Four books that influenced me

Last month, I came across a friend’s #filmstruck4 hashtag on Twitter that looked for tweeters to list four films that defined them (thanks, Kristin!) It was oddly hard to come up with, as most of the titles that came to mind were books.

(You see where this is going?)

I didn’t think I could keep it to four, but these titles required very little consideration. They are, without the doubt, the books have have most defined and influenced me and my tastes:

1. “Inherit the Wind,” by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. I read this fictionalized play about the Scopes Monkey Trial back in high school, and it blew my mind. It was the very first thing that taught me, “I can use my own intelligence and experiences to decide what I believe.” It struck me so much, I can even pull out a direct quote from it–and, for this gal with a terrible memory, that’s saying something: “The Bible is a book. It’s a good book. It is not the only book.”
2. “Forever …” by Judy Blume. When I first read this as a kid, it was just the book by my favorite author that talked about penises. But I’ve reread it three or four times, and I pull out something different each read. Following a protagonist who does not lose her head over a boy, who is responsible with that boy, who is in charge of herself when she’s around that boy–it’s huge.
3. “Hearts in Atlantis,” by Stephen King. King is my favorite, and this is the book that first made me realize that writing of this caliber existed. It’s not the first King I read–those were “Firestarter” and “Salem’s Lot”–but neither of those affected me any which way. “Hearts,” opened this whole new world of writing and literature and is ultimately responsible for the King Shelf in my house..
4. “Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress,” by Susan Jane Gilman. I only ever read fiction for a long time. Then the title of an autobiography made me giggle, so I bought it. And I realized that there was this whole other genre of books–memoir–to discover and make my favorite.

After looking at these books and why they influenced me, I’m struck by the fact that none of their import to me comes from plot. It comes instead from learning, or discovering new methods, or the way words can make us feel in our wild underbellies.

What books define you?