Topic: Books that changed your life (Read 59526 times)

Scandanavian War Machine · « **on:** 10 Feb 2006, 15:28 »

I wanna know what books (if any) have affected you in any profound (or even unprofound, i guess) way.
Heres mine:
-The Hyperion series by Dan Simmons. Holy cow. thats all
-Novocain For The Soul by "Logan." This is not an actual book but a short story i found on the internet several years ago. Its a fan fiction follow up to the anime FLCL and its very well done.
-Catcher In The Rye by JD Salinger. Because it made me realize a book can have me completely sucked into it and still be about NOTHING.

Of course i could list another hundred or more books that I love but these are the few that really affected me (that i can remember right now anyway).

Lets see what you guys read.

Rawr and Stuff · « **Reply #1 on:** 10 Feb 2006, 19:20 »

You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers just for the quote "You shall know our velocity"

Stifled Dreams · « **Reply #2 on:** 10 Feb 2006, 19:40 »

I haven't read any good books lately, but here are two from my mysterious past:

The Giver. When I first read it, I was like... 10, I guess. Anyways, it made a really big impression on me. I don't know why.

That was the year that I also read the Phantom Tollbooth, which is when I really got into writing. I think the first comic I've ever drawn illustrated part of the Phantom Tollbooth for a 5th grade book project with my best friend. That doesn't sound important, but it is to me.

There are a few more that I'll probably mention later.

octozombie · « **Reply #3 on:** 11 Feb 2006, 03:42 »

I'd have to say The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Read it over a year ago, it's still my favorite book. Ever.

There are more, but I guess the only other one that pops to mind is House of the Scorpion.........it made me think about the complicated consequences and responsibilities that we must face when we are too curious.
Two great books.

ayePod · « **Reply #4 on:** 11 Feb 2006, 03:53 »

"On The Road" That book half embittered me to the world and half made me realise that it's all good in the end. I'v read it now about 30 times.

S_g · « **Reply #5 on:** 11 Feb 2006, 05:28 »

1984, classic but has to be here

500 days, Around the world on a 12 foot yacht - serge testa

Basically this guy builds a 12 foot boat and sails through 2 cyclones and around the world on his own, stopping at places that look interesting on the way. Years before that jessie martan tryhard. I'll add the hatchet series in there as well + tommrow when the war began.

It's one of the infulences in my childhood that has really brought out my "wander sprit", well that and some good hikeing boots.

i'll think of more as i get more sleep and post back

Mikendher · « **Reply #6 on:** 12 Feb 2006, 13:37 »

The Giver
Jane Eyre
The Golden Compass
Chicken Soup With Rice

CRASH andor BURN · « **Reply #7 on:** 12 Feb 2006, 14:43 »

Fight Club. I need to read more Chuck Palahniuk(sp?).

Bridgeburner · « **Reply #8 on:** 12 Feb 2006, 16:31 »

Well Im kind sleepy right now but the story that pops in mine mind is "The Long Walk" by Stephen King...it's a part of he's Bachman Collection.

It's about a hundered childeren and teenagers who signed up for some kind of future reality show in which the contenders have to walk until there is only one survivor.

You must not slow down below 4 miles per hour and if you do you get a warning, 3 warnings and you get shot.
This is not one of his scariest stories but it sure has been running around my head for days after i had read it.

The ending had the greatest impact on me, and here are a few quotes from the book.

"And, when the hand touched his shoulder again, he somehow found the strength to run."

"We want to die, that's why we're doing it. Why else, Garraty? Why else?"

"Im am the rabbit"

Maximo Bean · « **Reply #9 on:** 13 Feb 2006, 10:29 »

Steppenwolf by Hermen Hesse.
It's just really something.

nescience · « **Reply #10 on:** 13 Feb 2006, 11:00 »

Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kesey. Part allegory for Kesey's emotional coming-of-age, part depiction of the roughs of the Pacific Northwest, part blatant fuck-you to everyone within shouting distance.

Valrus · « **Reply #11 on:** 13 Feb 2006, 16:43 »

Although right now I'm kind of ashamed to admit it, I don't think I can deny the effect that Atlas Shrugged had on me when I read it. In the end, I think it was a positive one, since I like to believe I integrated the sensible parts into my Weltanschauung and sloughed off the wingnut far-right Objectivist nonsense. But I'm still uncomfortable with how thoroughly I bought it at the time.

