Musing Mondays is a weekly meme, hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker, that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ____, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Have you ever read a book that changed your life?

I blogged about ____ this past week…

• Monday, October 2 – Musing Monday this week talked about what we do with physical copies of books that we don’t want to keep. And I posted a Currently Reading bookstagram.
• Tuesday, October 3 – Teaser Tuesday, using Sons from Afar by Cynthia Voigt.
• Wednesday, October 4 – WWW Wednesday and a WAYRW, again using Sons from Afar.
• Thursday, October 5 – I finished Sons from Afar and made a rating post for it, along with my usual Thursday Quotables, and then later a Currently Reading bookstagram and an update on Seventeen Against the Dealer by Cynthia Voigt.
• Friday, October 6 – The usual First Lines Friday & Friday 56. And throughout the day a couple updates on my progress through Seventeen Against the Dealer, ending with a rating post for that book.
• Saturday, October 7 – Just my weekly Persuasion progress post.

Have you ever read a book that changed your life?
To be honest I’m pretty sure every book I’ve read has changed my life in that the books we read shape the way we think and view the world in minute ways, but as for books that changed things significantly…

The Harry Potter series did, around middle school. I had always loved reading, even as a toddler, but around 6th grade my depression began to get overwhelmingly bad and I was struggling just to get through the days, with no energy left over for things like pleasure reading. Then in 7th grade I saw a chance to do something I wasn’t allowed to do and get away with it, which I always loved. (That thing being reading Harry Potter.) Thanks to those books I rediscovered my love of reading. In addition I discovered that reading could take me away from the struggle in my own life and mind, could give me an escape. I’ll always be grateful for that.

Cynthia Voigt’s books changed me too. Her writing changed the way I think. They taught me to look at problems differently, to face challenges differently. I think they helped me learn to be resilient. I learned from characters of hers how I could think to help me enjoy hard work, ways to appreciate small things and see beauty around me. Not that I couldn’t sometimes do those things already, but not as well. Her characters taught me how to arrange my thoughts to appreciate the things already around me. When I want to feel like my best self, I always reread a Cynthia Voigt book. It bothers me that more people don’t know about her books because they had such an impact on me.

Robert Fulghum is another that changed me I think. His books taught me an introspective way of thinking, taught me to look for meaning in my experiences. They also taught me to look at everything with a dose of humor, to laugh at myself, and to enjoy experiences in a more childlike way even as I became more mature. And on a lighter note, they were the first books I ever read that weren’t marketed specifically to children or teens, and I discovered I could like adult books.

I’m sure there have been others, but those are the ones that stand out in my mind. What books have changed you?