Thank you-all for your sharing. grins, Now I've got a new list

Was away for a couple days,

First the younger but impressed by books:

May add more as I recall them, but.....
Sort of in a time line, Mom had us enrolled in Children's book club, I devoured them.

Just the few I recall, Iroquois drums story of a young "Indian" boy, how they lived before the white invasion; Gene Rhodes, Cowboy story of the simple, hardworking life of a reading, intelligent guy. Old Bones The wonder horse, cause girls love horses. Half Magic wonderful fantasy series, with a bit of thinking involved. Also the Classics Illustrated, of which my fav was, still is really, Mid Summer's Night's Dream

Next, as a teen, these are the formative ones, the IMPORTANT ONES... The sci fi mags, which stretched my conception of the world If, F&SF, Astounding many more. Novels, 1984, Stranger in a Strange Land (A-1), Animal Farm and more.

E. Tolle's The Power of Now as an adult, and skimming the bible, critically. And some books were couched in " spiritual speak" but weren't actually... Mainly, The 4 Agreements

The series by Casteneda. A separate Reality, et al.

I was reasonably bright at school but lazy. I hardly ever read a book other than those I had to in English and English Literature but when I was about 14 or 15 I came across The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham, it opened the flood gates. I found out that if something lit a spark I had to completely emmerse myself in it (Probably OCD of sorts) so I then bought and read everything, and I mean everything, John Wyndham had ever written including those under the name of John Beynon Harris. The Kraken Wakes also opened my eyes to Tennyson and the strength of imagery that poetry could convey.

Our Bodies Ourselves Feminist encyclopedia that guided my daughters and me through their growth ages 7 to 17 and helped their oppressed best friends same ages

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. Knowing the effect of the ego on daily life allowed me to disconnect from it simply by recognizing it. I am experiencing a broken heart that might easily be fatal if I wasn't aware of the ego and it's main weapon, the Pain Body. Can't recommend this book highly enough.

One that has had a huge impact on me as a youth was the graphic novel The Ballad Of Halo Jones.

Written by Alan Moore before he became the Titan of modern comics it is an amazing story. A female lead who isn’t there to wear skimpy outfits for the sake of pubescent boys. Her adventures are things we would consider mundane by today’s standards but are huge in the future world.

It’s well worth reading and is being rereleased in a full colour format from May this year.

There have been many. Shatterday by Harlan Ellison. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. Surface Detail by Iain M Banks. Just to name a few.

I think that is a book has no impact upon the reader then it has failed. That impact can be something as simple as mere entertainment or as profound as a life changing perspective alteration.

If it does nothing then it was a waste of good reading time