Kai · « **Reply #12 on:** 13 Feb 2006, 17:00 »

Ayn Rand is kinda creepy.

Valrus · « **Reply #13 on:** 13 Feb 2006, 19:49 »

I know. That's the thing.

Bearer · « **Reply #14 on:** 14 Feb 2006, 18:14 »

I definatly going to say Mossflower by Brian Jacques...
>_>
what? Don't be critisizeing me for reading a book about woodland creatures with swords! Seriously though, thats a great book. It's alot better than people give it credit for. Maybe not a moving novel of epic proportions, but still...it's good.

that, and the outsiders. The outsiders is a classic. I mean, with a name like soda-pop, how can it NOT be good? but yeah, thats a good book as well...

Kai · « **Reply #15 on:** 14 Feb 2006, 18:57 »

Man, I hated the Outsiders when I had to read it in 7th grade.

E. Spaceman · « **Reply #16 on:** 14 Feb 2006, 20:28 »

Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck
Northern Lights (Golden Compass) by Phillip Pullman
On the Road - Kerouac
The Plague Albert Camus
No Logo - Naomi Klein

Luke C · « **Reply #17 on:** 16 Feb 2006, 11:15 »

The Kite Runner - forgot the authors name. Defo worth a read. 100/100 socre for me. So much emotion, not the type of guy that gets really emotional about books/movies etc. (not a macho thing, just who I am) but this book moved me a lot.

The book Im reading right now, High Society by Ben Elton, has changed a few people I know views about politics but not so much for me, Im well aware how corrupt our world is.

Kai · « **Reply #18 on:** 16 Feb 2006, 14:20 »

How blind, deaf and metally retarded do you have to be to NOT know how corrupt this world is? Seriously.

visceralviscous · « **Reply #19 on:** 16 Feb 2006, 21:22 »

Quote from: Rawr and Stuff

You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers just for the quote "You shall know our velocity"

yes! i love that book....and basically everything i've read by the lovely mr. eggers.. his writing style amazes me to no end.

also:
~nickle and dimed
~the color of water
~the golden compass/his dark materials trilogy
~a book entitled "an introduction to metaphysics" which i've read like 50 times so far...

Scandanavian War Machine · « **Reply #20 on:** 17 Feb 2006, 11:12 »

you guys reminded me of some of my other favorite books.

-everything Chuck Palahniuk has ever written.
-The Further Inquiry by Ken Kesey
-One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
-The Giver was a good book too
-The Ancient Ones...not sure who wrote it. i read it in like seventh grade or something
-i did like The Grapes of Wrath as well. i dont know anyone else who liked it.
-Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
-To Rueleben(sp?) and Back by Geoffrey Pyke. anyone with a good sense of humor, patience, and interest in in WWII should read this. its a true story. i found this book on amazon.com when i was looking for books about the author (hes a scientist actually, not an author) and i found one BY him instead. its great.

its good to hear that people out there still read. i know very few people who read anymore (maybe two of my friends read for fun).

hoax · « **Reply #21 on:** 17 Feb 2006, 21:51 »

The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis: I know this makes me a pretty big nerd, but these are the books that turned me into a book worm kid who devoured any book she could get her hands on. Everything after that has been only moderately life-changing.
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
The Handmaid's Tale, and The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

Rizzo · « **Reply #22 on:** 18 Feb 2006, 04:07 »

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams changed my life. I'm thinking about getting an H2G2 Tattoo...

StPip · « **Reply #23 on:** 18 Feb 2006, 21:57 »

Someone said almost all the books I was going to say...

The Hyperion books...
Ayn Rand, but The Fountain Head did it for me. I've never believed in the human mind as much as I do now.
Chuck Palanhuik books (Invisible Monsters and Survivor did it for me)
DUNE! How can no one mention Dune? All 6 of those damn books. It makes me want to learn to control breeding cycles and ride giant worms. Frank Herbet is my fantasy.
Battle Royale by Koushun Takami(Japanese kids killing each other... like whoa?)
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (Hence my name and obsession with the name Estella)
The Power of One by Bryce Courtney (Got to love a novel where you never know the main characters real name, plus it just proves what people can do.)

I think that's it.

