Alright people. I've tried to locate a thread which deals with this, and ended up with nade. So here goes:
Which book actually changed your life, and perhaps even more daring, in what way?
I'll go out on a limp by starting. For me it was Edgar Lee Masters Spoon River Antology, a nasty and so very breathtaking description of life in a small somewhat pre-industrial town. Each page was the voice of a dead citizen who recalled his or her's life. These voices soon began to nuance the whole view, opinions differed and stories varied vastly (the wife complains that her husband didn't love him, the husband that she was barren. etc.) It was... awesome! And that ladies and gentlemen got me hocked on the neverending dope called literature 
Can't pick just one book, but I will pick a genre of books that did it for me when I was younger and more impressionable!
Biographies.
For starters:
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s taught me that one person can make a difference, and for me to always try to make a difference.
Thomas Edison's taught me that hard work was something I shouldn't be afraid of, and that even a small change in something, can be a big difference, and to always be thinking.
Jackie Robinson's taught me to reach as far as I could, and to go for my dreams and never to give up.
Many others showed me the same things, but those were the first ones I remember.
A book/movie combination that AFFECTED my life in an entirely different way was 'JAWS'. It terrified me so much as a youngster, that I NEVER learned to swim, and am still deathly terrified of the water to this day. I will not even go into a swimming pool!!! That was just some nasty imagery, and made one boy stay away from all kinds of bodies of water!
I read Nietzche's "Genealogy of Morals" and "Thus Zarathustra" and the books have had a profound effect on me. More than any other works of phylosophical literature, these two works have given me an entirely new way of perceiving the world.
There's a book called "Like Water for Chocolate"--(can't remember the name of the author)--but I'm telling you, it has to be one of the most romantic stories ever written. Imagine having recipes for a lifetime--one for each disappointment, love, loss, or just because you're hungry.
It's a pretty good book, good story--(pretty realistic given it's a touch on the mushy side)--but not ridiculously fashioned to be overly dramatic and disgustingly gushy. Perfect ingredients, cooked Just Right.
The book "Revolt against the modern world" by Julius Evola is a very interesting book in my eyes, because it's explaining the differences between a traditional society and the modern society. There are chapters about the idea of King, of Empire, the casts, nationalism and collectivism and so on.
You can find a description here :
http://www.innertraditions.com/Product.jmdx;jsessionid=240E4EDA86FA64990B8164EE4FBC74E1?action=displayDetail&id=424 for me, it would be two series of books written by R.A. Salvatore. First being The Drow Elf Trilogy, and the Hunters Blade Trilogy. Made me look at life different.
Lord Of The Rings... Before LOTR and After LOTR 
Anything by Douglas Coupland. Always eye-opening stuff there.
This change my life...a bit
Well this book say every human is bad, is it true?
"Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus: In the Bed" 
It taught me so much. 
| randyttp wrote: |
"Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus: In the Bed"
It taught me so much. |
Lol. That's scary. 
2150 AD -Thea Alexander...
I read Siddhartha and it really helped me become a nicer person. Not that I wasn't one before. But I've learned to forgive others I still remember what they do but I just forgive them. It just brings out the kinder side of me. I feel like problems go away quick.
It's quite the opposite for me, Fountainhead by Ayn Rand made me realize that I live in my reality, and for me, everyone else is in my reality too, and since it is "MY" reality, Their opinion doesn't count.
Helped me become a more confident person, though some people I know say I'm a jerk, but then, does their opinion count? 
Seriously guys, Roark was THE man! Harry Potter. It changes my life because I was really depressed and it kept me away from thinking, I just enjoyed reading!
I think that was a very good reason!
P. S: have you seen the fourth movie?
Seveal did at different times of my life but the most significant was "Reading the Body" by Waturau Ohashi.
The writer was 3 years old and lived in Japan when we dropped the bomb on them. He was nearly killed but the old Japanese doctors brought him back to health. He moved to New York City and dedicated his life to teaching Americans about old Japanese medicine.
The book allowed me to see our medical "business" for what it is. We do not "promote health", no, we "sell sickness". Aids, Sars, Bird Flu, you name it, we are placed in the position to be "terrified" by our news media and the doctors, with their hands on our wallets through Health Insurance, are going to "save us".
