so i saw this online recently, and i decided that i should do a similar thing.
10 books that changed my life and will forever stay in my mind.
of mice and men by john Steinbeck
this book is more than just a story. to me it was the way i discovered way more about myself and the way i deal with people than i felt comfortable knowing. the story is so perfectly and fully american. the feeling of honor and comfort clashing at every turn, and most of all the need to destroy the most beautiful parts of life. i cant read this book without a tear to this day.
rage by richard bachman (stephen king)
i really got into this book when i was about 12. i have re-read it countless times since and it always evokes a very strong and very personal reaction. there is something about the writing. it feels like a sloppy book by a teenage boy. it has all the fury, all the agony, and well… all the rage that it should. i’m sad that it is out of print, it is without a doubt my favorite book by him.
the man who would be king by rudyard kipling
magic lives in between the words of every rudyard kipling story. i can remember sitting in my grandfather’s house when i was only 10 and watching the movie version of this story. i can remember not understanding a thing. and i remember the way he watched the film. he was one of the smartest men ever to walk this earth, and when he watched this movie he didnt make a sound. he just sat there, in awe. i knew that meant it was good. so i remember watching it with him. in perfect silence. this is another story i have read and re-read, and every time i do i like it more. and i identify with it more. this story is magic.
the great gatsby by f. scott fitzgerald
i have beaten myself up countless times about how closely this book follows parts of my life. i know everyone who wants to sound deep says something like ‘i am gatsby’… but damn. i am. or at least, i was. this is without a doubt one of the best and most important books ever written.
the naked and the dead by norman mailer
norman mailer is the man’s writer. his stories are grizzled and masculine in ways that structured words cant describe. i have never met a real man who didnt like his work. but interestingly enough i have met countless women who hate it. i like to describe him as the serious three stooges. only guys get it. when i first read this book i couldnt believe it. his words are written in cold ink. and i understand every one of them.
old man and the sea by ernest Hemingway
this book is a ‘how to’ of how to be a man. id like to say that i have taken it to heart…
death of a salesman by Arthur miller
this book is way to personal to go into here. i just hope that im not as similar to Willy as i feel sometimes.
dune by frank herbert
the scifi novel at its greatest. this book has everything that a ‘normal respectable’ genre book has and more. the almost biblical tones and the messianic imagery alone makes this book a classic. and as if that wasnt enough, Gurney Halleck is the single greatest man in world literature. take that Beowulf!
the minister’s black veil by nate Hawthorne
this is another book that gave me something to point to. it was something i could reference to explain another little bit of myself.
our town by thornton wilder
this book/play has influenced my own storytelling more than anything else i can think of. the way it tells a somber tale but does it with just enough whimsy is the archetypal story in my mind. i cant imagine my own writing with out this book.
i only picked one book from each author. if i hadnt the list may have well ended up being all Steinbeck and Hemingway, with gatsby nailed in there as well…
Tags: gatsby, hemingway, steinbeck, our town, of mice and men, old man and the sea, the man who would be king, kipling, dune, frank herbert, hawthorn, minister's black veil, death of a salesman, miller, naked and the dead, mailer, stephen king
