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[I collect VHS tapes]

I was just rearranging my library and was surprised to see how many copies of this book I have. I sorta lost track as I've picked up a copy every single time I've found it in the wild over the past 20 or so years.

The book is composed of strange/weird/creepy/interesting stories that are supposedly true. I've read the book many times as an adult and, of course, question the veracity of some of the stories, but it still remains to be a very enjoyable read.

This book was perfect as a child as the stories are 1-2 pages long, which means you get a ton of stories. The stories range from UFOs, ghosts, hidden treasures, Fortean events, cryptids, etc.

This book completely shaped me. As a child, it broadened my horizons. It was likely the catalyst that would eventually lead to me becoming obsessed with the occult/paranormal/supernatural/cryptozoology/etc. It's also led to me hunting down rare books on these subjects as an adult, although I'm sure Polanski's The 9th Gate, which came out in my teens, had a little bit of an influence on that too. (my most recent pickups are Vampires Are by Stephen Kaplan, which currently sells for a little under $500 on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/0882801023/?tag=neogaf0e-20 and The Dark Gods by Anthony Roberts, which is selling for over $600 in paperback https://www.amazon.com/dp/009138771X/?tag=neogaf0e-20. I didn't pay close to those prices for either book though.)

I also have a ridiculously large collection of magazines on these subjects ranging from the early 1900s to today. I have so many copies of Fate magazines I don't even bother trying to fit them on my shelves.

What book had the greatest impact on you growing up?

 

[nush]

Do magazines count?

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

Do magazines count?

depends on the cover girl

 

[haxan7]

Gotta be the first few Xanth novels for me, A Spell for Chameleon being the main one. As a pubescent 13 year old these books spoke to me.

 

[AJUMP23]

The BIBLE.

 

[Amiga]

Quran

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Sex and the Red Queen.

The first time I heard an alternative version of what sex/love is compared to what the culture told me.

 

[Doom85]

Goosebumps and Animorphs. Scholastic Book Fairs at school were the bomb ass shit and these two were always my main focus in picking up.

Beyond them, I also enjoyed Roald Dahl’s works, the Borrowers series, and the Clue books (based on the game, but here Mr. Boddy always survives his attempted murder in each book, and keeps inviting everyone over despite each of them having attempted to kill him at least once as they’re his only friends and he’s willing to risk death just for the company. They have other kinds of mysteries too, and the cast was given pretty fun personalities).

The Archie Sonic the Hedgehog comics were also great when I was a kid, read most of them from 1-60 (man, the Endgame arc blew my mind as a kid) and Knuckles’ first 9 issues. Actually jumped off (due to getting tired of most of my small allowance going to mostly just the comics) at the right point as I heard soon after that writer Ken Penders started taking the series downhill. I do need to read the new IDW Sonic comics as I hear most are happy with how they’ve turned out.

 

[Modrot]

The Necronomicon, that collection of Lovecraft stories shaped who I became.

Earlier than that I would reread a children's encyclopedia (unfortunately I can't remember its name) every night before that. It focused on biology, and I especially loved the marine biology tomes.

Lovecraft plus biology encyclopedias basically set in stone the type of stories, experiences, and general outlook I've pursued all my life.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

The Origin of Species
by Charles Darwin

A Brief History of Time
by Stephen Hawking

Foundation
by Isaac Asimov

Boy's Life
by Robert McCammon

Stephen King, Arthur C Clarke and the list goes on and on. At a young age when I found Sunday school, religion and the Bible held no answers for me I turned to science and dreamt of sci-fi (parents had me in Sunday school for a few years when I was under 10). My love of science and sci-fi continued through my teenage years and to current day decades later. It will be a life long love affair with them.

 

[Quasicat]

Not really a book from my childhood, but during my first year of teaching, the 6th grade team read Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli.

What makes this book good is that it reminded me of when I was in middle school. There was a girl, when I was in the 8th grade that this book could have been about, and I had this huge crush on her.
Now that I’m almost 20 years into my career, this book now reminds me of my first few years of teaching while in my 20s. I now teach 8th grade American History and have kids of my own. I guess it’s just very nostalgic to me.

