Fiction that inspired you in some way

[TheStoryteller1]

I'm in a place in my life where any inspiration is welcome, and I was wondering if any of you have suggestions?

Is there any book that made you change the way you do something, or do something new, or gave you an idea of how to get through a tough situation?

For example, when I was a teenager, I really loved The Master Stroke by Elizabeth Gage. It could be perceived as one more book about vengeance and love, but for me it was a lot better that that. I loved the persistence of the main heroine over every hit against her, and the ways in which she figured out her next move to get where she wanted to be, like in chess. That book always reminds me that there is more than 1 way of achieving the goal you have. I think I read through it twice or 3 times few years back.

Do you have any other suggestions?

[Denis Hard]

I read The Dream Merchants when I was still struggling to ground myself in business. The semi-fictional story is quite inspiring.

The main character a common, poor guy favored by chance, works his way up and gets to be very rich [in Hollywood]. It helped me realize that no matter how far down you think you are, if you keep working at changing who you are [and what you are], you'll end up being successful anyway.

[SirTenenbaum]

I don't know if it inspired me, but a book that made a deep impression on me was Animal Farm by George Orwell. It's actually considered a novella since it's rather short. It's a quick read but really moving. The whole book is an allegory for the Bolshevik Revolution with all of the characters representing a person or a group. I highly recommend it.

[CrownedClown]

I don't know if it inspired me, but a book that made a deep impression on me was Animal Farm by George Orwell. It's actually considered a novella since it's rather short. It's a quick read but really moving. The whole book is an allegory for the Bolshevik Revolution with all of the characters representing a person or a group. I highly recommend it.

I haven't read this one, but if I'm not mistaken it's a heavy read or I'm wrong?

A book that I just finished reading although it didn't inspire me in any way it was extremely interesting. The book was Angels & Demons by Dan Brown and it's an amazing book. If you are looking for something captivating to read this is the book. It's great.

By the way there is a movie as well, but it's sooooo bad compared to the book that it's not worth reading. It literally skips the first 80-90 pages from the book lol

P.S. I guess it should be noted that it's a thriller fiction, so if you are looking for science fiction it might not suit your taste.

[pandandesign]

There's one series that has inspired me a lot especially when I am down and sometimes don't know what's the purpose of living my life. The book is called "Christy Miller", which is a Christian Contemporary fiction series written by Robin Jones Gunn. What concepts and ideas of the series is that it is very inspirational and teaches me a lot of things that I haven't discovered yet, especially it relates to a religious relief but not too much like other books. I can't wait to reread the whole series again, it is just as good as I have expected.

[Astdua]

One of my biggest influenced from literature is The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexander Dumas. It's a revenge tale with lots of adventure, very beautifully written, and I love the setting too. It's French book originally, I know, but I just had to mention it as it is a classic of world literature, and deserves to be in this thread.

[TheStoryteller1]

First off, thank you for the suggestions everyone! I wasn't around for few days, and few opinions have gathered. I will comment quickly on each one.

There's one series that has inspired me a lot especially when I am down and sometimes don't know what's the purpose of living my life. The book is called "Christy Miller", which is a Christian Contemporary fiction series written by Robin Jones Gunn. What concepts and ideas of the series is that it is very inspirational and teaches me a lot of things that I haven't discovered yet, especially it relates to a religious relief but not too much like other books. I can't wait to reread the whole series again, it is just as good as I have expected.

I may try to read it. I like your explanation of why you like it, and I like to give fair chance to things. Otherwise, I'm not very religious, so I wonder if that book will be good for me at all.

I don't know if it inspired me, but a book that made a deep impression on me was Animal Farm by George Orwell. It's actually considered a novella since it's rather short. It's a quick read but really moving. The whole book is an allegory for the Bolshevik Revolution with all of the characters representing a person or a group. I highly recommend it.

I love Animal Farm. I think I still have a quote from its ending somewhere. I first saw the animation on TV. It was made for children, yet you could still catch the slight irony and the message from the book in it. Years later I saw the book and figured it's a book worth reading. It still is:).

I read The Dream Merchants when I was still struggling to ground myself in business. The semi-fictional story is quite inspiring.

The main character a common, poor guy favored by chance, works his way up and gets to be very rich [in Hollywood]. It helped me realize that no matter how far down you think you are, if you keep working at changing who you are [and what you are], you'll end up being successful anyway.

That sounds like a perfect book for me! What I'm doing isn't exactly a business, but more of a venture. Still, I have a lot of challenges waiting for me, and it sounds like a book that will help with that.

One of my biggest influenced from literature is The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexander Dumas. It's a revenge tale with lots of adventure, very beautifully written, and I love the setting too. It's French book originally, I know, but I just had to mention it as it is a classic of world literature, and deserves to be in this thread.

I never read it, but I have heard of it. May be I will finally check it out. Thank you for your suggestion.

[rahimbahrain]

Though I have read a number of  fictional books,  I must admit, fiction has never inspired me, as such. 

Yes, fiction has entertained me, enthralled me and made me feel better but it has not motivated me. At best, I felt nice feeling of  time well-spent after reading a fiction.

All motivations have come from non-fiction which continues to be my favourite.

[angelicagapit]

Don't laugh at me, but I'm going to recommend a children's book series.

I don't actually consider it a children's series, but that's what they label it. It's called A Series of Unfortunate Events.

The  story line and characters are more mature than you think. It's a 12-book series about 3 orphans who try to escape their evil pretend "uncle."

