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When I  was 9 or 10 I got for Xmas a book called 'The Little Prince (French Le Petit Prince), by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.  At that point, this book had an impact on my life.  I went back later on and re-read this book perhaps 4 or 5 times, once in original and it is one of those great pieces of literature; it's meaning changes depending on when and where the book is read.

In my late teens another book that had pretty changed my outlook on life was Albert Camus' 'The Fall', (Le Chute) and Stanislaw Lem's Solaris
as well as One Hundred Years of Solitude (Cien años de soledad) by Gabriel García Márquez

I wonder what books had left an impact on any of you. 

coming up for air by george orwell

read when i was 14 or 15

and had a very big impact on me because it seemd to reflect how i was feeling at the time

due to a lot of unseen changes un my life at the time

great book

Primo Levi - If This Is A Man.

The most thought provoking book I've ever read. His experiences & survival of the Holocaust should be required reading in schools.

Tao of pooh benjiman hoff.

Changed my whole out look, now more eastern in my thinking.

Many many books have had an impact on my life, none more so than "Jump for Life" by Ruth Altbeker Cyprys, a young Jewish mother who survived Auschwitz.

I agree with you Tonji, they should be required reading.

The picture of Dorian Grey, I must've read 6/7 times, nothing about that book i dont like.

I've never read a book, does Tintin or Asterix count?

The Fuzz Buzz. 

My favourite when I was a kid was Gulliver's Travels. Simple ideas, really fired up the imagination.

All the names Jonathon Swift came up with were a bit wank though, Blefuscu, Lilliput Glubbdubdrib, Luggnagg. Always thought his mythology may have been held in higher esteem if he could come up with some decent sounding place names. Houyhnhms and Brobdingnag ffs, hardly rolls off the toungue.

I loved his tales despite the halfed assed nomenclature. Re-read it recently and got a lot of stuff that passed way over my head as a kid. Swift really was a dirty bugger.  ;D

Gargantua and Panagruel by Francois Rabelais, was a book that did this to me. when i was a kid, very nice little story.  Now I know, the book is a pure filth.

A child called 'it' by Dave Pelzer, that is the only book I have ever read that has stuck in my mind and it's the only book that's ever made me cry in public (stupid train journeys to and from Leons in the 3 years before I could drive)

I love all books by Carole Matthews, I can relate to them.

The Lovely Bones (forgotten author) was a really good book too, I read it in one night.

Men are from Mars Women are from Venus...

It sort of makes me understand were she is coming from.. A bit.....

The Art of Zen changed my life (poker life).....

Dude where my country - Michael Moore... Makes you think again about things..

How to talk dirty and influence people - Lenny Bruce - Superb book

Janet and John

Books 1 2 3 4 and 5

did it for me (in fact thats how i learnt to read)

To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee, incredibly to think she never wrote another book.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.

These 2 stick out because i read them both at school in English Lit.

The Rats by James Herbert, purely because as a kid it scared the hell out of me!!!!!

Of Mice and Men teaches us important lessons.

Sometimes it's best to shoot the slow folk in the back of the head.  8)

It's probably no surprise but the book that's had the most impact on me is "the diceman" by Luke Rhinehart.

Siddharta By Herman Hesse

Do top shelf magazines count?

They are not books

Parade  ;kev;

Nelson Mandela - Long Walk to Freedom

Flowers for Algernon - one of the first books to make me cry, genuine masterpiece.

A Clockwork Orange - challenging, brutal and fascinating, what a book, crafted into an excellent film by Kubrick.

The Dark - frightening James Herbert tale that started my love affair with horror books.

Misery - Possibly Stephen King's best in a glittering repertoire. Again a brilliant book was done justice with an excellent movie.

Soul Music - all the classic Pratchett hallmarks of clever parody, searing wit and vivid characters.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many others!

Great topic, nice one.

The Life of Pi: Yann Mantel

Catcher in the Rye: J D Salinger

Endless Love: Ian McEwan

The End of the Affair: Graham Greene

Any Ian Rankin

lol

The Outsiders - SE Hinton (did the old compare and contrast thing with Catcher in the Rye for English higher)
Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas - Hunter S Thompson
The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Jonathon Livingstone Seagull & Messiah - Richard Bach
The Wave - can't remember who by but was based on a true story of a history teacher who recreated a fascist regime in the classroom named 'The Third Wave' that caught on and quickly grew legs, same kinda deal to the Standford prison experiment

The wrong boy by willie Russel  for me is a phenomenal book, its the only time i have cried and laughed at the same time, The lead character's experiences are what most boys go through yet his persocution is unfounded.  Great bok

The book of 5 rings my Myamoto Musashi, the book is so full of contradiction that once you "get it" you are spellbound.

Flowers for algernon I read whilst i was at school, that book was a real eye opener.

Papillon
Hitchikers guide to the Galaxy......a trilogy in four parts
Tournament poker and the art of war
Penguins stopped play

For me....rather pretentious list I guess.

A Brief History of time -  Stephen "oh yes I'm that smart"  Hawking. Aboslute genius..and actually smart enough to explain everything so a dumb guy like me understands what he's on about

War and Peace - Lev Tolstoy. what a book...Jebus.

Crime and Punishment. dostojevski
Notes from the underground - dostojevski again

The beat of the existentialist goes round and around.
Into the overflow
Where the girls get down to beat of the meta-physical philosophers.

cirme and punishment left me paranoid long time after i finished a book. the RASKOLNIKOV's syndrom was following me everywhere.  Not a good book for someone who is trying to skive of school and tell fibbs to the teachers.


Edward Said- Orientalism, what a book

Noam Chomsky's Failed States, scary scary

In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck, when my politics were wrong this put me right.

I always wanted to read Orientalism...it's definetly on my to do list (then again,that's rather a long list)

it is a must intro to the post-colonial discourse. 

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.

Simply stunning.

Spot - by Unknown Author

It really inspired me from an early age.

"See Spot Run"

"Spot Runs fast"

Truer words were never spoken.

We never did find out where he was running to but boy I sure hope he got there.

Trainspotting - Irvine Welsh creates brilliant characters in dark but hilarious circumstances. The moronic but loveable spud, the psychopathic begbie, the intelligent but vain sick boy , the sympathetic, thoughtful but trapped renton. Years after reading the book all these characters still seem very alive.


One of the authors who once I read one of his books, i was compelled to read all the others.


He comes out with some cracking one liners too....


"What did one anarchist plumber say to the other? COME ON, LET's SMASH THE CISTERN!"

Kelly MacDonald disnae get her baps oot in the book. :(

oh btw...I have to add 1984 to my list. the man was a feckin prophet.

Rita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption - Stephen King
Great film conversion, too.

The Body - Stephen King
Later to become Stand By Me and made into another great movie.

As a modern day storyteller, nobody beats Mr King.

Stephen King is a wonderful story teller , my best has to be the stand ............. so far

One of his less famous books, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, is really good, i'd recommend it in an instant

Unfortunately charmaine, it doesn't get better than The Stand.

All downhill from there. :)