2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

There are authors that really changed your outlook in life, who are they and why?

Mine is Mitch Albom, I instantly fell in love with his "The Five People You Meet in Heaven", it was that book that really got me thinking on how our lives are just interconnected with one another. I think one of the main reasons I also enjoy reading his books are the fact that they give you a sense of personal reflection towards your own journey in life, and it's something I cherish in books that I read.

It was Lucy Maud Montgomery for me. Before I discovered Anne of Green Gables I hated reading, absolutely did not like it at all. My mom used to have to actually bribe me to read lol Then one day that book landed in my lap, and it transformed my whole life. So, thank you, Lucy Maud!!

One is Tolkien, I think The Lord of the Rings was just the book I needed when I was 10 and the world was rapidly changing around me. And then I discovered the Silmarillion that fit right with the love of mythology I've always had, and helped me discover the world of medieval literature. Plus I met some awesome people who became real-life friends thanks to Tolkien fandom.

The other is Robert Desowitz, who is a parasitologist. His book from the 70s was for years one of my go-to feel-good books when I am feeling down. Unfortunately, I did eventually read his last book, written in 2000s, and it had the opposite effect. I would have said it made me jaded but I would be lying because by the time I read it, I had nearly 20 years of healthcare work experience in different settings.

Great question Dee, and there have been so many.

1. Totally agree with Mitch Album, very heartwarming in all his stories. He does a great job of reminding us about connecting with others in a meaningful way.

2. Jon Acuff is another, I loved Soundtracks, the surprising truth to overthinking. This was a more recent read for me, but I’ve recommended it to all of my employees and a number of colleagues. Funny too!

3. Malcolm Gladwell helped influence the way I question data as presented, I think it has made me a better professional.

Theresa A Couch wrote: "Great question Dee, and there have been so many.

1. Totally agree with Mitch Album, very heartwarming in all his stories. He does a great job of reminding us about connecting with others in a mea..."

If you come back to this, an excellent book I think you'll like is The Invisible Gorilla: And Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us. I hadn't heard of it until my son read it for a university class--he liked it and loaned it to me.

I would say that 'Man's Search for Meaning' by Victor Frankel made the most impact on me. Frankel survived incarceration in a Concentration Camp in WW2 and writes about his experience and how he coped with it.

I was always a big reader, but when I was 7, a friend loaned me the first Babysitters Club book (by Ann M. Martin), which had just been released, & that's it. I was a goner. Not only did I become obsessed with the series for years (I have reviewed every single one here on Goodreads), but I was set on a life path dedicated to books.

The children's author/illustrator Steven Kellogg was also special to me because he was my mentor as a child. I won a writing contest & the prize was free attendance to a youth writing conference & mentorship with a published author. We worked together all weekend & corresponded for several years afterward. He's the one who told me about agents, inspiring a game I loved to play in which I would write stories in different voices & then pretend to be an agent trying to sell them to different publishing houses. What a dork.

When I was 17, I read bell hooks for the first time. Specifically, Outlaw Culture: Resisting Representations. Absolutely blew my mind. Changed everything for me. I feel like that's the book that made me an adult.

I could go on. Ruth Ozeki. Claire Dederer. Angela Carter. Cindy Crabb.

Dee wrote: "There are authors that really changed your outlook in life, who are they and why?

Mine is Mitch Albom, I instantly fell in love with his "The Five People You Meet in Heaven", it was that book that..."


I have that book and just got it from my bookshelf after reading your message.. I will do a re-read. I also have his The Time Keeper

D.L. wrote: "It was Lucy Maud Montgomery for me. Before I discovered Anne of Green Gables I hated reading, absolutely did not like it at all. My mom used to have to actually bribe me to read lol Then one day th..."

LMM is a HUGE one for me too as a child
Jaquline Carey and Christopher Moore now that I'm an adult.