Life-changing books, eh? Well, my first thought was to write about a book that has helped to shape my philosophy. The Tao of Pooh is a big stand-out in that regard, as is Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies, and the Truth About Reality. At the same time, though, those are both a little too overtly philosophical. They helped me refine my points of view, but didn't really expose me to anything too new. They just helped put words to things.
Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's illustrated Primer introduced me to more new ideas, and some that are particularly relevant to me now. I still go back to it often when I think of the possibilities for ebooks and ebook technology. Still, despite the new ideas it gave me, it didn't really change the way I think in any real way. It came along a little too late in my life for that.
When looking for a book that really shaped who I am today, a book that helped form my ideas of right and wrong and that helped me figure out the kind of life I wanted to lead and the sort of person I wanted to be; well, there was really only one possible book to write about: Frodo called it The Downfall of the Lord of the Rings and the Return of the King, but we know it more simply as The Lord of the Rings. I first picked it up the summer between fourth and fifth grade, and I re-read it on at least a yearly basis; I know that by my junior year in high school I had read it ten times.
The discovery part was easy--my parents loved Tolkien. Not that they were horrendously geeky people, or obsessed, or anything (granted, their silver Volvo does still have the license plate SHDWFX, in tribute to Gandalf's horse--still, that was mostly my doing). They just really liked Tolkien's stories, and they passed that along to me.
The Lord of the Rings influenced my early life in so many ways; because I loved it, I read other fantasy, started playing role-playing games (yes, I was one of them), and regularly broke friends's fingers with broomstick swords. But those are the more superficial ways that it influenced my life, really.
From Aragorn, I learned to love the idea of travel, while Gandalf passed along a hunger to know the ancient roots of things. Frodo taught me the importance of trying your best, even in circumstances that are much, much bigger than you, while Sam showed me that all the complexities of life aren't really nearly as complex as we think they are. And from all the hobbits I learned that really, the important thing to remember most of the time is that life is good.
The lessons from The Lord of the Rings keep coming, on each re-read. I've learned the importance of honoring one's word, the value of mercy, and the sad truth that all things must change and nothing will ever again be as it was. The Lord of the Rings is the book that set me on the path that I'm on now; it shaped me. And I couldn't be happier about it.
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I came to the trilogy in my mid-twenties. A friend was dismayed that I hadn't read any of Tolkien's stories. I started where most do with The Hobbit. I took my time getting to the darker trilogy, but each time I read another installment, I felt like I'd been reeled in. Many months or a year would go by, and all the sudden, my thoughts would return to Tolkien's world and I couldn't get my hands on the next book fast enough. I've never reread the series, but maybe it's time.
It's past time for me to do a re-read, as well--funny the way that grad school does that, eh? If you have the opportunity, try reading it aloud (or even better, having it read aloud). I was clued in to this by an essay Ursula LeGuin wrote; Tolkien's metrics are truly impressive. He writes the way that we speak. It's a joy to hear or to read aloud.
I played role-playing games as a kid, too, but oddly enough can't stand to read fantasy or sci-fi. That's what movies are for. The 'Rings' films made me cry. Seriously. Geek.
The movies were fine, sure enough--though the second one really irritated me. They changed random things for no apparent reason; that whole deal with Aragorn falling over the cliff, and then Faramir deciding to claim the Ring for Gondor instead of letting the hobbits go. . . . That stuff pissed me off. Of the three movies, I think the last one was the best--it stayed truest to the feel of the book. I appreciated the fact that it had the final scene, where Sam comes back from the Havens after everyone else has left Middle Earth, and he just sits down, and Rose puts little Rosie on his knee, and he says "Well, I'm back." To me, that's what the whole story is about.
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