Books that changed your life

1) The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene: frightening but inspiring insights into how the Big Time works.
2) The 50th Law by 50 Cent and Robert Greene: a fascinating hybrid combining an account of the thug rapper's rise to fame and wealth after being shot nine times...and a pulse-pounding study of fearlessness in life and art. You simply cannot be the same once you've read this book.

Discovering Enid Blyton when I was a child changed my life.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
The Once and Future King by TH White
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco

Origins of Autocracy by Alexander Yanov

The Complete Works of Poe

The Killing of History by Keith Windshuttle.

1984 by George Orwell. Terrifying novel.

Time Out of Joint - Philip K Dick

I never needed to take LSD again

East of Eden

Steinbeck's best novel in my opinion is the greatest 'Cain and Abel' adaption ever.

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

I'm reading that one right now. I'm up to the point where Dagny has discovered John Galt, his hiding place, and his society. I can't say that it has changed my life, but it has given me new ways to communicate to others the world that is going on around us and what is wrong with it.

The one book that changed my life, so to speak, was ICEBREAKER. Through it I became a reader of James Bond and not just a viewer.

I'm actually at that part right now, on my third rereading.

Oh, the first Bond I ever read was CASINO ROYALE, because I figured why read the others when I had seen all the movies? I was so naive.

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

I'm actually at that part right now, on my third rereading.

:shock: That's a pretty heavy book to read three times. As much as I enjoy the over-arching premise of the book, I have to say that I think half the book could be eliminated. It is a massively long book with stretches of dialogue that run on forever and that also seem redundant.

Do you watch SOUTH PARK? In case you don't, there was an episode I recently caught that originally came on in 1998. The people of SOUTH PARK helped their illiterate policeman, Officer Barbrady, learn to read so that he could help solve a case involving someone molesting chickens. After finally learning to read this is what Officer Barbrady had to say:

THE MESSAGE IN THE BOTTLE by Walker Percy. It's the only one single work I can think of that legitimately influenced my own outlook in the world in such a strong way.

If I was to name an author, it's Fyodor Dostoevsky, whose work shaped and continues to shape my thinking in tremendous ways.

Oh, and since Ayn Rand is mentioned in this thread, I can't resist:

"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." ~ John Rogers

The Pyrates - George MacDonald Fraser.

A strange choice, perhaps, but it was the first time I'd encountered someone with the same sense of humour. Then I read Douglas Adams, and realised there were other people out there with the same sense of humour.

I'd probably narrow them down to LETTERS AND PAPERS FROM PRISON by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, LA PESTE by Albert Camus, UTOPIA by Sir Thomas Moore, and KJERLIGHEDENS GJERNINGER by Soren Kierkegaard.

Sharky wrote:

I'd probably narrow them down to LETTERS AND PAPERS FROM PRISON by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, LA PESTE by Albert Camus, UTOPIA by Sir Thomas Moore, and WORKS OF LOVE by Soren Kierkegaard.

Marvelous choices.

Harmsway wrote:

Sharky wrote:

I'd probably narrow them down to LETTERS AND PAPERS FROM PRISON by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, LA PESTE by Albert Camus, UTOPIA by Sir Thomas Moore, and WORKS OF LOVE by Soren Kierkegaard.

Marvelous choices.

I couldn't agree more. And in perfect harmony with his thoughtful avatar. :)

Really? UTOPIA by Thomas Moore?? Ugh. I can't stand Moore, and his UTOPIA is certainly not a society I'd like to see exist.

Granted, I do suppose the same comments can be thrown back at me for "Atlas".

CRIME & PUNISHMENT - first time (maybe only time) I ever enjoyed a book I was forced to read in school. Usually the main character in stuff I write is named Rod or Roderick because of Rodya.

THE MAIN and THE SUMMER OF KATYA - lesser known books by the other Trevanian, neither ever adapted to film. I actually tried to option KATYA 20 years ago, thinking it was something that might have slipped through cracks (it hadn't.) Ever since the first PIRATES film, I've been rethinking about how Keira would be very good as Katya. These books honestly explore some notions about sin vs crime, not in revolutionary ways but in ways that just resonated with me.

This is going to sound corny, but A WRINKLE IN TIME is probably the most important, because I don't think I ever had that sense of wonder thing go off in my mind until I read that book, must be at age 6-1/2 or 7. Probably helped prep me for seeing 2001 less than a year later, though it wasn't ENOUGH help at the time.

Also I should mention the book that I thought was going to change my life but didn't: Goldman's THE COLOR OF LIGHT. Twice in the first half of that book, I put it down and took out my typewriter to do some serious creation. Each time, neighbors went crazy at the sound of the machine, a creatus interruptus that I allowed to short-circuit my inspiration. If I'd gotten a laptop in 1983 instead of 2007, I'm sure things would have been different. Then again, I was convinced back then that video quality was so bad that people would revert back to shooting everything on film by the early 90s, so seriously WHAT THE HELL DO I KNOW!?

