What Books Have Changed Your Life?
I was inspired by the question the National Book Foundation asked of many writers:
What books have changed your life?
For me, there have been a few books that I could say have, in a way, changed my life (not my writing style, that's a different list).
What books have changed your life?
For me, there have been a few books that I could say have, in a way, changed my life (not my writing style, that's a different list).
- I read John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath when I was about 14. The symbolism in this work is so strong. I remember the chapter which simply consisted of a description of a turtle trying to cross the road as a truck barrels along toward it. The little guy just trying to get by; that image will always stick with me.
- We read Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio in High School. The Grotesques of his many short stories were a real eye-opener to me; such pathos I had never imagined before.
- Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. made such an impact on me at the young age of 15, especially because of the mixture of realism and science fiction. The anti war message really hit home to a kid that had an older brother that was a Vietnam war vet.
- Also, I think nonsense literature has had a huge effect on my sense of humor and philosophy. Carroll's Alice in Wonderland with poems like Jabberwocky and The Walrus and the Carpenter for instance.
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