I just finished reading Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. Yes, for the first time. I never had to read it in school, but to be
honest the reason I finally got around to reading it was because my daughter
has to read it for school. I had a perceived
notion of this book. I never heard anyone say “The book was OK”. It was either “This
book is great” or “That book sucked”.
Over the years, I also saw/heard people; especially celebrities state
that Catcher in the Rye was the most influential book they read. Now after
reading it myself – I can’t help but think “So you don’t want to do anything or go anywhere in your life because that was Holden’s true desire”. His dream job was to stop children from falling
off cliffs. Come on!!
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines influence as “the power or capacity of causing an effect in indirect or
intangible ways: sway”. This could mean
in a bad or good way, however when someone asks what influences you or who has
had the most influence on you I believe this means in a good way. SO I ask –
How has Holden Caulfield influenced you??
If someone ever tells me their most influential novel was Catcher in the
Rye, I WILL ask them why. Honestly, I would love to hear their response. Don’t
get me wrong, as stated in my review, I did enjoy the book but it hasn’t affected my life in any way, shape, or
form. I thought it was an OK, enjoyable book, but I’m on to my next book.
To answer the question: What book most
influenced your life? I feel one should look at the books they have read and
see which books had them change their lifestyle, caused them to have an
epiphany, opened their eyes to a cause, or even just that they reference back
to time after time. So maybe for these people who name Catcher in the Rye; it’s
because it is the only book they have read (probably forced upon them) and they
feel they have to give an answer.
Otherwise, I want to know the reason!
So what books have influenced
me? I feel there have been several
self-help and non-fiction books that have helped or shaped me in some way
throughout the years, but let’s stick to fiction novels. I will admit my
answers are silly and no one else would probably answer the same way, BUT I have my
reason; which is all I’m asking for.
Are
you there God, it’s me Margaret?
by Judy Blume
I
read this book SEVERAL times as a child. I believe one of the reasons it
influenced me was because of the timing in which I read it. It’s a coming-of-age story about a 12 year
old girl getting her period, wanting boobs and bras. I was probably 9 when I read it the first
time and it was like a secret world to me. I wanted the secret club. I wanted
the boys – their cooties were finally getting cured. Basically, I wanted what
Margaret had! This book has stuck with me through the years and I actually
practiced “We must, we must, we must increase our busts” with a girlfriend. I recommend this book to
all girls from 3rd to 6th grade. Judy Blume wrote an
adult novel called Summer Sisters,
which I also loved because of my fond memories of Are you there God, It’s me Margaret? Summer
Sisters does not have the same profound memories for me, but was a great
book and I can’t help to think of the novel being the story of Margaret and her
friends all grown up. If you haven’t read either of these two books, I highly
recommend you do.
Jemina
J: A Novel about Ugly Duckings and Swans
by Jane Green
This
book is even a sillier choice – yes even to me! But it did cause me to change my
life. Goodreads.com summarizes this novel as “Jemima J is the
chronicle of one woman's quest to become the woman she's always wanted to be,
learning along the way a host of lessons about attraction, addiction, the
meaning of true love, and, ultimately, who she really is”. Honestly, that is what it did to me. My
personal issues of weight, addiction, love, etc. weren’t as extreme as Jemina J’s,
but they did exist. I think a major factor for a book to influence your life is
the time and place you ARE in when you read it. I read Jemina J: A Novel about Ugly Duckings and Swans at that moment for
me. I was very unhappy with my weight and was finding love in ALL the wrong
places. Life isn’t about being the
skinniest, happiest, most successfully and beautiful person you know. It’s
about loving yourself and being happy with whom you are in that moment. This novel made me WANT to change. I started walking every day, which caused my
body to regulate itself (I was having several issues), eating better, and
all-in-all change my life style. I plan on going back and reading this book
again VERY soon. Even if it doesn’t influence you the way it did me, I’m sure
every female will enjoy Jemina J’s story.
I would love to hear what books
INFLUENCED YOU. Feel free to comment please.
