Five books that changed who I am

Meredith tagged me in a meme to list five books that have changed who I am. Cool. I've spent the day thinking...

1. Well, the Bible is the obvious number one.

This is the book that is continually shaping who I am now and also who I am becoming. It's great that every time I open it I learn something new or see something in a different light. And it's one that I read every day...(almost)...

2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S.Lewis.

This is the first book I can remember being read to me at school. I was in Year 3 and one of our teachers would read it to us after big lunch. It made me want to read the whole series and it was probably the first book I ever read that took me to a completely different world. One I can go back and re-read again and again (or read to the kids) and not lose my enjoyment of it. I have to say that the movie was nowhere near as good as what I imagined in my head as I was hearing the book read to me for the first time back in Year 3. The cover in the picture is the first edition of this book that I owned.

3.A Descant for Gossips by Thea Astley.

An obscure choice, I guess. This is one that I read many times when I was at high school. The main character in it, Vinny, was a loner who was bullied at school, and although I wasn't completely friendless in my high school days, there was something about her that I found I was drawn to. And Astley's descriptions of the atmosphere and small town life in country Queensland were brilliant. Her writing was among the earliest to truly capture Queensland and it's differences from the southern states, I think. When I was first reading Australian books back in the 80's, there weren't many authors writing about life in Queensland. Thea was a true pioneer. It probably sounds a bit corny, but reading books about life in Queensland makes me feel proud of where I've come from....a Queenslander!

4. Baby Love by Robin Barker.

Essential reading for new mothers. I read it over and over again with each of my kids. This book is just full of good common sense and it was so reassuring to me, particularly in those early days of being a Mum when I didn't have a clue what I was doing and was spending a lot of time wondering whether my life would ever be the same again.

5.Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges.

Maybe I should say this one is still changing me. I have found it too confronting to read in one hit so I have to dip into it every so often and remind myself of how much changing I still have to do in my life. Every time I read it, I am amazed at the work of the Cross and how we have been saved from sin and death. It's so easy to think we're not sinful because we don't do anything really really bad, but this book is a great reminder of all those "little sins" that we tend to overlook in ourselves.

There you go. So apparently this is a "meme" which I think means I'm supposed to tag other people to do this? But I hate putting pressure on anybody...so if anyone wants to take up this challenge, please feel free to link to this post, name your post "Five Books that Changed Who I Am" and then fire away. If anyone does it, please let me know. I would love to know what books have changed others' lives too.