Oh, NBD, we’re just talking about books that Changed OUR LIVES FOREVER.

Just being all casual-like today…

Let’s Discuss: Books That Changed Your Life

While I think the phrase “this book changed my life” is grossly overused, I cannot fight the truth of the statement in my own life.

I would LOVE to know what books have had an impact on you – or dare I say – changed your life forever?!

For me, I have some key points in my life that are marked by amazing stories:

High school: Year 1: To Kill a Mockingbird. I was just starting to read the classics my freshman year of high school, and we were assigned this book. The recent death of Harper Lee reminded me how much I fell in love with this story and how it opened my mind to things I never considered before.

High school: Year 3: This crazy girl in my AP Composition class handed me Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier, and my life was changed. This novel opened me up to reading high fantasy and introduced me to some of my favorite books of all time.

College: All Years I was an English Lit minor in college and, man, did I read a lot of eye-opening books! A few notable authors I loved during this time was Toni Morrison, Sherman Alexie, Sharon Shinn and Stephen Chbosky.

Back to YA: Although I’ve always read YA, when I worked at Books-A-Million in my poor post-grad days (re: see the verrrrrry first few posts here back in 2009. Actually don’t. They’re very sad. I was jobless and depressed :/ ), I picked up The Hunger Games, Graceling and Storm Glass. These books sucked me RIGHT back into YA in a second. Graceling is a YA classic in my book – an absolute must-read.

Contemporary Books: For a VERY long time, I only read fantasy or scifi novels, but a few years ago I finally tried contemporary books…and promptly wanted to kick myself for missing out. Books that truly changed my reading life were: anything by Kasie West, Breathe, Annie, Breathe, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Since You’ve Been Gone.

What periods of your life have been marked by GREAT books? What books have spurred you on to try new authors or genres?