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Top books that changed your life

#61
Anthem (Ayn Rand)- A fantastic argument for why science must never be abandoned, and why the pursuit of knowledge is one of the most noble goals of humanity.

Self-Reliance (Ralph Waldo Emerson)- As is evident by the book's title, this one taught me the importance of being self-reliant, and the liberation that comes from it.

Slaughterhouse Five (Kurt Vonnegut)- This one did a lot of things for me. It's one of the reasons I'm now such a strong pacifist, and it also totally changed the way I think about time. It also introduced the phrase "so it goes" to my view of life: sometimes things happen that are out of our control, and there isn't always something we can do about it. Nor is it something that we can blame on someone, or something.

Beowulf (unknown) and Grendel (John Gardner)- There are two sides to every story. Nothing is black and white. There is no good vs. evil. Everything is subjective, and everything needs to be treated as such.

Various works by Jean-Paul Sartre- My life is my own. I get to choose what I do with it, and nobody else (so long as I'm not infringing upon anybody else's rights to live the same way). This is the primary reason I'm a libertarian. Live and let live.
 
#62
This is a great thread. Here are mine:

Bible - it did impact my life significantly when I believed in it.

Huxley's Brave New World - even though it was written several decades ago, It really sunk in about how accurate it was. Almost everything he describes in this book is now true, or there is a comparable replacement.

God is Red - Vine Deloria. This impacted my life because it provided a much different view of my previous religion than I'd ever heard. It was particularly moving about the stories of the Native American peoples and their religions.

The Fountainhead & Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand. As a direct result of reading the Fountainhead, I enrolled in graduate courses for chemical engineering, as I would like to be the absolute best that I can be. These books, particularly Atlas Shrugged help to motivate me to execute tasks at work, exercise, practice, etc. I swear by my life, and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another to live for mine.

Fast Food Nation - after reading this, I stopped eating fast food for several years. I need to read it again.

Letters from the Earth - Mark Twain. The questioning of Christianity, albeit in a humorous, satirical fashion prompted me to begin questioning my beliefs on my own.

most recently:
Neanderthin - Ray Audette. This is Audette's description of the so-called "Paleo Diet", which I am embracing. The book is written at a lower reading level, however, there is a lot of thought-provoking stuff in it.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver. Her text is about knowing where food comes from, and trying to eat a diet that is sustainable using only locally grown products, instead of things shipped all over the country / world.

There are lots more, but I'd be here all day!

ian
 
#64
kserg said:
On serious note (because some people can not tell a joke from serious post so i feel the need to point out now when i am joking and when i am not): .
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Man, ain't that the truth......

I wasn't disparaging your input or intending to offend you. I thought in the context of the thread, your "Hustler" comment WAS funny and probably meant for comic relief. Maybe I should have added a LOL or hahaha to make my self clearer.
 
#65
Scarlet Fire said:
Anthem (Ayn Rand)- A fantastic argument for why science must never be abandoned, and why the pursuit of knowledge is one of the most noble goals of humanity.

Self-Reliance (Ralph Waldo Emerson)- As is evident by the book's title, this one taught me the importance of being self-reliant, and the liberation that comes from it.

Slaughterhouse Five (Kurt Vonnegut)- This one did a lot of things for me. It's one of the reasons I'm now such a strong pacifist, and it also totally changed the way I think about time. It also introduced the phrase "so it goes" to my view of life: sometimes things happen that are out of our control, and there isn't always something we can do about it. Nor is it something that we can blame on someone, or something.

Beowulf (unknown) and Grendel (John Gardner)- There are two sides to every story. Nothing is black and white. There is no good vs. evil. Everything is subjective, and everything needs to be treated as such.

Various works by Jean-Paul Sartre- My life is my own. I get to choose what I do with it, and nobody else (so long as I'm not infringing upon anybody else's rights to live the same way). This is the primary reason I'm a libertarian. Live and let live.
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After reading Slaughter House 5 and understanding....and so it goes. I was finally able to make since of another "phrase" which had become park of my lexicon as a young GI. "Ain't nothing but a thing." Vonnegut rocked!
 
#66
I can think of a few:

Bible: I think i would have ended up a very different person had it not been for this book - i probably would have done time somewhere.

Feynman's Lectures on Physics: I read this as a Physics Major, and before i was done, i had changed course into Political Science. He's an easy read compared to many of the other authors covering the subject, but perhaps it was that clarity that told me that i was not cut out for it.

Chronicles of Narnia (CS Lewis): My childhood reading. Certainly spent a lot of time reading and rereading it from start to finish.

Mere Christianity (CS Lewis): Gave some logic to what was otherwise blind faith, to me.

Foundation Trilogy (and expanded universe) (Asimov): Great stuff that really changed the way i saw politics, even before i started studying the stuff.
 
#73
Books that changed my life -

Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien - as a young kid it was the first book that ever grabbed me that way, the level of description in it is absolutely amazing. It was the first book I couldn't put down until I finished it, and I immediately had to start the next one.

1984 - George Orwell - The first book I ever read that hit on the idea of a dystopian society, it kindled my interest in a lot of similar literature, like We and Brave New World. I think everyone can see parts of what Orwell hit upon creeping slowly up on us in society.