Running For Home · « **Reply #24 on:** 19 Feb 2006, 08:39 »

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
The Wars by Timothy Findley
The Manticore by Robertson Davies
The Chrome Suite by Sandra Birdsell

Panbombadil · « **Reply #25 on:** 19 Feb 2006, 16:08 »

Mmh, Definatly His Dark Materials. Also, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse was pretty amazing. Had to read it for a summer english assignment, and I'm glad I did.

Kai · « **Reply #26 on:** 19 Feb 2006, 18:38 »

Quote from: Rizzo

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams changed my life. I'm thinking about getting an H2G2 Tattoo...

I've been thinking about this a little bit and that's pretty much the book that propelled me into really superbly enjoying reading.

TornRGDoll · « **Reply #27 on:** 19 Feb 2006, 19:19 »

I Never Promised you a Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg

it's a story of a young mentally ill girl in an institution who makes a choice to be healthy and fight for mental health. Really moved me in my teen years.

The Stranger, The Fall, and The Plague by Albert Camus

I read them in their original french and in english. the imagery and philosophy in his work is exceptionally moving. Anything by him is worth a read..

The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King

possibly because I waited so patiently and so long for each installment to the seven book series and loved every word.. there seriously is like.. an emptiness now that the series is done and I'm not even sure if the ending was satisfying.. eugh.

Three Junes, I forget the author, read it for my AP LIT class.

a billion more because I'm a readoholic.. heh. but I wont bore you anymore.

Rizzo · « **Reply #28 on:** 20 Feb 2006, 01:28 »

Quote from: Kai

I've been thinking about this a little bit and that's pretty much the book that propelled me into really superbly enjoying reading.

Yeah me too. When I get the time I read a book a day. Nothing else, internet doesn't hold my attention like a good book.

Other books that changed my life:
Night's Dawn Trilogy
Tomorrow When The War Began series
Takeshi Kovacs series

lifelesseyes · « **Reply #29 on:** 21 Feb 2006, 20:45 »

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - everyone I know who's read this says it changes their life, and it's true.

The Chronicles of Narnia

Harry Potter (shut up, they're good)

The Art of Fiction by Ayn Rand - changed the way I write forever, and she's less creepy than her fiction

More, I'm sure

lifelesseyes · « **Reply #30 on:** 21 Feb 2006, 20:49 »

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - everyone I know who's read this says it changes their life, and it's true.

The Chronicles of Narnia

Harry Potter (shut up, they're good)

The Art of Fiction by Ayn Rand - changed the way I write forever, and she's less creepy than her fiction

More, I'm sure

calenlass · « **Reply #31 on:** 22 Feb 2006, 00:32 »

Hitchhiker's Guide ftw! I used to love to read, and then people started forcing me to read books for school. This reintroduced me to the reasons books are such wonderful means of entertainment.

The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart. If you've read it, you know what I mean.

Black Sun Rising by CS Friedman. I just finished this, and I can already tell it will have a tremendous impact on my writing style.

Twelfth Night by Billy Shakespeare. The first of his works that ever made me laugh out loud.

Midsummer Night's Dream. It was kind of the thing that introduced [what I later found out was] Freudian mentality to me: everything can have a sexual connotation. And when you vocalise it, it's usually funny. My sense of humour was never the same.

Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck. The first book I ever read that someone had to force me to read, seriously (shortly followed by A Separate Peace).

The Lord of the Rings (all 6 [3] books) by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. My aspirations as a writer are to be as successful at creating a world, and all its details and cultures and depth, using just plain and simple words, the way he did.

Nemba · « **Reply #32 on:** 22 Feb 2006, 00:48 »

I bothers me a little, just really very slightly, that so many people say Of Mice and Men. Don't get me wrong, I loved it, and it was definitely epic, but it seems to me so many people only ever read Of Mice and Men, but don't read The Grapes of Wrath, and especially East of Eden which, I personally at least, found far more moving, more life-changing.

Oli · « **Reply #33 on:** 22 Feb 2006, 07:46 »

I hated of mice and men. I think mostly because we did it in my english class and I abhor the ripping apart of novels we have to do to create a critical evaluation. I mean it's good to find meaning in a book, but not when you get told "This is the meaning, find quotes that show it"

Books which changed my life/reading habits are:

Animal Farm + 1984 - George Orwell

Notes from a big country - Bill Bryson (Hilarious travel writing FTW!)

The Hobbit - J.R.R Tolkien (I read it before all this film nonsense. The Hobbit owns. I used to be able to recite the first paragraph and the last sentence. "In a hole, in the ground, there lived a hobbit. Not a (and I forget the rest of the paragraph nowadays)" "'No, thats not for me' he said, laughing, and handed him the tobbacco jar.")

