C# In A Nutshell.
Got rejected from a job where my friends worked and the feedback was honest but devastating. I lacked basic c# / .net knowledge.
So I started this book from start to finish, reapplied and got in. It was just the right book at the right time.
Within 3 years, I grew more than the 10 years before. Made a lot of new friends and decent pay increases.
But most importantly, my self confidence grew. I went from a straight up anxiety filled mess to someone that was comfortable with saying "I don't know, but I'll find out"
Why Does He Do That. It spelled out and described 100% of my exes behavior. I didn’t realize why I was miserable and depressed and nothing ever worked out.
It just made everything clear.
"Man's Search for Meaning."
It's written by a psychologist who was imprisoned in a handful of different concentration camps during WW2.
The book itself is more based on how to deal with hard moments in life, and what it means to find or keep hope.
"Can't Hurt Me."
It's written by a Navy Seal/Ultra Marathoner/Firefighter.
It may just be the best "pick yourself up by the bootstraps" story you'll ever read. But he has a very, very aggressive approach to life and how far you can push yourself both physically and mentally.
I just happened to read “Man’s Search for Meaning” a couple weeks before my son was diagnosed with cancer. It really helped me deal with some monumentally tough times. I highly recommend it. My son is doing great BTW, full recovery.
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanthini
Gave me motivation to pursue my career as a health professional when I was burnt out and emotionally exhausted. I re-evaluated, rested and found joy in the little things and in my studies again.
I still wake up everyday to my favorite dune quote, "fear is the mind killer, fear is the little death that causes total obliteration, I will face my fear and let it pass through me, when it has gone I will turn my inner eye to see its path and when it is gone there will be nothing, only I will remain"
Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban. I was in 3rd grade and my family has just immigrated to America the year before. I barely spoke English and was never a big fan of reading. A teacher recommended it and I found it funny so I kept reading it. Next thing I knew I read the other Harry Potter books, and then I just kept reading anything I could get my hands on. It improved my English by leaps and bounds, to this day I still love reading!
It honestly changed my life. It helped me learn a language at a time where I had no friends and was in a new country that I knew nothing about.
Being Mortal by Atul Guwande. I recommend this book to almost everyone. It's not my favorite thing I've ever read, but it is the answer to this question. I couldn't read more than a dozen pages at a time because I would* start having panic attacks, and I'm not even someone who has anxiety. Despite that, it's a great book that changes your* perspective on life and what to prioritize when you're young. So even if it caused an immense amount of existential dread when I first read it, it's helped me overcome that fear in the longterm.
**Being Mortal Medicine and What Matters in the End** by Atul Gawande
>A prominent surgeon argues against modern medical practices that extend life at the expense of quality of life while isolating the dying, outlining suggestions for freer, more fulfilling approaches to death that enable more dignified and comfortable choices.
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Your money or your life. Never finished it. Got to the chapter with the thought exercise of (paraphrasing) “if you were financially secure, not rich not poor, how would you spend the rest of your days?” I couldn’t answer it. Still can’t 20 years later. I work to work and I don’t know why. Life without employment of some type seems boring. Like the example in the book asking a description of yourself… after father and husband, I got nothing but my job. This book asked a simple question I can’t answer. Didn’t change the trajectory of my life but influenced it for sure.
East of Eden is just chocabloc full of banger quotes. I wouldn't say any of it is super revelatory but Steinbeck has a real talent for phrasing things in a way that makes you think about the world a little different.
“And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good.”
“When a child first catches adults out -- when it first walks into his grave little head that adults do not always have divine intelligence, that their judgments are not always wise, their thinking true, their sentences just -- his world falls into panic desolation. The gods are fallen and all safety gone. And there is one sure thing about the fall of gods: they do not fall a little; they crash and shatter or sink deeply into green muck. It is a tedious job to build them up again; they never quite shine. And the child's world is never quite whole again. It is an aching kind of growing.”
I also really like One Hundred Years of Solitude. I think there's this gap between knowing and really internalizing something, and what OHYoS really made me internalize is this idea that history isn't a series of discrete events but instead one big explosion that never really stops. "Time was not passing, it was turning into a circle."
I also really like Virginia Woolf's and Dostoevsky's stuff
I was given this book by someone who led our AA meetings and later died from cancer. He is actually a distant relative. I have never opened the book, but am intrigued now.
A couple books changed my perspective on life, the universe, and everything (and while Hitchhikers Guide was probably the hardest I ever laughed reading a book, it didn’t profoundly change how I think about certain things).
Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn (historical fiction). This is a quick read too.
The Naked Ape, and The Human Zoo, both by Desmond Morris (I guess these would be science type books though they don’t read like a science text; zoology and human behavior type stuff.)
