Books That Have Changed My Life

In Oprah Magazine (yes, my mom got me a subscription for Christmas because I'm actually elderly) there's a section where a celebrity picks a few books that have "changed their lives" or they just really, really like. After deliberating for a few days, here are my top picks. They're amazing. Read 'em.

1. The Awakening by Kate Chopin

 This book was assigned reading in my 12th grade Honors English class. I'm pretty sure I was the only person who actually enjoyed it. But I more than enjoy it: I worship it. Cherish it. It's like my book soulmate. It's a thin little thing; you can breeze through it in a few days. The story of Edna, a woman who realizes one day that she desires more from her life than what she's been given, is haunting. Heartbreaking. How many of us are brave enough to be our true selves, and turn away from the stifling expectations of society? It's a challenge to all those who feel like life is passing them by, and they aren't really living.

                            Favorite Quote: "Her speech was warm and energetic. There was no repression in  her glance of gesture. She reminded him of some beautiful, sleek animal waking up in the sun."

2. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Good books, really good books, are able to pluck you from your reality and drop you into a totally new one. I loved this novel from the first few words. When I read it, I feel like I am Lily, the 15-year old main character. Her narration is distinct; her humor is dry and her spirit unbreakable. This story is like the literary version of peach pie. It's warm and sweet and utterly perfect. Good for your soul. It's not a totally happy story, mind you: Lily obsesses over her mother's death, and lives with an abusive father. But even death and chaos are written in such a beautiful, relatable way. Lily is smart, wild, lonely, searching. When I feel this way, this book brings me comfort. When Lily finds redemption in a family of African-American beekeepers, I feel their redeeming love.   Plus, "Secret Life" makes beekeeping actually seem like the best job to have.

      Favorite Quote: "When it's time to die, go ahead and die, and when it's time to live, live. Don't sort-of-maybe live, but live like you're going all out, like you're not afraid."

3. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

It's impossible to explain this book, which is one of the reasons it's insanely captivating. The other reason: it's scary as hell. 

I had to read this book during my senior year of college, and I was nervous. I mean, look at some of those pages! They are literally impossible to understand, and that's exactly what the author intended. To be totally honest, HOL messed with my head for a while. I had vivid dreams about it. It left me with an unsettled, creepy feeling. The basic plot summary is this: a man and his family move into a new house. All is fine until one day, a door appears in the house overnight. The family opens the door, only to discover.... nothing. There is nothing but black space and cool air inside. The next day, the door gets bigger. More doors appear inside the newly created hallway. However, the external size of the house never changes. Crazy, right? The man documents the attempts to discover what lies inside the depths of the house while noticing the disturbing effects the changes has on his family. 
   This novel is nothing like you'd expect. It defies categorization. The lines between fiction and reality are blurred (the publishing company is fake) which only make the story creepier. 
   This story is not for the faint of heart, nor the casual reader. It's a full time effort to understand what's happening inside the pages, and numerous communities exist online to share theories. If you are brave enough to try to read HOL, I promise it's worth it. 

           Favorite Quote: "I slid right to the edge. My legs were hanging over. And I could feel it too. I don't know how. There was no wind, no sound, no change of temperature. There was just this terrible emptiness reaching up for me."

4. Life of Pi by Yann Martel 

No book sums up my feelings toward religion like this book. On the surface, it's a story about a boy, Pi, who gets stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with only a tiger for company. Pi is marvelous not only for his survival skills, but for his attitude towards religion. He practices Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism, though his Indian parents only endorse the last. It is this faith that keep him from giving up all hope while he is at sea. It helps him keep his sanity; it gives him a purpose and a reason for living. Pi does not get lost in the details in religion, which I think is the downfall of modern attitudes toward God. Like Pi, I believe in one higher Being, and different religions are all reflections of that one, all-knowing and all-loving God. Pi does his best to live a good life, content with not knowing all the exact details of life and religion. Plus, Pi is an avid nimal-lover and vegetarian. Soulmate!
   I read this book when I first arrived in Thailand, and I was feeling crushed by loneliness. I felt abandoned. Thailand seemed as big and as strange as the Pacific Ocean, and Pi's story gave me courage. I will always love it for that. 

  Favorite Quotes (I couldn't choose one!): 
--"Faith in God is  an opening up, a letting go, a deep trust, a free act of love- but sometimes it was so hard to love. Sometimes my heart was sinking so fast in anger, desolation, and weariness, I was afraid it would sink to the very bottom of the Pacific and I would not be able to lift it back up... [but] the blackness would stir and eventually go away, and God would remain, a shining point of light in my heart. I would go on loving."
      
--"All religions are true. I just want to love God."


5. Anthem by Ayn Rand

"Anthem" is another strange book. It's not a fun, airy novel you can read while you complete other tasks. It's not an easy read, but it's not long or laborious either. It's the unusual story of a future in which individually is extinct. The word "I" does not exist. When I first read this novel in 11th grade, I struggled with it simply because  I did not realize that whenever the main character says "we" he means "I". "They" means he/she, etc. Once you realize this, the book becomes immensely easier to read. I love how eerily detailed the story is: friendships are not allowed. Technology is dead. Sex is only allowed at "mating times" for procreation only. Characters have bizarre names, like Equality 7-2521. As you follow one man's quest to discover identity within this dystopian world, you'll realize how often you say "I" and how impossible it is to do without it. 


             Favorite Quote: "Know what you want in life and go after it. I worship individuals for their highest possibilities as individuals, and I loathe humanity, for it's failure to live up to these possibilities."