Throughout the series, they deal with terrible and miserable things daily, yet they never lost hope. It's inspiring for me and its dark humor is a plus.

[Daimashin]

No book ever gave me much inspiration but there is one novel that taught me a lot about the meaning of life. The Chinese novel Journey to the West mentioned a lot of teachings and morals from Buddhism that taught me a lot about being a human. The values have helped me in deciding many things in life.

[g2narat]

Don't laugh at me, but I'm going to recommend a children's book series.

I don't actually consider it a children's series, but that's what they label it. It's called A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Oh I'm going to say another children's book too! For me it was "The Little Prince" though. It didn't move me much when I first read it as a kid. However, as an adult, it got me thinking about the important things in life. And I mean really thinking. To the point where I decided to pursue something I enjoyed instead of doing what was expected of me. It's a cliche idea but that's really how that book inspired me.

[mmjmaske]

A great many books have some kind of inspirational message in them, and the impact of each depends largely on the reader. It's the same principle with the quote "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"; it's all a matter of opinion.

[trenchant]

The Monstrumologist series by Rick Yancey is my all-time favorite series, and I found it incredibly inspiring in terms of viewing society, and even humanity itself. It's a series that largely deals with existential problems, and Yancey's writing skills are so beautiful that every line is almost poetry.

[Bloomsie]

There is a wonderful book that makes you realize the perspectives around you. It's called, 'The Secret'. I forgot whom it was written by, but it's basically about adding positive thoughts into your mind during any type of situation. You'll then realize that you're attracting that positive energy to you and good things can occur. It's pretty interesting and I think in later years was turned into a documentary. I would recommend this book and documentary for those who need a bit more positive mental influence in their lives. It's definitely a book that can inspire many -- even you!

[skywatcher]

That book must probably be Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. It's not the best novel out there, but it's certainly one of the best I've read. It taught me that just because Armageddon is happening in a week doesn't mean things can't get awkwardly hilarious. And just because "God said so" doesn't mean we don't have the right to at least wonder about things.

As much as it's not a religious work, Good Omens is the funniest account of the Apocalypse that I've ever read. Perhaps the inspiring part wasn't the comedy part, it's how they're able to integrate something funny in a story so filled with witty remarks and, in a way, passages that would really make you think.

[Baburra]

I read the first Narnia book at a time when I didn't really understand what the fuss was about with reading. I never was given that many fictional books to read when I was younger and instead only got textbooks, so as I grew older and got forced to reading a book for a book report, I randomly just picked the Narnia book out of the lot and now looking back, I'm really glad that it was the book I got because I thoroughly enjoyed it and only got what was so fun about reading due to that book. It was really very imaginative and well written.

[Rosa]

Don't laugh at me, but I'm going to recommend a children's book series.

I don't actually consider it a children's series, but that's what they label it. It's called A Series of Unfortunate Events.

The  story line and characters are more mature than you think. It's a 12-book series about 3 orphans who try to escape their evil pretend "uncle."

Throughout the series, they deal with terrible and miserable things daily, yet they never lost hope. It's inspiring for me and its dark humor is a plus.

I wouldn't say your choice is bad. I too have read a couple of the series and I'm still seeking to get the others. I think the series is a good choice for adults too. There is certainly cunning people as Count Olaf  around us who will use any devise available to get their hands on something that doesn't belong to them.

[miguel_jieb]

I don't know if it inspired me, but a book that made a deep impression on me was Animal Farm by George Orwell. It's actually considered a novella since it's rather short. It's a quick read but really moving. The whole book is an allegory for the Bolshevik Revolution with all of the characters representing a person or a group. I highly recommend it.

I've heard of this classic book too. I received so many good feedback about it. I hope I could find someone to lend me one.

[miguel_jieb]

I have to say that the fiction which inspired me was Paolo Coelho's "The Alchemist". It's a story about a man who went on a journey to find a treasure. On the journey, many life lessons could be taken. It's a wonderful book with plenty of lessons. One of the lessons I got from it is, "Happiness comes when we see and experience the beauty of the world that God made without losing the values that we treasure."

[chigreyofthenorns]

Hmmm... Through the years, a lot of books have inspired and changed me in positive ways. The one that really made a big change is The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. I learned to appreciate the little things in life and to listen more to others. What's more, I learned that judging people based on their appearance alone is never good for you or the other person. "What is essential is invisible to the eye." This is the greatest lessons I learned there.

[deathbyprayer]

"Fight Club". This book just inspired to live my life how I wanted to be and to be happy with what I have and don't have. The message is great, it really struck me since I've been reeling with my life and dealing with the whole notion of just working to buy things that would make me happy but in reality it's not going to do anything. You should try reading this novel it's pretty eye opening and inspiring.

[TheJamal]

Don't laugh at me, but I'm going to recommend a children's book series.

I don't actually consider it a children's series, but that's what they label it. It's called A Series of Unfortunate Events.

The  story line and characters are more mature than you think. It's a 12-book series about 3 orphans who try to escape their evil pretend "uncle."

Throughout the series, they deal with terrible and miserable things daily, yet they never lost hope. It's inspiring for me and its dark humor is a plus.

I was going to say this as well! I love this series for the clever writing and story that goes with each book. It's creative and was one of the first big series that I ever read.

Along with A series of unfortunate events, I'd say Harry Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia were two other series that greatly inspired me as a young reader and encouraged me to cultivate a love of reading. I don't think I would have ever pursued a career as a journalist and writer without reading these series when I was growing up.