Memorable Books : A New Feature

I'm starting a new feature on this blog to record different people's perspectives on the memorable books they have read. This entails guest posts!

Why?

I have sensed that my reading phases go through dramatic extremes. I'm either eager and ravenously hungry to devour as many good books as possible, or I'm left with an inertia (perhaps due to drained energy), and struggle to read even those books that I enthusiastically picked up. And given the pressures of work, I realize that I need a very compelling force to make time to read good books. So, in order to give myself (and others) a refreshing boost of motivation and inspiration, I want to hear others' words and thoughts on one of the books that most moved them and touched them - emotionally/psychologically/intellectually. As one of my friends suggested, it could even be about a book that changed one's life for the better.

I'm aware that everyone has a list of such favorite books and it's almost impossible to pick one book. Yet, due to practical and selfish reasons, I want to build a tangible repository of good books that I (and others) can hopefully read within this lifetime. That being my goal, I want to coax out one's thoughts on just one of their most memorable books - "If you had to be cast away on an island", kind of deal :).

In order for this feature to survive (and grow), I have been requesting friends of mine to write guest posts. I am happy to say that the first post dutifully arrived this morning! The ensuing post will be of this guest blogger's, so stay tuned!

I heartily welcome contributions to this feature!

What I would like: Your thoughts on one book that is most memorable to you. I would like to know your reasons, perhaps even some personal anecdotes as to how and why this book moved/changed/affected you. I don't expect a review, so it's perfectly fine if you no longer remember the finer details of the story or the characters. I'm hoping to capture the strong feelings associated with the book, in the hopes that the words and emotions will touch the reader and fuel them to reach out to good, meaningful books. Your choice can be fiction or non-fiction (but hopefully not a specialized textbook :)). And, there is no word limit!

If you would like to contribute, please leave me a comment!