Book that has had biggest impact on your life (besides Bible)

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OK, what book really helped point the way for you besides the bible? I’d love to see what books helped you guys out. For me, the most inspirational, non-Biblical books I’ve ever read were:
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas
 
My Life On the Rock By Jeff Cavins

Suprised by the Truth by Patrick Madrid
 
I’m going to be a rebel and put two books.

Catechism of the Catholic Church
Rome Sweet Home by Scott & Kimberly Hahn

Guess where I ended up after reading these two books!!!
:highprayer: :highprayer:
(OK it took a litttle bit more reading, praying, and learning - but those books got me started.)

🙂 🙂 🙂
 
Saint Faustina’s diary
Secret of the Rosary
Abandonment to Divine Providence
True devotion to Blessed Virgin Mary

I don’t like to read books.(period), but God must’ve given me the desire to read the books mentioned above. Thanks be to God.
 
Plato’s Republic. It was the first book that actually got me to think.
 
Pierced by a Sword - Bud MacFarlane

This book showed me the life I wanted to live, the types of people I wanted to surround myself with, and how I want Faith to not be something I do, but what I am.

Yep - it’s a little paperback novel. But it had a major major impact on my life.

~Liza
 
For me it’s a tie between two books.
I come from a fiercely-antiCatholic JW background
and for the first 30 years of my life never even *** suspected ***
that there was ANYTHING worthwhile about Catholicism.
So…
the two books that have had the most impact on me
were
THE CATHOLIC CONTROVERSY by St. Francis de Sales
and
CATHOLICISM AND FUNDAMENTALISM by Karl Keating.

Politically, it was a 1964 book (which I read MANY years later),
called NONE DARE CALL IT TREASON by John Stormer.
Blew me away. I did a lot of checking-up on it’s claims
and found the book to be about 99.9% fact.
Jaypeeto4
+JMJ+
 
This is really tough for me. I would have to say the writings of Leo Strauss (especially Natural Right and History) which showed me that philosophy was possible and the importance of the political. And, it set me on the right path when I went to grad school since I wanted to study with his students.
 
“The Veritas Conflict” by Shaunti Feldhahn

“My Beloved” by Mother Catherine Thomas, OCD
 
I read the following books almost every year and have done so since I was a child. I can recite entire passages from these books, I’m so familiar with them:

The “Little House” books by Laura Ingalls Wilder–the permanence of family and the beauty of everyday, simple things in life.

The March family trilogy (Little Women, Little Men, Jo’s Boys) by Louisa May Alcott–the value of children, the power to dream, and work ethic to make those dreams become realities.

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom–the love of God in ALL circumstances. “No pit is so deep that He is not deeper still.”

Dracula by Bram Stoker–the reality of the battle against evil, and the certainty that God will be the Victor.

The Sherlock Holmes “Canon” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle–the importance of observing and thinking outside the box, and the importance of justice.
 
So many. Books are huge influences in my life.

But if I had to name one, I would say Manalive by G.K. Chesterton. It taught me to always remain in wonder at even the smallest, simplest things.

Cat, I don’t think I’ll ever grow out of Alcott’s books. I grew up with six brothers and no sisters… in Little Women I was able to take a look at what fun sisters must be; Jo’s Boys I really understood.

Eight Cousins by Alcott was another one I always enjoyed. All those boys! I really sympathized with Rose.
 
Big shocker, but Mere Christianity by CS Lewis, especially when he talked about God ‘using matter.’ That really got me, because before I’d believe (as a good Baptist does) that there could be no transubstantiation, or a cleansing baptism, or other things. I was, before reading those words, a very Sola Fide Christian.
 
The Life of St. Gemma Galgani is fantastic.

I’ve not read this one yet, but I want to check out St. Therese’s Story of a Soul.
 
These two “pushed” me into the Church, however were read almost thirty years apart: “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeline D’Engle (allowed me to understand the Consecration at Mass) and “Rome, Sweet Home” by Scott Hahn (allowed me to disregard most of the other obstacles I had with the Catholic Church).
 
brigid12 said:
These two “pushed” me into the Church, however were read almost thirty years apart: “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeline D’Engle (allowed me to understand the Consecration at Mass) and “Rome, Sweet Home” by Scott Hahn (allowed me to disregard most of the other obstacles I had with the Catholic Church).
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That’s really interesting.

Do you mind sharing how L’Engle’s book allowed you to understand the consecration at Mass? I love this story and so does my husband, and we would really enjoy hearing your views.

Thanks.
 
Cat said:
That’s really interesting.

Do you mind sharing how L’Engle’s book allowed you to understand the consecration at Mass? I love this story and so does my husband, and we would really enjoy hearing your views.

Thanks.
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As a tweenager, years before I had even come into the Christian church and been baptized this book allowed me to see (even tho’ it was a fictional account) that some people understood time as something that wasn’t necessarily linear only. After coming into a protestant church I didn’t think about the book/idea again until, years later I heard Catholic apologists trying to explain how at each Mass this idea of non-linear “time” or being outside of time allowed Jesus’ sacrifice on Calvary to become present. I thought, “Oh, like in Madeline L’Engle’s book!” and it was immediately understandable to me. I don’t know if the words I used to explain it were the best ones to use - suffice it to say that Mass became, in my own understanding, the Church’s own “wrinkle in time”.🙂
 
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