re: Name Your Top 10 Most Influential Books

I had trouble deciding on just 10, I started not sure if I could think of that many

In no particular order:

The Bible - very significant for, the most important thing I've read. In terms of literature, however, I will approach the question as meaning things not scriptural or instructional (clearly, many of my engineering/math textbooks would have been exceedingly influential in my life as they directed my current employment path)


To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
The Hobbit\Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkien)
Frankenstein (Mary Shelly)
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
1984 (George Orwell)
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
The Foundation Trilogy (Isaac Asimov)
The Gods Themselves (Isaac Asimov)
I am Legend (Richard Matheson)
Dune (Frank Herbert)

Ironically, I love Louis L'amour. But I came to his works later in life and while I think there is great stuff in them, including much to be garnered about living life, I really mostly find them entertaining as all get out. They did teach me to not be dismissive of certain writers or genres due to preconceived notions or popular opinion (good or bad). That is actually something I think I, and maybe most people, have to keep teaching myself. As a result, I have developed a foundness for western novels in general.