Comments on: BBW Day Four (and a contest!)

By: JP

JP — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:34:55 +0000

Oh man, The Handmaid’s Tale is a favorite of mine as well.

As for challenging me, one book that gave me indelible screaming nightmares — and stands out to me because it was REAL — was Night by Elie Wiesel. Nothing, and I mean nothing, about the Holocaust struck me so much before. It just blew me away, but getting through it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done as well.

By: Frana

Frana — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:24:15 +0000

I remember reading The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka in high school and that book has as great impact on me now as it had then. Also, his Process was a book that left me thinking about the world and our society for a long time.
Recently read influential book was Broken by Megan Hart – it left me thinking about my relationships with different people in my life.

By: Tez Miller

Tez Miller — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 06:34:51 +0000

My first Jodi Picoult read was Perfect Match. Genetics, sexual assault and religion all rolled into one. Also, the law. Big issues about parenthood as well – would you kill someone who assaulted your child? But what if the child’s speech impediment meant that you killed an innocent man instead of the culprit? Intriguing stuff!

Would love to win either book. Doubleblind was already on my Wishlist, but I’m all for dystopia in fiction, so The Handmaid’s Tale should do me just fine

By: vitch36

vitch36 — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:34:07 +0000

I didn’t come into reading on my own. It was mandatory in my home growing up.

Drama in Real Life from the Readers Digest, or from school, Where the Red Fern Grows.

Then one day when trying to appease my Grandparents by finding something ‘Classical’ yet ‘Spooky’…I found Edgar Allen Poe and learned I LOVED to read!

Not sure if that answers the question well enough…

By: Barbara Elness

Barbara Elness — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:54:21 +0000

There are a lot of books that I’ve enjoyed and think about years later. The one that comes to mind is Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein – it did really make me think.

By: Diane Sadler

Diane Sadler — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:38:06 +0000

I had to read Pearl S Buck’s The First Wife, and it revealed to me how women are treated in different cultures and countries around the world; I wasn’t so much as shocked as unbelieving, since I could not even imagined being a poor second class lower than your farm animals citizen. I made a point to read many most if not all of her books

By: Natasha A.

Natasha A. — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:36:56 +0000

Well, I would have to say Harry Potter. I know it has been a challenged book, and I think in some places banned. These books didn’t change me, I feel that they changed the world. Yeah, I know…some people will argue with me over that, but you know what? It got kids reading again. OMG there’s magic in them! WOohoo!

By: Amy M

Amy M — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:20:55 +0000

I don’t know that this one challenged me, but it for sure had qualities that I understood and parts that I just did not agree with at all. It was Hard to Handle by Jodi Picoult. In the beginning of the book, I understood the mom and her struggles, having a daughter that has a heart condition that limits her abilities, is on a ton of medicine and is only 3. However, as the book progessed, I had a lot of issues and did not agree with what the mother in the story was willing to do. I enjoyed it tremendously and it did open my eyes to a life outside of what I think of and what some people are willing to do.

Thanks!
Amy M

By: Fedora

Fedora — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:45:14 +0000

I admit that often I avoid books that challenge me because these days, I usually read to escape :) One challenging book was Mists of Avalon–it also got under your skin afterwards and got your brain churning…

By: CrystalGB

CrystalGB — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:49:58 +0000

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway.