15 June 2007

Books That Changed My Life

Like most writers I love books. So what did I buy on a recent trip to Walden Books? THE BOOK OF BOOKS by Les Krantz and Tim Knight.

It contains lists of books:
American West Novels
Crime Fiction
Golf Novels
...and so on.

Reading these list got me to thinking what books that changed my life or expanded my reading world? I narrowed the list to the 20th century authors.

Here is my list in no particular order.

1. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell: this book changed how I looked at my own southern culture.

2. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee: this book gave me a glimpse of the south where my parents grew up.

3. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: this one triggered my love of the 1920s.

4. Fair Oaks by Frank Yerby: this one pulled me into historical romance fiction.

5. The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss: this one rocked my world.

6. The Roselynde Chronicles by Roberta Gellis: with these books I fell in love with the medieval world.

7. The Proud Breed by Celeste de Blasis: she introduced me to the sweeping, multi-generational historical romances.

8. The Book of Lists by David Wallechinsky and Amy Wallace: this series of books made learning easy and fun.

9. The Fifties by David Halberstam: this massive work helped me understand the world I was born into.

10. Timeless Passion by Constance O'Day Flannery: introduced me to the world of time travel.

There are several authors whose body of work changed my view of the world. One such author is Flannery O'Connor. Her writing is thought provoking. She had a real understanding of GMC and human behavior. Her last collection of short stories, Everything That Rises Must Converge, is a must read

What are the books and writers that changed your world?