Do you ever read books that change your perspective, or even your life?

As I approach graduation, I thought that I would write an article on all of the things that I learned in college. That seemed like a long list (and broad, too), so in attempting to narrow my focus, I've decided to talk about books that influenced me during the three and a half years that I was at Western Washington University. All of these books have touched me in one way or another, and I think that as an English major, talking about books is a good way to end my college career.

So, without further ado, the 10 most influential books I read in college, for college (in no particular order, of course):

1. Shakespeare's "King Lear."

I read this book in my very first college English class. I had long been a fan of Shakespeare, but mostly of his comedies. This was one of the first of his dramas that I was particularly drawn to. Most of the characters in this play are female, and none of the women are really damsels. It was a play that just made sense to me, and though I didn't love the whole class, I am so glad that I took it because I might not have read "King Lear" otherwise.

2. Holly Goldberg Sloan's "Counting by 7s."

This book is an amazing example of why good literature for children is so important. This book follows a young girl who is extremely intelligent, but has severe OCD. This girl touches everyone in her life in a unique way, and as she helps them, they help her. I remember it making me cry. I absolutely adored my children's lit class, and this is only one of the amazing books for young people that I read in college. Books like this remind me why I want to write for children and young adults.

3. Homer's "Iliad."

I am a Homer fanatic, and I have been since I was 17, but I didn't read the "Iliad" until I was a sophomore at WWU. It tells my favorite story in mythology, the tale of the Trojan War. This is the book that truly told me that I was doing the right thing getting my minor in classical studies, even though it doesn't really "do much" for me in the long run. Classics is what I love, and with every class I took after this one, I fell more and more in love.

4. Markus Zusak's "The Book Thief."

I mentioned this book on my last list of good books to read, but I think that it is worth mentioning again. This is one of the best books that I have ever read. Period. This is the kind of book that made me want to be a better writer. I would absolutely recommend the class Young Adult Literature at WWU; it really will change your perspective on writing for teenagers.

5. S.E. Hinton's "The Outsiders."

I'd read this book before in middle school, so it was really interesting to read it again now that I'm older, especially in comparing teenagers from the '60s to today's teenagers. Even though the lingo is very different, a lot of the overall coming-of-age themes are the same. I liked this book as a middle schooler, but I loved it as a young adult. It's another example of really powerful literature for young people.

6. Laurie Halse Anderson's "Speak."

This is a book that made me cry. It was also a really powerful example of what you can do when you set a limitation on your writing. The main character doesn't really speak at all through most of the book, and that really is an interesting challenge for a writer to limit their main character in that way. It is books like these that help me push the limits of my own writing.

7. Euripides' "Medea."

When I was a sophomore, I took a class in the classics department that was a 450-level seminar. The class was on the Greek mythological character of Medea though literary history. It was my favorite class that I ever took, and Euripides' "Medea" was the very best version, in my opinion. I think that reading ancient literature really adds a lot to the educational experience, and Euripides is a really wonderful way to introduce readers to the ancient authors.

8. John Green's "The Fault in Our Stars."

Yes, that's right. I got to read this book for class. And we were reading it right as the movie was coming out, so a bunch of us from my class, including my teacher, bought tickets to the opening night premiere and went together. We all cried like babies and agreed that it was one of the best book-to-movie adaptations ever. But the main thing that I learned from reading this book is that not all romance books are the same. I probably never would have read this book outside of class as it isn't really my genre, but I loved it anyway.

9. Mary Louise Parker's "Dear Mr. You."

This was a book that I was very surprised to like. I read it in a class that I really didn't like very much at all. But this book really showed what writing in the epistolary form could do, more than any other book I read in this course did. This was a book written by a celebrity that was surprisingly very well done and brought up some unexpected emotions for me. It taught me that just because a class is a dud, doesn't mean that all the material in it is.

10. Virgil's "Aeneid."

OK, I know I've ranted already that I love books by classical authors, but this is the last one, I swear. Virgil may be a Roman Homer wannabe, but he was at the height of early Roman literary accomplishment, and he does do some things that Homer doesn't. And though I am more of a Greek historian, I do appreciate Virgil very much. This book made me appreciate Roman history.

So there you have it. At the end of my college career, these are the books that made the biggest impact on me. Now, I'm sure that if I were a literature major, these books would be more diverse, but as I majored in creative writing, my options were a little different. However, that doesn't change the fact that these books are all very special to me, and that's all that matters.