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ok 5 life changing books, lets hear them
Aimless:
Okay, life-changing as opposed to favourite... lessee.
1. The Pawn of Prophecy, by David Eddings. Woulda been Jordan's The Eye of the World, because that's the book that led me to the internet (which affected my life and my personal development in ways too numerous to list :o) and got me into the whole online discussion thing, but Eddings got me into Fantasy in the first place.
2. Parallel Thinking, by Edward de Bono. This book first made me really scrutinise my thinking habits, and it's what made me obsessed with being constructive in everything I do. I don't know if any other book has had such a direct effect on my behaviour and my life :) metacognition ftw.
3. This book about astronomy... I can't remember its name, but it was the first book I checked out of my school library, all on my own, back in second grade, and it inspired in me a lifelong love for space :) from astronomy to astrophysics to physics to a huge world of popular science books that shaped my school years. I wish I could remember its name :(
4. Consciousness Explained, by Daniel Dennett. This is the book that first got me interested in cognitive science, and that interest has had a huge impact on my reading and my schoolwork since ninth grade or something. This is the book that properly sparked my interest in the huge field of psychology (if I hadn't gone for medicine, I woulda been reading psychology now... and I'm still interested in specialising in psychiatry). This is also the book that got me interested in evolutionary biology. Through Dennett's work I learned more about Dawkins, and eventually decided to check out The Selfish Gene, which led to yet another long-lasting interest/obsession.
I'll leave the fifth slot open for now. I try to get something useful out of every book I read, but for the sake of this list I'm trying to avoid examples that'll strike me as being, you know, trivial, a few days from now. So no Three Little Pigs (the first book in English that I read on my own), no Big Book of Tell Me Why (the best present my dad ever gave me, a book that totally blew my 9-y-o mind), no mythology books, no G?del Escher Bach... argh, this is difficult >_<
Joseph:
--- Quote from: Ballard on 20 Apr 2007, 01:46 ---Rabbit At Rest by John Updike
For showing me that "live life to the fullest" isn't just some clich? tossed around by therapists, life coaches, parents and elementary school teachers.
--- End quote ---
This is the one Rabbit book I've yet to read. I've loved the other three, and I'm planning on starting this one sometime in the next week. Fantastic series so far.
Ballard:
--- Quote from: Dark Flame on 20 Apr 2007, 13:29 ---
--- Quote from: Ballard on 20 Apr 2007, 01:46 ---Rabbit At Rest by John Updike
For showing me that "live life to the fullest" isn't just some clich? tossed around by therapists, life coaches, parents and elementary school teachers.
--- End quote ---
This is the one Rabbit book I've yet to read. I've loved the other three, and I'm planning on starting this one sometime in the next week. Fantastic series so far.
--- End quote ---
You should! It was a fantastic novel.
I suggest not doing it on your birthday or wedding day, though. But if you've read the other three, you know that already. :-D
pig nash:
I'm gonna go ahead and follow in the Vonnegut trend and put some others, too.
1. Mother Night - Kurt Vonnegut
-I also really enjoyed Galapogos, Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse-V, Breakfast of Champions, Man Without a Country, Harrison Bergeron from Welcome to the Monkey House, and I'm reading Jailbird right now.
2. Stranger in a Strange Land - Robert Heinlein
-I think this book basically proved the theory I had that no one should have absolute power even if they have good intentions.
3. The Stand - Stephen King
-Really got me into reading a lot in my High School years. I read a lot in elementary/middle school but kind of soured on it because the books I liked were kind of kiddy--(Animorphs, Harry Potter (which i still read), etc.)
4. HHGTTG (series) - Douglas Adams
-And in that same vein anything by Russell Like.
5. There are a bunch of other books I like so I can't narrow this last spot down.
Mandy:
1. Les Misérables - Victor Hugo
Kept me up shivering until 2 AM for many nights. I'm convinced that Hugo's compassion and agony for the human race made me a better person. When I finished it I immediately felt like going to church and praying, then calling everyone I had ever met.
2. Harry Potter 1-6 - J. K. Rowling
Kept me believing in magic when I was starting to feel cynical by Jr. High. On a more global scale, the series basically revived the dying children's lit industry single-handedly. I'm pretty grateful for that.
3. Anne of Green Gables and subsequent novels - L. M. Montgomery
I don't think I've ever read a series so many times (apart from #2). I actually prefer her "Emily of New Moon" series, but they're all fun and helped me to get in touch with my cultural identity - as a Canadian and as a Canadian writer.
4. In Other Words - Christopher J. Moore
A delightful dictionary of untranslatable words from around the world. Fascinating, and colourful. Instrumental in beginning my obsession with language and its relationship with culture.
5. Falling Up - Shel Silverstein
This still stands up as really great poetry to me. Silverstein's books of poetry was the springboard for my own poetry, and I'm pretty sure my writing still echoes him to this day. My friend and I used to memorize poems from Falling Up and see who could recite them the fastest. I don't know how I wasn't beat up at all in elementary school.
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