The book taught me about what it is to be enlightened and I would not trade that vantage point for anything.
For me the Bible changed my life.
It taught me of a unconditional love that no one else can give. It taught me how to forgive those who try to harm me. It taught me of a peace that no one can understand unless they come to know and experience it.
It showed me how and why people hate, while it showed me how they can learn to love. It gave me a friend that will never leave me. It gave me arms that hold me when I am sad and hurting, it gives me a shelter of soft gentle wings that fold over me when the nights are long.
I can have peace for my days and rest for my nights.
It shows me that I never have to worry about anything...because those thngs are already taken care of, all I have to do is trust.
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil or spin;
and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own troubles.
He who dwells in the secrect place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty
He shall cover you you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler....
hmm there was a book about future i think... i don't remember the name.. some kind of science or so.. but it was very great
but.. else.. i think there is nothing special
hum... i never thought abt it before, but i think most of my favourite changes me in some way. persoanlly i think they all changes you, it help you develop and mature.
1. pride & prejudice by jane austin, i love this i became a dramatic romance after
2. spoil of time & others by penny vincenzi, she make me view the world differently and how i wish i could endugle like some characters, she change my writing style too
3. jin shei by alexanda alma, something abt this book just keep me thinking
4. i can't believe this but yes, davinci code by dan brown, i'm open to many more question abt life, sprital being and modernism
| sulphared wrote: |
This change my life...a bit
Well this book say every human is bad, is it true?
|
well human are bad, but that only half of the population, if i was looking at it via yin yang, which means half of us is good. but then who is to say this is good and that is bad, why should they be the judge? if god isn't on earth to tell us, and we only knows in death, then who? if priest and monks are chosen by the god, why do we also get to choose to become a priest or monk ourselve.
man, that book, i haven't even read it yet and i'm question already
could u give me the book detail aka title & author? I can say that any book i read changed my life a little, even when it was sometimes by just a small bit. I have a major degree in English literature so i read a lot but to my surprise books by so called "great" writers of our history didnt touch me too much. Everybody knows who i mean.
But to answer the question which book changed my life the most i would say any from Nicholas Sparks. This may sound kinda lame, but its one of those chain reaction type things. I read Harry POtter, loved it, got into fanfiction, started writing fanfiction, started makin graphics because f it, got into some forums, met really wonderful people whose opinions really make me think. Not to mention I would not be typing this if it werent for Harry Potter getting me into the world of forums and design. The Bible. No explanation really needed for this one.
I love reading The Ramayana. It is one of the books which will teach you everything you should ever know in this world!!
Wow this is a tough one. I have heard many people say Ann Rynd's Fountainhead, or Atlas Shrugged has changed their lives, but I haven't read these yet. Partialy because I'm afraid of how they will affect me.
Let's see. As a child I think Secret Garden was one of the really big books. Something about it connected with me. As an adult...there are so many I really love.
Toni Morrison's books Song of Soloman, and Beloved were very important. Partially because they are such as good mix of beauty and hardship, but partially because of the complex, and full writing style. They are dense books full of double meanings and puzzles that can lead the reader on many different journeys.
To tell you the truth, I'm not the guy who likes to read books but one of my english teachers convinced me to read a book entitled "LESTER". It's the only novel I've red and completed. It's about a boy that wants to help this guy becuase all people thinks he's a killer of some sort.This book really changed my view on other people. Don't Judge them becase of their looks, get to know the person and help them in anyway that you can.
I have nearly finished reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. It is absolutely nothing like I was expecting - I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, but not this. I think I thought it would be less interesting, less difficult and less philosophical - more 'pop' and generally pretty crap. He should have thought of a different name, although I guess part of the reason that name now makes the book sound like a dumb book is because of the number of parodies written... you know "zen and the art of toothbrushing" or whatever....
anyway, whilst I wouldn't say it has changed my life, it is certainly the best book I have read for a long time. It is very well written and cleverly combines two time periods, linking them into each other well. Ostensibly a tale of a motorcyle voyage across the north west of the USA, It also slowly reveals the changes that have happened to the narrator, which makes for an interesting narrative, while all the time analysing philosophical problems, methods and theories from a different angle, shedding completely new light on them. For some reason it reminds me of the subjunctive mood, in, for example, spanish, it applies to all of the tenses and isn't really a tense in itself, it just makes them all look different. a new way of understanding things.
