The Leon Uris thread reminded me that there are books that are not absolutely great, but which can influence you personally because they hit you at the right moment. The book I was most influenced by in my life, in spite of all the rows of classics I have around me, was Betty Smith's A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, which hit me at age 15 like a thunderbolt -- for many years afterwards I read a page of the Bible and Shakespeare before going to bed, just like Francie . Best advice I ever got! But it was really the whole idea of reading that got to me -- and I was already an avid reader. Also the book just swallows you up. I remember also at the time giving it to a friend of mine who was a failing student, raving about it, and he got hooked too, started reading -- we had a Francie fan club for awhile. His grades shot up, and he is now a professor of chemistry at a big university.

I would be interested in hearing praise of other books that changed people's lives. I am sure that the Bible and Ayn Rand would be top choices for a lot of people (for better or worse). Or maybe Harry Potter for the next generation....?

yours,

Peter T.