It becomes very difficult to single out just one book that you find very close to your heart. Following are few books which had the greatest impacts in different stages of my life.
1. ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho
This book originally written in Portuguese has been translated into many languages. Although many literary scholars don’t rank the English version as one of the finest works. It should be mainly observed as a philosophical book which have impacted many lives all over the world.
It is a fascinating tale of a shepherd who had the courage to pursue his dream in spite of any consequences/ hardships he had to face in his journey. The idea which is often repeated in the book and I always try to live by is as:
“When you want something, the whole universe conspires in helping you to achieve it”
Fear of failure is what keeps most people away from success. This book has really helped me during my gloomy days of failure and disappointments.
2. ‘Grapes of Wrath’ by John Steinbeck
I regard John Steinbeck was one of the most unique and underrated giant of American Literature. He had a sarcastic way of dealing with human nature for his characters in most of his works which contained dark humor. ‘Grapes of Wrath’ is slightly different from all his other works and seemed to have written with lot of passion. Human emotions and mental struggles are played to the extreme level in this book based in the 1940s. It is an important event in American history and the author has presented that period before the readers by showcasing the struggles and aspirations of one family and their members.
3. ‘Malgudi Days” by R.K Narayan
This book gives accurate description of Indian society day-to-day affairs and the mindset of people in post colonial era. It is a great reflection on the way of life during those times and some of the issues addressed are still prevalent in today’s society. We marvel at how the author takes detailed note of the people around him and weave a story around a character like magic. All stories in this book are unique in its own way and cover a range of genres from drama, satire to outright comedy and dark humor. Just open any chapter for complete entertainment and get hooked to the book till the very end.
4. ‘Tom Sawyer’ by Mark Twain and ‘Harry Potter’ Series by J.K. Rowling
‘Tom Sawyer’ was the very first novel I had ever read as a child. This book was an excellent gift given to me as I could relate to Tom and his sense of adventure at that young age. It is a very fancy tale of a boy who along with his friend was a witness to murder and had thrilling escape after getting lost in a cave with a girl. I must have read this book at least hundred times just as an escape to a world of boyish adventures. Its sequel ‘Huckleberry Finn’ is regarded as one of the greatest works of Mark Twain but is intended for a much mature audience. ‘ Huckleberry Finn’ was a much better book than its prequel as it covered issues of slavery and discrimination on basis of color, which were very prevalent in American society in that era. I was not able to understand its significance at that very young age.
I have always considered myself very lucky to be born in the era where fantasy world of witch and wizards was created for my age group. I have always admired the intelligence and imagination of J.K. Rowling while creating her own wizarding world. Her own life story before and after publishing the first book of the series is very inspiring too. The ultimate plot of triumph of good over evil was the basic theme of all books in the series but presented in form of spells and magic. Even after the last book was published way back in 2007 I have read the entire series at least thrice and I am sure it is going to stay with me till the very end. Another fantasy series I am similarly intrigued with is of course ‘ The song of fire and ice’ but the rate at which each consecutive books are published I highly doubt it will ever get completed.
Other notable books which I have read recently include ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ by Robnert Kiyosaki and ‘The Shining’ by Stephen King. I know this books are very old but I am glad I was finally able to read them.
As you can see books of varied genre can have different kind of impacts in our life. To apply learnings of any one book will be an insult to other great minds. My opinion is to take something from each book, make it simple and then apply it to our everyday life.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Great choices you have.
My Top 2 choices:
The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King
I read this book when I was twenty one years old. It is the only novel I ever read in one setting. I couldn't put it down. But what makes this book so important to me, is that it changed my life. From the moment I put the book down, I knew what I wanted to do for rest of my life. I knew from that moment I wanted to spend my life writing fiction.
The Richest Man In Babylon by George S. Clason
The book was a life changer as well. I read this book every year. It taught the rules of money. Like the 5 Laws of Gold, and the 7 Cures to a Lean Purse. It taught me principles I had never thought of. Ever since I had read that book, I have never been broke. It is a must read for anyone.
There are several more books, but those two books actually change my life, and my way of thinking. Those two books literally change me and my mindset. The impact they had on my life is huge, and I can't begin to even describe the impact.
Nice article! Good Job! I love articles that make me think.
Thanks for the 'token of appreciation' @shanedustin . This gives a lot of encouragement to receive approval from a writer of your caliber. Even though I am unable to delegate majority of my time, I have started practicing creative writing so that I can slip a story or two in between these articles.
You are doing really good so far on STEEM blockchain even though most of your work have not got the visibility it deserve. Just don't lose hope as the price of token is on relatively lower side.
By the way the manner of narration of your current serial story ' The green door' is a tad similar to the way of writing of @johnjgeddes . He is a fantastic writer and almost all his stories have very strong feminine characters. I suggest you also follow him as you will see some of his great posts have earned only few cents. Also keep involving yourself in other STEEM communities like Steemit Bloggers and the steemSTEM community.
Best of Luck for your future on this wonderful platform...!!!!
Your welcome. I love reading your articles. Thy make me think. And thanks for the encouragement. and i'm going to check out @johnjgeddes, if he is a writer, he's got my support. Keep up the good work.
I am actually going to start reading 'The Richest Man...' this week. I had read the abstract of the book few years back and then moved it to my 'going to read ' list for some reason. As far as I remember Babylon was an extinct settlement but a prosperous one for is time and the book is based on the financial practices of that civilization.
Please tell me more about The Eyes of Dragon as I have read very few books by Stephen King. (not for any particular reason though)
Th Richest Man in Babylon is an awesom book. The laws it teaches works for all times, in any era, for the laws of money are the same at any time, wise people have taken advantage of these laws and prospered. Its a good read, the only other book that compares to it is Rich Dad Poor dad.
The Eyes of the Dragon is fantasy book, and actually a YA book he written for his daughter. Its hard to to explain, but it is one of Stephen Kings best works that doesn't get enough credit. If you like fantasy, its a must read. But that book changed my life. I knew from that day I wanted to spend rest of my life writting even if I never make a penny. Don't get me wrong I have always been interested in writing since I was a child, but that book told me I could be a writer, and how to tell a story. I still have that book I read all those years ago. I have it wrapped in clear plastic and it sets on my shelf. To me that book is priceless.
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Pity you do not write any longer.
You could start to freewrite. If you like to give it a try you can visit @mariannewest. Every day of the week she gives a prompt and you just write what pops up in your mind.
My favourite book is The Perfüme. It's written by Patrick Süskind.
The good noise and lack of body smell fascinates me. I recognized a lot in that book.
💥💕
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Hii,
Thanks for taking the time to comment. ( means a lot)
In the month of December a close relative of mine was diagnosed with cancer and I had end up taking care of him during early stages of diagnosis and surgery, as his children were not able to stay with him at that time. So after work, most of my time was spent in hospital wards. I had to stop writing as I was stressed all the time at work or at home.
I did follow all the authors in my feed and used to regularly check out the content posted by freewrite community. In the mean time I had also become addicted to the Drugwars game on our blockchain but that turned out to be complete disappointment and utter waste of time.
I did thought of getting back to answering questions on Musing but kept procrastinating on putting the pen on paper.
I have currently enrolled in a CAD course which is also taking up a major chunk of my time after work. I hope to complete that course by next month and then try to direct some of my energy in creating good content on Steem Blockchain.
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You have had a hard time behind you. I know how much energy hospital and taking care of takes.
Since you wrote a long answer to me you could copy it and use it as a post too. Introduce yourself again perhaps?
I hope to read you in future if the time is right for you.
💥💕
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