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Post by Yoki on Aug 28, 2014 23:26:27 GMT
Lots & lots & lots ...
Where the Sidewalk Ends & A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein: I loved these books as a kid & the poems still pop into my head at random times. Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery: My favorite childhood book. So comforting. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls: So many big, ugly cries while reading this book. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell: My first grownup romance book. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand: My first deep philosophical read that made me think critically. Hiroshima by John Hersey: The first book that really opened my eyes to the history I wasn't being taught about in school. Roots by Alex Haley: A book that helped me realize just how awful humans can treat each other. Night by Elie Wiesel: See previous two. The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells: Made me think about the importance of strong, enduring female friendships in my life. The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne: I spent hours reading these stories to my son and being amazed at how wise they are.
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Post by scrapmaven on Aug 28, 2014 23:55:25 GMT
Memoirs of a Geisha really stuck with me. From the cruelty of her childhood to the way she was forced to hide her true passion and deepest feelings as an adult, never being understood and always being exploited for others, something really touched me when I read that book. I picked up that book and did not put it down until I was done. Read it less than two days. It was that good.
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Post by vi on Aug 28, 2014 23:58:18 GMT
I've been a reader for most of my life so there are several books that have affected me. I see some of those books are the same as other posters have also.
The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie How Big is Your God (Out of print but it made me think about how I view God -- Does he carry a big stick ready to strike when you do something wrong or is he loving and wants to help you do your best and be an overcomer?) The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom The Five People you Meet in Heaven by Mitch Album
That's amazing that some of you got to see Corrie ten Boom's home which is now a museum. That is on my bucket list.
Vi
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Post by NanaKate on Aug 29, 2014 0:06:07 GMT
In no particular order...
The Shack To Kill a Mockingbird A Thousand Splendid Sums A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
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Post by gmcwife1 on Aug 29, 2014 0:24:06 GMT
The Amityville Horror - I was a teen living with my dad that was at the bars and out late at night. So basically I was alone a lot and that book scared the daylights out of me. I remember not even wanting it in the same room with me!
I read a lot of true crime so those have influenced how I raised my kids, I always try to make sure they are aware of their surroundings, they can only wear one ear bud at a time so they can hear, etc.
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Post by evnimom on Aug 29, 2014 0:51:07 GMT
A Prayer for Owen Meaning, The Handmaid's Tale and Amityville Horror. I read Amityville as a teen and there was a house in our neighborhood that was exactly the same. I could look out my bedroom window and see that house. I woke up at 3:15am for months afterwards. I still freak out sometimes and wake at 3:15am.
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Post by buddysmom on Aug 29, 2014 0:59:51 GMT
"Beautiful Joe," when I was around 9 or 10. It had a picture of what looked like an Irish Setter on the cover (but I just googled it and it was another dog so maybe there are different versions) My Irish Setter had just died and I cried and cried when she died.
A friend had the book, I saw the cover and I asked for it for Christmas. I did not know what it was about. I read the first chapter and --cried and cried. Never finished the book. It actually turned me off to reading for a long time.
I'm still a super animal lover and won't watch the tear jerkers (Marley and Me), etc.
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Post by flanz on Aug 29, 2014 1:04:58 GMT
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
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NoWomanNoCry
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,856
Jun 25, 2014 21:53:42 GMT
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Post by NoWomanNoCry on Aug 29, 2014 1:12:25 GMT
The fault of our stars- tears and snot poured reading that LOL!
Lurlene McDaniel books- I read them growing up as a kid...I still remember how I felt when I would be done.
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Post by sugarmama on Aug 29, 2014 1:58:40 GMT
THE NOTEBOOK was one that affected me--mostly because it really made me see my grandmother in such a different light. We are very close, but reading THE NOTEBOOK made me realize she was still that passionate young girl on the inside.
Another was UNBROKEN, which has been on the bestseller list for over 2 years now. I can't imagine all the suffering these men went through and it really showed me what strength and resilience the human spirit is capable of.
A third (and it has been a long time since I read it) was WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WOMEN PRAY. I remember at the time it really affected me. Maybe I should read it again. LOL
I'm sure I could think of more, but those 3 come to mind at the moment.
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Post by Pahina722 on Aug 29, 2014 2:45:49 GMT
Along the lines of On the Beach, Alas Babyon freaked me out as a teen and made me realize how little it would take to change our whole world.
The Mists of Avalon triggered my love of all things Arthurian and alternative histories.
As a child, A Little Princess: I cried every time I read it.
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Post by birukitty on Aug 29, 2014 21:00:06 GMT
Dove-by Robin Lee Graham (I read this book in my 20's about a boy who is 16 and sails around the world alone in a 24 foot sailboat. It fed my love of adventure and sailing and led to my life long love of sailing in general. I still have a true wish of following his journey).
