Let's go with Ender's Game for this one. While I can respect it as a science fiction classic and as a book that had a huge influence on me, I don't enjoy rereading this anymore. Maybe it's because I read the sequels and realized they sucked. Maybe it's because I found out that Orson Scott Card is a misogynist and a homophobe and a religious fundamentalist. When I first read Ender's Game, I was about the same age as the characters and I thought that their interactions were totally believable, so maybe it's hypocritical that now, looking back on it, I cringe and think, "No kids talk like that." (Of course, Jessi Slaughter may well prove me wrong on this one.) Anyway, I'll always have a fondness for this book, and my copy of it has been read at least ten or fifteen times, but it doesn't hold the same appeal to me that it once did.
2. A book you loved as a child that has kept its magic.
This one's going to have to be Dogsbody. Ironically, Orson Scott Card loves it, too! You've probably heard of some of Diana Wynne Jones's other works (Howl's Moving Castle, The Dalemark Quartet...) even if you've never heard of this one, but believe me, it's beautiful and as you read it and grow into it, you understand it on so many different levels. While the main plot is engaging and original, I think that the way that DWJ weaves politics and Celtic mythology into the background of the novel that keeps it fresh - the older I get, the more I understand about what's going on behind the scenes of this vibrant and creative world.
3. A book that made you feel like an adult.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is the first grown-up novel I distinctly remember reading. I don't just mean that this was the first book I read that wasn't explicitly targeted at elementary or middle schoolers, because I read a lot of those, but I distinctly remember sitting in the back of the car on a long trip with my parents in ninth grade reading this book and feeling like I was sending out telepathic signals to everyone else there that there was DIRTY STUFF in here. (Although, in retrospect, I reread it last year and was not nearly as scandalized as I was in ninth grade, and there was nothing nearly as explicit as I seemed to think there was at the time.) This book actually has a lot in common with Dogsbody, although it's not immediately apparent - I love the way the different historical and mythological influences are woven together, although here it's the history of the comic book industry and the Golem legend. Which is awesome.
4. A book that has influenced your writing.
American Gods, hands down. I don't think it's any coincidence that a lot of the books on this list are also by authors who I admire in general. I love American Gods for the amount of detail that's crammed into it, for the vivid characters, for the imaginative plot... That, and it's just a fun read. I've read it at least a dozen times and it never gets boring. A lot of the universe of Like a Dog in Space was partially inspired by the universe implied in American Gods, particularly once Mister Papers got involved, although Ivan and the Sisters could exist independently. Not to say that I go out of my way to rip Neil Gaiman off, but... there are worse people to rip off! I think what really gets me about this book is that it's basically set in the real world. It's not alternate universe or some fancy future-that-never-was. It's just fantastic beings trying to get by and live their lives among us humans. I love that it's kind of a grab bag of myths, yet all of them are pretty well researched. I love all of the interesting, larger than life characters who get involved. I love this book.
5. A book that gives you something to aspire to.
Oh, my god, Oryx and Crake. Oryx and Crake, Oryx and Crake, Oryx and Crake. I think my favorite part of this is that it's an alternate future, but it feels so immensely believable based on current trends. Say what you will about the Dystopian genre, this series is Margaret Atwood's masterpiece. I am in awe of the way she connects frame story and narrative, explaining the world we're in without hand-holding us too much. The exposition feels effortless and the results are a breathtaking vision of a future that she convinces you very well could be. I wish I could create spec fic settings like this! (I'm going to try!)
Some runners-up:
Alas, Babylon
Brave New World
Daughter of Fortune
New Jedi Order: Traitor (With the caveat that it is great by itself but shit within the context of the series, for continuity and character reasons.)
Contact
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
A Separate Peace
Clearly, I need to read more classic lit, right?
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