Siddhartha
By Hermann Hesse

I was given this book as I was going off to drama school. Acting, to me, was the most potent way to find out who you were and what life was about, and this book—about a young man who follows the rules but questions what is true, not for his father or for the community but what is true for himself—confirmed that, yes, I'm on the right path. Siddhartha's quest is a reminder that we always have to find our own truth. I'm a bit of a zealot about this book—I've probably given away about 100 copies.