The book was pretty heavy going sometimes, but generally excellent. Changed my life? maybe not, but it has made me think more about doing every day things, and doing them Right. that is to say.... with Quality!
I read The Paradox of Choice : Why More Is Less by Barry Schwartz a couple months ago. It talks about how the abundance of choice we're faced with is hurting us in many instances and how we can simplify our lives. I would say it was pretty life changing in the way I look things.
Well I dont many books i prefer online reading.So there is no
particular book that has influenced me.
a book once fell on my head and made me stupid forever. 
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. This book introduced me to the deeper and darker world of literature.
| caaltt wrote: |
There's a book called "Like Water for Chocolate"--(can't remember the name of the author)--but I'm telling you, it has to be one of the most romantic stories ever written. Imagine having recipes for a lifetime--one for each disappointment, love, loss, or just because you're hungry.
It's a pretty good book, good story--(pretty realistic given it's a touch on the mushy side)--but not ridiculously fashioned to be overly dramatic and disgustingly gushy. Perfect ingredients, cooked Just Right. |
I usually read stories before going to the bed, I like romatic fiction. I have never read this book - "Like Water for Chocolate". OK! Thank for your introduction, It's very interesting! Really? Thanks again!Probably too many to list. Most nostbaly the Bible.
But a novel that's really good, that must have affected me, because I often refer to it, and hubby and I often refer to people who've read it and people who haven't, based on superficial encounters with people:
Heinlen's Stranger in a Strange Land
You just grok it, or you don't.
Totally different, clear view of social customs since then.
And a bunch of others, but...
For my brithday i recieved The Broker (John Grisam), since that book I read almost everyday. Before I never read books, only if it was for school.
I was just placed in boarding school states away from my home, family or friends. I had recently lost my father to whom I'd been very attached. I felt abandoned by my mother and utterly alone in the world. I was very shy and lonely, but only slightly managed to console and distract myself by making up stories and rarely sharing them with others.
I discovered an abridged version of the story at school and begged my mother to get me a copy of the book itself. I was enchanted, simply enchanted. I had a lot in common with the main character and decided if she could manage to bear her difficulties and losses so bravely, then I could live through mine.
Things got even worse, but I read the book obsessively and tried to manage the way Sarah would. I still have that copy, though I've had to tape it together and set it aside safely. It's one of the few things I can definitively say shaped my life for the better. I honestly think I wouldn't be alive today if not for that book. It got me through not one or two but at least three different bouts of hopelessness and depression.
It lent validation to my talents, my nature and my desire to be creative. It basically gave me reassurance that when I did things, thought things, wanted things, that were not the same as others, I wasn’t bad, wrong, broken, stupid or useless. I wasn’t the only one like me, not the first to feel the way I did, suffer and dream the way I did. Other people like me had walked this path and come out unbroken on the other side. It showed me what I did might even be rarer and more valuable then the things other people mocked me for not doing. I still write, still daydream, still do what my nature dictates, even when other people mock it as a waste of time or childish. It seem likely that if not for that book, I’d have long since put out whatever creative spark is in me out of shame. It’s not always easy being the wordy, bookish, creative, introverted one with her head in the clouds in a family that’s very solidly hands-on, practical, grounded, realistic and matter-of-fact, particularly when you’re the youngest, shyest and least assertive. I still sometimes feel inferior for not being more normal, more handy or socially smooth and “in the world.”
The Secret Garden by the same author is great too, and I could write a 6 or 7 page list of books that have inspired, comforted or otherwise been deeply important to me. After all, I'm a book-person. I imagine most of us are or we wouldn't be haunting the Literature forum, but that book literally saved my sanity and my life.
| Carupieara wrote: |
| Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. This book introduced me to the deeper and darker world of literature. |
]
Haha! To kill a mockingbird (TKAM tee-kam we affectionately call it), yeah, in singapore, some of us had it as a literature textbook ya..Indeed it has opened my eyes to how deep literature can go for my simple mind.
But as a textbook, somehow even the best and most perfect literature can become irritating and bland...Thinking of those days when we had to mug(remember) stupid phrases..(opps...did i say something wrong 
)The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
I guess I didn't have much self-esteem or confidence before I read the book, always following others. But, reading his words has given me self-confidence and innate strength. Inspiring stuff.
