawyer defending a black man who was being tried for the raped of a young women in the American South.
Don't Sweat The Small Stuff , taught me not to let little things bother me. Stop worrying and start enjoying life.
Runaway Diary Of A Street Kid. It was very sad. A story about an Asian girl who was pressured so much that she ran away from home and became a prostitute and drug addict . It was very dark, and gritty.

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Books that changed my life...

I've read many books in my life (my mother calculates I must have read about 1000) and all of them have meant something to me.

However, if you asked me to choose, I'd have to say Harry Potter. I first read the Harry Potter books when I was 14 years old. I had read about them in a book guide before but I had felt it was no big deal - just because it was popular, that didn't mean I'd like it. I finally borrowed it from a friend, who said it was really good. I borrowed it but I was reading other stuff at the time, so I just let the book sit on my desk for days.

When I finally finished all the books I had, I picked up the book, started to read, and was hooked instantly. So many things about Harry's life paralleled my own - even the way Harry thought. The books were funny, entertaining, magical, intriguing, mysterious and had so many lessons and parallels with real life.

Reading the Harry Potter books helped me get through my miserable school days in my awful secondary school days. While Harry escaped to Hogwarts, I escaped with him. I got to experience a bit of the England that I was missing (since I'm now living in Asia). And when the movie and the toys came out, I liked them, so I thought I'd collect them. It soon progressed into a full-blown obsession, and now I have a HUGE collection of all things Harry Potter, worth probably about $1500

So yay Harry Potter! 36 days till Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is released!

 

 

 

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yes! only one more month! Half Blood Prince... I'm very excited.

Harry Potter is definantly a favorite for me and has added some well needed joy to my life...

I'm not sure it's really changed my life though.

a really thought provoking book that's like no other I've read is Ralph Ellison's The Invisible Man.

I also like the 50's beat writers, who I've imitated in style even before I ever read them (somewhat)

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Awesome, glad to see you and Cammy are fellow Bible-lovers

No book in history could've changed my life more then the Bible, because of it I'm no longer dead, if not for it, I'd never have born.

I've made it the rule for my life, knowing it the Word of God Himself, I've genuinely faced it up to every question everyone's ever asked of it, and if I didn't understand something I'd keep looking and asking God for guidance. I've never been disappointed. Everything I've ever found that's worth anything has been because of it.

Let's see... Josh McDowell's "More Then A Carpenter" is a great book, easy read and jam-packed with info. C.S. Lewis writes some good stuff, I like "The Cure of Souls" by Oswald Chambers. "Sinners In the Hands of an Angry God" is an awesome book despite being written so long ago. I've seen some decent stuff from charles Ryrie before as well. I like Martin Luther's writings on the priesthood of a believer but I disagree on a lot of his stuff as well.

I like Scofield's notes, Strong's Concordance, Halley's Bible Handbook, and Explore the Book all as reference materials.

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The Harry Potter series. I started reading them in 2nd grade, they took me from an OK reader to an avid one. I think that without them my acedemic success would not have been possible, so most likely, I wouldn't design websites.

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The Da Vinci Code... it made me think a lot. I know its fiction but everything seems so real that it confuses me. Hehe, I can't differentiate between the fact and fiction. I respect my religion but that book has really made me doubt everything I believe in...

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Tuesdays With Morrie is a GREAT book!! It's about a man who finds out that he has a disease and is going to die within a few months, and his friend, Mitch, who comes and sees him every Tuesday. Mitch writes down and records all the lessons that Morrie teaches him and puts it into a book. Morrie was a great man, and reading this book changed my whole outlook on life

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