Whenever people tell me about a book that made an impact on their life, it touches my heart so much. Nothing’s more beautiful than reading words that soak into your soul. Reading a book can often be an incredible experience, you get the opportunity to escape to another world and feel the emotions of other people. When you find a book that takes over you and truly captivates you, it’s a magical experience. We went around our home office to find someone who could share an experience of a book they read. Our PR Assistant shares with us a time when she acknowledged that fantasy is just as valid as reality.
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“I think a book that changed my life is The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende. I first read it when I was in middle school and I’ve read it several times since. The story follows the course of a family across several generations of women – blending fantasy and reality into a magical winding tale. Everything about it is just beautiful: the language, the story, the imagery that comes to mind…”
Source The House of The Spirits By Isabel Allende
“It makes you realize that fantasy is just as valid as reality, whether it is actually “real” to you (because I’m firm believer that anything can be real to anyone so long as their brain thinks it is), or it gives you a better understanding of reality through feeling and imagery. I also love the book because it is about women. Each woman is very different, but they all possess this womanly power that sucks you in as a reader. The connections from woman to woman are so well painted and accurate.
I think when I read The House of the Spirits it was the first time that I really understood both what it was to be a woman and also the power of language and books. I always loved to read, but I’d never before felt so moved by a story’s language and simple beauty. The book helped shape my understanding of the world, and although I could never be as good as Allende, it really influenced me to mess around with the English language myself.”
Do you have book that made an impact on your life?
The Alchemist! It made me feel more confident in fate and the fact that each person has their own path, but it is still our duty to follow it to the fullest extent possible.
The Little Prince! The simplicity and childlike manner of the book made it a fun, easy read (not to mention that it has pictures..), but the hidden meaning and depth t the story are timeless and inspiring.
Kelsey, I read The Alchemist while at university! I adore that book!!
The book “If the Buddha Married” by Charlotte Kasal changed my life. She has several in the series and they are all powerful books. Another wonderful one is “The Gift of Imperfection” by Brene Brown.
“Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand.
“Slaughterhouse-Five” by Kurt Vonnegut, it’s a fantastic, interesting, funny, and insightful book. It parallels the preciousness of life (in it being an anti-war novel) with the learned acceptance for death. The way the novel approaches time is fascinating. Just everything about this book is amazing.
A book that I think really changed my life is “The Secret Life of Bees”. It’s just amazingly beauiful and heartbreaking…
“Stardust” by Neil Gaiman will forever hold a special place in my heart.
Dune
is it odd to day the entire series of harry potter? even in my mid-twenties, i find that story to be one of the greatest tales ever told. i still dream of living in that magical world of beauty and wonder.
The Celestine Prophecy. : )
I buy lots of copies of it and leave it in random places for people to find. it changed the way i see the world, and really opened my eyes up to the beautiful energies all around us, i truly believe if everyone would read it, the world would be a much more peaceful place.
As said above, I definitely think the Harry Potter series. They are a great escape from the outside world and anyone from any age can easily identify with the characters… Even though we are muggles!
That’s funny. I would actually have to admit that the Harry Potter series has changed my life in a way that it brought back my love for reading. I thank J.K. Rowling for that!
Another good book that i loved was Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse.
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse is an amazing book and one that certainly changed my outlook on life.
The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns both by Khaled Hossein really opened my eyes as well and are definitely worth reading.
My top two are Never Let me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro or Paper Towns by John Green.
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. My dad gave me a copy when I was 10. I still have it and re-read it every year.
The Fault In Our Stars by John Green is the only book that has ever made me cry. The story, the writing, the characters, simply everything was done to perfection.
The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath and the Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I can think of no characters I can identify more with.
I’m almost done with The Unbearable Lightness of Being and I find myself sinking deeper into adoration for it after every page. So incredibly beautiful.
Murakami’s Kafka on the Shore is unbelieveable. I’ll never find another book that will seep into my psyche like that.
The Fountain Heady by Ayn Rand. It really reiterated the important fact of keeping your integrity with who you are and what you love no matter what circumstance may get in the way.
The Picture Of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde.
Yes, I agree, wonderful book! I read it in high school :)
-Carmen
http://www.wearmint.com/
The Perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. :)
Books have not only change my life, but have saved my life! One of my all time favorites has to be The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac! Straight to the soul.
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