I love this contest! Great way to start conversations-- My entry:
The best book I've ever read is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. It's a satirical piece of science fiction which follows a very ordinary British man named Arthur Dent who manages to escape earth just moments before an alien race demolishes our planet to make way for an interstellar bypass. It was originally a BBC Radio drama, then adapted into a book and later a TV series and a Hollywood film. I first watched the TV show when I was maybe 10 years old, then read the book when I was 12 or 13. I've gone back to it again and again over the years. Even though the premise is silly, Adams' commentary on the human condition and all the contradictory and tragic and wonderful things about life is spot-on. It truly changed the way I see the world, and it continues to do so each time I re-read it.