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which books have you read that had the most impact on you or meant most to you? (emotionally and personally, etc.)

as for me, it was the outsiders. ever since i read it in sixth grade, it did and always will get to me. it's so deep and real.

your turn people!

wow,what a great question BOPRecruit 16!

for me it would have to be 'conversations with god'.I felt truly enlightened after reading this book

what was that book about and who was it by?

theres actually a couple of them but this is the first one:Conversations with God : An Uncommon Dialogue (Book 1)
By Neale Donald Walsch

the author says he had a actual conversation with god and asked some serious questions.but its up to the reader to believe he had the conversation but the content of the book gives the reader new ideas about God, their relationship with God, and to look at their own spirituality.

sounds great, but i'm not religious.

Hrmm... quite a lot.

Sun Tzu's Art of War, I've read a couple of different translations so I won't list them all, I haven't really finished 'cause I have to read some of it a few times to absorb its meaning.

A short version of the Five Rings by Mushashi.

Mythology, and books on religion, I've read a couple of them... so yeah, I won't list them either. Mostly European, and some Eastern.

The Outsiders is cool, by it never really changed mine.

To Kill A Mocking Bird is good since it gave me a good idea of the great depression, of Mice and Men helped with that too.

Oh yeah, shakespeare's works, most of all Romeo and Juliet an inspiration to my woo'ing soul.

Why A Caged Bird Sings is good too, another perspective of life through another persons eyes.

A Biography of Che Guevarra. I always wondered why he's an icon, and after reading it, I see he stood for good things, but he's not an all around good person.

Lovecraft's works, which is weird, but makes me want to write things like it.

Anne Rice's Servant of the Bones. Not her best work, but very good story.

Tale of the body theif, very yummy. : )

That's all I can remember right now... lol.

Well, definately lotr. It really did have an impact on my heart. It's so touching, I cried at some points while reading the book.

The other book that really comes to mind is a book that I read probably when I was in 4th grade. I was really into R. L. Stine books, and i read this book called The Ghost next Door. To me, it was so sad, and I cried, the ending was just so touching to me. Well, there you go, my two cents.

lotr did have an impact on me, helped me with describing things for my fanfiction.

No book has ever touched me like "Nowhere else on Earth."
I am a Lipan Apache and this book is told through native eyes during the civil war. A lot has been told/written of the civil war on behalf of the african americans, Confederates, and northern sides but this book reflects on how natives of scuffletown (the town in the book) were treated and how they try to salvage their dignaty and family in this war torn time.

It is also a true story.

Does it count if you read a book, don't get touched by it, then get touched by it later?

anything by John Steinbeck, especially Of Mice and Men...

Easy question.

Harry Potter books

hmmm for me, they would have to be:
Song of the Lioness, Lirael, Tangerine, and The Outsiders

of couse it counts! what are they?



how so? for me, those books help give me ideas and expand my mind on magical stuff.



yeah! another outsiders fan besides me and kitty! what are those other books about? lireal sounds interesting.

I don't really know... Maybe because HP is like sooo related to everything? Heehee...

Well the ones that really had a big impact on my life (literally speaking) was the Vampire Chronicles... Made me believe that I was going to be save from the evilness of the world. I was depressed for 2 years, and had to see a psychiatrist because I've attempted suicide like more than fifty times in different ways. When I started reading the Vampire Chronicles, I started believing that maybe a vampire will save me from all this. Maybe I'll turn immortal if I'll just be patient enough.

*hugs* sorry about that.

Had the most impact eh?......

Well my mom once threw a hardback copy of a David Niven novel at me when I was naughty, that made quite an impact I can tell you.

But I don't believe you meant it like that, so I'll say the book that stayed in my thoughts longest after reading it was The Catcher in the Rye, I suppose. I saw a lot of my younger self in that character, I think most young lads would in fact.

Clockwork Orange. It scared me a lot. I felt so empty after reading this.

And E.A.Poe's short story: 'William Wilson' It was freaky but... you have to read it to understand

I have had several.

1.) Ash of Burgundy - it is this real account of Ash of Burgundy (like Joan of Arch) written in a narrative. It is brutal, real - there are some rather vivid sex scenes that were kinda shocking, but the rest was real and effervesanct.

