This is the time of the Jewish High Holy Days. The 10 days between Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur are a time of introspection, culminating in Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). All major world religions exercise self-examination, judgment and repentance, often through the holiest of their holidays. For Christians, it’s the Lenten season. For Muslims, it’s the month of Ramadan. It’s a uniquely universal human quality to look in a mirror, searching beyond a flat reflection for the truth of who we are, to imagine who we might become; hoping to become more tomorrow than we were yesterday.

Introspection plays a catalytic role in some of our best literature. It crosses all genres of books.

Memoirs and biographies are most memorable when the author impresses us with their change through self-reflection. Some of the finest examples include:

12 Years a Slave – Solomon Northrup
Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor Frankl
Gift from the Sea – Anne Morrow Lindbergh
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings – Maya Angelou
The Color of Water – James McBride
Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail – Malika Oukfir
The Glass Castle – Jeanette Walls
Unbroken – Laura Hillenbrand

As fictional characters examine their lives, as they evolve and grow, we often see aspects of our own lives. Through them, we gain insights or confirmation about our own circumstances. This is the enduring power of great books. Here’s just a sampling; how many have you read?

Jane Eyre – Charlotte Brontë
Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Death of Ivan Ilych – Leo Tolstoy
Siddharta – Herman Hesse
The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint- Exupéry
1984 – George Orwell
Fahrenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury
Norwegian Wood – Haruki Murakami
The Giver – Lois Lowry
The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky
13 Reasons Why – Jay Asher
The Fault in Our Stars – John Green