During my long wait to have a new windshield installed in my son's pickup truck, I read the entirety of The Book That Changed My Life, edited by Diane Osen. This book is a collection of interviews conducted with National Book Award winning authors and poets, asking them to describe the books, and the circumstances surrounding, that changed their lives.
Among the honorees included in this collection are: Don DeLillo, E.L. Doctorow, Philip Levine, Cynthia Ozick, Grace Paley, and Linda Pastan.
Reading about their life-changing books stirred my interest in the same question: What books have changed my life?
Like a number included here, outside of the Bible, I'm not sure I could name a title that has impacted my daily life, or somehow changed my thought or outlook. But I do have a number of titles that have given me enormous pleasure, or were read at critical junctures of my life, or offered me a surprising stir of emotion. Amazingly, I can't think of any "religious" titles (other than the Bible) that have impacted me deeply. But here are a few others, along with commentary, that surprise me even yet.
A Shropshire Lad, by A.E. Houseman, was a high school assignment that moved me through the world of poetry into asking deeper questions about life and love. I still know many of Houseman's poems by heart.
Moby Dick, Herman Melville, is probably the quintessential American novel, but one of my first reads after leaving behind the boredom of seminary books/theological works I was forced to consume. I've never forgotten reading this novel post-seminary and feeling utterly free of the constraints of a formal education completed. I was now free to learn each day on my own and the search for the whale helped. The symbolism was not lost on me at this juncture of my life.
The Collected Stories of Bernard Malamud. When this book was published, I rejoiced, and was one of the first in line to snag a copy hot off the press. I visit its pages often. This book makes me exceedingly happy.
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, by John Berendt. Read it once, and started it again. Incredible writing and unfolding drama in Savanna, GA. Cast of characters (real people) is amazing.
Mr. Ives' Christmas, by Oscar Hijealos. One of the first novels that, in the closing pages, moved me to tears and rejoicing in the final vision offered up by Mr. Ives over the triumph and final victory of Christ. I try to read this one every 2-3 years. Astounding vision. If you want a novel that will stir you, this is it.
The Collected Stories of Ray Bradbury. I read this one over and over. Only one of three volumes of his stories, but one has to wonder: where does the creativity of this one man come from? and Why did God give him all the talent?
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