You ready for a task on crowdsourcing? Please comment and tell everyone about the books that changed your life. Then go ahead and fill your Amazon cart with amazing books.
Books that Changed My Life
The Bible
I’d be a very guilty Catholic if I didn’t mention the Holy Bible. But I definitely read scripture every morning so it is important to me. My favorite book of the Bible is Job. In fact, I am re-reading the Book of Job as it really speaks to the losses I’ve been facing. It’s the story of how a lot of shit happens to a righteous man and how it is hard to reconcile why bad things happen to good people. In the end God rewards Job for his loyalty and devotion.
The Waves by Virginia Woolf
I majored in English at Berkeley which has one of the top (if not the top) English department in the country. It was challenging and amazing. I loved every minute of lecture and discussions and office hours. I wrote my senior thesis on The Waves and the insect imagery Woolf used as a way to capture the metamorphosis of her 6 characters (insects are distinct in that they have 6 legs). Sidenote: I also majored in Biology, minored in Forestry, and took a lot of Entomology classes so I had a weird fascination with insects. Therefore it all seemed to fall into place that my favorite author had insect imagery in one of my favorite books and I was able to bridge my fields of study. This novel is like one big poem with beautiful characterization and writing.
The Secret
A therapist told me to watch http://thesecret.tv/. It has a book of the same philosophy which is that you attract what you think. If you want to be rich, think like you’re a rich person. Don’t cut coupons and whine about how you can’t afford stuff. You are what you think. If you’re single and want to be in a relationship, make room in your closet for another person to live along side you. It’s really mind-blowing how you can change your life simply by believing in yourself. I love it. I’d have to say that this is my #1 top life-changing book. But in order for it to work, you really have to believe otherwise it’s just a waste of time!
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
This is the bible for capitalists. If you ask a room full of MBAs what their favorite book is, this is it. Another book that she wrote is The Fountainhead which is also amazing, but Atlas Shrugged is considered her masterpiece. Ayn Rand was one of the greatest philosophers of all time and in the book she delves into individualism, realism, productivity… “Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists.. it is real.. it is possible.. it’s yours.” I need to dust off my copy and read this book again!
The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco
This book is a hilarious, down-to-earth, heart-to-heart rant on what it takes to be rich. I felt like I highlighted every page, DeMarco doles out such wisdom. I wrote about it in another post.
Do we have any in common?
What books have completely changed the way you thought about life?
I read the Bible shamefully less than I should. But I do like Ecclesiastes’ mantra “Vanity, vanity – all is vanity and blowing in the wind”
Other books I adore and return to again and again are by Gerald Durrell (autobiographies of his life in Corfu as a child, his desire to have his own zoo, his life as an animal collector and finally, as zoo owner and conservationist), James Herriott (autobiographical accounts of his life as a farm vet in Yorkshire in the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s) and Lewis Thomas (incredible essays on such diverse topics as why the Earth is like a cell, ants and their society and how we are like them, the American obsession with WOMD and why New Yorkers are scared of goldfish)
Durrell sounds like a real world Life of Pi. Must check him out. And I love essays so I’m adding Lewis Thomas.
I must admit I have a few of my favorites, but the one that always comes to mind that really left an impact on me was The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger. Still to this day, I could read that book over and over, I not tire of it. But the first time I read it I was a freshman in high school and it really made me look at being a teen in a bit of a different light.
Catcher in the Rye is awesome! I’m also fanatical about the Great Gatsby.
Besides the Bible, the book that really changed my life is “The Phantom of the Opera” by Gaston Leroux. I don’t mean the musical (which is great), but the book itself. I was introduced to it in the 10th grade by another student’s book report. It was a tough time in my personal life and trying to fit in. Girls weren’t interested in me at all (which is a theme throughout my life until I finally met my wife). Also since I’m not a large man, having later served in the Army Infantry and in civilian law enforcement, people always tend to doubt my physical abilities and worth. I kinda related to the Phantom and what he went through in the book. I don’t mean the killing parts, but the ridicule and loneliness. I was a nerd in school, in the band, had great grades, but was generally alone.My dad left us, my sister was a good bit older, so not that close, and we lived in the country where you couldn’t see your neighbor. I longed for love, but girls went after the jock types or the jerk guys that even then I saw would hurt them later in life.
Anyway, I loved the book and read it several times in life since. I ought to pick it up again as that I haven’t read it in several years. It’s amazing how we read books that reflect our moods and how we can relate to those characters through our own problems. I’m not like my wife who can read a book in couple of hours. I have to engage and absorb the book- letting it become a part of my soul and turn on the movie in my mind. I don’t take books lightly. If they don’t engage my on a soul stirring level, I don’t read it. Television is for those with short attention spans and movies less so. Books are for the intellectual, the thinker, the person who wants to be swept away for hours on end only to be returned to this world to sustain their appetite for reading through their job.
