I’ve always thought that having read the same book that somebody else has read is a virtual form of telepathy.
Not your favorite books, but those books you have read that changed how you looked at life and reality. So my all time favorite book, Riddley Walker, is not a book that influenced me. It’s an awesome book, but it didn’t change how I saw life and reality.
I encourage you to post your five books as a way to let people see what helped make you you. Recommend posting in your comment just the five books without comment and have subsequent discussion and explication in the following comments. I also recommend linking to Wikipedia for each title. The WHY and HOW discussion should follow in all comments. Just list the five (or do anything the hell you want — welcome to the intertubes!). Then post your own comment explicating the why and howfore.
Here are my five books that have changed how I see life and reality.