<p>I'm compiling a summer reading list. What classic books have changed your life?</p>
<p>I'd have to say Lolita, Catch-22, and The World According to Garp.</p>
<p>A Clockwork Orange. Disturbing as anything and a struggle to read until you decipher the slang, but totally worth it.</p>
<p>Flowers for Algernon. It gave me a whole new insight into the struggles of the mentally handicapped. Even though I read it for the first time probably ~7 years ago, I still say something to the people that casually throw around the word "retarded."</p>
<p>Harriet the Spy changed my life, but something tells me that it doesn't belong on a good summer reading list ;)</p>
<p>probably Vineland by Thomas Pynchon</p>
<p>Harry Potter done.</p>
<p>The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton! It's spectacular, but quite depressing...
and I second Flowers for Algernon, which is another favorite of mine :]</p>
<p>Everything by Kurt Vonnegut, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, The Sybil by Par Lagerkvist, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger... Many others.</p>
<p>These are more contemporary but:</p>
<p>Life of Pi
Blink</p>
<p>World War Z; an Oral History of the Zombie Wars
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy</p>
<p>1984, On the Road and The Great Gatsby. Life changing books for me.</p>
<p>In order of degree of life changingness? </p>
<ol>
<li>The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand</li>
<li>Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov</li>
<li>Harry Potter series J.K. Rowling :P</li>
</ol>
<p>Honorable mentions?
- The Great Gatsby
- The Lord of the Flies (the first time in my life that I understood how magnificent and profound symbolism can be)</p>
<p>Books that I've found annoying
- Anything by Steinbeck.
- Catcher in the Rye: extremely annoying and shallow. Anyone who loves to think of themselves as original will probably list this as one of their favorite books (not to belittle anyone who might like this book... heh)</p>
<p>I like this thread, really interesting for a literature nerd :)</p>
<p>books dont change me. i change books.</p>
<p>"books dont change me. i change books."
For some reason, I really like this post. That's all I have to say, have a nice day everyone.</p>
<p>What is Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? Why is it so good?</p>
<p>its a cute little book...</p>
<p>NeoEpisteme, I hardly find myself original for liking Catcher in the Rye. And the book has a love it or hate it vibe about it. However, I personally love the way Salinger wrote it and find that he used stream of consciousness extremely well. Stream of consciousness is probably THE hardest form to write in, and he pulled it off brilliantly.</p>
<p>Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy taught me to always have my towel with me, that was pretty life changing</p>
<p>Fahrenheit 451.</p>
<p>Hitchhikers Guide is one of the most prominent pieces of so-called cult literature in the world. That book (and its sequels) are hilariously written science-fiction novels filled with numerous pieces of priceless advice; most notably to always carry a towel. It is delightful to read and, as a bonus, answers the age-old question: what is the meaning of life?</p>
<p>To kill a mockingbird
LOLITA
The lord of the rings
A confederacy of dunces
A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ<br>
STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND</p>
<p>@lilygraces</p>
<p>I totally agree with you, people either love it or they hate it. The stream of consciousness coupled with Holden's cynic attitude is precisely what I didn't like about the book haha. </p>
<p>I didn't mean to insult you by any of my comments, I'm just sick of all these wanna-be "emo" kids who proclaim the Catcher in the Rye the best book ever written :P It's a genuinely good book, just not my cup of tea.</p>