The Books that (Currently) Changed my Life

Three weeks ago, I was asked to have my very own bookshelf at the local library. Three weeks ago, I came up with a list of twenty-six novels (including a couple of series, so I kind of cheated) which I think everyone should read. While I am proud of having my own shelf, and have visited it several times since, I keep worrying about it. Are these books really the most important to me? Did I forget one, or two, or many? Maybe you should judge. Read on!

I always feel rushed. I always feel like I have to do so many things at the same time. I have to work. I have to give lectures. I have to play volleyball. I have to see friends. I have to write on this blog. I have to work on my career. Three weeks ago, I had to decide to have my very own bookshelf, and I had to make a list of books within three days. While I was happy and thrilled, I felt rushed all over. There were so many things I had to do, and would it be wise to add this task to my overflowing to-do list? I decided it was.

I asked my friends which books I should add to my list (although I barely listened). I checked my blog to find out which books I’d already deemed noteworthy. I also worked, played volleyball, saw friends, and gave a lecture. In short, I was busy. But still, here it is, my very own books-that-made-an-impact-on-my-life-and-everyone-has-to-read list with both English and Dutch – and the occasional translated – books, in no particular order (for when does life ever make sense):

• Gerbrand Bakker – De kapperszoon. How could I not include this one? It’s a new chapter of my life, because it was the first proper lecture I ever gave. Let’s hope many more will follow.
• Milan Kundera – Immortality. This really is one of my favourite books in the world. If I had to choose one book I could read for the rest of my life, it might be this one. I bet rereading it every year would only increase its intellectual value about life, death, love, art, eternity, literature, and everything else.
• Laurent Binet – HhhH. This is a surprise, I think. I haven’t written anything about it yet, and it was years since I read it, but somehow it just stuck. It’s about a historical event, but also about how one writes about it. Very, very interesting.
• Gerard Reve – De avonden. I had to include a Dutch classic on it. This one was perfect – weird, cynical, hilarious, and a perfect example of teenage boredom and existential crisis.
• Leo Tolstoy – The Death of Ivan Ilyich. Compiling this list made me aware of how obsessed I am with life and death. This is another perfect example.
• Cornelia Funke – Ink Heart. When I was a young girl, these were the first books that made me realise just how magical books can be. I wanted to be Meggie, I wanted to be able to bring fictional characters to the real world with just my voice. Come to think of it, I want to read this book series again.
• Philip Pullman – His Dark Materials. Scratch what I wrote about Milan Kundera’s novel. If there’s one series I could reread for the rest of my life, it would definitely be this one. I was twenty-one when I first read this book, and I must have read them over ten times, but I discover another layer in them. This is the one.
• Virginia Woolf – Mrs Dalloway. An absolute landmark. A true literary masterpiece. Taking place on just one day, whole lives are analysed and dissected. What does it mean to be alive? This is just one of the questions that are explored in this novel.
• Ian McEwan – Saturday. Another book that takes place on just one day. Somehow there are days that change our lives, for better or worse.
• Sylvia Plath – The Bell Jar. I had wanted to read this one for ages before I finally decided to give it a go. I was afraid I would be disappointed, after all I had read about her; the tragic love life, the suicide, the unbridled talent and dedication. I felt many things after I had finished her only novel, and disappointment wasn’t one of them.
• Walter Tevis – The Man Who Fell to Earth. One of the few books I read after I had watched the film, I loved the way Tevis described how looking at the world through an alien’s eyes makes us more aware of how humanity works.
• Margaret Atwood – The Blind Assassin. Atwood is one of my favourite authors. I love everything she does – but I didn’t want to include The Handmaid’s Tale, her most famous novel. This one, about the death of a family member and authorship, is even better than that one.
• Pat Barker – The Regeneration Trilogy. First World War fiction at its finest.
• Daniel Keyes – Flowers for Algernon. Browsing through my posts, I am surprised I haven’t written anything on this book yet. It asks such an important question: what is happiness, and at which cost should we pursue it?
• Christopher Isherwood – A Single Man. Here it is, the second book I read after I had already watched the film. And again, the book, written through a stream of consciousness about a man who decides today will be his final day, is better than the film.
• T.H. White – The Once and Future King. I read it first when I was fourteen. I reread it fourteen years later. I will read it over and over until I am 112.
• Zadie Smith – Swing Time. Is this Smith’s best novel? I don’t know. But somehow it clicked; the way our upbringings and ambitions set us apart from others, how it can bind and divide us.
• Taffy Brodesser-Akner – Fleishman Is in Trouble. A modern feminist story, this one surprised me. I remember not being too impressed by it when I first read it. Still, it deserved a blog post. And I haven’t stopped thinking about it ever since.
• Kazuo Ishiguro – The Remains of the Day. Ishiguro is one of my favourite authors. He plays with the way we perceive ourselves and the way our memories work. This novel made a lasting impact.
• J.M. Barry – Peter and Wendy. This is one of the first novels I wrote about in my By the Book section. It is also one of the first novels that I loved so much I wanted to devour it. It reminded me of how I should never truly grow up.
• Chimananda Ngozi Adichi – Americanah. I recommended this book, about two people from Nigeria trying to make it in the United States but failing heartbreakingly, to someone, and he said it was too feminine for him. I tsk’ed.
• James Baldwin – If Beale Street Could Talk. Another novel about race. It’s short, it’s intimate, it’s beautiful, it’s brutal. Try it.
• Michael Cunningham – The Hours. Based on Mrs Dalloway, this is one of the most beautiful novels I’ve ever read. It is about three women in three decades in the twentieth century, all of whom are struggling with temselves.
• William Goldman – The Princess Bride. I can’t believe this novel is so close to being the last one I picked. How odd. It’s a fairy tale, a love story, a satire, and one of the funniest books I’ve ever read.
• Oscar Wilde – The Picture of Dorian Gray. Oscar Wilde. How could I not include him? His life, his works, his words. Perfect.
• Edward St Aulbyn – The Patrick Melrose novels. I don’t quite know how this series made it to the list, but then again I do. It describes five days in five novels (again the one day element!) with such striking, biting beauty, that I want everyone to know about them.

It’s been three weeks since I compiled this list. Are these the best books I’ve ever read? Possibly. Have I forgotten some? Definitely. I wish I had more time to think about it carefully. However, I was feeling rushed. Maybe I should just accept that coming up with a list of books that have defined you is impossible. That’s because, as true literature shows you, life is impossible.

What do you think of this compilation? Do you like it? Did I include something from every genre? Do you think you’ll read any of them? Do you think we should explore everything the literary world has to offer, or should we stick to what we know? Do you think literature can change your life, or indeed the world? Please let me know in the comments! Also, don’t forget to follow me for more book-related posts!