5 Books That Changed My Life

Actually, Rebecca, the last book I couldn't put down was yours. :) For those of you who haven't read it, I highly recommend Rockabye by Rebecca Woolf.

I'm not a mother myself, but I am a full-time grad student who is also working full-time (uuuggghhh) and after studying for hours and hours the last thing I want to do is read for pleasure, which is unfortunate because I completely and utterly love books. One of my absolute favorite books of all time is Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov. It actually occurred to me while I was watching this that I might feel differently about it if I were a parent. (NOT condoning the behavior of the main character in the book, I'm sure many of you are familiar with the story, I just like how it's written).

Great topic! Looking forward to reading for pleasure again someday.

Fri, 2009-07-03 07:21

Once my daughter became mobile, my relationship with books became much as it was when I was around 12 years old. I was one of those sneak-reading geeky kids. I snuck chapters in after bedtime, during math class, and any other time when I could feasibly get one sentence further in whatever book I was devouring at the moment.

It is more difficult now, but I can't just not read. I can't. Although reading a book a paragraph (or sentence) at a time does not make for a very deep relationship with a book, I'll take it over no relationship, any day. And it is a relationship for me, like many of the panelists suggested. I have to admit, since becoming a parent, my relationship with books has become much more about sensory gratification, and less about intellectual stimulation. Hey-as long as we both know that it's just recreational, no one will get hurt, right? ;-)

The book that most recently made a real impact on me was a re-read of Walden. I read it in high school, and recently picked it up again. Thoreau's treatise on living life deliberately is so important to me right know, as a parent trying to find balance between my child, work, house stuff, and everything else. Living life with purpose-REALLY living with full attention on the things that are important-that is a true sensory experience. It was interesting to see how my perspective on what constitutes a purpose-driven life has changed since I was sixteen.

Fri, 2009-07-03 08:14

One of the perks of extended breastfeeding is that once a day (when my daughter nurses before bed) I lay on the bed breastfeeding and reading. I think it might actually be the reason I've continued to read since she was born. It gives me the time to get into a book so that I'm pushed to somehow finish it.

Books I love? I think I have read Mists of Avalon about 38 times. Sometimes it's so silly, but usually it's just awesome. I love anything by Margaret Atwood (especially The Handmaid's Tale) and I'm reading the Time Traveller's Wife now--so far I'm hooked.

Fri, 2009-07-03 10:51

ditto! the two major activities in my life - writing a dissertation and raising a toddler - don't leave a lot of room for pleasure reading. but i do have a list of favorite authors that i return to always. here they are:

-JUMPA LAHIRI
-JUNOT DIAZ
-MARILYNNE ROBINSON

and i love RUSSIAN LIT (especially anna karenina, master and margarita, and war and peace...yes, there was a time in my life when i had the time to read war and peace). my next venture will be ROBERTO BOLAÑO!!

Fri, 2009-07-03 14:56

I'm not a non-fiction lover, but there are three that were totally life changing for me. In addition to Maggie's suggestion of Susan Faludi's Backlash, I'd have to add her Promiscuities. It, along, with Reviving Ophelia by Mary Piper were so critical to helping me recover from adolescence. I think all three, but especially the later two are must-reads for parents of girls.

Literary fiction? Man, I could probably tie every major life event I've had to a book I was reading at the time, but here are the ones whose images still pop into my mind months or years after reading them:

• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Junot Diaz)
  One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
• The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)
• The Tortilla Curtain (TC Boyle)
  

Fri, 2009-07-03 20:28

Since my 3 1/2 month old baby arrived I decided that if I read nothing else in a day I would read a little bit of the Bible. That far and away has been the most helpful and life changing thing I've read throughout the years. It gives me help and hope. Some authors I like- , Anything Max Lucado- especially In the Eye of the Storm, and anything Corrie ten Boom especially The Hiding Place, very powerful. Jan Wong- Red China Blues is a favourite, not life changing per se but very interesting.
Next up on my reading list- finishing The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley and Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child... and starting The Kite Runner and I Am Hutterite.

Sat, 2009-07-04 15:15

The best idea I ever had for sneaking in reading time is listening to audio books. I work outside the home and am in the car at least an hour every day. I get the audio books from the library and can listen to one every two weeks.

Sat, 2009-07-04 18:37

After Christopher was born, I could not find away out of my depression. I had a terrible time sleeping and so my mom recommended reading something "fluffy." I started reading Marian Keyes, and it was the perfect way to escape for a few hours.

Since then I have gone back to reading. I read just about everything. Because Chris is a good sleeper, I take an hour before I go to bed at night to read. Thousand Splendid Suns was really good but hard to read now that I am a mom.

The book that changed my life: Anne of Green Gables. When I was about 11, I felt like I did not fit in anywhere, that book made me feel so much better.

After Maggie's comments, I think Backlash might have to be next!

Mon, 2009-07-06 03:47

Life is too short to feel guilty over not finishing a book! Yes, we all aspire to read all of the New York Times's top 100 books, but let's be serious. It's probably not going to happen. In fact there's a huge chance that it will definitely not happen.

I try to motivate myself to read simply because when I do I take so much pleasure in it! And what I read depends completely on my mood. Sometimes, (well, a lot of the time) I just do not have the patience for a soul-seeking 500 page novel. All I want is a brainless, funny story to get my mind off any stress that's happened during the day.

