Do books really change your life?

typatterson67 · 03-13-2014, 06:15 AM

i am a reader first and read all manners of books ranging from non-fiction - management, business, quantum physics, to fiction - all genres except romance and fantasy.

like any other reader, some books have moved me deeply, some less so.

i frequently come across this statement in book forums and during book discussions.. that books change life.

but do they really? i am specifically talking about fiction. i am not referring to self help, religious, academic texts et al.

does fiction really change your life? has there been a specific book that transformed your life?

there is an argument that the accumulation of the residual impact of books changes lives.. but we are talking about years in that circumstance.

will be interested in views.

BWinmill · 03-13-2014, 08:03 AM

I typically read fiction for enjoyment. Taken individually, I think it's safe to say that individual works of fiction have not made profound changes in my life. That is the domain of non-fiction in my life.

Collectively, I do not know the answer. I have certainly changed over the years, as has my choice in fiction. But I don't know which one caused the other.

WillAdams · 03-13-2014, 09:02 AM

Yes, especially when one is young --- Hal Gordon's _Divers Down: Adventure Under Hawaiian Seas_ was a huge influence on my work ethic (also inspired me to want to go to Hawai'i which I was very fortunate to be able to do).

missimpossible · 03-13-2014, 09:18 AM

I think that the love of reading has changed my life. I think having read a wide variety of things opens up channels of communication and reference that wouldn't exist if I wasn't familiar with books generally. Plus, I personally find that reading fiction is generally a great form of escapism, among other things. Being encouraged to read a lot as a child definitely changed my childhood, and definitely improved my performance at school. So yeah, I think reading a lot has definitely changed things about the way I live my life and my preference as regards pastimes and probably even my choice of career. That's not to say that I necessarily think that not having a love of reading would have made my life materially worse. I just think it might have been more difficult for me to succeed in certain areas.

QuantumIguana · 03-13-2014, 09:21 AM

When I was younger, books opened a lot of perspectives that would otherwise have been closed to me. At this point, my life is not very likely to be changed dramatically by a work of fiction, the ideas that once would have been eye-openers are now pretty familiar.

icallaci · 03-13-2014, 11:53 AM

I hesitate to mention this, but Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand, changed me profoundly. I was 16 and my best friend's mother (who knew I loved to read), suggested I try it. It was the first time I had read a fictional story that made me think about the consequences of our thoughts, not just our actions. I went on to read several biographies of Rand, who did not always live up to her espoused philosophy and became a tyrant herself in her own circle. That book taught me to think, and to think all the way through a subject, and to face the truth of wherever that thinking led me. I didn't reach the same conclusions as Rand did, but that book had a major influence on me.

Penforhire · 03-13-2014, 02:07 PM

Being a fiction reader shaped my life tremendously. I would not be who I am today without all the speculative fiction I consumed as a child. I would not have formed a faculty-sponsored role playing club in high school and met some of my life-long unusual friends there.

I would not have had the interest to pursue a college degree in English. I would not be the strong communicator I am, for a scientist, and would probably not have become an engineering manager. I would not have the interdisciplinary approach that makes me more valued (the cliché is "outside the box" thinking).

I owe my career to my speculative reading.

Namekuseijin · 03-13-2014, 03:30 PM

A lifechanging event is unlikely, but as no man is an island and thus books have definitely contributed to my cultural growth. Profound lines and favorite passages stick with us and in a sense define us.

jandrew · 03-13-2014, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by typatterson67

does fiction really change your life?

Indeed! How else could I believe as many as six impossible things before breakfast but for fiction?

Am I being facetious? Yes. And no.

Grace Elliot · 03-13-2014, 04:54 PM

Books give you ideas and shape the way you think about things. Reading Margaret George's 'The Autobiography of Henry VIII' sparked an interest in history and inspired me to pick up other books. Not so much a revolution as an evolution but bit by bit I started learning about the past. Has it changed my life? Not in an earth shattering way, but it has influenced where I go on holiday, where I visit in my spare time and how I spend spare hours.

typatterson67 · 03-13-2014, 05:56 PM

So would I be right in saying that books have the most impact in the early years, both teen and early adult, and have lesser impact as we grow older?

Herman Wouk's War and Peace, James Michener's The Covenant, Ayn Rand, and many others, all have affected me, but I think it is contemporary happenings in the real world that shaped my life and not so much the fictional word on paper.

mcrow · 03-13-2014, 06:00 PM

I think reading in general has changed my life but I can't say that any single book made a significant impact on my life.