2.) Spirit Fox - by Mickey Zucker Reichert and Jennifer Wingert. It is a book about a girl born to be Queen with an all-consuming sadness. She loves the horsemasters son, but when he finds her lying naked in the woods, he is accused of her rape. He runs away and joins these fierce warriors and mages. It is the story if him and the mages and soldiers, and the girl and her life. She is morphing into a fox, and it turns out that is why she was in the forest naked. It's very good. Anout 300 or so pages. Maybe more.

4.) Harry potter 3-5. Just Generally good books.

5.)Hiding from the light - about witchhunts and the ghosts of the past haunting the descendant of a witch who was excecuted.

There are more, but I bet you are getting bored now! LOL!

Oh, and Wuthering Heights!

So far there are two that had an impact in my life:

Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse made realize that loneliness is not as negative as some ppl tend to think. His character in the book isn't depress or sad he is just try to find and understand why his life might lead to suicide or madness.

The Communist Manifesto by Engels and Marx is a very political yet so unique and originial theory of the proletariat. Is not "Evil" as the western world has portrayed it rather re-educated those martyrs and oppressed masses. Every sentence in the manifesto describes a world in which capitalism may not be as fun as some of us think it is.

i think the best harry potter books were 4 and 5 because harry has to deal with unwanted popularity that affecting his friends and how he gets angsty about life like most teens.

1) Jesus Freaks - how I realized (for those that are Christian) how cool and brave some people are that die for their Lord and Savior and there all true stories so it's pretty cool.
2)Lirael - how the author used a girl and a boy as the main character so she can kick some ass and not just the guy.
3)Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul - all the peoples problems and how they got through them.

so what's lirael about and who wrote it?

The LOTR(to include the Hobbit) & HP books.

Also I read this book for a college history class a few years ago, Anne Moody. That book really touched me. It was about slavery back in the day and it was about a black woman's struggle from childhood until her late 20's early 30's. Very good book!

Also all the ones you read in school...Catcher and the Rye; Catch 22(I had to read bits of that book 2 times)

Shakespear's the Taming of the Shew. We had to role read it in my 8th grade english class...I loved the book.

Oh and also STEPHEN KING BOOKS!!!!

kindred was also a good book, interesting concepts of traveling back in time and to the present time.

Lireal is the second of a trilogy, the first was called Sabriel. They are about Abhorsens which are magical Necromancers chosen to keep the dead away from the living. It involves other magical creatures too, lik the Clayre who can see into the future. Lireal centres around a girl who was born into the Clayre, but looks odd, does not have the sight. SHe feels lonely, and she seems to have a natural ability to sence the dead. She goes on adventures within the Clayres lare, finding several books that she studies, and uses. Finally, she creates a companion, her only friend, a faithful freemagic being in the body of a dog, and they leave the Clayre in search of a mysterious boy she was predicted to save.

Well, I won't tell you any more, only that it is a must if you like it, only start with book 1, Sabriel. Its by Garth Nix, and the final book is still to come! Pleanty of time to catch up.

I saw Jesus Freaks actually, I thought they looked wonderful too!

sounds interesting. would've been cool if someone fell for someone of the dead...anyways...i was looking at one of my pal's books called "the silver kiss". it's about a vampire who befriends a mortal girl. anyways, i always thought it would be cool to read a drama/romance novel about a vampire man falling for a mortal girl. nothing buffy like.

The Hot Zone was the first book that really affected me emotionally. To be quite frank, it scared the hell out of me. The first chapter is extremely graphic and unsettling.

Hannibal (the book) affected me. It was written well but I hated the end. I don't think I can ever forgive Clarice Starling.

The Silence of the Lambs is absolutely great. Hannibal Lecter is at his best in this novel. Agent Starling has such emotional depth. I loved the book and still do. The parts with Jame Gumb are a bit much at times, however.

Red Dragon is very good as well. Not enough Lecter in my opinion, but Francis Dolarhyde more than makes up for the lack of Lecter. This is the darkest of Harris's Lecter series.

The Lord of the Flies - gets a bit boring at times but the message is good. It concerns the nature of Evil via a group of English schoolboys stranded on a tropical island.

1984 affected me right off the bat (even though I'm not finished). I hate Big Brother and The Party and their doctrine of doublethink - WAR IS PEACE, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY.

I would also say The Outsiders Bop,like you it really got to me because its so real and relatable.

Oh yeah, I like the whole Chicken Soup series

i dont really read much... atleast i think i dont... ppl think that i do... but these three books definitely had an impact on me..

- To kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee
- Of mice and Men by John Steinbeck
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

The perks of being a wallflower

that's great, another outsiders fan! so which character do you think that you were most like/could relate to the most? as for me, i'm most like steve, soda, and two-bit. but i can relate to pony and two-bit the best. the writing skills and scatterbrained...oh what joy to be stupid and smart!

writer86: how do gory books impact you? i rather not read that stuff, just gross! sorry.

Boprecruit:

The gore in the Lecter series I can handle. I suppose I've become immune to letting violence bother me a lot. However, it isn't like someone dies or is cut up or something on every page. These books focus much more on psychological aspects than blood and gore - they are thriller/suspense novels, not horror. And they are actually a rewrite of Dante's Divine Comedy.

The Hot Zone is altogether different. For starters, it is non-fiction. It's about the Marburg and Ebola viruses. It is definitely not horror, again more thriller/suspense than anything. The first chapter is the scary one as it gives the details of a man's deteriorating condition after he contracts the Marburg virus. Definitely not a book for the squeemish, but definitely not a horror novel. This one is frightening because it all really happened.

it was based on a comedy?! whoa...

No, not in the sense you mean. I'm no expert, but Dante's Divine Comedy was written in the 13th or 14th century and is about the author's (Dante Alighieri's) journey through Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgaturio), and Heaven (Paradiso). I think it's called the Comedy because it has a happy ending. Anyway, that's how the Lecter series relates: Red Dragon=Inferno, The Silence of the Lambs=Purgaturio, and Hannibal=Paradiso. Beyond that it gets rather complicated, and I'm not exactly the person to ask about the Comedy since I've never read it.

sounds like an itailain wrote it...

Too right you are.

do you like reading stuff with a lot of philosophy and/or history? existing and not.

Yes, I'm in to both philosophy and history. I don't know what you mean by "existing and not."

fantasy like lotr. realistic (existing), stories based on real events in history. like pearl habor and some wars.

Oh, actual history and fictional history. Definitely real history and some fake history, such as Star Wars and Terminator. LotR is interesting but I haven't seen all the movies yet nor read the books. You can always check my personal information to find out more about me.

how about lxg and the last samurai? there's a book based on the movie and also there's a book that was written by helen dewitt. (i think that's her name...)

Sorry, don't know anything about The Last Samurai or lxg, whatever that is.

lxg, i've only seen the movie. it has classic characters of literature from the 1800's or so. for example: rodney skinner, mina harker, dr. jekyll/mr. hyde, dorian grey, etc. they saved the world with their unique knowledge and powers. the last samurai, never read the book by that lady. but i want to get it!

Is LXG the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? That movie looked kind of dumb to me. How do you like it Bop?

i liked the movie, but it could use some improvement. but not by australlians adding all these aussie actors. anyways, i think people would like the graphic novel better.

the belljar

GREAT novel

i heard they have a movie out called sylvia. i wanna check it out...

What about the Australians?

hey scorchy! what's that book about?

writer86: there's news or rumours that aussie's want to make next lxg movie. i'm not happy with what i heard about that....

Isn't Sean Connery in that film? Which character was he?

he was allan quartermain, the leader of the league. although it was mina who was leader in the graphic novels, from what i read about lxg.

So LXG was a novel before a movie?

graphic novel, more say. by allan moore.

i think it's supposed to be an autobiographical account of her life... it follows the story of a young college girl who goes insane... quite depressing, really

that's sad. do you always read or like depressing stories or one's that deal with going to college?

it was for a class... i don't enjoy reading depressing stories cuz they remind me too much of me, but this one stuck out. i liked it a lot.

what other books have you read that meant the most to you?

not a lot... the catcher in the rye... like water for chocolate... fahrenheit 451... the call of the wild... can't think of anything else

never read the cacher in the rye, my dad loves that book and tried reading it to me and scott years ago. oh well. i read the like water for chocolate book in lit, made me hungry! never read that next one. read call of the wild in 8th grade, the dog was so off in the movie!

haha... one of the people in my class said they rented the movie (like water for chocolate) and called it a porno

in a way...yes. very weird. so much sex for teens in that movie...just odd.

never saw it... i loved the hyperboleness of it though... like the shower room that caught on fire... lol

naked people and errotic food that made people do weird things...like the quail dish with rose peddles...disturbing...it was like was having a...

lol... that's what made me love it! it was so unbelievable it was good haha

it was just one disturbing book with yummie sounding recipes to try out.

it wasn't disturbing! if you thought that was disturbing, don't touch the belljar... lol

i would have to sssssssssssssssaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
.............................. enders game by orson scott card

first of all, positive or negative impact?

