I have always loved reading books. Even at the age of five, I remember having this strange desire to read and to learn about everything and anything. And I firmly believe the books I have read in my lifetime have shaped me as a person. Aside from my close friends and family, books definitely made me who I am today. I am sure I will have a more extensive list, but for this post, I would like to share with you the 5 books that have changed my life (so far).
1) Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
My fourth grade teacher would read to us Shel Silverstein’s collection of poems everyday towards the end of class when we would wait for our school buses to get called. Fourth grade was the year I discovered that I liked poetry. Because of Shel Silverstein’s poems, I tried dabbling in poetry. As I got older, I found other forms of writing I enjoyed doing too.
2) The Giver by Lois Lowry
Once again, I have a fond memory of an old school teacher reading to me and to my classmates this book. I was in middle school when my fifth grade teacher read this book to my class. I was in a transitional period this particular year in my life. I had just switched schools(not school districts, but buildings, and I was with more kids), and I was not adjusting to school very well. I did not have that many friends at the time, and so Jonas’s story gave me comfort.
3. House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
I read this book while I was in college. This book is about an Iranian family who purchases a home that was auctioned off in the San Francisco area. The family is happy with the home, until the home’s previous owner tries to win the house back from the debt collectors. The previous owner goes to a very extreme level to get the house back. This book taught me that home isn’t necessarily an actual house, but rather a state of being and the people you surround yourself with.
4) The Book of Unknown Americans by Christina Henriquez
I read this book while in college as well. I had just taken a literature class that involved reading stories about immigrants coming to America. After that class, I was in a phase where I was reading nothing but immigrant fiction, and this book was one of them. This book tells a story of a couple who leaves Mexico and comes to America legally in hopes to find health insurance to take care of their sick daughter. While they are in the U.S., the husband loses his job, therefore losing his working papers to be in America legally, and so the family becomes undocumented, and they need to find a way to stay in hopes to help their daughter. This story was gut wrenching and powerful. It opened my eyes up to another perspective on illegal immigration in America. My heart ached for this family the whole time I read the book.
5) The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
No influential book list would be complete without this series. This book series has helped me in many ways while I grew up. It taught me what friendship is, how to be brave, and how to stick up for what is right.
Essays
Likes
1035 Views
Share: