This got me thinking about what other books I feel have had a great impact on my life. So I compiled this list of the top 5 non-religious books that have influenced my life (I have to add the "non-religious" because putting the scriptures in there would be too easy). This isn't a list of my favorite books (although my most favorite book is listed as number 2) and my favorite author doesn't even make the list (Jonathan Safran Foer). These are books that have changed my way of thinking, the way I look at others, and have lead to pivotal choices I have made in my life.
#5 The Rainbow Fairy Anthology
edited by Andrew Lang
So this is technically 12 books, not one, but for the sake of my post it counts as one.
Who would have thought that a collection of fairy tales would make such a big difference in my life? I love these stories. My absolute favorite is "Heart of Ice." It is perhaps one of the most ridiculous fairy tale love stories out there. The hero's name is Manikin, there is an island of talking dogs, sand that turns into a forest, and a princess who literally doesn't have a heart. Go read it. It makes anything Disney produced look pathetic.
I include this in my top 5 most influential books due to the illustrations (naturally). I went crazy for these pictures the first time I picked up these books and they are the reason I still go check one out from the library occasionally. These pictures have had a huge impact on my artistic style and the subject matter I prefer to draw. I'm talking about the original artwork that was produced for these books, although the Folio Society recently released a set of these fabulous books with all new illustrations that are breath taking. Each book is illustrated by someone different but The Red Fairy Book was done by one of my favorite illustrators. If I had $200 to spend on fine literature, I would totally go out and buy this anthology instantly.
And if I have any benevolent and wealthy friends out there...I wouldn't be upset if you kindly opted to buy the set for me.
#4 A Clockwork Orange
by Anthony Burgess
I'm certain I'm getting some very concerned looks from a few people for adding this book to my list. No worries, I feel I have a valid reason for adding this particular book.
I read this book around the time I graduated high school. Due to various things going on at the time, I found myself wondering about why it is that if we want to progress in life we have to do it God's way. Satan's plan seemed pretty legit at the time. The whole idea of coming here, doing everything right and then heading off to something greater sounded totally awesome. Then I read this book and suddenly concept of "freedom to choose" completely clicked.
Here's how that works:
In about the middle of the book our main character Alex, who is a gang leader, is arrested by the police and put in prison. He is started on an experimental method of treatment that basically conditions his system so that if he does something that's wrong he feels a physical reaction to it. He gets sick, his muscles cramp up, etc. Due to this treatment Alex is rehabilitated and is released back into society. Hurrah for the government!
However, although he can no longer physically do any evil he still has the strong desire to act evil.
Long story short, the courts dispute this experimental treatment as being unethical and Alex somehow gets the treatment reversed (the author is kind of vague as to exactly how this happens). The second Alex is back on the streets he goes back to his life of crime...it's where he was mentally so nothing stops him from returning to it.
Now here comes the moral of the story and how I realized that God has it all together:
A year or so later, Alex is the leader of a new gang and he can't stand it. He doesn't see the point to it any more, it doesn't make him happy, etc. While glumly wandering the streets he runs into a member of his previous gang from before his prison days. This ex-gang member has completely reformed, he no long speaks in absurd slang and he seems genuinely happy. This perplexes Alex and he finds himself wondering how his old cohort in crime could be so happy. As he ponders over it he realizes that this old chum of his has chosen to live a better life and that he can do so as well. It's at this moment that he decides to give up his old ways and live a life of good from now on. Because, he discovers, that's the way it's supposed to happen. You cannot be forced into good, you must choose it for yourself or else it won't genuine and it won't reflect what you truly desire.
And that is why I list this book as part of my list of most influential books. It was here that I realized why we must have the freedom to choose for ourselves and that no one can choose for us. Because even if we are physically doing everything we're supposed to if it is not the desire of our hearts it will get us no where in the end.
#3 The Last Day of a Condemned Man
by Victor Hugo
This is one of Hugo's lesser known books but it is brimming with awesome truth.
To start, you must know that Hugo was a humanitarian and he was staunchly against the death penalty. He felt life imprisonment was a better option than taking another man's life but that the ultimate path to social reform was through education to the poor and destitute and general compassion to all mankind.
So this book has an obvious political undertone to it. In fact, it's not much of an undertone at all, it's more like Victor Hugo wrote it out in bold letters and underlined it ten million times.
The story chronicles the last day of a man who has received the death sentence. It's told from his perspective in the form of a letter he's writing to...someone. I always assumed it was his daughter, but I could be wrong. It's not important anyways. You also never find out his name or what crime he committed. To put it simply it's a very depressing story.