+

the fountainhead by ayn rand- this really changed my outlook on life. i personally love this book, and i started questioning what exactly is right. very interesting. i also found out i can get a scholarship if i write an essay on it. yes!!! *cough, cough*
all books by tamora pierce- these books really entertained me. i mean, i used to hate books and i was forced to read. i also had problems as a child. but then, i got hooked on phonics, and i got all better. jk. what bull. anyway, this led me into my oc problem with books. they became my escape from the problems of my life. i also learned to read faster cuz of them. yay!
ella enchanted by gail levine- i know you're probably thinking what the heck is she thinking, writing down a children's book. but really, i TRULY used to hate books, really. but instead of hop, ella enchanted saved me. after this book, i stopped being forced to read books and i had a bit of interest. so, i guess i wouldn't be the girl i am today with out reading this book.

-

how many times do i have to say it? year of wonders- worst book EVER. i hated it. it sickened me. It grossed me out and freaked me out. i hated it. i became afraid of books. i started questioning the importance of certain things in our society after reading such a book. ugh!!! and a bestseller too!!! sick dirty.... can't say the word. I HATE THAT BOOK!!! really. Don't EVER read it.

+

i forgot to kill a mocking bird. it truly moved me. i was shocked the emotions that ran through me after reading that book.

nora: what's "years of wonder" about?

My favourite book has to be Shogun, by James Clavell. All that Japanese culture, samurais, honour, romance etc. All that made it really entertaining to read.

i think i've heard about that book from rebel racer, sounds quite interesting. i'll try to look it up at borders when i'm in monterey over the weekend. what other books has this author written?

That's the only book I've read from James Clavell, I tried to look for some more but I couldn't find any.

are there any great books about demons? more in the sense or style like in inu yasha?

You know Bop,its been so long since I read it but I remember that I could identify with Ponytail the most and he was the main character so thats why I enjoyed it so much.Just to refreash my memory, I remember what derry and dally were like,what were those others like,what kind of characters were they?

ponyboy - sensitive, defensive, intellect, writer, runner
sodapop - easy going, always happy and hyper, understanding, drop out
darry - tough when it comes to responsiblity and caring for his bros.
two-bit - scatterbrained, wild/routy, drinks, funny, wise cracker
steve - smart, cocky, proud, loves to work on cars, doesn't like pony
dally - tough, arrogant, loyal, loves to fight
johnny - quiet, shy, scared person

Lord Soth: I bought the first volume of Dragonlance over the weekend upon your request. I'll try to get around to reading it after i finsih with X-Men 2.

probably "To Kill a Mockingbird"... very interesting perspective on racism

oh and "Ender's game" I don't know why I just thought it was a really well done science-fiction-y concept

just to show... The ending of one of the stories that had the greatest impact on me - William Wilson by Edgar Allan Poe

"You have conquered, and I yield. Yet, henceforward art thou also dead--dead to the World, to Heaven and to Hope! In me didst thou exist--and, in my death, see by this image, which is thine own, how utterly thou hast murdered thyself."

what's that about?

Kurt Cobains Journals ~ It gives a insight into the real person behind the music, some people think he was this angst ridden rock star famed for his suicide, however the journals highlighted the thoughts and inner personality, things the majority of stars shy from.

Okay now that you mention there characters Bop,I remember I saw a lot of Johnny in me also because throughout jr high and high school I was shy and quiet just like him so I remember I could really relate to him as well.

i was most like johnny back in elementary school...

the Harry Potter series, "Memoirs of a Geisha" (not sure of author), The Cutler Series by VC Andrews, and what little of the Bible I've read...

"Memoirs of a Geisha" was written by Arthur Golden...must read for anyone high school or older!

what's "the cutler" series about? sounds like some horror/mystery/action kind of book...