Varioud Garfield Comic books - Jim Davis.

deborah · « **Reply #34 on:** 22 Feb 2006, 09:56 »

kate chopin's the awakening (much better than flaubert's madame bovary)

margaret atwood's "rape fantasies" (short story told in the first person with quirks)

salinger's franny and zooey (f holden caulfield; the glass family is way cooler)

the one adult book that i've read that really makes me think there's hope in the world and washes away whatever cynical dirt i've gathered is e.e. cummings' i: six nonlectures. he is the most uplifting and positive person i've ever read without feeling like there's a lot of smarm and cheese involved.

BPMninja · « **Reply #35 on:** 22 Feb 2006, 10:23 »

Suuuuuch a life changer.

Jarne · « **Reply #36 on:** 22 Feb 2006, 10:45 »

Animal Farm - George Orwell.
The Communist Manifesto - Marx and Engels.
Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal - Ayn Rand.

These are the books that made me believe that yes, in fact, humans can screw up everything and that they can also succeed.

Useful Idiot · « **Reply #37 on:** 22 Feb 2006, 18:22 »

without question, the list would be as thus:

'Run With The Hunted' by Charles Bukowski
this book hit me at a time in my life in which I was very wrought up in abstract thought and dedicated a large portion of my time to drugs. It showed me exactly what I needed to see; something absolutely real, and undistortedly pure.

'Requiem for a Dream' by Hubert Selby Jr.

'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' by Ken Kesey
this book simply makes you question your own mind and the minds of those around you; when you read this, every notion of insanity you could have had goes straight out the window.

Kai · « **Reply #38 on:** 22 Feb 2006, 18:58 »

Quote from: Nolaw_Nocrime

I hated of mice and men. I think mostly because we did it in my english class and I abhor the ripping apart of novels we have to do to create a critical evaluation. I mean it's good to find meaning in a book, but not when you get told "This is the meaning, find quotes that show it"

That whole process has made me hate every book I've really been forced to read in school. Of Mice and Men, Count of Monty Cristo, Catcher in the Rye, Tom Sawyer, ton of others. Even if I've already read them and enjoyed them, I learned to abhor them. I mean, why not let US decide what we think the author's message was? Let us think about it and do our own work and back it up, rather than it being almost-but-not-really subtly fed to us. Seriously. There's this whole process called "THINKING FOR YOURSELVES".

Actually, I could go on a big whole thread about the evils of the American English education program.

Quote

I bothers me a little, just really very slightly, that so many people say Of Mice and Men. Don't get me wrong, I loved it, and it was definitely epic, but it seems to me so many people only ever read Of Mice and Men, but don't read The Grapes of Wrath, and especially East of Eden which, I personally at least, found far more moving, more life-changing.

In terms of actual book wise, I liked Cannery Row the best out of all of Steinbeck's novels (and hated Of Mice and Men, but I've already covered that). Grapes of Wrath was really more... just woah, in terms of message behind it.

Bastardous Bassist · « **Reply #39 on:** 22 Feb 2006, 20:37 »

My list may seem utterly pretentious (well, parts of it may), but I assure you that it's really the books that have had a profound impact on how I live my life:
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett (technically a play, but whatever)
Night by Elie Wiesel
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
The Trial by Franz Kafka
Beneath the Underdog by Charles Mingus (autobiography)
Jarhead by Anthony Swofford (compared to the book, the movie is complete crap, and the movie is pretty good, I think!)
Blackhawk Down by Mark Bowden (I hated the movie, but the book is fantastic)
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli (seriously, it's how I live my life)

JLM · « **Reply #40 on:** 22 Feb 2006, 21:09 »

Changed my Life? Like that song did for Natalie Portman in that Movie? That kinda life changing experience?

(Thinks hard to try and come up with the most *outside the mainstream* book he can come up with...you know...to make me seem cool)

The Telltale Heart is the first thing I remember really being into when I was younger. Go figure...

Otherwise, I'd have to go with Frank Miller's Batman:The Dark Knight Returns.

CHEESEGOD · « **Reply #41 on:** 22 Feb 2006, 21:38 »

Well, His Dark Materials. I've read all three books countless times, the ending bums me out each time.

I enjoyed the Redwall series, but I wouldn't call them life changing.