Wow, I am putting this book on my list. I gravitate towards the classics so this is right up my alley.
Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead, The Teaching of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge, The Way of Zen, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution, I Am Not Jackson Pollock – just to name a few, there really are so many.
Serg, we think alike! I’m adding several of yours to my cart!
I love to read but I’m having trouble coming up with books that have changed my life above all others. There’s been a number of books that affected me deeply, like Glass Castles by Jeannette Walls. It’s amazing what those kids went through and they persevered anyway. It makes you realize how grateful you should be for what you have!
The Glass Castle was a great autobiography. Funny and endearing and totally crazy!
The only book I have read is the Bible . I need to read Atlas Shrugged- have heard so much about it!
I’d start with the Fountainhead, just because it’s shorter and covers the same principles. If you like the Fountainhead, then you’ll like Atlas Shrugged.
I don’t think I could name any books that changed the way I look at life. Just reading in general does that for me – exposes me to new worlds, different realities, unusual and amazing people. Reading is one of my greatest passions, and while I don’t read particularly intellectual books, I do feel like they make me a smarter and more well rounded person.
Dana, I have a book rec for you. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I promise you will love it! It’s one of our book club favorites.
I read that – I did love it! I’m going to give one of the books you listed in your post a try – expand my horizons 🙂
Awesomeness, let me know what you think!
The four agreements is a book that changed my life a lot!
Also a book called “The Law” changed my views also a lot..
Both good good books, and Atlas Shrugged was great book, although long…
I’m putting those in my Amazon cart. Thanks for the recs!
I could name so many books, but I’ll stick with one that I think about at least a few times a week even though I read it in 2004. “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith just moved me to my core. –Lisa
I have A Tree Grows in Brooklyn on my movie list, but I need to buy this to read. Getting this now!
I read the Bible daily so I’d say we definitely have that one in common. I’m not sure if the following books are life altering, but they sure were good!
“Someone Knows My Name” – Lawrence Hill (excellent book. excellent writing.)
“The Disintegration of Black America” – Eugene Robinson
“The Storyteller” – Jodi Picoult
Daily Devotional – The Word for You Today
I love devotionals. I am going to check that one out. I’ve read Jodi Picoult before (My Sister’s Keeper) and really enjoyed it. The Storyteller sounds just as intriguing.
The Storyteller freaked me out so much – I had to stay up and finish it in one night because I was afraid of going to sleep before resolving the story! I don’t like to read about disturbing things that actually happened.
Great post.
Books that have changed my life:
The Bible.
The entire Harry Potter series.
To Kill a Mocking Bird.
The Great Gatsby.
Stopping by from SITS! 🙂
I still have to checkout Harry Potter. Everyone I know has read the series and tells me I would love it. Great Gatsby is another all-time favorite of mine. I adore that book and read it often.
Great post! Always fun to think about what books have really been a big impact on us. As a fellow Catholic, I agree with your choice of the Bible – it’s something of which I could always improve my knowledge! I would also add the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Also, I would add “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. It’s remained one of the best books on human relations since it was published over 75 years ago.
Yes, Dale Carnegie’s book should be on my list as well. I loved it.
A book that I read in high school “Like Water For Chocolate” changing my view on reading and life in general. I need to read that secret book, you gave a great description of it!
I’ve watched Like Water for Chocolate, but looks like I need to add it to my reading list as well. Thanks Nellie! Check out The Secret. It’s a super easy read, like 5 minutes before bedtime and you’ll be done in a week.
The Bible is definitely on my list. I am actually in the middle of reading Atlas Shrugged now. I brought it on vacation with me. Just finished The Book Thief yesterday…amazing.
I heard heard Unbroken is an amazing read…it’s on my list.
Kimberly, looks like great minds think alike! Thank you for commenting and weighing in 🙂
Many books-Always still learning and changing.
The Doonesbury Chronicles was the first Doonesbury book that I was given and it taught me about life and issues of the day. I now have about 40 different Doonesbury books now.
Giant Steps by Kareem Abdul Jabbar was a book that had a powerful impact on me as far as him being an educated black man in society.
Two that I picked up about ten years ago- one is called Father to Son and the other one is called Father to Daughter-Life Lessons on Raising a Girl by Harry Harrison have helped me in raising my kids.
I have so much respect for Jabbar. Thank you for recommending his autobiography. I will have to check that out. As for the Harrison books, I am adding those to my list. I have a list of books/resources to check out when I become a parent.
I love the Bible too, how it really is a living document. I find whenever I open it I come across exactly what I need to be reading at that precise moment. I was in a perpetual low after my father passed (I was 24) and I came across Habakkuk 3. It reads a little like the book of Job, very sad and desperate, but with a great note of hope at the very end.
Also, Crazy Love by Francis Chan literally changed my life. So incredible.