Thread: life altering books...

I'll start...

Catch 22

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
The World According to Garp by John Irving
Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler

The Lord of the Rings, because I can't deny how nerdy I am.
The Light Fantastic, because it was the first Discworld book I read, and they got me through highschool in relatively high spirits.
The Lady in the Lake, by Raymond Chandler, because it showed me that not all noir is neo-noir.
The Virgin Suicides, by Jeffrey Eugenides, because it's the best book about death and grief that I've ever read.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Racheal

American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis

A very dark yet partially humourous look at utter obsession with materialism and money and how it can lead to a loss of self.

I know I have said this one before,. BUT
The lovely Bones,. By Alice Sebold.
It made me less afraid of death, and made me think of those I have lost in a different way,.

Mark Billingham's Sleepy head.

I now hate the thought of people touching my neck, and can't have anyone say night night sleepy head. My dad did it when I had the mumps and I burst into tears...

Madam Bovary by Gustav Flauber. I don't know why but theres something great about it.
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. One of the best books ever written.

The Phantom of the Opera, by Gaston Leroux.

Avarice, I keep forgetting that you rock most assuredly, until you say things like that. BEE rocks my socks in a swirl of coke.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

Also:

Blindness, by Jose Saramago
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore (this helped me eradicate my somewhat deep-seated distaste for Christianity).
The Giver/Gathering Blue/The Messenger by Lois Lowry. I'm a kid at heart, what can I say.
Slaughterhouse Five I really enjoyed, as well as Catch-22. I loved the humor in both.
Also, the typical 1984, by George Orwell. I read this book the first time when I was about 8 years old, and I've read it every year since then. Every time I read it, I get more out of it.

Originally Posted by gir

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

Also:

Blindness, by Jose Saramago
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore (this helped me eradicate my somewhat deep-seated distaste for Christianity).
The Giver/Gathering Blue/The Messenger by Lois Lowry. I'm a kid at heart, what can I say.
Slaughterhouse Five I really enjoyed, as well as Catch-22. I loved the humor in both.
Also, the typical 1984, by George Orwell. I read this book the first time when I was about 8 years old, and I've read it every year since then. Every time I read it, I get more out of it.

4 of the books you listed are my favorites- catch 22, slaughterhouse 5, 1984, and the alchemist... the first three really add to one's perception of reality and life... the alchemist gives some hope! but i'll add another

J.D. Salinger- 9 stories
One of the best collections of short stories I've ever read... full or originality and it leaves you dreaming about the characters.

Nine Stories is another grade A book. I remember not liking Catcher much, but I'm going to give it another read.

Watership Down, by Richard Adams
The Shannara Series, by Terry Brooks

The Saga of Seven Suns by Kevin J Anderson, so far quite a read.