When I saw that I had been tagged in some sort of Facebook challenge, at first I assumed that a bucket of ice water would be required. Then I was relieved to see that the challenge involved books, and not dumping them on my head. The challenge was to list ten books that have influenced my life. I knew that there was no way I could make such a list without explaining how they influenced me. So without further ado…
1. Shane by Jack Schaefer
This classic western about a boy’s hero worship of the gunfighter who saves his farming community from the local cattle baron has been adapted to film several times (including a sci-fi version starring Patrick Swayze!). But even the most straightforward interpretation (1953’s “Shane”) hasn't resonated with me like the novel. Shane is the archetypical western loner with no backstory, who rides in out of nowhere and goes back to wherever he came from a changed man. Yet it is his relationships with each of the three main characters that make up the heart of the novel. Reading this on the verge of adolescence, I learned about life, storytelling, and fistfights. To this day I sit with my back to the wall, facing the door, because that’s what Shane did.
I won’t cheat by claiming an entire series as a book. Storm Front might be the least of the Dresden Files, but it’s where I started, so it makes the list. After reading Storm Front, I left the series for about a month, went back, and blazed through the next 11 books in less than a year. Now I’ve stuck it out with Harry and company through 15 novels and a short story collection. In my head Harry, Murphy and Molly are real people that I start to miss if I’m away from them for too long. They've been good friends to me during lonely days, and Jim Butcher is a master storyteller whose feet I get to sit at when I read his books.
3. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Not every book on this list is one I’ve enjoyed, chose to read, or ever want to read again. This book was an assignment, I was not entertained, and I have no desire to revisit it. But it has influenced my life. Orwell’s 1984 is the dystopia everyone reads and talks about, yet this is the one everyone should read first. All of that frightening stuff? It’s happening right now. “To end is better than mend,” still haunts me.
4. Bias by Bernard Goldberg
It’s been a long time since I read this one, but I've never watched the news quite the same way since. Goldberg worked for CBS news for 20 years and has 12 Emmys for journalism. He knows news. So when he explains how the liberal bias in the media works it’s from an insider’s perspective. But I learned about more than just the media when I read this. I learned about logic, reason, and debate. Whether you agree with his premise or not, there are some things in here that carry beyond media studies and politics.
5. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
It’s a Cold War travelogue. It’s a young girl’s coming of age story. It’s the Da Vinci Code for Dracula fans. Kostova’s debut novel is high quality historical/literary/horror fiction, and if there’s one thing I love it’s a good mashup. My favorite part, however, is practically incidental to the overall story. Our protagonists visit an exiled college professor at his house in the country, where they arrive just in time for a party. The whole thing is described so charmingly, I want to host parties like that someday.
6. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Both this novel and The Historian were recommended to me in the same conversation, ordered the same night, and read in this order. They sit side by side on my bookshelf, too. I confess that I've read The Historian more times, though, and much more quickly. But Strange & Norrell is one of the best contemporary fantasy novels I've ever read. I’m very fussy about my folklore in fiction, and Clarke did her research (as does Jim Butcher). With its copious footnotes, asides, constantly shifting perspective, Strange & Norrell is more than just a good read… it’s an experience. Clarke sets the bar very high for aspiring writers.
7. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
A largely forgotten Newberry Award winner, this is another masterfully written fantasy novel with a foundation in Arthurian myth and British folklore. This book (and the rest of series), was my first introduction to folklore in fiction, and profoundly shaped my opinions on how such things should be written. Why don’t I care for Harry Potter? Because Cooper did the boy wizard thing first, and so much more “authentically.” I’m trying to pretend that the cash-grab movie of a few years back never happened.
8. Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers
Practically an honorary Inkling, Dorothy Sayers wrote some of the most entertaining stories to come out of mystery’s golden age. While Agatha Christie might be the “Queen of Crime,” she seems to have such a disdain for all of humanity that her mysteries leave a bitter taste in the mouth of my mind. Sayers, on the other hand, seems to have enjoyed herself immensely as she penned her whimsical whodunnits. Gaudy Night makes the list not just because it’s a screwball comedy in disguise, but also because it helped me recover from a deep injury. A young lady once gave me a categorical list of all my faults to explain why we couldn't be together. It broke my heart and messed me up pretty good. Months later I was listening to Gaudy Night and a conversation between two characters made me realize something: while the young lady was partially correct in her assessment of me, some of the faults she’d hung on me were her own. I shook them off, the burden was lifted, and I never looked back.
9. Mere Christianity
I really need to reread this one. In our postmodern society, I’m not convinced that apologetics have much of a place. But for someone who leans a little more towards the modern himself, a reasoned defense of the faith resonates strongly with me. Lewis is a better philosopher than theologian, yet I find his reasoning to generally be sound. I remember reading Mere Christianity at my grandparents’ house one summer and thinking, “Yes. This is why I believe what I believe.”
10. The Bible
On the one hand, putting the Bible seems like cheating. That should just be understood. It’s like listing it as one of your favorite books on your Facebook profile. But this is a list of books that have influenced my life, and more than any other text the Bible has made me who I am. The Bible has shaped our culture and history more than any other written work. Everything, from our calendar to our country’s constitution has been influenced by the Bible. Whether you agree with it or not, your life has too. My parents raised me the way they did because of the Bible. I live my life the way I do because of God’s Word.
Wow this got long. Hope you enjoyed it and that you’ll be inspired to check out some of these books. What are some of the books that have influenced you the most? Let me know in the comments.
Shiny list! A couple of these would likely be on my top 10 list as well. Dorothy L. Sayers has long been on my to-read list, but she's going to have to wait until after I get through The Dresden Files [insert obnoxious winky-face emoticon here]. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is a book that I was intrigued by at some point and then completely forgot about; thanks for the unintentional reminder.
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