List three books that have had an impact on you. Why?

I will list the books that had a profound impact on me according to the order in which I read them.

The first influential book was “The Trial,” a novel by Franz Kafka. I don’t remember exactly when I read it, but it must have been in my mid-20s. It was thought-provoking because it made me realize that even democracy has flaws and is very fragile. That democracy used in a specific way can be controlling and manipulative. Furthermore, reading “The Trial” made me understand that achieving justice and equality is hard, even in a democratic society. For me, Kafka wrote The Trial, a masterpiece that depicts society and governments, still valid in our times and after that.

The second book is “1984” by George Orwell. I remember very well when I read it—it was summer 2018. Reading this book left me with a wide open mouth because I was fascinated by how George Orwell, around 1944, came up with this idea and story. He describes in “1984” perfectly our Big Brother society, which we really became many years after 1949 when the book was published. Furthermore, he also depicted and predicted the manipulation of society through the control of the press and modern mediums and equipment. This book by George Orwell was very impactful because it triggered inside me the urge to start writing for myself.

The third influential figure is “Pachinko” by Min Jin Lee. I was impressed by the family story playing in the background of Korea – and Japan, which spans four generations. Lee describes stunningly the impact that social inequalities, political inequalities, poverty, colonization, war, and reputation can have on human character development, general evolution in life, and his relations to his family. Before reading this book, I’d never read or watched much about Asia. But after reading “Pachinko,” I started to search for more information about Asian culture, specifically Korean and Japanese culture; this also included watching a lot of K-Dramas.

I can also say that these books are connected to meaningful turning points in my life as I read them around that period.