The books that change your life

The theme for our first Rise and Shine Book Club was “The books that changed your life”. But how do we find the books that change our lives?

Whenever I ask the question, “What book changed your life?”, I am always surprised (and delighted) by the diversity of responses.

Cook books. Memoirs. Novels. Self-help. History. Classics. Car manuals.

But what is it about these books that make them life-changing? Is it the topic? Is it the author? Is it the reader? All of the above?

In Gay Hendricks and Jack Canfield’s You’ve Got to Read This Book, they asked their network of mover-and-shaker friends what books have rocked their worlds. They too received a diverse range of answers. I was particularly taken by Bernie Siegel’s response. He reckons that books don’t change people – people change people.

“I really don’t believe any book can change your life – only you can. Two people read the same book: One is inspired while the other is bored. It’s the person – not the book – that creates the transformation. That power lies within each of us.”

Bernie Siegel

(He then goes on to talk about a book that changed his life …)

So it’s not just what the book brings but what we bring to the reading experience. We may connect with others over the books we love that we have in common but change happens when we’re stretched to consider the stories and perspectives that differ from our own. We learn. We grow.

While getting together my “life-changers” to share at book club, I noticed they were from earlier times in my life. The first book I “read” (Hop on Pop); the book that made me believe I had the power to put unconventional ideas into practice (Tracks); the book that beckoned me down the path of woo-woo (The Power of Now); and the book that made me long to live in a cabin in woods (Walden).

I’ve been wondering if there’s a way to have more of these books in my life – to read more of the books that light up my imagination and energise me into action.

I find it keeps coming back to being open – to new ideas and to change. (Sort of what Bernie was saying above.)

Which is why I’m very much looking forward to exploring new ideas and experiences in our upcoming Rise and Shine Book Club. If the first one was anything to go by then my head and heart is going to be filled to bursting with change.

It really is about changing your life, one book at a time.

We have both in-person and online book clubs this month, so no matter where you are in the world you can join in the conversation.


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