Books have the power to reveal who we are, and they also have the power to influence what we do.
The Associated Students of the University of New Mexico President Rachel Williams said she feels books have changed her perspective on the world.
Aside from being the president of ASUNM, Williams is a senior with a double major in political science and international studies.
“I always wanted to be a lawyer,” Williams said. “My grandfather was a lawyer and that always intrigued me.”
Williams added her second major in international studies when she discovered her interest in international relations, particularly those in Eastern Europe, she said.
Here are the five books that have influenced Williams’ perspective on reading and life:
1. The Bible
“My faith means a lot to me.”
2. “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury
“I read this for one of my classes in high school. I’m a huge fan of the utopian/dystopian style of writing. I think it’s one of the first books that I had read in that genre. It was terrifying, but also super interesting at the same time.”
3. “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” by J.K. Rowling
“Like everyone else in our generation, I love Harry Potter. My favorite book is the fifth one because I loved Harry’s internal struggle. Then, of course, good succeeds in the end, which I love. It was one of the most fun things I’ve ever read.”
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4. “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card
“This is another book that I had to read for class. It has a really cool surprise ending, and it was completely unpredictable. You had no idea where it was going. I like books that make you think outside of your world … There are a lot of philosophical questions and a lot of humanity questions that it begs you to answer.”
5. “Inkheart” by Cornelia Funke
“I love this book because I feel like it really changed the way that I read all books. It’s a story about a girl (Maggie) and her father who can read things out of books … Her dad accidentally read his wife into a book and pulled the most evil, darkest character out into the real world, and now Maggie is learning the correct way to read to put the world back into place. The way that Funke would taste the words on the pages made me think how cool it would be to read something and see it come to life. They always say that books take you to places that you never go, and in this book they can literally bring books to life.”
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Skylar Griego is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @DailyLobo._