I think the closest one was probably "Rumblefish" and that is because it was the first novel I ever read and I loved it and it is what got me into reading in the first place. So, I guess that might have changed my life but then who is to say I wouldn't have picked up another book and had the same thing happen?

mojos · 03-13-2014, 06:59 PM

[QUOTE=typatterson67;2786184]So would I be right in saying that books have the most impact in the early years, both teen and early adult, and have lesser impact as we grow older?

I don't know if there would be lesser impact as we grow older. I've been reading since I was 7, and I'm turning 19 now but I am still the same adventurous and imaginative kid whenever I read, especially fiction. Maybe I'm just too young to realize how the impact lessens as we get older. But for now, I see no difference at all as long as one loves reading and keeps an open mind. Just my two cents.

Penforhire · 03-14-2014, 06:13 PM

ty, I think you are correct. We call them formative years. We are most shaped or influenced when we are young. I am not saying an old dog can't learn new tricks but we are a 'tabla rasa' only once in our lives. Not many of us can really be a palimpsest.

Clearly I can't shake my zest for clichés...

caleb72 · 03-15-2014, 10:25 AM

Has a book changed my life? I guess it depends on what you mean by "change". Has a book helped shape my opinion on a particular topic? Yes. Is that life-changing? Well, I guess it is really, but I'm not sure if this is the "change" you are referring to.

Maybe I'm somewhat unusual, but I like to think I'm pretty open to ideas and as fiction is not bereft of ideas, there's a good chance that a few are going to sink in. An obvious example is 1984.

Additionally, because fiction tends to contain different ideas and perspectives, I sometimes feel like I've become more sensitive to other people; that I've enhanced my empathy in some way.

This process is ongoing. My "formative" years were quite disruptive in comparison to later years, but I'm not sure that it's a case of less vs more, but rather dramatic vs subtle.

03-13-2014, 06:15 AM	#1
typatterson67 Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Europe, USA, Asia Device: iPad Mini	Do books really change your life? i am a reader first and read all manners of books ranging from non-fiction - management, business, quantum physics, to fiction - all genres except romance and fantasy. like any other reader, some books have moved me deeply, some less so. i frequently come across this statement in book forums and during book discussions.. that books change life. but do they really? i am specifically talking about fiction. i am not referring to self help, religious, academic texts et al. does fiction really change your life? has there been a specific book that transformed your life? there is an argument that the accumulation of the residual impact of books changes lives.. but we are talking about years in that circumstance. will be interested in views.

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03-13-2014, 08:03 AM	#2
BWinmill Nameless Being	I typically read fiction for enjoyment. Taken individually, I think it's safe to say that individual works of fiction have not made profound changes in my life. That is the domain of non-fiction in my life. Collectively, I do not know the answer. I have certainly changed over the years, as has my choice in fiction. But I don't know which one caused the other.

03-13-2014, 09:02 AM	#3
WillAdams Wizard Posts: 1,258 Karma: 3439432 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (300ppi), Samsung Galaxy Book 12	Yes, especially when one is young --- Hal Gordon's _Divers Down: Adventure Under Hawaiian Seas_ was a huge influence on my work ethic (also inspired me to want to go to Hawai'i which I was very fortunate to be able to do).

03-13-2014, 09:18 AM	#4
missimpossible Groupie Posts: 165 Karma: 491236 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Glasgow Device: Libra 2, Clara 2e, Oasis 3	I think that the love of reading has changed my life. I think having read a wide variety of things opens up channels of communication and reference that wouldn't exist if I wasn't familiar with books generally. Plus, I personally find that reading fiction is generally a great form of escapism, among other things. Being encouraged to read a lot as a child definitely changed my childhood, and definitely improved my performance at school. So yeah, I think reading a lot has definitely changed things about the way I live my life and my preference as regards pastimes and probably even my choice of career. That's not to say that I necessarily think that not having a love of reading would have made my life materially worse. I just think it might have been more difficult for me to succeed in certain areas.

03-13-2014, 09:21 AM	#5
QuantumIguana Philosopher Posts: 2,034 Karma: 18736532 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2 gen, Kindle Fire 1st Gen, Kindle Touch	When I was younger, books opened a lot of perspectives that would otherwise have been closed to me. At this point, my life is not very likely to be changed dramatically by a work of fiction, the ideas that once would have been eye-openers are now pretty familiar.

03-13-2014, 11:53 AM	#6
icallaci Guru Posts: 817 Karma: 6528026 Join Date: Sep 2012 Device: Kobo Elipsa	I hesitate to mention this, but Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand, changed me profoundly. I was 16 and my best friend's mother (who knew I loved to read), suggested I try it. It was the first time I had read a fictional story that made me think about the consequences of our thoughts, not just our actions. I went on to read several biographies of Rand, who did not always live up to her espoused philosophy and became a tyrant herself in her own circle. That book taught me to think, and to think all the way through a subject, and to face the truth of wherever that thinking led me. I didn't reach the same conclusions as Rand did, but that book had a major influence on me.

