My Top Ten Most Influential Books

Nostalgia blast! Books have been a big influence on me both in life and in my writing since my mother started reading them to me as a little kid. I've seen this top ten most influential books post going around, and I decided to write one of my own.

Here is my list starting from when I was very young to recently:

1.) The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien - This was the first full length novel I had ever encountered as little kid. My mother read this to me as well as the Lord of the Rings when I was eight and nine years old. This started my great love for fantasy, and this is the copy I owned.

2.) The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis - This is the first full-length novel I read on my own at about ten. I ate up the entire series soon after, and became a huge Narnia fan (saw all the movies on first day except the first one, and I've read the series three times). I still am a big fan. ;)

3.) Undercover Girl by Christine Harris - This book my childhood friend recommended to me when I was twelve. It was my first thriller with a few sci-fi elements including a girl with jellyfish DNA and microchips. This started my liking of science-fiction and fast-paced action novels. 

4.) Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson-Haddix - This was my first dystopian. I love these books, and it inspired to me to start writing futuristic novels. The persecuted kid's concept made me think about society and about the big picture more than others I had read before.

5.) Raising Dragons by Bryan Davis - My friend gave this to me for my birthday as a young teen and I procrastinated reading it for a while. Then I finally picked it up and finished it in two days. This was the first book I'd read written in such a deep third person limited. It made me want to write that close to the characters from hence forth. This book also led me to eventually meet the author which basically jumpstarted my desire to be an author. So big one here.

6.) The Maze Runner by James Dashner - This book was my first real, very weird science-fiction and I loved it. And I liked that it was in the point of view of a boy because I mostly write in the point of view of boys for some reason. I'm not sure why. This book got me into more gritty and creepy stories.

7.) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - I read this when I was sixteen, and I love the Hunger Games though I don't like some of the writing because of lack of description. This novel really opened my eyes the darker side of people. It was so thought provoking to me and really made me think of themes for my own novels.

8.) By Darkness Hid by Jill Williamson - This is one of my favorite fantasy books and I loved Jill's dialogue and her short sentences that seemed to really express the interior monologue of the characters. I adopted some of this style to mine I loved it so much. This book also led me to at last meeting Jill who introduced me to Go Teen Writers. A group of young writers lead by Jill Williamson and Stephanie Morrill that has changed my life.

9.) Placebo by Steven James - This was my first adult novel and I read it last year. Mr. James' prose is just amazing as well as the depth he goes into each of his characters, and I love his varied sentence structure. It has definitely influenced my writing. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. James at a writer's conference and his classes helped me so much in my writing.  

10.) Reapers by Bryan Davis - This book is probably one of my favorites of Mr. Davis's. I had the pleasure of betaing it. Though I didn't like first person very much before, this book made me like it and influenced me to write my own first person story in the future. This book is very well written, and I love the detailed description Mr. Davis puts in it as always. ^ ^

In summary, books shape lives. I will always remember these books and I'm hoping this list will grow and perhaps one day one of my books will get added to someone's top ten most influential books. ^ ^ I write to  one day encourage and inspire people, and I hope if you're a writer reading this you do too. :)

What are some of your top most influential books? How have they influenced your life or your journey as a writer?

You may also like:

Why Should You Read--and Love It!
Harnessing Pain for Your Writing
Dear Christian Writers ...
Finding and Taming Inspiration Part 1
Finding and Taming Inspiration Part 2

If you liked this post, come back every Saturday for more writing advice, character interviews, book reviews and more! On Sundays I have Soundtrack Sundays where I post a new score piece, Tuesdays are Tea Tuesdays with tea reviews, Wednesdays I have Wonderful Word Wednesdays where I post a new vocabulary word, and Fridays are Fan Fridays where I post tags and other goodies. To help support my dream to be an author follow this blog, like me on Facebook, watch me on deviantART, and follow me on Pinterest and Twitter. If you want to know more about my books check out them out here. Thank you! :)