Books That Have Changed Our Lives: Part I

Recently, I’ve been thinking about the impact books can have on our lives. Books can make us feel so much and invoke such profound emotion. They can open open our eyes to new ideas and make us question social norms. They can take us to different worlds, show us magic and time travel, all while reminding us how important it is to believe in ourselves. They ask us existential questions and help us realise what’s important to us.

Simply put, books can change our lives. The series that’s changed mine is A Darker Shade of Magic. V. E. Schwab’s magical tales about four different Londons captured my imagination like no other. The world and characters stunned me; I fell in love with how brilliantly the books were written. They changed my life by making me feel such depth of emotion and uplifting me with hope and optimism at a time when I needed it. And to top it all off, reading this series not only reminded me of why I want to write – to create those same feelings of hope in others – but made me put pen to paper again.

While thinking about this, I tweeted my followers asking which books had changed their lives. What I received were some brilliant, moving, and thought-provoking responses.

Charlotte @Charl_Selby chose The Upside of Unrequited.

https://twitter.com/Charl_Selby/status/879076961452216322

https://twitter.com/Charl_Selby/status/879077086736109568

https://twitter.com/Charl_Selby/status/879077302239408128

Alyce Hunt @everythingalyce also chose a Becky Albertalli novel, Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda.

A book that changed my life was Simon vs. by Becky Albertalli. Made it far easier to accept that I'm bisexual and that's a-okay! https://t.co/zpC1YkJrzJ

— Alyce @ The Bumbling Blogger (@everythingalyce) June 25, 2017

Vicky @hunguponbooks suggested Anna and the French Kiss.

Anna and the French Kiss because it made me fall back in love with reading again after barely picking up a book through high school/college!

— Vicky ✨ (@whatvickyread) June 25, 2017

Katherine @writinghideout said Harry Potter (and I think we probably all echo that sentiment).

HP1 (Hermione! An unashamed book swot in a story!), The Wee Free Men (I want to be Tiffany!) and also To Kill A Mockingbird 📚

— Katherine (@writinghideout) June 25, 2017

Bex @myshelfmyself went for The Mortal Instruments.

I'd have to say The Mortal Instruments by @cassieclare, because it's a series that I became utterly obsessed and still am to this day!

— Bex (@MyShelfMyself) June 25, 2017

Becca @beccasbookrealm had a couple of different choices!

https://twitter.com/beccasbookrealm/status/879080385040203776

https://twitter.com/beccasbookrealm/status/879080472017485824

https://twitter.com/beccasbookrealm/status/879080505718657024

https://twitter.com/beccasbookrealm/status/879080713990963200

Lizzy @littlebookblog1 chose The Last Lecture.

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Lesson learnt = Never take life for granted – fgs. ❤❤❤. It's an incredible fantastic book.

— Lizzy (@lizzybalds) June 25, 2017

Hannah @hannschofield said Gilead, but then also went for Harry Potter!

Marilynne Robinson's GILEAD. Unashamed, nuanced depiction of religion; cure for fear of death. Both things I'd been looking for! 🙂

— Hannah Schofield (@hannschofield) June 25, 2017

that sounds ridiculously heavy haha. should also probably say Harry Potter because that defined my reading journey as a child.

— Hannah Schofield (@hannschofield) June 25, 2017

Lauren @ACityOfBooks went for an epic sci-fi tale.

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet. A recent read. It gave me hope. It reminded me of how good humanity can be. How accepting we could be.

— You May Call Me Lolly (@ACityofBooks) June 25, 2017

And Shaun @BigGayShaun offered a great LGBTQIA+ choice!

https://twitter.com/BigGayShaun/status/879085124645683201

https://twitter.com/BigGayShaun/status/879085519392690176

There are some wonderful and diverse choices here, reflecting how we’re all influenced by books differently. It’s apparent that every single reader was passionate about their book (or books) of choice, and each person found a connection with the novel, or something that truly spoke to them written within the pages.

I got so many wonderful responses to this poll, that I couldn’t fit them all in one post, so I’ll be posting a Part II in a few days.

I’d love to know which book has changed your life and why? Has a book made you think differently about the world, or simply given you hope when you needed it most? Drop me a comment and let me know!