Periodically while browsing the Internet I come across a page titled "Books That Changed My Life", with a list of books that supposedly changed the life of author. I'm always irritated by these pages, because I never see any evidence that the books actually changed the author's life. In fact, for most of these pages a more appropriate title would have been "Books I Really Enjoyed." Occasionally, it might be titled "Books That Influenced My Thinking," but I'm reluctant to refer to this one as life-changing. I guess I'm annoyed because I have my list of books, and each one of them had made a concrete, specific change in my life. It's not very long - maybe three books - but that fact is interesting too, as it shows how difficult it is for a book to change a reader, and consequently when it happens it's something worth reflecting on. How to read a book, by Mortimer Adler and Charles... half of the paper... you how precious those sessions were for me. They gave me the opportunity to apply his techniques diligently, enough to make them a habit, and to write well enough to stand up to that kind of scrutiny. Today I don't always apply the techniques; most books are simply not worth the effort. But when I come across something useful, a pencil will magically appear in my hand and I will start analyzing it before I realize what I'm doing.