03-13-2014, 02:07 PM	#7
Penforhire Wizard Posts: 2,230 Karma: 7145404 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern California Device: Kindle Voyage & iPhone 7+	Being a fiction reader shaped my life tremendously. I would not be who I am today without all the speculative fiction I consumed as a child. I would not have formed a faculty-sponsored role playing club in high school and met some of my life-long unusual friends there. I would not have had the interest to pursue a college degree in English. I would not be the strong communicator I am, for a scientist, and would probably not have become an engineering manager. I would not have the interdisciplinary approach that makes me more valued (the cliché is "outside the box" thinking). I owe my career to my speculative reading.

03-13-2014, 03:30 PM	#8
Namekuseijin affordable chipmunk Posts: 1,290 Karma: 9863855 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Brazil Device: Sony XPeria ZL, Kindle Paperwhite	A lifechanging event is unlikely, but as no man is an island and thus books have definitely contributed to my cultural growth. Profound lines and favorite passages stick with us and in a sense define us.

03-13-2014, 04:54 PM	#10
Grace Elliot Groupie Posts: 186 Karma: 1317334 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: London Device: kindle	Books give you ideas and shape the way you think about things. Reading Margaret George's 'The Autobiography of Henry VIII' sparked an interest in history and inspired me to pick up other books. Not so much a revolution as an evolution but bit by bit I started learning about the past. Has it changed my life? Not in an earth shattering way, but it has influenced where I go on holiday, where I visit in my spare time and how I spend spare hours.

03-13-2014, 05:56 PM	#11
typatterson67 Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Europe, USA, Asia Device: iPad Mini	So would I be right in saying that books have the most impact in the early years, both teen and early adult, and have lesser impact as we grow older? Herman Wouk's War and Peace, James Michener's The Covenant, Ayn Rand, and many others, all have affected me, but I think it is contemporary happenings in the real world that shaped my life and not so much the fictional word on paper.

03-13-2014, 06:00 PM	#12
mcrow Zealot Posts: 145 Karma: 1486256 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: Kindle 4/Kindle Fire HD/Kindle Fire HDX 7"	I think reading in general has changed my life but I can't say that any single book made a significant impact on my life. I think the closest one was probably "Rumblefish" and that is because it was the first novel I ever read and I loved it and it is what got me into reading in the first place. So, I guess that might have changed my life but then who is to say I wouldn't have picked up another book and had the same thing happen?

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03-13-2014, 06:59 PM	#13
mojos Enthusiast Posts: 29 Karma: 77596 Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Godric's Hollow Device: iPad 2	[QUOTE=typatterson67;2786184]So would I be right in saying that books have the most impact in the early years, both teen and early adult, and have lesser impact as we grow older? I don't know if there would be lesser impact as we grow older. I've been reading since I was 7, and I'm turning 19 now but I am still the same adventurous and imaginative kid whenever I read, especially fiction. Maybe I'm just too young to realize how the impact lessens as we get older. But for now, I see no difference at all as long as one loves reading and keeps an open mind. Just my two cents.

03-14-2014, 06:13 PM	#14
Penforhire Wizard Posts: 2,230 Karma: 7145404 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern California Device: Kindle Voyage & iPhone 7+	ty, I think you are correct. We call them formative years. We are most shaped or influenced when we are young. I am not saying an old dog can't learn new tricks but we are a 'tabla rasa' only once in our lives. Not many of us can really be a palimpsest. Clearly I can't shake my zest for clichés...

03-15-2014, 10:25 AM	#15
caleb72 Indie Advocate Posts: 2,863 Karma: 18794463 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: Kindle	Has a book changed my life? I guess it depends on what you mean by "change". Has a book helped shape my opinion on a particular topic? Yes. Is that life-changing? Well, I guess it is really, but I'm not sure if this is the "change" you are referring to. Maybe I'm somewhat unusual, but I like to think I'm pretty open to ideas and as fiction is not bereft of ideas, there's a good chance that a few are going to sink in. An obvious example is 1984. Additionally, because fiction tends to contain different ideas and perspectives, I sometimes feel like I've become more sensitive to other people; that I've enhanced my empathy in some way. This process is ongoing. My "formative" years were quite disruptive in comparison to later years, but I'm not sure that it's a case of less vs more, but rather dramatic vs subtle.