The ones that made the biggest impressions on me have been:
Mrs. Frisby and The Rats of N.I.M.H. , by Robert C. O'Brien
That book has been equated with Biblical translations, but I've always considered it the ultimate story of the stuggle that many single mothers go through and just underdogs, in general. It's a great book to read when you're feeling down on your luck. After experiencing Mrs. Frisby's dilemma, your own troubles don't seem so bad.
Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
This is the funniest & most relatable version of Armageddon I've ever read.
As I get older, I've discovered that books I loved as a kid still ring true to this day.
Oh, you got me all excited! The Rats of NIMH was the best! I reread it again recently, and it was even better! I love the scene where Mrs. brisby goes to meet the owl! If that isn't an allegory for metting God, I don't know what is! (But of course, I didn't notice that the last time I read it!)
And Good Omens is next on my list to read! Sounds even more promising now!
Thanks!
When I was fourteen I read J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. This turned me into a doubting skeptic and something of a non-conformist, which I still am nearly fifty years later.
Three years later I read Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, which turned me into a scientist, which I still am nearly fifty years later.
Ther have been many others along the way, such as Huckleberry Finn, The Great Gatsby, The Sun Also Rises, Sanctuary, Ulysses, Lolita and Finnegan's Wake, but none have had anywhere near the impact of the first two.
| Quote: |
When I was fourteen I read J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. This turned me into a doubting skeptic and something of a non-conformist, which I still am nearly fifty years later.
Three years later I read Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, which turned me into a scientist, which I still am nearly fifty years later.
|
That's really cool. I can't say that I have had an experience like this with a book. I have however with a piece of music. I played Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz when I was in high school and I decided to become a musician because of that piece.
I've also continued through school (working on a grad degree) because I want to play the Tchiakovsky violin concerto. Not a book, but inspirational.it was definetly one houndred years of solitude by garcia marquez (cien años de soledad" in spanish). this book introduced me in a new world of reading. i started enjoying a lot the quality of the writting, and in some cases i appreciated the writting more than the story itself. i don't know if in english the book will have the same effect, but for those spanish readers its definetly the best choice you can do to read the next book. you won't be dissapointed.
The Bible Changed my life!
None I can think of have really changed my life, although that doesn't mean I don't read.
What SharKay said.
(heheh, now you have to go look for his post.... ) hi everyone
its difficult to pinpoint to one book and say "it changed my life" in my case.but 1 book which had profound influence on my perspectives and priorities in life were-Alchemist by Paulo coelho.A wonderful book which narrates a story of a Santiago,a shepherd boy who follows his dream literally,travels half way through the world,pockets some valuable experience on his journey,meets some interesting characters all helping him in some way or the other to reach his goal.Simply narrated fable,it holds a universal message-Have faith in your dreams,pursue them relentlessly regardless of what the world does and finally believe in yourself.Some of the quotes from that book which still inspires me is
"At a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fates. That's the world's greatest lie. Whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it."
Jeffrey Sachs - The End of Poverty
It's an economics book.
I just love Jeffrey Sacks, he taught Bono about economics. He is very into the whole helping Africa thing. And instead of just suggesting, he explains HOW you can do it.
Yeah, most definately the Bible and The Shadow of the Empite by ---- Perry. (I can't remember his first name:) ) It's Star Wars book the reveals some much stuff that you can see stuff in the movies and "I know why that's happening!" At least for me, cause I'm a Star Wars geek.
And the Bounty Hunter Trilogy based on what happens to Boba Fett from after his ordeal with The Great Pit or Carkoon (*sp). Did you know he doesn't die when he falls in there? Lol, buy the books! Nothing yet.
I wish I'd read Girls Will Be Girls (a psychology book for parents by JoAnn Deak) when I was a younger teen, because I think that probably would have done a lot for me.
There's a verse in the bible... er...
*runs off to find it*
Matthew 6:25-33
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
I'm struggling with the whole religion idea, and I'm really not sure whether or not I believe in God (although I'd dearly love to), but that verse gets me to sleep at night sometimes.[/quote]
John Locke's Two Treatises on Civil Government. I remember reading that in high school and thinking - why somebody has stated long ago clearly the many things that I've been thinking; I'm not crazy.
