Books that have influenced me

This idea came from a reader of Tyler Cowen's site Marginal Revolution. This is a list based more on my gut and what came to my mind stream of consciousness rather than trying to think too deeply about this list.

I admit that it was not instantaneous; I still had to think about books that mattered to me. While I've been a voracious reader in my lifetime, I still had to think about what books really touched me on some level or made a difference in how I viewed things.

Also, this list is in no particular order.

1) Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell — Not the first Orwell I read (that honor belongs to Animal House) but this was the book that stuck with me. I was in high school when I read it, and it is the kind of book I wish I was talented enough to write. On some level, that applies to all of these books, but this one in particular was an enthralling memoir about being poor in two of the most famous cities in the world in the early 20th century.

2) The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald — Chris over at Smart Football said this best: Fitzgerald is best read when you're young. The charming and mysterious Gatsby is truly a seductive character.

3) The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger — While probably not the best Salinger you can read (Nine Stories holds that honor), I think that most teenaged males feel like Holden Caufield on our best days — especially those of us at prep schools.

4) Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes — Tilting at windmills. Dulcinea. The concept of how madness can consume us when we're at our weakest. To me, on some level, this is the first modern novel. A classic work of art. I was introduced to it in Spanish class and then read it in translation.

5) Bald As I Wanna Be by Tony Kornheiser — Mr. Tony? Really? Yes, really. I could have put Dave Barry in here as well, but I was nearing the end of my college career when I came across Tony Kornheiser's radio show. While this is his second collection of Style section columns, I maintain that it's his strongest. I can have it on my bookshelf for two years without reading it, pull it down and laugh out loud.

6) I'm Just Here For the Food by Alton Brown — My patron saint of the kitchen, I fell in love with Good Eats while unemployed and living in Pennsylvania. Alton inspired me to do something with my downtime, and that was learn to cook better and more. This book helped diversify my skills and also taught me many things.

7) On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee — And Mr. McGee helped explain the science and some of the history behind what Alton was teaching me. A reference book that I can read again and again.

8) The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle — "It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all of the evidence. It biases the judgment." Something that every journalist or researcher should keep at the forefront of their mind. I know I do whenever I am writing longer pieces for this blog.

9) The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka — Seventh grade. Starting to go through puberty. So naturally, this book about a major physical change resonated with me as I went through my own personal physical metamorphosis.

10) Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare — Not to be a contrarian, but I think Marc Antony's eulogy for Caesar might be even better than Hamlet's, "To be or not to be" soliloquy. Although really, the story is centered on Brutus's conflict of the good of the state versus his own friendship and what should matter.