Books that got to you.

[mirinda]

So instead of the same old "which book is your favorite" thread. I want to know what books you have read that really got to you on a personal level and said something real to you. What books have you read that YOU really connected with. Something that you read that made you think. It doesn't have to be the whole book either, just one part that meant something to you.

I don't know if this has been done before and frankly I'm *coughtoolazycough* to really look.

[The Ace]

'Wyrd Sisters,' by Terry Pratchett

The part where the witches are discussing Tomjon's adoption.

Many questions are asked and answered before Granny produces a money-pouch to help with expenses. When asked why she didn't offer money in the first place, but appealed to the Vitoller's sense of honour she simply replied;

"If I'd had to buy you, you wouldn't be worth the price."

The sentiment makes sense, but Pratchett summed it up beautifully.

[Overread]

hmm I will admit many books can get to me, but many don't make a fully long lasting impression - though there are two books that stand out:

Ring of Bright Water and The Rocks Remain - by Gavin Maxwell.

I admit I never finished The Rocks Remain, I read it very soon after Bright Water and found it to be such a different feel to the book - the first was a tale of discovery and joy (barring near the end) whilst the latter book was an almost opposite affair - a tale of something prescious lost and sadness - I stopped reading (and it takes quite a bit to stop me)

I will return and read the book to the end and the final volume in the trillogy in the end, but I doubt I will forget these books.
Definatly something I would recomend to others to read

[K. Riehl]

Flowers for Algernon - Daniel Keyes

Wizard of EarthSea - Ursula LeGuin

The Sand Kings (original short story version) - George martin

Enemy Mine - Barry Longyear

All high quality, all found a way into my imagination and memory.

[littlemissattitude]

Dracula.

For some reason, Stoker's novel really bothered me on a lot of levels. I'm glad I read it, but it just made me uncomfortable in ways I can't even begin to put words to.

I really have always liked vampire stories, but this one was just...disturbing. As I'm sure it was supposed to be.

[Hilarious Joke]

House on the Borderline scared me.

Beware the pig-men!

[clovis-man]

Originally Posted by littlemissattitude

Dracula.

For some reason, Stoker's novel really bothered me on a lot of levels. I'm glad I read it, but it just made me uncomfortable in ways I can't even begin to put words to.

I really have always liked vampire stories, but this one was just...disturbing. As I'm sure it was supposed to be.

I felt the same to a certain extent. It was hard for me to believe it had been written so long ago because it had an immediacy to it that made it seem like a story newly told.

Re vampires, I have to say that Interview With The Vampire had a similar effect on me. the descriptions in the book of the characters and events were at once stark and vivid: to the point of seeming real. I can't say the same about the sequels or other Anne Rice books (and I've read a good number of them).

[BookStop]

Dean Koontz Watchers had my heart pounding the first time I read it. Maybe because I'm such a sucker for dogs, or the fact that I believe there be monsters about...I don't know, but it has remained a favorite and I read it often.

[Reading_fanatic]

David Feintuchs Midshipmans hope because for some reason I really believed the main character and actually felt sorry for all the hardship he faced.

[Phillips101]

Originally Posted by clovis-man

Re vampires, I have to say that Interview With The Vampire had a similar effect on me. the descriptions in the book of the characters and events were at once stark and vivid: to the point of seeming real. I can't say the same about the sequels or other Anne Rice books (and I've read a good number of them).

I recently read Interview with the Vampire, and I found it quite dull. But then, the last 20 pages or so, when Louis finished his story really filled me with a sense of despair. When Armand walked off, I just got filled with a huge sense of futility, and everything in the book seemed to come together to show me just how boring their lives are :P That's the reason I liked it.

Also, Pratchett with the Wyrd Sisters thing above.

But the best one IMO in another Pratchett book - Carpe Jugulum. Granny Weatherwax's struggle through that book, and especially when she says that if she got vampired, she would be more terrible than any normal vampire, summed up most of Granny's story throughout the books. Being a bad character and forcing herself to turn good day after day because its the right thing to do.

[Ice fyre]

Dune captured my imagination for some reason and hasnt let go of it for some years. I find the polictics before Paul becomes Mauid dib to be fascinating and the setting of Dune itself to be fascinating.

Watchers was a book that made an impression on me but it was Dean Koontz's Intensity that made a major impression for that writer, just the style and a fantastic twist at the end!

Although I would say the Liveship traders has been the most recent books to hit me heavily, I loved the story and the tragic way that the pirate king gets drawn to his fate and destiny by his unknowing actions.

[Hilarious Joke]

Ah Kennit, one of the best 'villains' in fantasy, imho.

[Pyar]

For completely different reasons these got to me:
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin because it was the first book that I read that I thought was a complete masterpiece. It was amazing to me on so many levels.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley because I have studied and read this book so many times. The story of the monster connects with me on so many levels. The book is really all about parenting and Mary Shelley's lack of it.
The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer. This was just a very touching story. The way it was written made me connect with the character on a very personal level that I felt for him throughout the book. The ending shocked me as well.

On a side note "Paradises Lost" by Ursula K. Le Guin and "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson were two short stories that had an impact on me.

[elvet]

Though it might be a bit cliche, I have to say Lord of the Rings (including Silmarillion, the Hobbit, and ancilliary readings). It started off my interest in fantasy. The completeness of the world building with myth, language and history just blew me away. Sure, I've since read books with better characterization, but the sense that Middle Earth could be real just isn't matched in many other epic fantasies' settings. The clincher came when I read his short story about the contemporary men (1940's ?) having dreams of the big wave that destroys Numenor (I think it was in the Book of Lost Tales but I'm not sure). Surprisingly enough, I've often had dreams of standing on a building in a city by the shore and watched as a huge wave comes rushing towards me.

[manephelien]

The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon. I'm not autistic nor do I know anyone who is personally, but the writing really got under my skin.