Friar Ted, I have to agree with you that the single book that influences me most is The Bible. I agree with the areas you cited; I like to include Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians. To me, this book has “blue collar”, very practical advice on how to live for God until Jesus returns.
My other favorites include Edgar Rice Burrough’s A Fighting Man of Mars, which turned my eleven-year-old self on to science fiction. (Note: my 54-year-old self tried to read it. Yuck.)
Also, when I was a kid, I loved the Nancy Drew series. After I finished the series, I was curious about other mysteries, so I read Agatha Christy, Ngao Marsh, and other mystery writers.
I also loved Erma Bombeck’s books back when I was a young housewife/mom. Her humor made me laugh, & I could empathize with the situations she wrote about.
My first favorite as a child was the fairy tale The 12 Dancing Princesses, then Louisa May Alcott’ s Eight Cousins/Rose in Bloom, then the Trixie Belden stories. Early teens I found Heinlein (especially Stranger in a Strange Land and Podkayne of Mars). As an adult the stories I love are by Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett and Christopher Moore.
Godstalk, by P.C. Hodgell, made itself at home in my brain upon first reading, many years ago. I can’t even pinpoint the ways it’s influenced my sense of humor, my rather wry outlook on crises, and even my own writing style. Also, I can repeat the story of the Fall as if Jame were standing behind me, prompting me. The later books in the series reinforced these things, and I love them all, but it was Godstalk that opened the door and walked in.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein, is another permanent resident. It was one of the first pieces of mature science fiction that I read, and the corruption and indifference of government made an impression, as did the structure of the revolution.
I’ve internalized a lot of pieces of Mercedes Lackey’s books, mainly from the Velgarth novels, but I can’t really point to a particular book, nor can I claim the whole set has settled in. The books have made me think a lot about practical psychology, and affected the way I speak and act when I want to influence people. There’s a lot of surprisingly sensible advice tucked away behind the entertainment. Certainly, I picked up more useful tips on public speaking there than in any class I’ve taken.
I have read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland at least once a year ever since I was a child. I watched the movie when I was 3, discovered the book when I was about 6, and have been fascinated to rediscover it through adult’s eyes with every passing year. My appreciation is both literary and emotional. No book can hold a candle to that one, and I’ve read some very, very good books.
When I was 16, I read The Catcher in the Rye and it forever changed who I am as a writer. To this day Salinger’s voice is an integral part of my writing style. I read that book every year, too.
Also, this is weird, but V.C. Andrews books will probably always be a part of me. My grandmother gave me a bunch of them when I was 7. I don’t regard the books very highly in retrospect – literary soap operas with often very one-dimensional characterization (keep in mind I’m referring to a series written after her death under her name.) Yet, they remain a part of me. I think because I read them I am hard-wired for drama. My take on things tends to be very melodramatic. It’s like I’m perpetually living one of those novels–experiencing a fantasy come true, or a nightmare, but never the middle ground.
Trinity by Leon Uris Changed my notion of what literature can be. It made me think about the possible necessity of war. It made me love a man who never existed.
The Tracker by Tom Brown – Changed the way I relate to the natural world. Fascinating. I think I’ve bought every book that he’s written since even though I take some things when a grain of salt. Set in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey.
A Prayer for Owen Meany – Suggested to me by my granddaughter. Funny, poignant, memorable.