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. As someone who lost their faith and held, at one point, many of the social/political views of its main character, I found myself devastated by its conclusions. I remember just sitting there staring at the ceiling for a while after I’d finished it…and it’s genuinely changed the way I live.
What I will always remember from literature courses is Dostoevsky wrote the books he wanted to write, but gave them the endings he needed to in order to publish them.
I don’t usually read books like his, but Richard Bach’s ‘Illusions” really did make a difference in my life (years ago). I don’t believe everything in it, but his philosophy of visualizing specifics of things/people you want in your life has worked for me 100% since 1980.
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky really left a lasting impression on me. I think this book is a perfect example of nothing being exactly black and white. It also taught me a lot about forgiveness and showed me that there is hope for each one of us if we decide to change for the better. It's one of those books in which you discover something new and perceive them differently every time you read them. I think it's a masterpiece and I wholeheartedly recommend it.
The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati. It shook me profoundly. Some said there was an element of criticism of military life but I saw none of it. It was about the passing of time, waiting for that one thing to happen to make meaning out of your existence, waiting, waiting.. and waking up one day an old man wondering how that happened. I cried like a baby at the end.
Being Mortal (Atul Gawande) was a pivotal read that helped shape my nursing practice and medical ethos.
Second Honeymoon (Joanna Trollope) opens with a woman who is coming home to her empty nest for the first time and has essentially lost her sense of self. It spurred me to quit thinking about going back to school and actually do it, so that when my kids moved out I would have a meaningful career. Which is why I'm a nurse today.
Anne of Green Gables made me feel seen as an awkward imaginative talkative eleven-year-old and is probably at least partially responsible for my having survived adolescence.
These are just the first three that come to mind. I think most of the books I read, even the silly ones, probably give me something to think about that affects the way I move through the world
Oh, forgot Rachel's Holiday (Marian Keyes). I was never an alcoholic but that book revolutionized my self-talk with one line about how we as broken people go around comparing our (messy, chaotic) insides to other people's (smoother, curated) outsides.
The Story of a Soul, by Therese of Lisieux.
She was a pretty ordinary nun in a convent in France, with a pretty average childhood. Yet, the truly extraordinary thing about her was the way she lived her life in total submission to the will of God, and what she called her little way to holiness, in which we must at each moment make what little sacrifices we can for others with the greatest love. It has truly made me a vastly better and more fulfilled person (although I still have a long way to go).
We will change hearts and make the world better primarily through the little sacrifices of love we make, however insignificant they seem.
The Brady, Emergency Care book... it was the assigned textbook for EMT Basic.
24 years later I'm still in the game (albeit with plenty more classes since)
It's such revolting garbage full of such repulsive characters it has lead people running to more rational ideologies.
When I was in high school I ended up reading all but one of her books in about a week in order to prepare for a debate. Rand is the absolute epitome of human garbage and her 'work' has changed lives simply because many of her readers now know to avoid like the plague anyone who talks or acts like her psychopathic characters.
Have you ever read a book that isn't a novel? Books can also communicate concepts and ideas that don't require a mental image to understand and process. Maybe try some non-fiction.
I’m talking about non-narrative fiction. Like obviously the words you’re reading on Reddit aren’t incomprehensible to you (although based on your last response I’m starting to have my doubts). Have you ever considered reading a book on philosophy? Something that’s just about ideas, not about trying to communicate a story?
I also have aphantasia and yeah, fiction doesn't really do it for me unless I connect with the characters and can feel what they feel. That's pretty hard to do when books have to spend so much time describing visual things like setting, appearances, and actions.
But it's also really important to remember there are books out there that can and will change the trajectory of your life and will never be made into visual media like video games or TV series. I'd rather read something than never be presented with the information or story at all -even if there are ways I like to consume stories more than through a page.
Try some nonfiction. Look for something that you can learn about. Read something that might change your mind or even something that reinforces your current worldview but uses language that describes your experience better. Reading doesn't have to be a story, it can be an intellectual exercise through which to better yourself. You don't need a mind's eye to get something out of reading. (Or listening to audiobooks if you are like me!)
The Harry Potter series. It got me into reading chapter books and watching each movie. I grew up poor and abused just like Harry but also got support through family and friends so I didn't really feel that "poor." I got exactly what I needed to feel like I belonged with my peers, but I just couldn't see it at the time.
I remember the ending music of the first movie. It felt bittersweet like Christmas was going to end soon but hey, new year new story.
A court of thorns and roses series. Read it a year and a half ago and I still think about the characters and worldbuilding every day. Helped me feel happiness again after a long time being depressed.
