#Thisbook

Probably all of Jane Austen's books, because of her depictions of good manners. My parents didn't bother much, apart from teaching us how to use a fish knife correctly and how to lay the table without making it look like a restaurant, but she presented situations that showed how sensible it was to behave well in certain situations. Nowadays good manners are fairly rare, so my DD says that her DS is always winning the class prize for manners and politeness!

Sue Limb's 'Up the Garden Path'. Made me realise it was ok to be a dysfunctional wife/mother/human being [unfortunately my ex husband never came round to that way of thinking ].

I think I'm influenced by people with a self deprecating take on life so Jilly Cooper (not the bonking) made an impression on my younger years.

Back to books though, as I have just thought that The Secret Garden also made an impression on me, a brilliant book in lots of ways and it made me aware of emotions [I was about 11 when I read this, but it's just as lovely because I re-read it last year.] By Frances Hodgson-Burnett [hope the spelling is correct.]

More irony! It gets everywhere.

True annodomini I chose not to mention it myself.Perhaps for a different reason to modesty though.

By Doris Lessing. Then all her other books. And later on Fay Weldon.

Oh, I don't know, roses. There are a few (maybe more) g'netters who have reached a high-flying position, though they are probably the ones least likely to mention it.

A plodder along the ground here but The Golden Notebook was mind blowing at 19

Of course there's always the anti hero, Backy Sharp who so many female wannabe/established celebs have based themselves on [most of them without knowing it]; although I have to admit to coming to the book via the tv series .[and I'm not a wannabe celeb....]

Think that some G'netters took the high flyer thing seriously Soutra.
Do you remember in the [Georgian[ Blackadder series, Blackadder says to Baldrick 'Do you know what irony is?' To which Baldrick responds 'I certainly do Mr B, it's like silvery or goldy.

OK ignore the ironic high flyer reference. Thanks to those who are responding.

Oh, just remembered - Sex and the Single Girl by Helen Gurley Brown.

No flying high or otherwise for me but The Female Eunuch, Germaine Greer changed it all for me. The reason it was so good is that it underlined the male v female situation but in a very funny way which made it easy to read and absorb. Still love Germaine even though she is quite bonkers these days.

I saw this in The Times Soutra yesterday and did have a quick ponder as to what book made an impression on me when young [I was about 14 when I read this book.]A book written by a woman [Kathleen Winsor] about a woman...... Forever Amber.Being a historical novel , the heroine Amber has certain restrictions, but has such dogged determination and what we would call feisty-ness now, as well as feeling real love and passion to the point of being crazed, that it made an impact on me.I have never re-read it, and I doubt I would feel that now anyway after a lifetime but it did seem a brilliant book about a woman to me at that time.

When I used to do a lot of walking I was quite inspired by the one of the books by Ffyona Campbell that I read, in which she re did part of one of her walks having admitted that she had missed parts of the origiinal walk due to illness. It taught me that living with a lie is soul destroying but it can take incredible courage to admit to that lie [she was castigated at the time for her confession]. Not that I actually lie myself [I not only blush if I try to lie but also blush if I'm telling the truth and think that people assume that I'm lying ].Also, Live Aid being so fresh in my mind even now, I can remember her announcing her plan to do the walk live on air.However, the first book that sprang into my head was,alas, not by a woman, and that was Zola's 'Germinal' which sowed the seeds of my lifelong leaning towards Socialism.

No high flyer here. At primary school age I was influenced by Enid Blyton in terms of expectations of living standards and learning what went on outside my small council estate world, or I was reading fantasy stories that bore no relation to real life. My values and attitudes came from family, friends and school, and starting to read newspapers. By the time I was reading the sort of book that might have inspired me to be a high flyer, I had learned to critique what I was reading and wasn't amenable to a book changing my aspirations.

I've been moved by a lot of books and have favourite books. None have actually influenced me but perhaps have encouraged me.

As I usually fly under the radar, I can't claim to be a high flyer. I don't think any book has 'influenced' me to the extent of affecting my life and my attitudes. However, it's interesting that the 'high flyers' mentioned in the OP all nominate fiction, rather than books about life experiences.

And we have more time to read as well Elegran

Is there a parallel campaign for the book which has most influenced those who have decided not to bother flying high, the view is better from nearer the ground and you get more time to look at it?

Well this is going to be interesting.I am ruled out from posting straight away.