When I was 14 years old I got at Christmas two packages that looked like each others. It turned out that in both of them were the very same book, Jostein Gaarder's ”Sophie's world”. People really thought I might like that book. And of course I did.

That night was one of the happiest Christmas-nights ever. Right away I started to read the book and I stayed up very late just reading and listening Christmas-night around me. The whole family was sleeping but I just read. Every now and then I put the book away and just felt how extremely happy I was there, in my warm bed with Christmas-chocolate and the book that was obviously going to change my life.

It's probably very important what age you are when you read ”Sophie's world”. Many children have said that the story itself was good but philosophical parts were quite boring. On the other hand many adults have said that philosophical parts were good but the story was very childish and stupid. Well, I back then, at age 14, was probably at perfect age. I really loved the story about Sophie and her friends and family and just as much I loved the parts with her mysterious philosophy-teacher. I thougt the whole book was perfect and it really opened me doors that I had never knew I needed to go through.

After ”Sophie's world” I started to read more and more books about philosophy and like many of you know, couple of years later I ended up to university to study philosophy as my major. Of course it wasn't just because of this book I read when I was young, but somehow I felt, and I still do, that this book was really written just for me. It tought me things that I had always wanted to know, it gave me tools to talk about these strange thoughts in my mind. It really helped me in many ways and made my life a little bit easier. I remember that after reading that book I felt I had came home. I felt safe in this world and that just something every teenager should do.

Nowadays I don't even care to discuss if "Sophie's world" is "good" book or not. To me it was extremely important when I was 14 and that's enough. Sometimes these books are just waiting behind the next corner and when they think you are ready they walk straight into your life. I have been happy to have many books like that in my life and it sure is interesting to see which book is next going to do that, turn my life upside down...