This was much harder for me than I expected. There are lots and lots of books that I love (Make Way for Ducklings is at the top of that list), but I don't know if I would say they've influenced my worldview. And yet if I love them, something about them has probably stuck with me and influenced the way I think, react or act. So below are ten books that, in some way or another, have influenced me.
1. The Bible. Cliche, right? But as someone who professes to be a follower of Jesus, the Bible has deeply influenced the way that I think and feel about the world. It reaches (hopefully) into every area of my life, from the way I treat people (again, hopefully) to the way that I spend my time (hopefully) to the things I believe are worth fighting for (still hopefully!). I truly believe that from the first page to the last, this is the most influential book I have ever read. Yes, even the lists of names part.
2. The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I sound really smart right now, don't I? I picked this book up while I was in India (don't ask me how that happened, because honestly I don't remember). But I do remember the amazing story of the "simple" Prince Myshkin and his willingness to fight for Nastasya despite the ridicule of others. Honestly, I don't think you can read The Idiot without thinking of Christ or a Christ-like figure (of course I think the same about the movie Moulin Rouge and people think I'm crazy). There's also an element of societal condemnation (or the condemnation of certain types of behavior in society) that I think has influenced the way that I view our current society. I'll leave that there.
3. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith. Oh. my. gosh. I LOVED (and continue to love) this book. It is the quintessential coming of age story in the slums of Brooklyn, New York. In my life, this book's influence was quite far reaching, from giving me a context of what it means to grow up as a girl no matter what time period you may live in, to the realities of life in the slums. I just read this again earlier this fall and found it even more powerful than before.
4. The Magician's Nephew, by CS Lewis. The first in the "story series" of the Chronicles of Narnia, I just read The Magician's Nephew this fall (I apparently did a lot of reading this fall). It is the creation story as it has never been told before (and I won't spoil it for you so you can read it yourself!) It taught me to think of the story of creation in a completely new way, as a beautiful act of art, rather than a list of things that were made in a certain amount of time. That is literally changing my "world" "view". Ha!
5. Truth and Social Reform, by Vishal Mangalwadi. This book fundamentally changed my perception of the Christian's responsibility to social reform. I read this while studying at L'Abri in England...and really, anything you read in an English manor house is probably going to make an impression on you. The book is no longer in print, but if at all possible, get your hands on it. Mangalwadi, an Indian, writes of his struggles to figure out what his faith has to say about social reform, even as it is linked to evangelism. Absolutely essentially important to read.
6. Basic Christianity, by John Stott. Really, almost anything by John Stott. The basic fundamentals of what it means to be a Christian. Not an American Christian or a rich Christian or a poor Christian or any other ridiculous label of a Christian. He depicts the judgement deserved as no one I have ever read before, and yet also depicts the grace extended as I've never seen before, too. Rocked my world.
7. The Beautiful and Damned, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Great Gatsby could also be up there, but B&D influenced my worldview even more. In one short sentence, B&D shows us the dangers of irresponsible living, living that thinks only of one's self. Very powerful.
8. The Decameron, by Giovanni Boccaccio. In particular, the Second Story. Anyone who knows anything about The Decameron knows that it's quite raunchy in some parts and just plain gross in others. But the Second Story, in particular, profoundly impacted my world view and my thoughts on evangelism an the reality of the Christian faith. Encouraged by his friend, a Christian, to visit Rome to learn about Christianity, Abraham (a Jew) makes the trek to the great city. What he sees, instead, is complete debauchery by the "religious". His friend-completely disappointed- approaches him when he returns, fully expecting that he'll have nothing good to report. Here's the part that gets me. Abraham responds: "Unless I did not see things straight, I found no holiness, no devotion, no good work or example or anything else in a single man of the clergy. On the contrary, lust, gluttony, avarice and worse things...for all were at their work to ruin the Christian faith entirely and ban it altogether from the world...Yet when I notice their aim is not fulfilled, but that your religion continually grows and becomes more bright and clear, it seems to me very evident that the Holy Spirit is its foundation and support, so it must be the truest and holiest of all faiths." Wow.
9. Balkan Ghosts, by Robert Kaplan. Changed the way I view the world known as "former Yugoslavia" and most of the geopolitical situations around the globe.
10. Vogue's Book of Etiquette, 1948 printing. If you want to see the way people used to treat one another and behave, you've got to glance through Vogue's Book of Etiquette. I don't know if I can say that it changed my world view, but I can say that it definitely enlightened me. Maybe one day we can return to a more civil society (without the ridiculousness of some of the customs, too)
I know as soon as I hit publish I'm going to regret at least a few of these or some of the ones I left off. But here they are. Read, ask questions and check them out yourself.
Love that you threw in Vogue's Book of Etiquette.
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