Books That Changed My Life

For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you, books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die. - Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

When I first saw this prompt, my reaction was “I’ve read so much, I can’t think of any that were life changing.” But after some reluctance, I decided to rise to the challenge. My goal was to find three books that were significant. In the end, I decided on eighteen. There are probably many more out that were important, made a lasting impression, but these twenty have stuck with me.

The first one that came up in my memory was actually a series of four books by Thomas B. Costain, titled The Plantagenets. I decided to use the cover from the final book in the series that planted the seeds of my interest in English history. Not only did I decide to become a medieval historian because of these volumes, but also because I became intensely interested in Richard III and the controversies surrounding him.

Then I moved on to think about other books with a historical theme— Johnny Tremain about the American Revolution, Shakespeare of London, The Eagle of the Ninth, and The Witch of Blackbird Pond. A bit farther afield was Daughter of the Mountains. This novel about a young Tibetan girl who longed for a Lhasa apso puppy fired my imagination in all sorts of way and may have led to my interest in the conquest of mountains in the Himalayas and the history of polar exploration. I still remember her drinking Yak butter tea, which fascinated me. All of these were read around the time I was eleven or twelve. Later I added How Green Was My Valley to this list.

Collections that I was gifted had an influence too. Favorite Poems Old and New inspired me not only to memorize poems I loved, but pushed my desire to write poetry (bad poetry unfortunately) as a teenager. “The Highwayman” by Alfred Noyes is still a favorite and I can recite most of it even now. The other collection was Danny Kaye’s Around the World Storybook. I also had Grimm’s Fairy Tales but Danny Kaye’s book moved me to a more global view.

All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.—Martin Buber

Also early gifts were The Gods of Mount Olympus by Robert Penn Warren and The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars by Mae and Ira Freeman. I remember spending many summer evenings hunting the skies for constellations. If astronomy hadn’t required math, I might have pursued my interest.

While I read lots of Nancy Drew, Cherry Ames, Beverly Grey, and other young adult mysteries, I really became hooked with my first Agatha Christie, Murder at Hazelmoor (The Sittaford Mystery). I picked it up, purely by accident. I was about ten and up at Castle Rock Lake in Wisconsin with my parents. With nothing to read, I went into town and the drugstore had a revolving rack of books. The cover appealed to me and I had enough money to buy it. Back at the cottage, I found I couldn’t put it down. The result was a lifelong love of both British mystery and the idea of England.

Dorothy Sayers’ Gaudy Night made me want to go to Oxford. Oh well, you don’t always get what you want. But I’m in love with the historic buildings there even today. In addition, both of those books made me pursue an interest in Golden Age detective novels, which has never abated.

A penchant for romance was fostered by Jane Austen, Emily Brontë, and Elizabeth Goudge. As an adult, I no longer have the feelings for Wuthering Heights that I had at fifteen, but Heathcliff seemed so much more romantic then. I soldiered on with nineteenth century authors with War and Peace and almost all of Dickens. I remember, in my sophomore year of college, I read a different Dickens novel every weekend. My favorite is still Our Mutual Friend. At one time I considered him as a model for my writing, but no one wants to read a full-page sentence these days. Still, there are many things I admire about his writing.

When I was eight, my mom decided I should learn how to cook. My first attempt was not wholly successful. Mom gave me two boxes of brownie mix but somehow I didn’t get the message that I also need twice the added ingredients. Add to that choosing to make chewy rather than cake brownies, and, let’s just say they were very chewy. A few years later I received Betty Crocker’s Cookbook for Boys and Girls and my culinary skills blossomed.

In college, I developed an interest in the Icelandic sagas. I read seven Penguin editions translated by Magnus Magnussen and Herman Pálsson.Njál’s Saga, Laxdæla Saga, The Vinland Saga, and King Harald’s Saga. Much later, after reading Dorothy Dunnett’s King Hereafter, I also read the Orkney Saga. Fueling my thirst for travel, they kindled my interest in Iceland, which I finally visited in 2024 and 2025.

Finally, another series brought me a new direction again in 1999, when I began reading The House of Niccolò series by Dorothy Dunnett. The eight volumes have continued to inform much of my reading and writing ever since. Wanting to know more about every aspect of the late fifteenth century world beyond England, I plunged into history, narratives, maps, art and more encompassing what are now Belgium and the Netherlands all the way to Turkey, the Crimea, and Africa. They also connected me to a whole new group of people, members of the Dorothy Dunnett Society.

Books can take you places you never dreamed existed. And then shape your life. My reading, teaching, and research have continued to make opportunities available to me and add excitement and adventure to my life.

What books have changed your life? I’d love to know your stories.

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.—Saint Augustine