The Gospel of John, the Imprecatory Psalms, Cheaper by the Dozen, the Nancy Drew mysteries, Maus I & II by Art Spiegelman, The Freedom Writers Diary, Toes by Tor Seidler, the Confessions of Saint Augustine, The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk, the Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. These have actually had permanent, life-altering effects on me. I could do more but I need to go to bed.

Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes and The Goddess Within by Jean Shinoda Bolen. Both writers are Jungian analysts and are therefore obviously about archetypes. They both helped me understand so much about myself and my experiences. These women reminded me that life is sacred and my experiences as a woman were sacred, that there is a common thread that runs through everything that gives meaning. 

The magic of thinking big 

How to win friends and influence people 

The Alchemist by Paolo Coehlo

My late sister let me read her copy. Changed my life at the time. Now when I see butterflies, I think of her ❤️ 

I can't think of a single book that changed my life, or greatly influenced me, outside of the bible. And I've been trying! But there have been hundreds that filled me with glee, made me laugh out loud, made me cry, helped me to understand, etc. 

Good books bring me pure joy.

I may have a few others to add, but the new Nutrition thread made me think of one I must mention:

Nourishing Traditions: the Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats, by Sally Fallon.

I was turned onto this book shortly after I was turned onto Astrology! It's taken me 15 years to really build the cooking skills, and adopt the lifestyle changes, to integrate the wisdom of this book into my daily life, and there's still soo much more to learn... but this one definitely influenced me and how I think about what is served to the masses in the mainstream (not just food, but ideology).