For me the very special book is The Searoad : chronicles of Klatsand by Ursula Le Guin. It made me look on th world I live in from another point of view, to appreciate life not just as a form of existance of chemical substances, but as a wonder, and just a perfect time to enjoy. Plus, I always remember the image of the Women of Rain from the first chapter. This mystical element made the book even more philosophical than it could be 1. Novels of Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman the authors of the infamous DragonLance Novels
2. John Steinbeck's Novel of mice and men
why...
1st of all i've learned from Weis and Hickman that the power of imagination is much more stronger than knowledge and if you combine them both you imagination and knowledge you'll never know what you could accomplish in life
2nd novel is from Steinbeck's novel of mice and men i taught me that eventhough you have all the knowledge and money in the world nothing will beat a good personality and conscience and you should think for yourself and overcome all odds no matter what the circumstances are
No Such book found yet.
And also I don't want to change myself. I am happy the way i am.
A lot of books had influence on me. But none of them really changed my life.
Well it was when I was in high school, about three years ago. I"ve always been a hopeless romantic, and at the time I Was with a Girlfriend that really got me down, I mean I was totally in love with her..and yet...I didnt feel the romance :/ she wasnt one much for it...anyway I was in the school library and I found this book called "Song in the Silence" by Elizabeth Kerner.
Before reading that book I felt that romance was dead, but when I read it...its about a Human and a Dragon falling in love and the ending..I dont want to spoil it! but it has strengthen my feelings for it...I guess it saved my romantic side. That girlfriend eventually broke up with me...but that romance still lives on ^^
Four books come to mind.
"The Book of Atrix Wolfe" by Patricia McKillip. Her books in general helped me get through a very difficult part of my life, helping to create a mental safe-haven. "The Book of Atrix Wolfe" was the first of her books that I read.
"The Illuminatus! Trilogy" by Robert Anton Wilson. It got me thinking in major way, and also led to me reading his "Cosmic Trigger" books, which further influenced the way I think and percieve the world.
"The Web of Life" by Fritjof Capra. This was really my entry point into systems theory and introduced me to a lot of the ideas I work with today.
Finally there's "Gaia: A new look at life on Earth" by James Lovelock. This book initially opened my eyes to the holistic way of thinking, and was the foundation for my first personal and seriously reflected beliefs, since leaving first Christianity, then Satanism and finally Daoism behind me.
A book which doesn't change your life in any manner is not a great book. It might be a good book, but not a great one.
I am not directly talking about great changes, but maybe some changing in a way of viewing some things.
The book, which made the big change for me was ironicly enough The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien. My mother got a copy of it in Norwegian, my mother tongue, and I used my tenth summer alive reading it.
A great experince, which opened a world to me. The world I had always known I was a part of.
The Harry Potter Series - Because it filled a large gap in my life, as i am now a big part of the HP Fandom, and have gained alot of freinds from that. Also, after reading the HP series i have started to read more books than i did before. 
There have been so many. To list a few, Harper Lee's To Kill A Mocking Bird really showed me to look inside a book and to invision this neighborhood, this world.
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls was the first book that I really got into. Reading it at a young age it really got me into reading. After that I really started to enjoy reading the books we read in school. The relationship between this boy and his dogs is so well written you really get attached to the dogs by the end of the story. I still to this day finding myself wanting to read that book over and over again, and I have. It made me fall in love with reading and I realized that your teachers picked out these books for a reason. I have yet to read a book for school I did not enjoy.
John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men made me realize that racism really happened. I noticed that it still happened. It really opened my eyes and made me see how sheltered my life really is.
And currently The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. An amazing story, I have not completely made it through high school but I can definately relate to a lot of the things Charlie has been approached by. However, I did know a little bit more than he did as a Freshman it is worth reading. And Chbosky definately has his moments where I find myself sitting there thinking about what he just wrote, how anyone could be so bright as to think of that. The best line in the entire book is definately "And in that moment, we were infinate." I sat for about fifteen minutes just thinking, wow.
Lotr... LOTR... LOTR... Silmarillion... hobbit... Richard Bach...
That's my favourite books.
