Recommended Reading That Changed Your Life

[betsypreston]

I read some of the Conan books - good.

 

I really really liked the Elric series by Michael Moorcock. Same kind of thing - short and action packed sword fighting and sorcery, which might appeal to a 13 year old. Not so sure if the content is entirely appropriate, but I don't remember if it was just a little racy or more than that. My parents never censored me, and I'm not particularly sensitive so it's hard to know where other people might draw the line for their 13 year old. I was 16 or so for those - I remember riding my bike to the mall several times to get the next book.

[betsypreston]

+1 for HItchhiker's Guide. So much fun!

[NubeAzul]

'The neverending story' by Michael Ende. I read it when I was 10, though.

[Jasper]

My son, at that age, wasn't a reader...but he did really get into novels by Gary Paulsen. I remember him reading Hatchet and Dogsong...there may have been others.

[migo984]

Can't say I read anything "profound" at 13 but a book that kick-started a lifelong love of history was Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff. It's set in Roman Britain in 2nd century AD. A children's classic but also a great read for adults.

 

The most influential book I've ever read, which I first read at 15, and which I still read again every two years or so, is One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (Ralph Parker's translation). It was recommended to me by my history teacher & I've yet to read a book that made such a deep impression on me.

 

Both books are suitable for both girls and boys, which is as it should be.

[WaskiSquirrel]

At age 13, I was picking out my own books, and something recommended by my father would probably not have been read. It was that whole teenage attitude thing.

 

Maybe a nice copy of a book the kid does like?

[Liamtyr]

UPDATE

 

I went through and looked up a lot of these suggestions, and my personal book queue just got a hell of a lot longer. The kid is a great kid and has a voracious appetite for literature. I spoke to my friend on Friday and asked him what had happened with this scenario. He told me he came up with a plan that seems to be working. First off, let me state that the books were intended for a boy who loves reading and there were no strings attached. The purposes wasn't to get him to read, or change him in anyway, just to make him happy. He came up with a plan that seemed to make some pretty good sense. If the boy 13 would also share the stories with his 12 year old sister (the two are very close) then there would be a new designed book budget for them. Every month they have a certain amount of money allocated for books. As long as the books are read and shared between them the funding to the account continues. Additionally the two children get to "Balance the books" (no pun intended) and see how much they have rolling over from month to month. They can go to the local brick and mortar store or online and choose what ever they want. Obviously the choices have to be reviewed prior to purchase. It has been about 2 months since this started up and here is a quick list of what the two have blown through together.

 

1. Hitchhikers guide - Adams

2. Cyrano de Bergerac - Rostand

3. The Hobbit - JRRT

4. Enders Game - Card

 

Harry Potter Series just started about a week ago and apparently they cant get enough of Rowling.

[arkgray]

I haven't seen it yet, but Sherlock Holmes is great. I didn't read them when I was a teenager but I wish someone would have introduced them to me then.

[arunmadhav]

I was about 13 when I first read To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

A fantastic book that I re-read every few years.

 

 

I will put in my vote for "To Kill A Mockingbird" as well. Another memorable book from my childhood is "Great Expectations" by Dickens.

[CAG_1787]

1. Hitchhikers guide - Adams

2. Cyrano de Bergerac - Rostand

3. The Hobbit - JRRT

4. Enders Game - Card

All great options - and some of my personal favorites even as an adult!

[N2theBreach]

UPDATE

 

I'm glad you called your post "Update" and not "Conclusion." I'd like to see this list continue. It has the potential to be a never-ending thread.

 

- N2

[Runnin_Ute]

Just in the last few weeks I have read the first three volumes of Rick Riordan's The Heroes of Olympus series (volume 4 comes out this week). And even though I am in my mid 50's I thoroughly enjoyed them. They are aimed at teens primarily. They are quick reads but not short. I figured the first 3 was over 1600 pages. I finished them in about 3 weeks. Of course, I am not a 13 year old with homework to do daily.

 

Based on Greek & Roman mythology - and how those that are different that can get along with others. The heroes (both male and female) are all demigods - where one parent was one of the gods. One was a son of Poseidon/Neptune, another a son of Zeus/Jupiter, a daughter of Athena, a daughter of Aphrodite, a son of Mars, and a daughter of Pluto.

