Given that I've read so many books, and that each of them has influenced me in some way, it's hard to pinpoint exactly which ones have been the most influential. One easy choice for me, however, would be "The Foot Book" by Dr. Seuss. This is the book that single-handedly turned me from an illiterate child to an avid and well-rounded reader. The simple sentences, all bound together by an easy-to-follow rhyme scheme, made it easy to struggle through the drab fog of illiteracy. The vivid images and ridiculous content also reinforced the idea that reading was fun, which provided motivation to continue reading. Overall, I don't think I would be the same person today if not for Dr. Seuss and his books.
When I was a freshman in high school, I read a book that, to this day, is still one of my favorites: "For Whom the Bell Tolls", by Ernest Hemingway. The book is about an American fighting with Republican guerillas during the Spanish Civil War. The powerful yet subtle writing style gave the book an almost mystical quality, and since first reading it, I have re-read it on numerous occasions, each time finding new subtleties and different understandings. Before reading this book, I never realized how much an author can say without saying anything at all.
And, most recently, a book by Ken Kesey called "Once a Great Notion". This author has the wonderful ability to tie his many abstract and metaphorical concepts in with what is physically happening in the story. It can truly change the way you perceive the world and make you realize that everything you see in life, even things previously deemed to be mundane and irrelevant, has or is part of some greater meaning.
Good variety. The Ken Kesey book sounds interesting and powerful.
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