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

Really? UTOPIA by Thomas Moore?? Ugh. I can't stand Moore, and his UTOPIA is certainly not a society I'd like to see exist.

Sir Thomas's wit goes over many heads. UTOPIA as I interpret, is satire. The ultimate sophism in English literature.

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

Granted, I do suppose the same comments can be thrown back at me for "Atlas".

Yeah. While ATLAS is much more popular, I prefer THE FOUNTAINHEAD any day. Rand's leaden prose actually comes alive when describing Roark's architecture, and becomes fairly inspiring stuff. Besides, Ellsworth M. Toohey is one of the most "love to hate" villains ever created.

Sharky wrote:

UTOPIA as I interpret, is satire.

I thought that was the common understanding of Moore's UTOPIA.

Harmsway wrote:

Sharky wrote:

UTOPIA as I interpret, is satire.

I thought that was the common understanding of Moore's UTOPIA.

Well, obviously a few take it seriously. i.e. a book on philosophers I borrowed from my school library, and never gave back.

Heidi Fleiss's address book.

She made Baker St what it is today. Closed.

Sharky wrote:

Harmsway wrote:

Sharky wrote:

UTOPIA as I interpret, is satire.

I thought that was the common understanding of Moore's UTOPIA.

Well, obviously a few take it seriously. i.e. a book on philosophers I borrowed from my school library, and never gave back.

Yeah, the way it was taught to me in University was seriously. My reaction? Really, Moore? Really? And I suppose there is the truism of never really enjoying a book being taught to you.

As for THE FOUNTAINHEAD, I can't argue with what you say Sharky -- I think the only thing ATLAS has over it is the wider... application? explanation? exhultation?... of Rand's philosophy, and the character of Dagny Taggart. But I would agree that the more focused plotting of THE FOUNTAINHEAD makes it the superior novel, in the literary sense.

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

Sharky wrote:

Harmsway wrote:

Sharky wrote:

UTOPIA as I interpret, is satire.

I thought that was the common understanding of Moore's UTOPIA.

Well, obviously a few take it seriously. i.e. a book on philosophers I borrowed from my school library, and never gave back.

Yeah, the way it was taught to me in University was seriously. My reaction? Really, Moore? Really? And I suppose there is the truism of never really enjoying a book being taught to you.

^

Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535).

Fairbairn-Sykes wrote:

As for THE FOUNTAINHEAD, I can't argue with what you say Sharky -- I think the only thing ATLAS has over it is the wider... application? explanation? exhultation?... of Rand's philosophy, and the character of Dagny Taggart. But I would agree that the more focused plotting of THE FOUNTAINHEAD makes it the superior novel, in the literary sense.

That's the only sense of Rand's I care for. Her books are at their most nauseating when they become plain ol' propaganda. As if she just copied and pasted one of her Objectivist treatise, or something.

How many Goddamn pages is John Galt's speech again? 500???!!!

trevanian wrote:

CRIME & PUNISHMENT - first time (maybe only time) I ever enjoyed a book I was forced to read in school. Usually the main character in stuff I write is named Rod or Roderick because of Rodya.

Fantastic read. But I must say that 'Demons' is a stronger Dostoevsky novel in my opinion. The revolutionary themes and the epic climax is pretty good. Pick it up if you get the chance.

trevanian wrote:

CRIME & PUNISHMENT - first time (maybe only time) I ever enjoyed a book I was forced to read in school. Usually the main character in stuff I write is named Rod or Roderick because of Rodya.

THE MAIN and THE SUMMER OF KATYA - lesser known books by the other Trevanian, neither ever adapted to film. I actually tried to option KATYA 20 years ago, thinking it was something that might have slipped through cracks (it hadn't.) Ever since the first PIRATES film, I've been rethinking about how Keira would be very good as Katya. These books honestly explore some notions about sin vs crime, not in revolutionary ways but in ways that just resonated with me.

This is going to sound corny, but A WRINKLE IN TIME is probably the most important, because I don't think I ever had that sense of wonder thing go off in my mind until I read that book, must be at age 6-1/2 or 7. Probably helped prep me for seeing 2001 less than a year later, though it wasn't ENOUGH help at the time.

Also I should mention the book that I thought was going to change my life but didn't: Goldman's THE COLOR OF LIGHT. Twice in the first half of that book, I put it down and took out my typewriter to do some serious creation. Each time, neighbors went crazy at the sound of the machine, a creatus interruptus that I allowed to short-circuit my inspiration. If I'd gotten a laptop in 1983 instead of 2007, I'm sure things would have been different. Then again, I was convinced back then that video quality was so bad that people would revert back to shooting everything on film by the early 90s, so seriously WHAT THE HELL DO I KNOW!?

The Summer of Katya is the best novel I've ever read. Period. It will shake you up.

PS--For those who like Russian literature I suggest Sketeches from a Hunter's Almanac by Ivan Turgenev and The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.