The Bible/various anti-biblical texts - my personal faith doesn't fit in with any large world religion, thanks to refusing to just accept the bible as true and conversely, refusing to just accept that the counter-texts were true, I was able to grow very comfortably into who I am today spiritually

Organic Chemistry - Shriver and Atkins - Helped me through countless exams and still keeps me interested in my field of study

Everything by Roald Dahl - This is what really got me reading as a child, before I'd even come across Tolkien, Roald Dahl showed me how much I could enjoy reading.
 
#74
ehque said:
Feynman's Lectures on Physics: I read this as a Physics Major, and before i was done, i had changed course into Political Science. He's an easy read compared to many of the other authors covering the subject, but perhaps it was that clarity that told me that i was not cut out for it.
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Are you saying that just reading Feynman's Lectures on Physics was the reason you decided physics wasn't right for you?
 
#76
burk48237 said:
The problem with these questions is that life is a journey IMO, and the books that drastically changed me when I was twenty five may have little influence on my views now. I'll list five that effected my world view, but keep in mind they may not have as much influence now.

"The Normal Christian Life" by Watchman Nee: A fascinating look at what should be "normal" life for Christians by a man who many consider the "apostle Paul" for modern China. He literally spent most of the last half of his life in Chinese prisons. And many of his books were smuggled out thru the guards. The Chinese had a problem in that if they would let prison guards spend to much time with him they would convert. Thru his leadership the underground church in China exploded. It is said he started 2500 churches on his own.
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This is near the top of my to read list. It has changed the lives of a few of my friends.
"The Road to Serfdom" by Frederick Hayek: A tough read, This book probably laid the conservative argument better then any other in the twentieth century like Locke in the 19th century before him. Hayek renewed the view that central planning is impossible to do in a limited way because every action of the individual in some way effects the macro of the entire economy. The limitation of personal freedom is the ultimate result.

"Liberal Fascism" by Johnah Goldberg: While the title is true, I wish Johnah would have used a different title. His argument is in effect all of the "isms" of the early twentieth century are just different branches the same statist tree. It is an in depth, well documented, thoroughly presented history of statism or progressivism in the early twentieth century. Considering it was the singularly dominant governing philosophy of the era until about 1960. It is a great read of 20th century history. (This book is almost a book end to "Road to Serfdom" it's amazing how many of Hayeks predictions in 1939 came true.)

"What's so good about Christianity" by Dinish D'souza: A great answer to "God is not Great" and "God Delusion" (yes I read both). And it does a very credible job of defending and explaining the argument of a personal God versus the alternative. I look at it in someways as as update of "Mere Christianity"
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Have you read "The End of Reason" by Ravi Zacharias? It is a response to those two books as well and it is very good. One of the most influential books in my life.
"America Alone" by Mark Steyn. While I don't agree with all of the books conclusions, Steyn has become my favorite political writer. He can be laugh out loud funny at times and is a great Satirist in the vein of PJ O'Rourke. The book does a great job of warning the west and presenting a strategy for dealing with Islamic Extremism.
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Mark Steyn is a great writer, I look forward to his column in McLean's every week. I will have to look for a copy of this[/quote]
My second Five:

Velvet Elvis: Rob Bell
Power, Faith, and Fantasy (the only comprehensive history of the USA in the middle east) by Michael Oram
The Language of God: Francis Collins (who was just appointed the head of NIH by Obama)
Peace Kills: PJ O'Rourke
Absolute Surrender: Andrew Murray[/QUOTE]
For me.

The Bible.

It has shaped how I view the world, not with hate, but with love. The sermon on the mount is probably the most influential passages for me. Even if you are not a Christian, you should read it. Matthew 5, 6 and 7. Without the bible, I know that I wouldn't be alive right now. I had nothing to live for and I was ready and willing to die. I found purpose, an identity and a goal.

The End of Reason by Ravi Zacharias.

This book made me accept the idea that there was a God and that there had to be a God for everything that I believe to be true. Before I read it, I was a Christian and it was all "in my heart" -- to use a bit of Christianese; The End of Reason made me accept it on an intellectual level.

Mere Christianity by CS Lewis

A very good intellectual foundation for Christianity. Helped me with a lot of my initial questions and problems.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

It made me view history quite differently and made me realize that when power is unchecked, it will only repeat the mistakes of the past.

There are countless other books that have helped shape who I am, but these are the most influential.

lowsound
 
#78
Lowsound, I'll have to check out the end of reason. I also suspect I 'd better read some Ann Ryand. Ehque, I really enjoyed the CS Lewis Space Trilogy a lot, especially "Hideous Strength". They were three fiction books that really stood with me. For the most part I really like history because, I find it's amazing how little history most of us know. I just finished a book on the Cold War that was fascinating, because it brought recent events I lived thru back to life. I must admit I read very little fiction, I usually just watch the movie.:D
 
#79
burk48237 said:
Lowsound, I'll have to check out the end of reason. I also suspect I 'd better read some Ann Ryand. Ehque, I really enjoyed the CS Lewis Space Trilogy a lot, especially "Hideous Strength". They were three fiction books that really stood with me. For the most part I really like history because, I find it's amazing how little history most of us know. I just finished a book on the Cold War that was fascinating, because it brought recent events I lived thru back to life. I must admit I read very little fiction, I usually just watch the movie.:D
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I find that I don't have time to read fiction anymore. I used to read a lot, but my attention has shifted to philosophy and theology over the past two years.

lowsound
 

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