Well, I don't think there is any one book that has changed my life. I read different genres depending on what my life needs at the moment. For instance, I wasted most of my childhood going to school and learning nothing, so I spent my young adulthood reading and reading and reading non-fiction, how to do just about anything you could think of. They all changed my life. Now, I enjoy reading fiction and non-fiction from fantasy to historic fiction to biographies and whatever. Every book I read opens a new path!
Two books by Dave Eggers have maybe not changed my life, but altered it I guess. You Shall Know Our Velocity! is a brilliant book and the connection I had with it was amazing to me. His first book, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, is just as great and I love them both.
C.S.Lewis' novel "The Screwtape Letters, had a profound effect on me.
The book is about a series of letters from a seniour to a juniour devil. They go along the lines of every devil has a human patient that they need to get to hell, and the seniour devil is advising the juniour devil the best way to do this!
A great spin and wonderfully done - it really gets you thinking about the devils schemes and how Christians can be more effective.
A really wonderfull author - highly recomended! Well not much things can change my life. Especially book. Well can influence temporary on my mind or acts, but not change my life entirerly. Anyway the most memorable books in my life is the Paulu Coelho's ones. Just amazing style and stories. May be they are most close to that phrase "change life" for me. Hmmm...I can't say I've ever read a life changing book, but there have been a few profound ones, especially George Orwell's Animal Farm, it definitely gave me a new perspective on history and Communism.
Also, I'm currently reading Biggest Brother: The Life of Major Dick Winters, I just can't seem to put it down...I was always amazed by the man after Damian Louis's portrayal of him in Band of Brothers, but through the book I've gained a great new respect for him.
Last edited by Dark_Jedi06 on Sat Jul 29, 2006 6:51 am; edited 1 time in total
We The Living, by Ayn Rand.
Amazing how many Randians have posted here . . .
The Fountainhead, already mentioned, was pretty good also, as was Anthem. Atlas Shrugged started out fairly well but fell off the diving board about halfway through.
Now for the best of all (quasi-Randian, but not Rand):
How I found Freedom in an Unfree World, by Harry Browne
-Avon Books, 1973.
I won't say any more about it. If you can find it at a used book sale, pick it up. Read it. THink about what you are reading. It could literally (no pun intended) change your life.
The Harry Potter books changed my life. They got me to read. I was a kid who depised reading and anything to do with school. Once I read the Harry Potter books I started to read more and more. I started doing better in school and now I am an Honors student. I am reading as many as 6 books a month and my writing is "Excellent" At least that is what my teachers say.
I have to say Harry Potter 1. That was the first book I ever really read for fun. After that I couldn't stop reading.
If there's a book of which you can say that it changed your life, it must be the first you ever read. It's really simple actually: that was your first book and your life would have been completely different hadn't you started reading. If you like reading, can you imagine your life without it? There you go.
Ypu can say there are books which made you change your way of thinking and I could name many (Bertrand Russel's, The social contract, The Lord of the Rings, maybe even Harry Potter) but there will never be another "Little Red Riding Hood" in your life
For m the following two books :
1. The Bible.
Read it ever since i was a child, and whenever im in doubt, it truly is the first plcace i run to. Its not more an istruction on on life, than a comforter really.
2. Harry Potter.
OMG. I have never been so addicted to a story in my life. It just made me realis that i could read a 500page book in 3 or 4 hours. Its such an amazing story, and as an aspiring writer myself, i felt inspired.
| EtherealDesert wrote: |
I'll go out on a limp |
Bummer, dude.
Mine was Aquaman: Volume 4: Many Rivers to CrossThat sounds like a great book. For me, it was something a little more sedate - Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee. It is an account of his childhood growing up in the West Country in England - a county called Gloucestershire. There isn't anything particularly profound about the story but it is written so beautifully that I can remember thinking that this guy could probably write about a pingpong ball and make it sound brilliant. However, the reason it changed my life was because it was the first book I read that made me decide that I wanted to be a writer - I wanted to be able to write as fantastically as Mr Lee. Of course I've read lots of books since and many have had a profound effect on my life but like first loves, Cider With Rosie is the one I'll remember...
The first book was a 2 book series called Shike The time of the Dragons and The Last of the Zinja by Robert Shea, then afterthat it would be Exploring Celtic Druidism by Sirona Knight. For me it would be "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. This book changed the way i used to think and live life.