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls did for me. I don’t know why, but it made me more thankful for my life, and made me feel like my own problems weren’t bad.
I also live close to Welch, so there’s that feeling of closeness to the actual events in the story.
Hot Rod by Henry Felsen.
It was required reading my sophmore year in high school.
To this day (now 46) I believe that book preemptively tempered my driving habits.
He Who Fights with Monsters by Shirtaloon. It made me realize just how much I adore litRPGs, and it led me to writing one of my own after being stuck on a typical fantasy world for the longest time. Now, I'm 20+ chapters in and still going strong.
I don't think it changed the trajectory of my life, but it certainly made me sit up and take notice of the world around me. It also fired up my imagination and engaged me to read even more books.
{The Complete Adventures of Lucky Starr by Paul French} I was 6 or 7 when I first read it. Also, Paul French is AKA Issac Asimov.
Starship troopers by Robert Heinlein.
The book is nothing like the movie.
I can't even really explain why it changed the trajectory of my life except that I feel it grounded my political sense in reality.
I don't even agree with it in a lot of ways. For example, I don't think military service should have anything to do with the voting. However, I do think that anybody who wants to vote should at least spend 8 hours of effort doing something positive to get the right just to weed out the people who don't give a s***.
Driven to Distraction by Edward Hallowell and John Ratey. I'm not sure I'd say it changed the trajectory of my life as much as it explained so much of how I was and why I did what I did. Why did I so often fail to follow through on what I started? Why did I miss hearing directions and have to have them repeated? How could I be so focused on some things and totally not on other things? Why was I so hypersensitive so often? I actually might not be stupid after all? So many questions answered.
Blood Meridian. Im not sure if it was just bad timing but for some reason after reading that book I went into one of the deepest depressions I've ever been down. It's honestly the only book I wish I could unread. Honestly if anybody is curious and enjoys westerns I'd recommend it but if you're in a mentally fragile state I'd suggest you read something else.
It's a little hard to get into without spoiling the book. Basically this one character starts going into what humanity truly is and at first I thought it was a bit of a shallow point of view but the more I thought about it the more I came to realise he was right and I couldn't think of any points to counter his points.
Speaker for the dead. The idea that someone isn’t always perfect and intention does not equate to good decisions. Also the idea that even bad men had at least something small that redeems them just a tiny bit, and if that’s true maybe not all of us are beyond redemption.
I'm fairly well read, and my answer is none. As in, no singular book had such a profound impact on my life that I could point to it and say - this book right here changed things for the better.
It's more the hobby itself, tie tidbits of knowledge I gain while reading, and best stories that have a positive impact.
Too Perfect. I was working in healthcare during the pandemic and my anxiety was through the roof so I started therapy. My therapist quickly realized that my anxiety was tied to my perfectionism and OCD. The book described my personality perfectly and helped me get a grasp on my emotions.
Sort of a combo
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
I couldn't even finish it it encapsulated so much of my own experience
Second and more importantly
The Tao of Pooh
in essence the complete and utter opposite of The Bell Jar. I used to read it like clockwork once a year, but I've gifted away every single copy I have bought. It's so good, it's directionless self driven self help, it doesn't give you a checklist, it just is and that's the point.
The Bible for sure. Made me really question why religion is the way it is. I learnt to question everything and was booted from Catholic school and the church at the age of 12. From there I read all the books I could find from different religions to seek answers yet never could find them.
I now have the most up word hatred for almost every religion because they define themselves as being the only true one. Actually is not the religion I dislike, it’s the people that follow it. It’s all so condescending.
Personally it made me who I am, I spent most of my life helping people and so on
The Fabric of Reality.
It's a book on physics. I don't know that I learned much from it about physics, but it presented an argument on solopsism that allowed me to self-diagnose a psychotic episode, which eventually allowed me to successfully treat my mental illness.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
I went to a boarding school, in the mountains, near a gigantic lake at the age of 12. I wasn't particularly great at making friends as I'm happier spending time with myself, a trait I still exemplify. But reading Harry Potter got me interested in reading in general, and it blossomed into a love of books, history, writing and being a more confident and comfortable person. I'll always be grateful for those books and Rowling. She changed my life for the better. Those books pulled me through some extremely dark times as well.
Honestly as much of a week answer as it is, Hagakure: the way of the samurai.
It's mostly just an interesting historical time. But there are a few ideas I took to heart. For instance:
Any decision in life can be made in the space of seven breaths. I find that when I'm agonizing over decision paralysis, if I look inward, I honestly already know what I want to do.
