It's exactly what it sounds like. I'm not tagging anyone, and you don't have to, either — but if you'd like to write about the books that influenced your life, I'd love to read about them.
1. Mr. Pine's Purple House, by Leonard P. Kessler
As far as I know, this was the first book I read by myself. Mr. Pine just wants to be able to tell his house apart from the others on his street, but his neighbors ape every decision he makes — from planting a tree in front of his house to painting it a distinctive color. Still one of the better treatments of the problems of suburban conformity that I've read.
2. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
It's been roughly 29 years since I first read this book, and I'm still pissed off that Jo went for the older guy. I have, however, finally stopped calling people who bug me "affected, niminy-piminy chits."
3. The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
As XKCD pointed out, the Kindle is basically the Guide described in Adams' book. So is Wikipedia. And it's no accident that virtually every electronic translation device created since the mid-1980s has been compared to the Babel fish. Which makes Douglas Adams a little like the 20th century's version of Jules Verne... except that he also wrote several of the funniest books I've ever read.
4. The Right Stuff, by Tom Wolfe
I picked up this book because I thought it would be really cool to be an astronaut. By the time I was halfway through, I thought it would be really, really cool to be a pilot. After I finished, I decided the coolest thing of all would be to become a narrative journalist. Damn you, Tom Wolfe!
5. The World According to Garp, by John Irving
This was the book that made me think it might be cool to become an author. At the very least, it suggested that slightly-messed-up people from small New England towns could become authors, an idea that appealed to me at the time. I had not read enough Stephen King by that point to recognize that all authors from small New England towns are eventually attacked by vampires, werewolves, their own inner demons, or, um, clowns.
6. David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens
Nick Hornby once wrote that anyone who wants to become a writer should read Charles Dickens, and David Copperfield is the cream of the crop in terms of a crackerjack plot and unforgettable characters. Really unforgettable: saying the words "Uriah Heep" still gives me the shivers.
7. Way of the Peaceful Warrior, by Dan Millman
Yes, it's a self-help book. But it introduced me to the concept of mindfulness in a manner that was easier to understand than "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind." It argued that the three governing principles of the universe are paradox, humor and change. As it turned out, every job I've ever had has also been governed by at least two of those principles.
9. The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha, by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
I read this novel while traveling through Europe by train, and my ex-girlfriend teased me about having my nose in a book while the Swiss Alps and the Italian countryside were rolling past the window. I didn't care. It was that good.
10. Skinny Legs and All, by Tom Robbins
I suspect I'm not the only one who's gone through a Tom Robbins phase -- an intense, infatuated fever dream during which every word the man has written sounds like the work of genius. I got over it, eventually, but I would no sooner excise that period from my life than I would take away my first crush.
11. The Chaneysville Incident, by David Bradley
I've tried several times to explain to various people why my favorite book is the story of an historian trying to piece together the story of an attempted escape from slavery and why it obsessed his father. Usually I just end up buying them a copy of the book.
12. Raiders and Rebels: A History of the Golden Age of Piracy, by Frank Sherry
Should I ever get around to writing that biographical novel about Bartholomew Roberts that's been my dream project for years, it will be because of this book. This book can also be blamed if I ever actually take up a life of piracy.
13. High Fidelity, by Nick Hornby
I enjoyed this book so much that it took me a few readings to realize it was meant as a cautionary tale — that middle-aged men named Rob aren't supposed to be obsessed with popular music, trivia and making lists of things they like. Oops.
14. Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott
Josh told me this would be the best book about writing I'd ever read.
He was right.
15. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, by Michael Chabon
I credit Michael Chabon with helping me realize that writing about what you love -- no matter how trivial it may seem to others -- is worth doing, and for introducing me to my fiancee, an achievement I'd list ahead of the Pulitzer Prize on his resume.
Runners-up: Watership Down, by Richard Adams; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain; The Once and Future King, by T.H. White; Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice; Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad; Tom Jones, by Henry Fielding; Geek Love, by Katherine Dunn; The Brothers K, by David James Duncan; Moby-Dick, or The Whale, by Herman Melville; A Suitable Boy, by Vikram Seth; Sweet Soul Music, by Peter Guralnick; Carter Beats the Devil, by Glen David Gold; The Good Soldier Švejk, by Jaroslav Hasek; The Chinatown Death-Cloud Peril, by Paul Malmont.
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