What Book Changed Your Life?

[sally_sparrow]

I'm curious as to what books have made you feel deep emotions, or have changed your life significantly.

Sometimes I listen to music and it ends up being so profound that it makes me want to cry. I've had books that I've fallen in love with the characters and I cry when they pass, but I'm talking about something that you don't forget easily, or something that had made you question things in your life. Maybe a character that you can relate to that helped you deal with a tough decision.

If you'd like to share what it made you change, that'd be interesting to read as well. Thanks.

 

[Paul_Chance]

I've had more than a few books influence me significantly over the years, but I always come back to the first. "The Razor's Edge" by William Somerset Maughan. I go back and reread it every few years and still find new things.

A close second would have been "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius, which was my introduction to Stoicism.

 

[sally_sparrow]

I have so many that I could list right now, but I'll try and disperse them evenly as the thread continues

One book that heavily influenced my taste in literature is And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. I grew up with two mystery writers in my family so this genre has always been present in my life. I read a wide range of books, but mystery novels are my security blanket.

 

[SassySheDevil]

2.

Salt of the earth- Jack Olsen. -A shitty part of my life would always be on paper.

and As cheesy as it is.

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. Taught me a lot about how differently my husband and I communicate. How to solve our arguments without fights and understand that he doesn't process things (or men in general) the same way I do.

 

[Modern_drunkard]

The Road To Los Angelas by John Fante. And of course like any good psychopath A Catcher In The Rye, which I have read countless times.

 

[RVB_1]

2.

Salt of the earth- Jack Olsen. -A shitty part of my life would always be on paper.

and As cheesy as it is.

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. Taught me a lot about how differently my husband and I communicate. How to solve our arguments without fights and understand that he doesn't process things (or men in general) the same way I do.

I liked Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus too... great way to understand the different expectations for communication

One of many for me was 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, all great concepts, but a single, well known, hard to practice statement changed my perspective.

“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and our power to choose our response...."

 

[SassySheDevil]

I liked Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus too... great way to understand the different expectations for communication

One of many for me was 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, all great concepts, but a single, well known, hard to practice statement changed my perspective.

“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space lies our freedom and our power to choose our response...."

Out of all the "self help" type books I've read. Men are from Mars was the easiest for me to grasp the words and understand them.
I've had a hard time with books that relate to bettering myself. I love the words. The statements. Like yours above is amazing. But I still have a hard time changing my thinking.

 

[mulehead61]

Who Moved My Cheese?

I read this when I first started in management and it really helped me understand how different employees would react to different situations. It also helps in life as we all have Sniff, Scurry, Hem and Haw in our lives...sometimes more than one...

 

[Soshameless11]

The World According to Garp and One Hundred Years of Solitude were impactful in terms of storytelling and the power of language.

 

[sally_sparrow]

The World According to Garp and One Hundred Years of Solitude were impactful.

Both of these are on my list as well. I read them both back in college and remember the exact emotions I felt with each.

 

[RVB_1]

Out of all the "self help" type books I've read. Men are from Mars was the easiest for me to grasp the words and understand them.
I've had a hard time with books that relate to bettering myself. I love the words. The statements. Like yours above is amazing. But I still have a hard time changing my thinking.

It can be hard...

For me, it's about linking or grounding to how I relate. Many of the concepts are easy enough to understand, difficult to put in to practice... mostly because people do people things and derail me.

 

[sally_sparrow]

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. I read this my freshman year of college and was blown away by his language. It took me forever to read because I had to adapt to the made up terms in the book.

 

[Acktion]

Oh, wow. So many it would be impossible to list them all. That's one of my... requisites for what makes a good book, if the author managed to shift my world view.

But, far and away the single largest impact was wrought in me by Alan Loy McGinnis with "The Friendship Factor" with a close second its companion "The Romance Factor." I was gifted the first at an impressionable time as I was navigating the transition from an awkward, sickly child to the traumatic teen years.

Probably third would have been a translation of Vatsyayana's "Kama Sutra", not really too terribly long after. Not the sex parts from the... third(?) section that most people think of, but the list at the first that I misunderstood and thought I was supposed to master the entire thing before I even considered the rest. That's a long fuckin' list, people! (Never did manage to figure out flower arranging.)

 

[Hodes101]

To Kill a Mockingbird.

Was forced to read it as a child at school. Didn't really understand it. English literature was never my forte.

Re-read as an adult. Totally changed my view on books in general. Made much more sense.

 

[Adre]

A Moveable Feast - Ernest Hemingway

The Magus - John Fowles

Ogilvy on Advertising - David Ogilvy

 

[FranklyFrank]

J.D. Salinger's Catcher In The Rye....read in high school. Made me realize I didn't really hate reading, I hated reading things that didn't grab my attention. It also awoke the storyteller in me.

 

[Fermina_Daza]

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. A wedding dress is acceptable attire at all times if you are old enough and blame it on a broken heart. *smirk*

Okay, really though Tom Robbins “Still Life with Woodpecker.”

“Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as its accomplice. Instead of vowing to honor and obey, maybe we should swear to aid and abet. That would mean that security is out of the question. The words "make" and "stay" become inappropriate. My love for you has no strings attached. I love you for free.”
― Tom Robbins, Still Life with Woodpecker

 

[Dribble]

Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah ... Richard Bach

The Velveteen Rabbit ... Margery Williams

LotR trilogy ... Tolkien

There are so many....but these 3 are very important

 

[Deacon_Voss]

When I was a kid, it was James and the Giant Peach. I mostly read science fiction, and Westerns (Louis L'Amour)

Next it was Penthouse Forums

 

[Shi_One81]

Anything by Lurleen McDaniel. She wrote tear jerking stories about kids with cancer and because I was a kid with cancer, I was able to relate.

 

[Asian_Flower]

City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre. It made me never forget how lucky I am.

 

[sally_sparrow]

Thanks for all of your posts so far. I've added a few new titles to my never ending pile of books to read. I love seeing the variety

 

[LustfulIntentions2]

Thanks for all of your posts so far. I've added a few new titles to my never ending pile of books to read. I love seeing the variety

I may be surreptitiously following this thread for the same reason.

 

[mulehead61]

When I was a kid, it was James and the Giant Peach. I mostly read science fiction, and Westerns (Louis L'Amour)

Next it was Penthouse Forums

Is this still published?

 

[CurvyAngel_2]

The book that changed my life wasn't anything epic. It was a book by Judy Blume. How it changed me was I had never really wanted to read. I was a tomboy and was always busy outside. It was going around with my girl friends and they passed it to me. I've never looked back and been an avid reader ever since.