There is this quote,"I swear by my life and the love of it that i will never live for the sake of anyone, nor will i want anyone to live for me." It made me think differently.
I can't say that a single book has changed my life, but with every book I read my mind is opened a little more to something new, something different. I got stuck on fantasy when I was younger which moved into suspence and mystery, now I read just about anything I can get my hands on!
Hmm... interesting question. BUt for me no one book changed my life, it's been a combination of all of the books I've read that have done so.
If I had to pick one though I'd say either the LotR trilogy or the Wheel of Time series by Jordan, just because those are the two series that got me started on reading.
Lord of the Rings sure changed my life, i was a little kid and i was reading some rpg report in a computer magazine. There were a lot of references to LotR which i didnt understand so i decided to read the book. The first obstacle was getting the first book. I was a little kid and had no other resource then my mom =). I asked her to get mi LotR and after a few days she brought me the book but she wouldent let me read it. All the kids my age read 30page stories at best and this book had skulls on the hardback. But after some talk with people she knew that read it she let me read it. I was soon the happiest person in the world, i gobvbled up everything remotely associated with LotR... Just think how happy i was when a few months later the same magazine said thet a LotR movie was in production and some sketches were shown... Euphoria But that has nothing to do with my lifechanging experience Its hard to say one book has changed my life, I feel more that the many books I've read changed me little individually, but as a whole made perhaps the greatest impact of all on me.
However, Catcher in the Rye really opened my mind.
| SharKay wrote: |
For me the Bible changed my life.
It taught me of a unconditional love that no one else can give. It taught me how to forgive those who try to harm me. It taught me of a peace that no one can understand unless they come to know and experience it.
It showed me how and why people hate, while it showed me how they can learn to love. It gave me a friend that will never leave me. It gave me arms that hold me when I am sad and hurting, it gives me a shelter of soft gentle wings that fold over me when the nights are long.
I can have peace for my days and rest for my nights.
It shows me that I never have to worry about anything...because those thngs are already taken care of, all I have to do is trust.
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil or spin;
and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own troubles.
He who dwells in the secrect place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty
He shall cover you you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler.... |
Wow, same for me. The Bible also changed my life.Same with defnet and SharKay, the bible would be the first book to ever change my life. It also helped me reflect about the things that I've done, and stuff.
Next in line would be The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho...
Third is The Pilgrimage, by Paulo Coelho again..his books are really inspiring... I insist. This is going to sound childish, but the "scary stories to tell in the dark" series is one of the reasons that I became interested in art and illustration. As a little girl, I read those books until they fell apart.
I say Harry Potter. Since I read the third book of the series, my life totally changed, in a good way. Because of Harry Potter, I sort of learned basic scripting and programming. And also, because of Harry Potter, I came to FriHost because I want to have my own website based on the Harry Potter series.
it was some trilogy = autobiography book by Russian author M. Gorky. Before it I can't say that I liked reading.... but then I entered on literature faculty.. so now i am philologist
I was surprised that Harry Potter was mentioned in this subject so many times. Actually I like that story and am kind of addicted to read. However, that encounter wasn't a big spiritual event in my life. ( It would be big as a social event)
Never Ending Story by Michael Ende might be bigger for me in the fantasy area.
=== SELFISH GENE ===
The book was published in 1976 by the English biologist Richard Dawkins, propounding the view that ‘we are survival machines—robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes’.
Well... Dog training for dummies
Don't laugh. When I get my dog I was just happy to have one. But I did not take him to school or anithing so he become a big, giantic dog witch take me for a walk and did not hear anything of what I said. Well I started teaching him and with help of this book we made a great success - now he is a polite and gentle, easy going dog and most important of all - he don't ignore me.
So this book actualy change my life I've already posted about this book in another topic, but I must say that the book that changed my life was Naive Super, by Erlend Loe.
Anyone whose read it will know what I mean. Some people have Bibles in their bed-side tables, I have Naive Super. It probably takes only a few hours to read (if you're a slow reader) and each time I finish it I always feel a deep sense of contentment, a feeling that "everything will be ok". It's so incredibly simple, but the protagonist really speaks to my heart. When I first found the book (and they say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover but that's the very reason I chose it from the library) I thought it had been written specifically for me. It said everything I wanted to hear at that point in my life. It's simply wonderful. It's a beautiful novel.
