I have always loved to read. Beyond just a pastime, books have been my friends, an escape, solace. But there are 2 that have left lasting impressions above and beyond the others. As a child, it was King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry. As an adult, it is The Good Soldiers by David Finkel.

I’ve enjoyed so many books over the years and most have stuck with me. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why these 2 surpassed the others because many books tell great stories, have great characters, and are beautifully written.

They’re obviously very different books but emotionally they are the same. They affected me so deeply and the memories are so rich, I feel I’ve actually lived them both.

The follow up to Good Soldiers, Thank You for Your Service, is more well known because it was made into a movie with Miles Teller. I have read it and it’s wonderful, but The Good Soldiers transported me to Iraq, put a rifle in my hand, and killed my friends.

I am looking for books like this. Any genre, any age group. Any book that is so ingrained you feel like it’s a part of your life story.

  • cust71@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. No, I didn’t become some drug seeking journalist, but it turned me on to a different view of, well, everything. I was reading nothing but Stephen King and history books, fresh out of 12 years of catholic school, and this book broke the mental dam. I started reading Irvine Welsh, Kerouac, anything off the beaten path, compared to what I was used to reading and internalizing. It really opened my mind, and made me more of an accepting person, something the previous 12 years did not.