I really like goodreads.com because I can get suggestions from friends and even the site and I keep a 'to-read' list which is so helpful. Like right now, I can click over and add a few from your suggestions ;). Friends definitely motivate me to read more. I like hearing about their latest books. I also get a sick kind of satisfaction scrolling through the list of books I've read.

AAAAAAAAND the LIBRARY! I heart the library! Ours recently went electronic so I can put books on hold and renew them all through the intertubes! LOVE IT! I usually have like 5 or 6 on hold at a time, especially if they're newer just so that they can cycle in and then TADAA! more motivation to finish what I'm reading.

Brainless lit that gets me through - Bridget Jones, My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler, Ant Farm by Simon Rich (HYsterical), the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich

Definitely not brainless but short reads that are worth it - March by Geraldine Brooks (the story of Mr. March from Little Women), Genesis by Bernard Beckitt (what makes us human? you'll want to read this twice)

Mon, 2009-07-06 08:21

Love all these suggestions. I'll just list my five.

1. Peace Like a River (Enger)
2. Matilda (Dahl)
3. Mudhouse Sabbath & Girl Meets God (Winner) {I'm cheating - that is two but the same author}
4. The Body Project: An Intimate History of American Girls (Brumberg)
5. The Glass Castle: A Memoir (Wal

Mon, 2009-07-06 15:24

My relationship with books is not what it was before the kids, but like others have said, I couldn't not read. I generally find time to get through a few paragraphs or, on really good nights, pages before I drift off to sleep at night.

Top five books of my life:
* The Brothers K by David James Duncan. I've read this book multiple times and it's shaped me in ways I can't even describe.
* The Story of B by Daniel Quinn. Some people say that they like Ishmael better, and I can understand that, but The Story of B seems like a final draft of Ishmael. This is the culmination of the thoughts of a man who has been involved in environmentalism his whole life, set to fiction.
* The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. One of the things I most love about this book is how it reached me as a child, and seemed to evolve with me as I matured into an adult. Full of wonderful lessons. My favorite part is his relationship with the fox.
* The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I don't know why, but this book really appeals to me. It's not particularly deep, but it's a really great sitting at the beach book.
* Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins. I love the lyrical style to Robbins writing, and I think this book is the best example of his style.

Wed, 2009-07-08 10:12

OH I read! I read and read and read...and I'm a Mom! Crap...I need to spend more time with my child. No but really I HAVE to read to go to sleep. I do. If that means just ten minutes I do it. It's like a treat for me. I take those moments and they are mine to get lost in a book. I also always have about three books on the go. One for fun, one that is teaching me something whether it's a health book or just something to inspire and then I have one that is spiritual. And I juggle them all. I also read a bazillion blogs. I guess I hope to write a book myself someday but about what I have no idea! But in my own defense to the non-stop reading...I do live in isolation for a bit (which I'm sure I mention every time...can you tell I don't do well living in an isolated place??) so with no errands to run, no grocery shopping to do, no doctors appointments, play dates or shopping...all that's left is TV, blogs and books.

Wed, 2009-07-08 14:12

Great topic ladies, if for nothing else than to hear that its so common to get out of the relationship of reading something other than "Duck in the Truck" (Jes Alborough) or "Love you Forever" (Robert Munsch).

I do not read fiction any more since kids were born, and the non-fiction as of late has been project management / financial analysis for work, and even that is slim pickings. I maintain a subscription to a parenting mag and may treat myself to an Oprah mag 7 times a year and that provides some snips of info and connection to reading.

At the recommendation of a friend/coworker, I read this winter (the only thing read this winter) "Last Child in the Woods" by Richard Louv http://richardlouv.com/ -- an interesting non fiction piece about children's need for nature and growing alert kids and not sheltering so much... a little dry in places, but it is totally a push to your brain about helicopter parenting and environmental needs of a community. Fodder for a momversation topic I think, especially the different ways rural and urban parents approach parenting.

Really great conversations, keep up the top notch work ladies.

Thu, 2009-07-09 17:37

The most important book I have ever read and the one I am mostly likely to give at a baby shower is Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting by Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn.

Other important reads for me:
** anything by Douglas Coupland
** One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love In the Time of the Cholera
** The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston
** someone above mentioned The Master and Margarita by Bulgakov--YES! I'm not a religious person at all, but I found the story of Jesus and Pontius Pilate woven through the novel to be very affecting.

Fri, 2009-07-24 22:16

Ok, so a late post to when the commenting began, but I am catching up!! I worked in a book store in my pre-fam days and I have always been a voracious reader (a book a day not uncommon - not sure I had much of a social life, but I was well read!).

Wow - so many good books listed (Pillars of the Earth, Red Tent, DaVinci Code and The Shack - which my 7 year old son almost asked me to quit reading b/c it made me cry so much). My fave authors would have to be:

-John Irving ("Prayer for Owen Meany" top pick - I can't watch the movie based on this one b/c I am afraid of what they may have done to it)
-Pat Conroy ("Prince of Tides" top pick - hate the movie, curse "Babs" for what she did to that film!)
-Tom Robbins ("Still life with Woodpecker" top pick)
-Edith Wharton ("Age of Innocence" top pick - and I love the movie too!)
-Anne Lamott ("Operating Instructions" top pick, but I also love her inspirational books).

I have little time to read these days with 2 little'uns in the house (a 7 yo son and a 2 yo daughter), but get by most of the time with mags and blogs (LOVE Alice Bradley and Rebecca Woolf - yo!). I did just buy one new book and hope (!) to get to read it by end of the month!

Fri, 2009-08-07 11:52