I have always loved to read. Beyond just a pastime, books have been my friends, an escape, solace. But there are 2 that have left lasting impressions above and beyond the others. As a child, it was King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry. As an adult, it is The Good Soldiers by David Finkel.

I’ve enjoyed so many books over the years and most have stuck with me. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why these 2 surpassed the others because many books tell great stories, have great characters, and are beautifully written.

They’re obviously very different books but emotionally they are the same. They affected me so deeply and the memories are so rich, I feel I’ve actually lived them both.

The follow up to Good Soldiers, Thank You for Your Service, is more well known because it was made into a movie with Miles Teller. I have read it and it’s wonderful, but The Good Soldiers transported me to Iraq, put a rifle in my hand, and killed my friends.

I am looking for books like this. Any genre, any age group. Any book that is so ingrained you feel like it’s a part of your life story.

  • CoralSkinRot@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    11 months ago

    This Boy’s Life - Wolff

    Factotum - Bukowski

    Last Exit to Brooklyn - Selby

    Get in the Van - Rollins

    Memnoch (the Devil) - Rice

    • I_who_have_no_need@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      11 months ago

      Wow I think this is the first time I’ve seen Tobias Wolff mentioned here. Been a while since I read This Boys Life. Good book but for me I would pick In Pharoah’s Army. The characters seemed more vivid but maybe less relatable than growing up with a single mother in a hardscrabble rural backwater.