Disney+ did a decent job on making this a movie, but they royally screwed up the ending.

 

[Dark Star]

Harry Potter, too!

 

[Pagusas]

Literally the first book I ever read on my own, and has a great message of watching the world closely.

 

[RAÏSanÏa]

As a child, probably The Red Room Riddle.

 

[Happosai]

The BIBLE.

If you mean it, I'm on par with you there. I don't find anything else particularly influential. All other books I've read were for entertainment only.

 

[AJUMP23]

If you mean it, I'm on par with you there. I don't find anything else particularly influential. All other books I've read were for entertainment only.

Of course I mean it. I still study and read it today.

 

[RAÏSanÏa]

As a preteen, probably The Nature of the Psyche: Its Human Expression

That led to experiments with Out-of-body experiences.
Although instructions from other books were needed.

Honourable mention for The Chrysalids.

 

[Raven117]

Honestly, the Emmerson Essays and Thoreau (Civil Disobedience). Im not being cute here.

Then the Lord of the Rings.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

As a kid, my bros bought me various NHL stat and history books. But this was the one that really started my love for the game, history, stats etc...

I read these stat books in depth. And with my bro's telling me how to calculate the stats or understand what a +/- rating is it made it fun. They also bought me some baseball books, so I follow that sport second, but never as close as NHL. I like numbers, so I appreciate the sports much more when you understand the metrics.

Of course they looked through them too, as our sports books were always shared among us.

The thing about these hockey books below is that the year is off. They'd call it 1985-86, but the stats were from last year 84-85. They were pure historic stats, so it's not like they did previews or pool forecasts for the new year. So in a way the naming was misleading. lol

 

[p_xavier]

 

[NickFire]

Pet Cemetary - I wasted years and many neighbors cats trying to find one of my own after reading it. Never worked though.

 

[haxan7]

No wonder.

 

[RAÏSanÏa]

As a YA, Stranger In A Strange Land

 

[Trogdor1123]

Animal farm and the Narnia books

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I googled this to see if it's real or a photoshop. It's real and $23 on Amazon.ca if anyone is interested!

 

[jason10mm]

I think my folks "left" this lying around so my sisters could read it, but I learned a WHOLE LOT from this book.

Otherwise the list is really too long to mention since I was a pretty avid reader. As a tween or whatever this one had a big impact as it features a lot of biology whihc really influenced how I approach sci-fi/horror concepts now.

 

[morelan]

My father had a copy of "Strangely Enough!" by C. B Colby (the portuguese translation), and I used to love it as a child. Very cool and intriguing stories. But I think we lost it moving into a new house.

 

[haxan7]

I googled this to see if it's real or a photoshop. It's real and $23 on Amazon.ca if anyone is interested!

I ordered 6 copies and a drum of lube.

 

[p_xavier]

I googled this to see if it's real or a photoshop. It's real and $23 on Amazon.ca if anyone is interested!

That one is more of the history. This one here is about technique.

Spoiler: NSFW

 

[Outlier]

None. I never fully read a book as a kid. I just didn't care to read any.

The only book I've cared to fully read was "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" a few years ago.

Reading just bores me to sleep if I can't connect with it. I quickly connected with RDPD.

 

[PaddyOCanager]

Maybe not the greatest influence but it was the first time I remember reading about violent death. What happened to one of the main characters really affected me as a little kid.

 

[Artoris]

There have been so many I can't pick one

 

[jason10mm]

I don't even have to mention the titles these books, the covers alone are seared into mine, and millions of others, heads and hearts.

 

[haxan7]

I don't even have to mention the titles these books, the covers alone are seared into mine, and millions of others, heads and hearts.

I had the red one as a kid. I think I only read part of it. I used to raid a used bookstore so I had loads of fantasy paperbacks I never got around to.

 

[k_trout]

as a kid - the 18th emergency
as a teen - slaughterhouse 5
as an old f*ck - thus spoke zarathustra

 

[///PATRIOT]

The dictionary. I can read now.