The Cutler Series is about a girl (Dawn) who finds out she was kidnapped, and she falls in love w/her "brother" and blah blah blah...lol. One of the books is about her daughter's point of view and another of the books is from Dawn's evil grandmothers' point of view at a younger age...there are a total of 5 books. I dont know the names of all of them right now...good books, but major drama. Not sure if guys would like it.

don't worry, i'm not a guy. (check my pro if you don't belive me! :laugh hmm...falls in love with her bro...WHAT?!

The Cutler Series is definatly like a Jerry Springer episode on steroids....lol...but even though I don't like Jerry Springer, I absolutly love The Cutler Series!

And he's not her real brother...she was kidnapped.

Probably The Catcher in the Rye and The Madolescents, and also a book I read recently - The Virgina Monologues! Every woman will understand it, and every man should be made to read it!

The Deltora book series.

Dragonlance, Harry potter, Lord of the rings, Dark angel, and gone with the wind.

Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Pride and Prejudice, and To Kill a Mockingbird...those have over time shaped me just a lil bit.

Originally posted by slashwristbarbi
Probably The Catcher in the Rye and The Madolescents, and also a book I read recently - The Virgina Monologues! Every woman will understand it, and every man should be made to read it!
i hated catcher in the rye...i thought it was about baseball

SHOGUN, james cavvel
woke me up to who i think i should be in 20 years

Shanna
^^ TOuched me and surprised me at every twist of the story...


HArry Potter series
^^ I never knew I was a fan of all this magical stuff...
^^ I read... and read... and read... and read again and still I don't find it boring...

The Chronicles of Narnia. Actually, only one book stands out for me other than the rest: The Last Battle. I think it's my favorite book in the series. Also LOTR.

Ender's Game and the Ender series in general. They make the dilema's and problems so real. the rest of the series is pretty good but nothing will add up to what was Ender's Game.

The Bible-The extent to which this has impacted me will be determined on Judgement Day.

Philip Yancey-When the people who share my faith frustrate me, I usually turn to his writings.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller-This book made me want to become a writer.

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut-This book made me want to become a bad writer.

Maybe the Bible didn't influence me as much as it should have. lookaround

I have to say the Bible is the number one. Then there's Gangs of New-York, Roots, Diary of Anne Frank, and some other minor ones.

Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman.

A childrens book, but very powerful

The His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman.
It made me start to question so many things about religion...

The Bible never had much of an impact on me since the whole time I was reading it, I was wondering how much of it was made up by a bunch of people who just wanted others to conform to their way of life (human nature rears its ugly head yet again).

the da vinci code had an impact on me made think the religion christianity is making things up

Illusions: The adventures of a reluctant Messiah - Richard Bach

The books that impacted me the most was the Left Behind series by Tim Lahay. They are actually action packed and emotionally moving.

The Deltora books by Emily Rodda. They changed my LIFE!!!!

"El Club Dumas" by Arturo Perez-Reverte
"The Dante Club" by Matthew Pearl

Both got me really into the world of book collecting and opened by eyes to a lot of author's I hadn't read taken the time to read before.

Plus, after reading El Club Dumas, I've gone on to read anything and everything I can get my hands on by Perez-Reverte. He quickly became one of my favorite authors. I also suggest his "The Flanders Panel". Oh and Pearl has a new one coming out next month about the mysterious death of Edgar Allen Poe.

Anthem by Ayn Rand.

Wow interesting question. When I think of the ending of the Bartiumus Triology it feels like theirs something missing inside of me. I am not just trying to sound poetic but I really do feel this way. When I read a series of books and the series ends it hurts because it's almost like I knew the charecters. And at the end of the trilogy one of the charecters I knew so well dies. I was left stunned and for a few hours I wondered why that happened. And now everytime I think about it, even though it doesn't hurt as bad, I feel as though their is a chunk missing out of me. A chunk larger than the other books I have read. It's almost as if I wanted to say goodbye to Nathaniel...

Inkheart-I was like whoa that was REALLY REALLY GOOD!

Harry Potter-When I first read them when i was alotl littler- They made me think much more logically-how? no f--king idea.

Charlie Bone and the Hidden King-In that book you could actually feel the emotion

Originally posted by curtmister
the da vinci code had an impact on me made think the religion christianity is making things up
But the book is not made up of real facts.

hi I like Avalon wed of magic and so on and so forth

the book that had the most impact on me was Fever by... i'm not sure, but it was about when the yellow fever plague hit in like 1943 or something and it was really eyeopening.

other books have had an impact on me in a different way such as the harry potter books and the avalon books because their stories are set in different worlds that i can almost dissolve into when i read them, and it makes me think "wow, this is so good. what if these things are real??"