Night by Elie Wiesel
The Diary of Anne Frank
The Hiding Place
Unbroken
Again, there are dozens more that it is very difficult to pick just a few, but those are just from the top of my head.
Debbie in MD.
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imsirius
Prolific Pea
Call it as I see it.
Posts: 7,661
Location: Floating in the black veil.
Jul 12, 2014 19:59:28 GMT
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Post by imsirius on Aug 29, 2014 21:09:35 GMT
Unbroken. My uncle died in WW2 on Juno Beach in Normandy, and reading that book really brought it home to me what the soldiers in both wars went through.
The Book Of Negroes. I still think of the story and what the slaves went through as well. It really touched me.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Just loved it.
And a fluff book, but it really does resonate with me even after all this time, Mommie Dearest. To think the abuse that Christina Crawford suffered at the hands of her (obviously) mentally ill mother and she survived it all and still had a relationship with her until Joan died, astounded me. She was a tough cookie.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 11, 2024 6:22:36 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2014 22:29:38 GMT
The Color Purple. I was screaming at the book when it ended - I NEEDED more! Kept turning the page, thinking more would appear.
The Diary of Anne Frank. I developed a lifelong quest for information about WWII and came to the realization that the good and the young don't always win against evil.
Memoirs of a Geisha. I read it every couple of years.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 11, 2024 6:22:36 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2014 22:37:28 GMT
So many...I'm a huge reader. My 9th grade English class literature probably stuck with me the longest. We spent the year studying Arthurian Legends, from L'Mort d'Arthur (sp?) to A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court to The Once and Future King. I think that was the first time I really saw thoughts and themes continue through history and that were still relevant today. So even though it was a year of books, it all started with one story.
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Post by 1lear on Aug 29, 2014 22:44:35 GMT
I read a true crime novel when I was a freshman in college that I still occasionally think about-Victim: The Other Side of Murder by Gary Kinder. The horrible crime and sad aftermath broke my heart. A couple of years ago, I bought another copy of the book to keep in my library.
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Post by AussieMeg on Aug 30, 2014 1:01:54 GMT
The Five People you Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom. Really made me think about my daily, trivial, interactions with people and how it could effect them. This is one of the first ones that popped into my mind too.
Nothing has had a profound effect as described in the OP, but some books really touch me. One that comes to mind is "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas".
Another one is "This Charming Man" by Marian Keyes. Now normally I recommend Marian Keyes books as the perfect summer read - thoroughly entertaining, good fun reading with splashes of darkness. I started this book on a long weekend, and I swear the only time I put it down was to have a shower and go to sleep. My children were totally neglected that weekend. It's been several years since I read it, so that I can't even remember the details about why it affected me so much, but I remember how emotionally exhausted I felt by the time I had finished reading it.
ETA: I just thought of another one - "A Child Called It" - an autobiography by Dave Pelzer, who had been severely abused as a child by his mother. Very disturbing.
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Post by redayh on Aug 30, 2014 1:29:49 GMT
She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb.
One Child - I read this when I was a kid and it had a profound affect on me.
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Post by tlsmi on Aug 30, 2014 1:38:47 GMT
Another vote for 'Night' by Elie Wiesel.
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mjmone
Full Member
Posts: 441
Jul 3, 2014 2:58:29 GMT
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Post by mjmone on Aug 30, 2014 2:31:27 GMT
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Bury Me Standing by Isabel Fonseca...actually could not finish it, it was so disturbing to me.
recently, Reforming Your Life by Candace Cameron Bure...helped me to put my eating/weight issues into a whole new light.
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Post by auntkelly on Aug 30, 2014 2:58:22 GMT
I read a true crime novel when I was a freshman in college that I still occasionally think about- Victim: The Other Side of Murder by Gary Kinder. The horrible crime and sad aftermath broke my heart. A couple of years ago, I bought another copy of the book to keep in my library. I read that book many years' ago and it made a big impression on me also. I wonder how the boy that survived the gunshot wound to the head is doing. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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cristie
New Member
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Jul 12, 2014 2:06:29 GMT
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Post by cristie on Aug 30, 2014 3:10:10 GMT
Hands down "Night" by Eli Weisel. heartbreaking...
Next (but no where nearly as profound) -The Notebook because my grandmother died from Alzheimer's and the book left me a sobbing mess for days. -Room To think that anyone could endure such isolation was horrifying -Unbroken My great uncle died off the coast of France as a bombardier and my grandmother was always left with so many questions about her only brother's death -in a different way any Little House book. I have read and reread these books over my life and I am always sucked into her storytelling. I wanted desperately to be Laura Ingalls when I was in the 4th grade.
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Post by CarolT on Aug 30, 2014 3:11:40 GMT
In no particular order: Mountains Beyond Mountains The Poisonwood Bible A Thousand Splendid Suns The Prince of Tides To Kill a Mockingbird The Road Unbroken
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