I recall shortly after reading this book that I went to Village Inn with my Best Friend in the Whole World and her dad. My friend's dad is among one of my favorite people. He is always full of insights I never thought of. (He's also super clever and witty in a lawyerish sort of way, but that's irrelevant to the story.) Anyways, I remember telling him about this book I'd just finished reading and how it left a bad taste in my mouth. I recounted the last few pages of the story which describe the crowd waiting around for his execution; they're cheering and yelling like it's a great and entertaining spectacle they're about to see. I told him about how horrifying I thought it was that people back in the day would actually watch someone's execution as a source of entertainment. It felt inhumane and disgusting.
Then my dear friend's father filled me with sage-like wisdom. He said that wasn't much different from how much we delight in violence for our entertainment now. We eat up action movies and TV shows like they're candy and we don't think much about the violence, death, and slaughter that's being represented. For my then high school aged mind this was an epiphany.
I don't want to get too political in this post (it's going to be long enough as it is) and I'm really not interested in debating the pros and cons of taking another person's life in the name of justice. I will say that after reading this book and thinking very seriously on the sanctity of life and our right as humans to take it away I decided that I'm against the death penalty and that Victor Hugo was right, prison's and death will not solve our problems, they are simply a cheaper and easier way to ignore them. If we want violence to stop we have to reach out the hand of opportunity to all people and teach them that there's a better way.
Coincidentally, this is also around the time that I stopped having a solid interest in violent movies. I still enjoy the occasional super hero movie but beyond that I don't have much of a taste for explosions or casual killing.
#2 The Amazing Adventure of Kavalier and Clay
by Michael Chabon
I. Love. This. Book.
Seriously.
This book is awesome.
I don't even remember how I heard about this book or why I decided to read it but whatever it was it was certainly a stroke of luck.
After two years in college with two different majors that I wasn't satisfied with, I had just moved home to prepare for a mission. I was contemplating what I would do school wise when I returned from my mission. I had been attending Utah State University at the time and although I loved the school very much and deeply appreciated the time I spent there once I left it just didn't feel right to go back. I was also pretty unsatisfied with what was then my major (International Studies) and I really had no idea what I would study when I returned home.
It was during this time that I picked up Kavalier and Clay. I won't get into details about the plot (you should go pick it up yourself because it's amazing), but our main character, Joe Kavalier, is a comic book artist during the 1940's who uses his artistic talents as his only way of expressing the deep emotional turmoil he's experiencing and as a beacon of hope for all the terrible things going on in his life. It was while reading this story about a young man trying to express himself on the panels of a comic book page that I decided I wanted to be an illustrator. I had tried English as one of my majors, after about two English classes I concluded that was a bad road for me to go down. I felt I had so many things I wanted to say to the world but I had no outlet for expressing them. When I read this book I remember thinking "You aren't much for writing Virginia May, but you can draw." So I decided it was time to stop denying my original passion and head back to the drawing board. It was among one of the best decisions I've ever made.
#1 Les Miserables
by Victor Hugo
That's right, Hugo gets a double feature on my most influential books list. He's that awesome.
I first read this mammoth sized book the summer before I entered 8th grade. I will admit, I skipped a lot of it. I was 13, I didn't understand all the wonderful things I could learn from this piece of literature at the time. No worries, I have since repented... although I still maintain that the battle of Waterloo section is nearly useless. In any case, this book was life changing.
I have a pretty staunch policy that movies that are based on books should not be compared to the book. They are two different mediums and therefore aren't really comparable. I have gotten on my soap box a few times about this subject and have made an idiot of myself more than once trying to argue my point. My exception to this rule is Les Miserables. After I read this book the musical; which I had hitherto loved, became flat and full of one dimensional characters. I hated the movie that had come out in 1998, they completely failed to capture the point in that little flick.
To use a painting analogy, it's like if someone made a copy of Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night. Everyone knows about this copy and says "Have you seen this painting? It is breath taking in its beauty." Then you, who know about the original, will say "Yes, it is lovely, but did you know it's a copy? You should see the original. That one will change you life." However, everyone shrugs and says "No, I'm good with the copy." It's around this time that you want to pull your hair out.
I love this book. I rank it right underneath church canon when it comes to spiritual insights and enlightenment. Victor Hugo shows the greatest depth of humanity that it's possible to show in a book. He teaches us about true repentance and the eternal power of the Atonement. That no matter where you start in life you can always become better. Your past mistakes can be erased if you choose to live a life of peace and charity. He shows us how we can change the world around us by living a Christ-like life. It is truly spectacular.
I know it's a massive book but it is worth reading. It will change your life.
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