Doctor Illuminatus By Martin Booth-I thought it was well written. BUT MOSTLEY

IT TAUGHT ME WORDS!

Tolkien and his mythological-masterpieces. I only wish they were studied more often in schools, for their relevance as (rather perfect) examples of myth, and because of their strong messages of endurance and hope.

Oh, and STAR WARS.

ya kno wut i wont say that

Originally posted by masterkit
ya kno wut i wont say that

Now I'm interested....

lol


not gonna say it

hehehehe

Without a doubt... "Night" by Elie Wiesel! Very emotional read and sticks with me to this day! Will read again i am sure of it!

mine is Avalon: Web Of Magic and Avalon: Quest For Magic. they changed me emotionally n personally

Secret Girls Stuff by Margaret Clark and Diary of a Street Kid by MC

definitely the count of monte cristo. it really made me think.

Not As Crazy As I Seem by George Harrar. I sometimes feel like I'm obsessive compulsive, so I felt connected.

The Time Traveler's Wife.

Yeah The Time Traveller's Wife was good. For me it was the Sevenwater's Trilogy, and Taming the Beast. Amongst others. But Sevenwater's definately!

Avalon web of magic and Quest for magic
It showed me emotions and about loss and that as bad as things may seem they can get worse so be glad of what you have even if it is only for a little while.

The Bible. When my mom hit me with it. That's a heavy book, man!

Impact? As in started me reading? Animorphs....

Taught me something? Enders Game

Three books affected me

Heir Apparent-Vivian Vande-Velde
Fire Bringer
and Eragon

I know this is random and no one knows me, but my goal is to spread the word.......there will be a Dragonlance movie in 2007! (don't bother flaming me, because will most likely never see it)

For me firstly it would be Peter Pan because it just always made me feel good. The Hobbit which is my favorite book, showed me a whole other world and made me really appreciate some things.

The Catcher in the Rye

lunar park by bret easton ellis...there was alot of stuff about his father that i could relate to in it

one line in particular

"i half smiled at the memory, for thinking that i could just let go of the damage a father can do to a son. i realized one thing i was learning from my father now: hoe lonely people make a life. But i also realized what i hadn't learned from him: that a family-if you allow it-gives you joy, which in turns gives you hope. What we both failed to understand was that we shared the same heart"

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

I would have to say The Witch of Blackbird Pond. I'm not sure if I can really explain why. I had to read it in 8th grade and since then I have read it at least once a month (it only takes about 4 hours to read). It is predictable and romantic (neither are traits I hold in high regard), but whenever I'm in a bad mood it always makes me feel better. I guess because it ends the way it should. Everyone ends up with the right person and live happily ever after.

Originally posted by lotrtres3414
definitely the count of monte cristo. it really made me think.
i love that book

the grapes of mother****in wrath, byeeetch.

American Psycho.

It just had such a negative take on... well humanity. There are a few passages in which Patrick Bateman describes our race from his perspective. It's quite cold and depressing, but I often find myself agreeing with some of his points.

notes from underground. really makes you want to line up the human race, run down the chain slapping everybody in the face, and then off yourself.

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and Cider House Rules

Catcher in the Rye
Lord of the Flies
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (although I've been meaning to read it again)

fionavar tapestry. made me decide to take up writing.

Originally posted by KingDubya
The His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman.
It made me start to question so many things about religion...

The Bible never had much of an impact on me since the whole time I was reading it, I was wondering how much of it was made up by a bunch of people who just wanted others to conform to their way of life (human nature rears its ugly head yet again).

This observation begs for commentary. You're argument is that the Bible wasn't an influence on you, because you questioned it's veracity as you read it? If I were Harold Bloom, I'd say you were suffering from a classic case of "Anxiety of Influence", or the subject's desire to cover up its intellectual/imaginative indebtedness to a predecessor. People that go out of their way to mention how they're not beholding to this person or that book, secretly betray out-and-out subjugation to that very thing. After all, we don't resent things that have no claim on us. We just ignore them. You might have more accurately said something like this:

"Although I really resent the Hebrew/Christian uber-narrative of a patriarchal God, who is transcendent to the material universe he creates and who fashions man in his special likeness to subdue and populate the earth and who eventually enters this human world as a creature of flesh and blood to redeem his special creation by vicariously dying for him, my imagination is filled to the brim with it. In fact my imaginative faculties are so utterly determined by this culturally defining narrative, that I've grown to resent its strangle hold upon me. It skoffs at me. It annuls my claims to originality by virtue of the fact that it is such an imaginatively gripping, not to mention seemingly onmipresent, ur-text that poignantly speaks about, well...just about everything.

