Earlier today, while reading a book that was recommended to me here on LibCom, in a bout of ADD, I began to analyze the role books have played in my intellectual development. At the end of this 5 second distraction I concluded that, from what I have seen on these forums in the short time I have been a member, books seem to play a major role in all of our lives. With that assumption, I thought up this ingenious thread that begs the question of which 5 books (I know, it's constricting, but nobody will pay attention to the limit after a few posts, so it doesn't matter much) really shaped who you are. This is important not only to get a feel for the LibCom members we see posting from day to day, but also as an informal checklist of books for our own individual intellectual development.
I am aware there is a LibCom reading list of sorts, but this thread intends to be a bit more personal.
