The Impact of the Books We Read

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Recommended: Essay on the autobiography of Malcolm X

In the excerpt from his autobiography, “Learning to Read,” Malcolm X talks about how the books he read opened up new worlds of understanding for him. That led me to think about the books that have made an impression on my life. Three books that immediately come to mind are Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther, and The Bible. Each book had a distinct impact at different points in time, growing up.

Listing a Harry Potter book is admittedly cliché, but it was the first book I ever read with gusto. When I was in elementary school, like many kids my age, I had an aversion to reading; my grades suffered because of it. The only way to improve your literary skills is through practice, and the best way to practice is to read a topic of interest. So at a parent teacher conference, my fifth grade teacher suggested I try reading Harry Potter, which at the time was quickly becoming a world phenomenon. My parents forced me to pick up the book, and before I knew it, I was enthralled with the story.

Having never been a proficient reader, getting through the book by myself was difficult, but the need to understand the story had me rereading every page. Harry Potter contained no profound, life changing morals but it did capture the imagination and ignited my passion for reading. What I had once associated with boredom and saw as a chore, I now actively sought out more, to the point where reading replaced watching television as a favorite pastime. Afterwards, the first books I would read of my own violation all had compelling stories, like Harry Potter, and the more I read, the less intimidated I was of reading. I no longer stuttered over big words, the need to reread pages diminished, and e...

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...icism by my parents, as a child. I was taught that God was benevolent and merciful, and that sinners would be punished in hell for eternity. Yet here, the Bible was glorifying sinners, and much of the time, God is a vengeful and cruel god.

By the time I was 16, I had lost faith in the Bible, and in turn, I had lost faith in the Catholic church. Reading the Bible led me to become an agnostic. And now, while I can understand why so many people turn to religion, I view religion as hindrance in our development as a society.

The books we read, and the knowledge we learn from them, as well as the knowledge we derive from our surroundings, including our family, help determine the decisions we will make on everyday basis. Malcolm X, as well as myself are examples of that for I can honestly say that these three books played a major role in shaping the person I am today.

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