Join BookitisSave favorites, build lists, and follow creators.

The Book That Changed My Life

71 Remarkable Writers Celebrate the Books That Matter Most to Them

Bookitis Pick
Cover for The Book That Changed My Life
TB
Image source: Open Library
Nelson DeMilleRoxanne J. CoadyJoy Johannessen1 editions

With the goal of promoting literacy (and with proceeds going to the Read to Grow Foundation), here are 65 spirited testaments to the transformative power of reading from 65 distinguished contributors, as compiled by bookseller Roxanne Coady and editor Joy Johannessen. Books change lives, and if you have any doubts on that score, you need only dip into this joyous celebration of reading by 65 people who have distinguished themselves in various fields, from sports, to cooking, to journalism and the arts. In brief and lively essays, the contributors— wrestlers, actors, singers, monks, Nobel Prize winners, chefs, politicians, writers—tell about the single book that changed the way they see themselves and the world around them. A sampling of contributors includes: Elizabeth Berg on The Catcher in the Rye; Harold Bloom on Little, Big; Steven Brill on The Making of the President, 1960; Da Chen on The Count of Monte Cristo; Maureen Corrigan on David Copperfield; Nelson DeMille on Atlas Shrugged; Tomie dePaola on Kristin Lavransdatter; Anita Diamant on A Room of One’s Own; Linda Fairstein on The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; Sebastian Junger on Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee; Wally Lamb on To Kill a Mockingbird; John McCain on For Whom the Bell Tolls; Lisa Scottoline on Angela’s Ashes; Susan Vreeland on To Kill a Mockingbird; and many more. . . .

Overview

Shared work-level identity and catalog context.

3 credited authorsSearch language english

Bookitis keeps work pages focused on the shared book identity and the editions that actually belong to it. Unrelated books should not appear here as primary content.

Contributors

People credited with this work in the active catalog.

  • Nelson DeMille

    Author profile in the active Bookitis catalog

    Open Author
  • Roxanne J. Coady

    Author profile in the active Bookitis catalog

    Open Author
  • Joy Johannessen

    Author profile in the active Bookitis catalog

    Open Author

Editions

Publication-specific versions linked to this work only.