What book did you read when you were younger and it left such an impact that you repeatedly recall it over?

Question

the years and perhaps it even somehow changed your life or inspired a decision you made. A book that has truly lingered for you?

Answer 1

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
I think about it all the time, especially the part where she sits under a fig tree and can't decide which fig to pick and they all dry up and plop around her. It reminds me how important it is to make decisions and act on them before the opportunity to do so has run out!

Answer 2

I have read so many books and many had an impact on my life and I recall all of them. The one that stands out however is, The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien, which led to Lord of the Rings, C.S Lewis, etc and was the start of my love of fantasy and science fiction books of all kinds. I love reading and The Hobbit opened up a whole new genre of books to me that I had been previously unaware of (I was 9 years old when I read the Hobbit) it profoundly affected my preference in books, and to this day my favourite genre is Fantasy and Science fiction. I still often read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, because they left such an impact to begin with and continue to do so.

Anna Sewell's novel Black Beauty also had a profound effect on my view of the world and I still read it often, it affects me every time.

Answer 3

Probably all of the Chronicles of Narnia books, but more specifically The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. They were the first real "chapter books" I read as a kid and I loved them. Narnia made me fall in love with fantasy. I was able to escape the world and let my imagination run free. From Narnia, came Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit, and the love just kept growing. Reading any fantasy book still brings back those wonderful memories I had of reading Lewis's work. They are some of the few books I continually revisit and read again and again.

Answer 4

Alice through the looking glass... Or Alice in Wonderland...depending.

I loved LC as a child and I still love him today although I didn't begin to enjoy some of his more obvious political and social satire until much later in life, I don't think that the Jabberwocky would have had as much impact then as it did when I was older.

I love Alice... Because after all, I am the red queen.

I love the mock turtle
I love the religious undertones of the walrus and the carpenter
(Which I never actually realized WAS religious, until I watched the movie "Dogma." for the first time, Loki's speech was brilliant!

and one of my greatest and most favorite and most quoted lines came from Tweedledee and tweedledum.

It is on my 360 page...

Answer 5

The Source by James Michener he is one of The great authors of the 20th century. If you get a chance read it. He also wrote Hawaii, Alaska, Texas , Poland and many more he actually went to live in these places and wrote about his experiences. In the Source he traveled to the holy land at a "tell". There the story takes place as they dig through the layers the history of the area comes alive. I read this book when i was in Jr. H.S. and read it at least once every couple of years. What ever you read live the book. Good luck

Answer 6

When I was very young it was the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe books, then when I got a little older it was the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and in my teen years it was 1984. To this day, nothing has ever moved me more then 1984. It is still the only book that has a tendency to haunt me no matter where I go.

Answer 7

The book entitled "To Kill A Mockingbird" was dynamic. Then to make it even more intense, I went to the movies and saw it. Gregory Peck was most outstanding and the story was overwhelming. People have no right to feel that they are superior and others are inferior. If anyone would care to carefully study his or her origins, he or she would discover that centuries ago, everyone came from Africa. The changes in climates caused the body to be molded according to what geographic situation a person resided in. Thus, many of those who lived in hot climates had larger noses and larger frames. While, the smaller noses and other bodily shapes were dictated by one's environment.

Answer 8

Well, it hasn't lingered... but there's a book by Esther Averill, called Fire Cat, and it's about this cat who gets into trouble alot. Then one day, well, I won't tell you the rest, but I had it when I was about 5 or so, and I bought it nearly 19 years later, and it's still such a cool book.

Answer 9

I agree with geishainkyoto
THE BIBLE...I've read every Genre, and there are a lot of books that impacted my mind and yet, the only one I can honestly say I recall and still believe affects me is the BIBLE, simple because it does and also I choose to live by it as much as I imperfectly can. It has practical wisdom that transcends gender, culture, even time...it's counsel, love your neighbor, do not steal, do not murder, ...etc. can make a better world, one person at a time no matter how old the counsel in it is, no matter who applies it and no matter how many obstacles in their background they must overcome. It's Amazing, how if you sincerely apply it, it works!

Answer 10

Kate Chopin's *The Awakening.* It's a beautiful story of a woman in Louisiana coming to a greater awareness of who she is and how her life is constrained by her culture and by society's expectations. I re-read it at least once a year--not only is it a literary masterpiece, but it's also quite moving, and it opened up new horizons for me as a Southern woman.