 

[daveonezero]

Redwall series.

Do no harm
Take no shit

Self defense is always moral.
Always help people if they are in need no matter their background.

If you threaten harm on others you are not welcome.

Food is good.

 

[Roxkis_ii]

This is a book I read about 4 years ago and it helped me thru a tough time. It sad how relevant it is with the current events.

July 14, 1099. Jerusalem awaits the invasion of the crusaders who have surrounded the city's gates. There, inside the ancient city's walls, men and women of every age and every faith have gathered to hear the wise words of a mysterious man known only as the Copt. He has summoned the townspeople to address their fears with truth:

"Tomorrow, harmony will become discord. Joy will be replaced by grief. Peace will give way to war.... None of us can know what tomorrow will hold, because each day has its good and its bad moments. So, when you ask your questions, forget about the troops outside and the fear inside. Our task is not to leave a record of what happened on this date for those who will inherit the Earth; history will take care of that. Therefore, we will speak about our daily lives, about the difficulties we have had to face ."

 

[jason10mm]

Gotta say, I'm kinda surprised no one has mentioned Ayn Rand.

 

[Happosai]

Of course I mean it. I still study and read it today.

Amen. Living Word never ceases to influence. Obviously, not a popular opinion for influences in writing but it's the only book which can show someone born dead in sin how to be reborn without works.
Glad it's been a treasure to you the same.

 

[BlvckFox]

I cannot begin to explain how stupid this book made me feel as a wee lad and to this day, it’s incredibly challenging. I loved Beowulf and hearing there existed a novel from Grendel’s point of view, I was fucking ready. I remember my teacher warning me of what a incredibly tough read it was. Jesus, this novel was so many levels beyond my reading ability it forced me to evolve my comprehension, vocabulary and analytical ability. Navigating the highly convoluted nihilistic ramblings of that fucking Dragon was exhausting but I am grateful having read it. After reading, I noticed I took more time to understand before reacting, since I could not progress in the novel until I understood what I was reading. I began to approach any interaction with a desire to listen carefully, ask until I have a true understanding and then form an educated & thoughtful reply. Definitely changed me.

 

[Ogbert]

Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis.

 

[bender]

Summer of the Monkeys

 

[AJUMP23]

Gotta say, I'm kinda surprised no one has mentioned Ayn Rand.

Read the stuff but I found it dry.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

The dictionary. I can read now.

Thesaurus was something I'd flick through when super bored. I was fascinated by synonyms and antonyms for a stint.

 

[InverseAgonist]

I suppose it was Patricia Churchland's Neurophilosophy when I was in high-school. I was deep into theoretical physics and likely would have ended-up there, but the philosophy and reductionist arguments convinced me that we could understand a materialist brain and I was fascinated by the engineering aspects. I now work in neuroscience. In hindsight I don't love the book, and have major qualms with it, but at the time it was neat and served as a catalyst.

The only other book that came close was Eric Drexler's Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology. I was older, maybe 20 when I read it but it was a startling view of the world and the future given the promise of molecular nanotechnology. His book Nanosystems is the superior book, but it's far more technical and less visionary.

A hat-tip to any of Ray Kurzweil's books. Although they were, for the most part, but preaching to the choir.

 

[AlteredForms]

Quran

I'm confused about the idiotic triggered responses. Usually a religious book would have an impact upon a follower, that's often the primary reason they became a follower in the first place.

Mine would probably have to be the 'Tremors' books. They were basically the British version of Goosebumps, the stories were entertaining and gave me a thrill, but they weren't always scary.

 

[DetectiveBananas]

Life Altering, Dudes!

 

[GeekyDad]

 

[BadBurger]

I don't even have to mention the titles these books, the covers alone are seared into mine, and millions of others, heads and hearts.

Yea, this was my first fantasy series. I read them when I was around 12 or 13. Definitely gave me a greater appreciation of fantasy and started a lifelong love of all things Dungeons & Dragons.


Let's see, books that had the most impact on me prior to turning 18....

- The Once and Future King
- A Tale of Two Cities
- Animal Farm