What book affected your life, or was successful in getting you to care about it?

[pinetreeneedle56]

This is a part discussion, part recommendation thread! I frequently come across threads and comments all over the internet discussing this very topic for a variety of mediums, but people have a habit of either straight up spoiling the 'story' (of said game/media/book/etc) for the poor guys who stumble upon the comment, or being too vague as to not get other people interested in trying said story. I'll be honest, I have read a lot of stinkers of books lately, and I'm looking for a pallette cleanser (and hopefully, other people can find this thread useful, too )

1. Has there been one or more books you have read that has affected during or after you have finished reading it? For example, did it leave you feeling empty for a period of time, or did it leave such a positive impact that it changed the way you lived your life? (I.E: Was the author successful in getting you very invested in their story?)
2. Are you able to get into detail about how/why it left such an impact without spoiling it? You don't have to get into details if you don't want to, being vague is good enough!
3. Is it a book you would be able or willing to recommend to a stranger, a friend, and someone close to you?
4. This is more of an extension of #3, but is the book accessible to everyone, or does it have a trait/characteristic that makes it more of an acquired taste or only accessible to college level readers? Is there a characteristic that makes enjoyment or important details in said book untranslatable?
5. Has the author published any other works you liked and enjoyed, even if it wasn't as good as the one you specified?
6. This is a miscellaneous prompt! Add anything you would like to!

 

[bjork]

Ready Player One left me empty in the sense of "someone paid this person to write this."

I think authors can successfully get you invested in their story without it changing your life, though? The book I tell people to check out is "Things the Grandchildren Should Know" by Mark Oliver Everett. I'd listened to the album Electro-Shock Blues by eels, and read a little bit about how that album is about this guy's real life, and so it made me want to read his book that's an autobiography. I could say the album has stuck with me more than the book, but I still enjoyed it with the previous knowledge I had going in. Can't speak to someone picking it up cold, however.

 

[Kamako]

I found the short story "Above the Law" from Franz Kafka's "The Trial" to be quite affecting. I wouldn't say it changed my life, but I think it's a brilliant parable.

 

[thumbsdown]

Not sure if I'll be able to fully elaborate rn, but most books I pick I try to read with intent and some readings had left a huge impression on me: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Milan Kundera), Island Beneath the Sea (Isabel Allende), The Wardrobe (short story by Thomas Mann), Betwixt and Between (Albert Camus), Shepherds of the Night (Jorge Amado) and Fictions (Jorge Luis Borges). All readings I've done when I was still in college, none relate to my degree but the context led me to those recommendations.

 

[NotReallyHere]

I had a profound feeling of emptiness after reading the From Hell graphic novel. This was probably twenty-ish years ago, but I remember being so floored by the graphic (heh...) nature of the whole thing, and the feeling of the chase throughout. And I appreciated the epilogue, where the authors admitted to not really knowing any more about Jack The Ripper than the next person, and that their work was little more than research-inspired speculation and conjecture. That sort of self-reflection is sorely missing from a lot of history-based works.

Watchmen (by the same author) left me with a similar feeling. In fact, it made me feel sick while I was reading it, to the point where I wasn't even sure if I wanted to finish! A very unsettling work - though I'm sure that was the plan, all along

As far as actual novels, two spring to mind: A Confederancy Of Dunces, and The Catcher In The Rye. Catch-22 can go on there, too, though I find its tone to be a little all over the place.

Rye is a book that makes it hard to sympathize with the main character - which is pretty much the point. But one part that always stuck with me was the fact that he considered himself a "good liar," and was very proud of that. Helped to give me a lot of perspective on how I view both myself and the people around me. If you know you can lie to someone and get away with it, do you? And how do you know you aren't being lied to by someone, who is so comfortable with lying that they can do it repeatedly, with confidence, and a straight face?

Dunces was such a nonsense read, but I found the main character endearing - for all the wrong reasons. They repeatedly "failed up," and when things would get tough, they would cower and blame the person causing them stress for aggravating their [possibly non-existent] health ailments. Reminds me of so many co-workers I've had over the years...

Catch-22, I mostly remember for the "catch," itself. Whenever you feel you are finally getting close to the end of something, someone moves the finish line. Saved up $60 for a new video game? Sorry - it's now $70! Been waiting years to play GTA6? Sorry - it got delayed again! Etc, etc. But it was kind of jarring to have such a simple life lesson portrayed in such a life-or-death way in the novel

 

[pinetreeneedle56]

Ready Player One left me empty in the sense of "someone paid this person to write this."

I think authors can successfully get you invested in their story without it changing your life, though? The book I tell people to check out is "Things the Grandchildren Should Know" by Mark Oliver Everett. I'd listened to the album Electro-Shock Blues by eels, and read a little bit about how that album is about this guy's real life, and so it made me want to read his book that's an autobiography. I could say the album has stuck with me more than the book, but I still enjoyed it with the previous knowledge I had going in. Can't speak to someone picking it up cold, however.

Maybe I should have been more clear, my apologies. I meant to get "authors getting you invested in their story and/or in such a way that changed your perspective on things"

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Nevermind, doesn't seem like you can edit posts after they are made.