Books and how they can inspire you

Artists like myself get inspiration from anywhere. We get it from something see on a billboard, lyrics in a song, an issue going on in the world, like the BP mess. We also get inspiration from what we read. In the movie "You've Got Mail," Kathleen tells Joe the first time that they meet, "when you read a book as a child, it becomes part of your identity in a way that no other reading does."

I agree because all the books I read as a child are still with me. Although, some books have a way of pulling you in and you become part of the story, even books read as an adult can hook you and become part of you. Some can make you think. Some, like the Dan Brown books, make you think "What if?" Books can shape and mold the people that read them and for artists, they can take us down paths we wouldn't have thought of without the idea that a book gave us.

There have been some books I have read that are not in everyday "gotta read it" list but I found them inspiring:

Einsteins's Dreams by Alan Lightman. This is a book about time, it really makes you think "what if?"

The Secret Supper by Xavier Sierra. A historical type novel about the painting of the Last Supper.

Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper by Harriet Scott Chessman. (read this twice)

Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair both by Sue Monk Kidd are very good books.

Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier.

The Art Spirit by Robert Henri

Any of the Pern books by Anne McCaffery.

I have read a loved a lot of books and have lots of favorites, but the must read book in my personal opinion is The Stand by Stephen King. I love all of his books, many folks don't like him but his genre isn't for everyone...but this one, read as a teenager, will always have that "something" in my psyche. A classic good vs. evil. His books have an "atmosphere" that can stay with you long after you read them....try 'Salem's Lot and you'll see what I mean.

Of course I like James Patterson and Dan Brown for entertainment, and of course I read all the Harry Potter books. A good book can tell a story better than any movie can.