"That is why I dislike the Bible - not because it's so stupid, imaginatively barren, and uninfluential, but because it's the most damned influential thing imaginable." That's my interpretation of your comment.

Actually, if you think about, "His Dark Materials" is based on a quote from Milton's "Paradise Lost" (a reworking of the Adam and Eve story) and can be read as a opposing comment on the biblical ur-narrative. So even though Pullman clrearly resents the implications of the biblical narrative, he depends on the recognition of that narrative to drive home a contradictory point. Like it or not, the book that you claim to have influenced you the most is itself hugely indebted to the Bible. And, on top of that, you noted Pullman's reworking of biblical material and used his countervailing take on the story to deconstruct biblical tales that, although they had no affect on you whatsoever, you saw the need to go back and deconstruct.

Yes, clearly the Bible is an overrated influence and has had no affect on you.

Originally posted by Dr. Zaius
This observation begs for commentary. You're argument is that the Bible wasn't an influence on you, because you questioned it's veracity as you read it? If I were Harold Bloom, I'd say you were suffering from a classic case of "Anxiety of Influence", or the subject's desire to cover up its intellectual/imaginative indebtedness to a predecessor. People that go out of their way to mention how they're not beholding to this person or that book, secretly betray out-and-out subjugation to that very thing. After all, we don't resent things that have no claim on us. We just ignore them. You might have more accurately said something like this:

"Although I really resent the Hebrew/Christian uber-narrative of a patriarchal God, who is transcendent to the material universe he creates and who fashions man in his special likeness to subdue and populate the earth and who eventually enters this human world as a creature of flesh and blood to redeem his special creation by vicariously dying for him, my imagination is filled to the brim with it. In fact my imaginative faculties are so utterly determined by this culturally defining narrative, that I've grown to resent its strangle hold upon me. It skoffs at me. It annuls my claims to originality by virtue of the fact that it is such an imaginatively gripping, not to mention seemingly onmipresent, ur-text that poignantly speaks about, well...just about everything.

"That is why I dislike the Bible - not because it's so stupid, imaginatively barren, and uninfluential, but because it's the most damned influential thing imaginable." That's my interpretation of your comment.

Actually, if you think about, "His Dark Materials" is based on a quote from Milton's "Paradise Lost" (a reworking of the Adam and Eve story) and can be read as a opposing comment on the biblical ur-narrative. So even though Pullman clrearly resents the implications of the biblical narrative, he depends on the recognition of that narrative to drive home a contradictory point. Like it or not, the book that you claim to have influenced you the most is itself hugely indebted to the Bible. And, on top of that, you noted Pullman's reworking of biblical material and used his countervailing take on the story to deconstruct biblical tales that, although they had no affect on you whatsoever, you saw the need to go back and deconstruct.

Yes, clearly the Bible is an overrated influence and has had no affect on you.

Though true, and amusing, I think the thread is which book you read had an impact on your views, ideas, feelings etc. because you read it.


Otherwise it would always be "The Bible" and other big works that shaped our society as a whole.

Fair enough, Bardock. But I would still bet my bottom dollar that the Bible haunts this poor poster's imagination like no other conscious influence, which was the point of my post. He seems to frame his preference for Pullman's "His Dark Materials", and I presume everything else he likes as well, by it's posture vis a vis The Bible. A negative influence is still an influence - intellectual, imaginative, emotional, and otherwise....

For the West, I think it goes without saying that the Bible is the central, inescapable culturally-informing text.

The Married Man by Edmund White. Truth behind AIDS / HIV illness and homosexuality. It took my breath away and it's so well researched.

Another would have to be To Kill A Mockingbird. Such a touching story of youth that I couldn't put it down.

Finally, Cry To Heaven by Anne Rice. She used to be my idol, someone that I wanted to become. However, her work slipped after 1990. I no longer felt her, but this one of her's depicts the Italian opera singers and the castrati to perform on the stages. A splendid read!