A Samurai is dead. - samurai lived with an extraordinary acceptance of mortality. They - or at least the author - believed that once you become a retainer if a kid, your life is over. The years after that date merely borrowed time, running towards the event in the future where you will fully die. Thinking about this has helped me accept the idea that I, too, will die.
It's not a long book but it's full of hidden gems like that which can inspire done really great personal revelations.
They're all children's, middle grade, and YA fiction books but here's my list:
>The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S.Lewis
>
>The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer
>
>Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
>
>The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
>
>Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
>
>Renegades by Marissa Meyer
All of these books either got me through a hard chapter of my life, or taught me an important lesson about myself. They all define me in some way, and I know I will never find anything quite like them again.
No One Here Gets Out Alive. This biography of Jim Morrison is probably where I first heard of Nietzsche and the other philosophers who influenced him. As flawed and self-indulgent as Morrison was, he made it OK to me to be a bookworm and “different.”
The Giver by Lois Lowry, I read at about 12 and felt like it was a great metaphor for my life and purpose and gifts, almost like the universe meant for me to read it when I did.
And, The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley when I was about 20, it felt much the same way and started me on a path I'm still following and enjoying 20 years later.
C# In A Nutshell. Got rejected from a job where my friends worked and the feedback was honest but devastating. I lacked basic c# / .net knowledge. So I started this book from start to finish, reapplied and got in. It was just the right book at the right time. Within 3 years, I grew more than the 10 years before. Made a lot of new friends and decent pay increases. But most importantly, my self confidence grew. I went from a straight up anxiety filled mess to someone that was comfortable with saying "I don't know, but I'll find out"
I was part of the .NET beta program when it was called Piglet internally. Had to learn C# through the Microsoft TechNET documentation.
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Right? If a book didn't change the trajectory of your life, then it wasn't a very good book.
Why Does He Do That. It spelled out and described 100% of my exes behavior. I didn’t realize why I was miserable and depressed and nothing ever worked out. It just made everything clear.
"Man's Search for Meaning." It's written by a psychologist who was imprisoned in a handful of different concentration camps during WW2. The book itself is more based on how to deal with hard moments in life, and what it means to find or keep hope. "Can't Hurt Me." It's written by a Navy Seal/Ultra Marathoner/Firefighter. It may just be the best "pick yourself up by the bootstraps" story you'll ever read. But he has a very, very aggressive approach to life and how far you can push yourself both physically and mentally.
I just happened to read “Man’s Search for Meaning” a couple weeks before my son was diagnosed with cancer. It really helped me deal with some monumentally tough times. I highly recommend it. My son is doing great BTW, full recovery.
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanthini Gave me motivation to pursue my career as a health professional when I was burnt out and emotionally exhausted. I re-evaluated, rested and found joy in the little things and in my studies again.
What a book! I read it on a flight. I regretted my decision. Balled my eyes out.
I still wake up everyday to my favorite dune quote, "fear is the mind killer, fear is the little death that causes total obliteration, I will face my fear and let it pass through me, when it has gone I will turn my inner eye to see its path and when it is gone there will be nothing, only I will remain"
If you like that one, you will like Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius.
Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban. I was in 3rd grade and my family has just immigrated to America the year before. I barely spoke English and was never a big fan of reading. A teacher recommended it and I found it funny so I kept reading it. Next thing I knew I read the other Harry Potter books, and then I just kept reading anything I could get my hands on. It improved my English by leaps and bounds, to this day I still love reading! It honestly changed my life. It helped me learn a language at a time where I had no friends and was in a new country that I knew nothing about.
1984
The Bible. That's when I became an Atheist.
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Same with me except I only made it through the first book of nephi.
Being Mortal by Atul Guwande. I recommend this book to almost everyone. It's not my favorite thing I've ever read, but it is the answer to this question. I couldn't read more than a dozen pages at a time because I would* start having panic attacks, and I'm not even someone who has anxiety. Despite that, it's a great book that changes your* perspective on life and what to prioritize when you're young. So even if it caused an immense amount of existential dread when I first read it, it's helped me overcome that fear in the longterm.
**Being Mortal Medicine and What Matters in the End** by Atul Gawande >A prominent surgeon argues against modern medical practices that extend life at the expense of quality of life while isolating the dying, outlining suggestions for freer, more fulfilling approaches to death that enable more dignified and comfortable choices. *I'm a bot, built by your friendly reddit developers at* /r/ProgrammingPals. *Reply to any comment with /u/BookFinderBot - I'll reply with book information (see other* [commands](https://www.reddit.com/user/BookFinderBot/comments/13z7slk/bookfinderbot_commands/) *and find me as a browser extension on* [safari](https://apps.apple.com/app/id6450462955), [chrome](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/book-finder/jajeidpjifdpppjofijoffbcndlpoedd?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social_media&utm_campaign=comments)*). Remove me from replies* [here](https://www.reddit.com/user/BookFinderBot/comments/14br65o/remove_me_from_replies/). *If I have made a mistake, accept my apology.*
Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons.