 

I remember studying some of the Greek and/or Roman mythology when I was in Junior High. Don't know if your son is learning about them or not. If he hasn't what a way to get a leg up.

[Runnin_Ute]

 

 

I will put in my vote for "To Kill A Mockingbird" as well. Another memorable book from my childhood is "Great Expectations" by Dickens.

I remember reading this as a sophomore in high school. Thanks to a terrific English teacher!

[GabrielleDuVent]

Just in the last few weeks I have read the first three volumes of Rick Riordan's The Heroes of Olympus series (volume 4 comes out this week). And even though I am in my mid 50's I thoroughly enjoyed them. They are aimed at teens primarily. They are quick reads but not short. I figured the first 3 was over 1600 pages. I finished them in about 3 weeks. Of course, I am not a 13 year old with homework to do daily.

 

Based on Greek & Roman mythology - and how those that are different that can get along with others. The heroes (both male and female) are all demigods - where one parent was one of the gods. One was a son of Poseidon/Neptune, another a son of Zeus/Jupiter, a daughter of Athena, a daughter of Aphrodite, a son of Mars, and a daughter of Pluto.

 

I remember studying some of the Greek and/or Roman mythology when I was in Junior High. Don't know if your son is learning about them or not. If he hasn't what a way to get a leg up.

 

My high school was dead serious on "classical education", so my high school career started with Edith Hamilton and ended with Herodotus. Some school that was. But it appears being able to correctly identify Artemis' snoozer makes one seem a little more intellectual than warranted.

 

Sophie's World is an excellent compendium of introductory philosophy overviews. A bit rushed, in my view, but does an excellent job of giving a taste of what each philosopher had in mind.

 

Of course, there's always Salinger too, for the teenagers who act like teenagers.

Edited October 8, 2013 by GabrielleDuVent

[proton007]

13 is too young to look for a 'life changing' experience.

I'd say any popular book will do.

[GabrielleDuVent]

13 is too young to look for a 'life changing' experience.

I'd say any popular book will do.

 

Oh, I wouldn't say that. I moved to another country where I didn't speak the language when I was five. That surely was life-changing.

 

And I read Demian when I was thirteen or so. That book really affected my priorities and the way I consider things. Good books always change you, no matter how old you are.

[N2theBreach]

Oh, I wouldn't say that. I moved to another country where I didn't speak the language when I was five. That surely was life-changing.

 

And I read Demian when I was thirteen or so. That book really affected my priorities and the way I consider things. Good books always change you, no matter how old you are.

 

I agree with Gabrielle. I read books and had experiences all through my teen years that were "life changing" in some respect. Take the book, "My Side of the Mountain," for instance. It certainly isn't a weighty philosophical tome by any means. However, it helped me see that I, too, could be self-sufficient. Since I read this during the early teen years, when we start testing our wings, so to speak, it helped me believe that I had the wherewithal to survive on my own.

 

I've often thought about that term, "life changing." I think we frequently have life changing experiences. They may not occur with blinding flashes of light and blaring trumpets, they are simply experiences that influence our life. "Huckleberry Finn" helped me see how African Americans were perceived and treated by some people in pre-Civil War America (and post-Civil War America for that matter, but that wasn't covered in the book), which made me more observant of my own, and the behavior of others towards African Americans.

[HildyZ]

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. I became obsessed with the book and tried to teach myself Latin. (Which didn't work out, by the way.)

 

That Was Then This Is Now by S. E. Hinton. The Outsiders is more famous, but I preferred this one. It was a Catcher in the Rye for my socioeconomic niche.

 

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. I'm not really a "people person" and it was a great comfort to find out that I'm not the only natural cynic in the world.

[Scriver]

It's going back a way, but one book I remember making a big impression on me in my early teens was Run Silent Run Deep. Without being preachy or didactic, the book (which is fun to read) implicitly teaches the value of working together as a team and focusing on the task at hand in order to get something hard done right. Not a bad lesson for adolescence.

[Octo]

The true life-changing experience isn't so much a single book as it is learning what reading really means and learning to enjoy reading. Once one realizes that reading is a way to flow information into the mind, the world opens up.

 

That said, an old book I found at a fire-sale when I was that age taught me that there's more to life than what shows on the surface and also opened the worlds of science fiction and fantasy. The book was "Wild Talent" by Wilson Tucker.