A Dream Of Eagles was a good series, if you can look past the gay bashing.

Angela's Ashes was awesome, Tis' was good but not great.

That guy · « **Reply #42 on:** 05 Mar 2006, 08:20 »

The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete protection from the Living Dead by Max Brooks. Now I know to be prepared to move to a secure location at any time.

elcapitan · « **Reply #43 on:** 07 Mar 2006, 04:26 »

On The Road, by Jack Kerouac; and Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, by Hunter S. Thompson. I read these when I was 17 as part of an extension English class at high school, and was totally blown away by them.

Gravity's Rainbow, by Thomas Pynchon. The first book I've read that made me feel like a child again, being held above a parents head to see the crowd in its entirety. Amazing.

Stranger In A Strange Land, and Starship Troopers, by Robert A. Heinlein. Both of these gave me a different perspective on the role of people within society. SIASL made me think a lot about the byplay of sex and religion, and ST inspired a lot of moral questioning about my rights as a citizen played against the problems of unflinching fascism.

All Quiet On The Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque. Before I read this, I had the boyish perception of fighting and war being something exciting and adventurous. This book, along with the poetry of Sassoon and Owen (among others) made me realise the truth.

Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey. I first read it when I was six, and it was the first adult fiction (adult in the sense of not-a-Dick-and-Jane-reader) I was exposed to. Opened my eyes.

In terms of poetry, Dylan Thomas' And Death Shall Have No Dominion, e. e. cummings pity this busy monster, manunkind and she Being Brand... (XIX) gave me an appreciation for how powerful words can be, even (particularly) in small doses. Also, Ginsberg's Howl.

Chesire Cat · « **Reply #44 on:** 07 Mar 2006, 20:42 »

Quote from: Scandanavian War Machine

-Catcher In The Rye by JD Salinger. Because it made me realize a book can have me completely sucked into it and still be about NOTHING.

I came to post about The Cathcher in the Rye, but seems you beat me to it. Anyway, changed my life because I read it when I was at my most depressed my parents hate me my life sucks blah blah teenager crap. And I read this ancient book with a char going through all the same crap as me. Made me realize that all the shit I was going through was the same type of crap people have being going through for years. And everyone else turned out alright.

I ultimately realize I wasn't the unique tortured soul I thought I was. And from then on I stopped complaining about my little problems because I saw them as them same old thing everyone else dealt with.

My mom didn't suck, everyones mom, or teacher, or bully sucked. Most people had some shit to goto, and mine was really tame, so I sucked it up. It kinda ushered me into adulthood in gr 11. I grew out of that whole highschool kid stigmata. Realized I didn't have all the answers etc.

reviloto · « **Reply #45 on:** 09 Mar 2006, 02:45 »

To mention two that have already been mentioned:

H2G2, because I began actively looking for a good read after those.
His dark materials, as they were the first books I became absorbed in.

And for one that hasn't been mentioned,

Norwegian Wood, by Haruki Murakami

SailorPunk · « **Reply #46 on:** 09 Mar 2006, 10:27 »

Little House Series - Laura Ingalls Wilder (got me interested in history)
Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank (made the holocaust real to a 9 year old me)
Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
The Nymph and the Lamp - Thomas Radall

Kirbo · « **Reply #47 on:** 09 Mar 2006, 10:42 »

Archies Pals N' Gals Issue #37

Any Orwell, Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, and first and foremost
If Chins Could Kill, Confessions of a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell. It's because of this book that I write movies.

Aphi · « **Reply #48 on:** 09 Mar 2006, 11:06 »

Offtopic'd:

My school in Ontario BANNED Grapes of Wrath!

WTF

Kirbo · « **Reply #49 on:** 09 Mar 2006, 11:08 »

Quote from: Aphi

Offtopic'd:

My school in Ontario BANNED Grapes of Wrath!

WTF

I wish I went to your school. I cannot stand Stienbeck. But I do agree, WTF?

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Author Topic: Books that changed your life (Read 59526 times)

Rawr and Stuff

Stifled Dreams

octozombie

ayePod

Mikendher

CRASH andor BURN

Bridgeburner

Maximo Bean

nescience

StPip

Running For Home

Panbombadil

TornRGDoll

lifelesseyes

lifelesseyes

Nemba

deborah

BPMninja

Jarne

Useful Idiot

CHEESEGOD

That guy

reviloto

Aphi