[taken from here.]

Write about books that defined you in different times of your life. Don’t limit yourself to the “best books ever”. Books can leave an impression for other reasons.

First Book Read to Me
I got books read to me (or stories told – my father is really good at that) almost every night before going to bed. A lot of fairy tales and a wide variety of picture books, and lateron a lot of Astrid Lindgren. I don’t remember the first book read to me. But for a few favorites, look at this post or at this post.

First Book I Coveted
Actually, when I was younger, I wasn’t really that much into owning books. I don’t know when that changed, but the first book I remember not only choosing without any recommendation from my family or friends, but also buying with my own money was Das Teufelsloch (The Devil’s Hole) by Wolfgang Hohlbein. I must have been 12 or 13 at the time. It was also the first book where I complained about the quality of the writing (and to this date remains the only Hohlbein I’ve ever read though he’s probably the most famous German fantasy writer).

The Teen Years
I’ve always read a lot, it’s hard to point out one book that defined my teen years. I don’t think it exists. But the book I read the most in that time was The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Then there was the book that marked my entry into adult fiction: Die Andere (The Other) by Ursula Hegi. I don’t remember anything about the book itself, just that I borrowed it from my mom and read it and I was completely impressed with myself that I read a book for adults. American Psycho and Fight Club impressed me a lot, too.

The Roaring Twenties
I’m in my 20s and it’s practically impossible to say what book is influencing me right now. But the writers that are probably the most impressive to me currently are Neil Gaiman, China Miéville and about a billion others.