The Books That Changed My Life

Everyone has the books that changed their lives. Or at least, book lovers have books that have changed their lives. For many reasons people have important books. Books that you love just because you love them, a book that deeply effected you or a book that simply changed the way you think. I have a few books that have most definitely altered my life in some way. Here are the books that have changed my life.

Reasons To Stay Alive by Matt Haig
I read Reasons To Stay Alive as an outsider to depression and anxiety. Having suffered from both of these things on and off, during a bout of a very good mood (bout meaning it lasted about a year), Reasons To Stay Alive was released and i thought i’d pick it up. Because i read this book in a time in which i was not suffering from the illnesses that were spoken about, it allowed me to read it in a thought provoking way. It meant i wasn’t internally effected by what was being said, and i could pick and choose what parts i let in to my life. It gave me a very hopeful aspect on life, apposed to if i would have read it a year previously. Reasons To Stay Alive most definitely changed the way i viewed my illness and how much i (at least wanted to) let affect my life.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
This popular YA novel wasn’t the first story i ever read, but i was the first book that i fell completely head over heels in love with. Similar to when i read One Day by David Nicholls, The Fault In Our Stars made me fall in love with reading and characters and scenes and stories. It sparked something in me which made me passionate about characters and how invested you could be in them. There is a reason i reread this particular John Green novel so often, it’s so i can relive that excitement.

The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger
If you’ve been a reader of the blog for quite some time, you know that i have quite a connection to this book. I first read it about two years ago now and completely fell in love with it. Sophie actually recommended it to me. It opened up my eyes to books that i never thought i’d read or enjoy. My blog post about this book was actually one of the first i’ve written for this blog! Anyway, it became a very integral book in my life when i chose to study it for my dissertation at Uni. I spent eight months carefully studying this book and learning the ins and outs of the language. I adored working on it and finding more out about the characters, especially Holden. The Catcher In The Rye will always have a very special place in my heart, and i’m so glad Sophie forced me to read it.

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Once again, i found The Last Lecture to be once of those life affirming books that you simply cannot ignore. I read this rather soon after finishing University, and even though the main topic of conversation isn’t lecturing, it still hit home a little bit about the importance of education, bettering yourself and making the most out of your life. It shocked me how much i connected to the people within this book, and the stories that were being told. It helped greatly that it turns out Randy Pausch worked on some projects in this lifetime that i found to be extremely interesting, something i’ve always wanted to know more about. It read like a memoir but was definitely some form of hidden self help book. This book is filled with inspiration quotes and things that are bound to twist your emotions.

I wanted to leave this post with very few books on it, because obviously not a lot of books can change your life. These are the most stand out and prominent books that i have come across in my life so far. I adore all of them and urge you right away to grab yourself a copy of them.

What are some of the books that have completely changed your life? Leave them in the comments and we can have a chat.