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I don't know if this book has been mentioned in the thread as of yet, but John Irving's "The World According to Garp" is solely responsible for getting me back into reading as a young adult.
When I was a kid, I loved reading. I was one of those kids who went to sleep everynight with a flashlight and a book under his pillow so that I could read when I was supposed to be sleeping.
During my teenage years I did what most teenage boys do, I gave up reading and started chasing girls.
Fast forward to the age of 19, I'm in AIT for the army, and my roomate had just graduated. He's clearing out his wall locker and I'm laying on my bed. He takes a book out of his locker tosses it at me and says "Do yourself a favor and read this." Then he walked out of the room without another word. I looked at the title and it was "The World According to Garp" by John Irving.
I don't know if he was joking or sincerely thought the book was worth reading, but I immediately started reading it, and quickly fell in love with the book. It's wondefully written, tells a wonderful story, and has all the drama and comedy you can handle. Within a year of that day, I had read everything John Irving had ever written. Lots of good books, but none ever touched me quite as much as "The World According to Garp."
So, do yourself a favor, read that book.
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