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Books That Have Changed Your Life
I haven’t seen this topic covered here at Aximsite and a quick search didn’t reveal an existing thread, so I thought that I would start one.
I am an avid reader; I can’t really function properly in the morning until I have read something that wakes up my brain. However, my reading pile is growing and I wondered how many of those unread books I will just enjoy and how many will change my life.
Looking back, I can identify a couple of seminal moments in my life where a book changed the way that I viewed the world around me.
The Hobbit – This book marked my transition from children’s, to adult literature and started my lifelong love affair with the written word.
Casting at the Sun – After leaving the armed services (where my reading was restricted to technical journals and pickup/put down action novels), this is the book that rekindled my passion for reading. The subject matter (carp fishing) is less important than the lucidity of the text and the beauty of the illustrations.
The Kon-Tiki Expedition – the work of Heyerdahl that convinced me that man still has much to learn about himself and the world he inhabits.
The Blind Watchmaker – My friends in the Politics and Religions Forum will have anticipated this book in my list! This was my introduction to Dawkins’ work and is still my favourite (with Unweaving the Rainbow a close second).
A Brief History of Time – Stephen Hawking is the cleverest man on the planet, at least, in my opinion. This book is an introduction to the cosmos and, whilst esoteric in places, makes science accessible to non-scientists.
I think that you can tell much by someone’s reading preferences :) So, what are the books that have changed your life? Why would you recommend them to someone else?
Excellent thread topic! I don't know that I have any that have genuinely changed my life, but certainly some that have impacted me the most and that I regularly return to re-read (hope that meets the criteria):
Down and Out in Paris and London - because so much of what Orwell experiences in the underbelly of society still rings so true today Tender is The Night - for the sheer beauty of Fitzgerald's prose, and the immense sadness of the story The Sun Also Rises - hard to choose a Hemingway favorite, but this is mine The Secret History - amazing first novel written while still in college and a very differently told murder mystery
Lots more, but that's a quick very short list ....
Changed my life? That's a tricky subject. My wife, son and I love to read and we frequently refer to literally hundreds we have on bookshelves and in boxes.
Some of my favorites (I really do have many) are:
1. Civilisation by Sir Kenneth Clark
A enjoyable survey of the West in a very witty, readable style.
2. The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
A fascinating study of dangerous viruses and their effects on humanity.
3. A History of Art for Young People by H.W. Janson
A fine book from my teen years that showed the progession of art from cave paintings to Warhol and beyond.
4. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
The book full that helped me win my wife.:approve:
5. The Time Life series of books called The Good Cook Set of books my parents had that set me on the path to the pleasures of cooking.
6. Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allen Poe
Marvelous collection of prose and beautiful style of writing.
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Last edited by breley; 08-20-07 at 07:47 AM.
Reason: Wrong author!
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I think The Catcher in the Rye is simply amazing, I read it once in 5th grade, then a few years later I picked it up again. It seems every year I read it, I get something different out of it.
Might is Right - hard to find book by pen-name of ragnar redbeard, basically social darwinism
1984 - I'm sure everyones familiar with this but I just read it 3 years ago(I'm 37)
Star Rover - or at least chapter 23(I think?) where is talks about mans evolution
Can't think of anything else that was life changing.
Such a rich topic, and very cool seeing others' choices - to remind of more favorites and hear about new things that sound interesting. 1984 is definitely superb, as is Catcher in The Rye. I had not heard of The Hot Zone by Michael Crichton (but have enjoyed Timeline and The Andromeda Strain).
I have a couple more for the 'laugh out loud on the subway' category:
Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby
Filth by Irvine Welsh
Almost anything by Hunter S Thompson
As a child I got a ancient crystal receiver which really made me curious and I wanted to learn everything about it.
In the library I found a 'tutor' in radio techniques called 'Lærebog i radioteknik' by Rybner - Radio techniques at university level - which didn't stop me.
It was full of math so I turned to 'Mathematics for Millions' and got hooked.
At only 11 years of age these books were the first in a long row that decided my destiny - and I kept to it ....
Thanks for starting this thread, Jogga. Let's all reserve the right to make multiple posts here as we have the chance to think--and read-- more.
On first thought, a couple of titles come to mind:
Richard Rodriguez's Days of Obligation: An Argument with my Mexican Father is an interesting autobiography and reflection on the United States and Mexico generally. His other two works, Hunger of Memory and Brown: The Last Discovery of America are equally interesting; I just happened to have read Days of Obligation first.
John B. Jackson's A Sense of Place, A Sense of Time showcases the fascinating perspective of landscape studies. Jackson, too, has written several excellent books; again, I happened to read this one first and it has reshaped my thinking.
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Originally Posted by patrickj
Such a rich topic, and very cool seeing others' choices - to remind of more favorites and hear about new things that sound interesting. 1984 is definitely superb, as is Catcher in The Rye. I had not heard of The Hot Zone by Michael Crichton (but have enjoyed Timeline and The Andromeda Strain).
I have a couple more for the 'laugh out loud on the subway' category:
Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby
Filth by Irvine Welsh
Almost anything by Hunter S Thompson
I must agree with both these choices, they are suberb texts. However, neither really changed my view of the world. Conversely, Animal Farm could certainly have made it as one of my choices; it was my introduction to political satire. In 1995 I treated myself to Ralph Steadman's illustrated version of the book: a real treasure to own.
Sorry, no image on Amazon, so I scanned it - just for you Guys & Girls :)
Last edited by Jogga; 08-20-07 at 01:43 AM.
Reason: Add cover image
Just as a first post in this thread I don't have any books in particular that come to mind just now.
As a child I was a hopeless reader, my mother somehow managed to get the school to let me take 7 books out of the library when normally you were only allowed one at a time. They were only very thin children's books, but my job was to sit on the kitchen bench and read them aloud to my mother while she was cooking dinner. I think I was about 9, and I still have very strong memories about it. I'd recommend it to anyone who's kids are having reading problems.
Now that I would class as books that changed my life, from then on I became an avid reader and always have a few books on the go. I have even been known to get the old newspapers that people lined their draws with out because there were no books in the house.
Mind you, after all that, I still can't spell.
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Such a rich topic, and very cool seeing others' choices - to remind of more favorites and hear about new things that sound interesting. 1984 is definitely superb, as is Catcher in The Rye. I had not heard of The Hot Zone by Michael Crichton (but have enjoyed Timeline and The Andromeda Strain).
I have a couple more for the 'laugh out loud on the subway' category:
Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby
Filth by Irvine Welsh
Almost anything by Hunter S Thompson
Actually, it was Richard Preston that wrote the Hot Zone, patrickj. I apparently co-mingled The Andromeda Strain with The Hot Zone.
__________________ breley | Aximsite/Mobility Site Review Staff, Administrator | Judge, Smartphone & Pocket PC Best Software Awards 2008 To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
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