Do mind-changing books actually change your mind?

The librarian listserv is doing “mind-changing books” right now. Since I’m not technically subscribed to it, so can’t add my thoughts there, I thought I’d muse a little bit on it here.

First of all, doesn’t a mind changing book have to actually change your mind? In other words, if you already agreed with the book’s premise before you read it, is it still mind-changing?

I have to say, the book that had the greatest impact on my thinking was probably The Contrary Farmer by Gene Logsdon. I’ve always been a country girl, and I’ve always been contrary too. But reading that book was like a nearsighted person finally getting a pair of glasses. It was that book that got me thinking about homesteading and farming and gardening in the first place–and this was before we got our land.

So obviously, yes, it changed my mind. Not in the sense of doing a 180 in my thinking. But it was like flipping a switch in an unused room and suddenly there’s light there.