2009 books
65) Jean Giono, The Man Who Planted Trees, 1953 ( RE-READ )
A brief story, seemingly and convincingly biographical, about a French shepherd who planted forests of oak trees and beeches to rejuvenate a landscape ravaged by the First World War, and almost as an accidental side effect he improves the quality of life of the people around at the same time. Giono never claimed this was a work of biography (even though it was commissioned as such by Reader's Digest to fulfill the brief of 'The Most Extraordinary Person I Ever Met'), and enough people have used it as inspiration for reforestation projects around the world that it has obviously become a highly influential work of fiction. Very short indeed, but it stays in the head for the right reasons.