3 Books that Changed My Life

Last week, I treated myself to two magazines (oh, how I still love my printed magazines!). One of these was Real Simple. In it, there was an article “50 books that will change your life.” It had been mentioned on the cover, and was one of the reasons I chose this magazine over the many other beckoning covers.

Once I got home, I flipped right to that article. I felt oddly disappointed. As an avid reader, I had expected that many of my favourite books would be included in the list. Out of the 50 listed, the only ones that I had read and that had had an impact on my life were:

The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger: I read this book as a teenager. I had come across it in my girlfriend’s homework and it was assigned reading in her school. I hadn’t heard of it before, but was intrigued. Once I started it, I couldn’t put it down. I had found adolescence to be full of emotions of such intensity that it was refreshing to read a character who seemed to be struggling with angst on the same level. The book also touches on mental illness and it was the first book I’d ever read that had done so.

Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton: This was assigned reading in a university course I had taken at Bishop’s. I can’t recall the exact title of the course, but it was full of books that focused on colonial themes in the continent of Africa. It was, by far, my favourite course in this degree. The professor was Dr. Ware. He too was, by far, a most favourite teacher. This led to an extended interest in Africa for me and I ended up completing my Masters thesis on the topic of white women writing in Africa at Carleton University.

But that’s it. Out of the 50 listed in the article, I had found only two that had really touched me. Naturally, though, I do want to pursue the other books on this list. What gems out there have I been missing all these years?

It got me thinking about what books I would recommend as “books that will change your life.” In the end, I couldn’t be certain that one could predict how a book will be absorbed into another’s consciousness and life experience. It’s so individual and personal.

So instead, I would like to share with you “3 books that changed my life.”

 A Prayer for Owen Meany: This was my first John Irving book. And while I’ve since continued to read many other ones, I did grow tired of him after a while. But something about this tale, and this particular boy Owen, really touched me. I read it in my early 20s while I was backpacking in Australia, and then it was shared on further with more friends. As you can see it’s been well-loved. This book change my life because it made me think that it’s possible for each of us to have a special destiny of our own.

We Need to Talk About Kevin: As a parent, this is probably one of the most frightening books you will ever read. I had suggested it to my book club soon after its release in 2004 and it kept coming up in conversations for years afterwords. When a movie based on this book was recently released, I didn’t think it could live up to the book, but I was pleasantly impressed. This book changed my life because it made me think that it’s possible to have done everything possible as a parent and still have a child that turns out like Kevin.

Barney’s Version: The central character of Barney is a terribly unlikable guy. He is not the sort of character who is grouchy with a thinly veiled heart of gold. He really is a jerk. But I still liked him. A lot. Maybe because he doesn’t hide his unsavoury behaviour or try to sugar coat anything from his past. Or maybe I liked him because I’m sort of a grouch. Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed this book when I read it many moons ago. This book changed my life because it made it painfully clear that there is no “one truth,” since perspective colours our past and our present.

Now, your turn … can you share with me any books that changed your life?