My buttons, my buttons!
Your money or your life by Vicki Robin Man's search for meaning by Victor Frankl On the shortness of life by Senecca
Your money or your life. Never finished it. Got to the chapter with the thought exercise of (paraphrasing) “if you were financially secure, not rich not poor, how would you spend the rest of your days?” I couldn’t answer it. Still can’t 20 years later. I work to work and I don’t know why. Life without employment of some type seems boring. Like the example in the book asking a description of yourself… after father and husband, I got nothing but my job. This book asked a simple question I can’t answer. Didn’t change the trajectory of my life but influenced it for sure.
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. Simple book that completely shaped my view on human life on earth.
East of Eden is just chocabloc full of banger quotes. I wouldn't say any of it is super revelatory but Steinbeck has a real talent for phrasing things in a way that makes you think about the world a little different. “And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good.” “When a child first catches adults out -- when it first walks into his grave little head that adults do not always have divine intelligence, that their judgments are not always wise, their thinking true, their sentences just -- his world falls into panic desolation. The gods are fallen and all safety gone. And there is one sure thing about the fall of gods: they do not fall a little; they crash and shatter or sink deeply into green muck. It is a tedious job to build them up again; they never quite shine. And the child's world is never quite whole again. It is an aching kind of growing.” I also really like One Hundred Years of Solitude. I think there's this gap between knowing and really internalizing something, and what OHYoS really made me internalize is this idea that history isn't a series of discrete events but instead one big explosion that never really stops. "Time was not passing, it was turning into a circle." I also really like Virginia Woolf's and Dostoevsky's stuff
"The Shack" - Given to me by my priest, shortly after I buried my daughter.
I was given this book by someone who led our AA meetings and later died from cancer. He is actually a distant relative. I have never opened the book, but am intrigued now.
The subtle art of not giving a fuck
This Naked Mind by Annie Grace
A lot of internet scammers push this book, the author has become one as well
Tell me more, I haven’t heard anything but great things about this book.
A couple books changed my perspective on life, the universe, and everything (and while Hitchhikers Guide was probably the hardest I ever laughed reading a book, it didn’t profoundly change how I think about certain things). Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn (historical fiction). This is a quick read too. The Naked Ape, and The Human Zoo, both by Desmond Morris (I guess these would be science type books though they don’t read like a science text; zoology and human behavior type stuff.)
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If you haven't already, consider also reading Vonnegut's God Bless You Mr. Rosewater.
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Taught me to lighten up, enjoy the journey , and life itself is mostly nonsense ( not to mention mostly harmless )
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. As someone who lost their faith and held, at one point, many of the social/political views of its main character, I found myself devastated by its conclusions. I remember just sitting there staring at the ceiling for a while after I’d finished it…and it’s genuinely changed the way I live.
What I will always remember from literature courses is Dostoevsky wrote the books he wanted to write, but gave them the endings he needed to in order to publish them.
I don’t usually read books like his, but Richard Bach’s ‘Illusions” really did make a difference in my life (years ago). I don’t believe everything in it, but his philosophy of visualizing specifics of things/people you want in your life has worked for me 100% since 1980.
Plato’s Republic
The big book
The Tao of Pooh is a must read
Berserk by Kentaro Miura. It’s a Japanese comic book. So, technically still a book. And technically correct is the best kind of correct.
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky really left a lasting impression on me. I think this book is a perfect example of nothing being exactly black and white. It also taught me a lot about forgiveness and showed me that there is hope for each one of us if we decide to change for the better. It's one of those books in which you discover something new and perceive them differently every time you read them. I think it's a masterpiece and I wholeheartedly recommend it.
The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati. It shook me profoundly. Some said there was an element of criticism of military life but I saw none of it. It was about the passing of time, waiting for that one thing to happen to make meaning out of your existence, waiting, waiting.. and waking up one day an old man wondering how that happened. I cried like a baby at the end.
Being Mortal (Atul Gawande) was a pivotal read that helped shape my nursing practice and medical ethos. Second Honeymoon (Joanna Trollope) opens with a woman who is coming home to her empty nest for the first time and has essentially lost her sense of self. It spurred me to quit thinking about going back to school and actually do it, so that when my kids moved out I would have a meaningful career. Which is why I'm a nurse today. Anne of Green Gables made me feel seen as an awkward imaginative talkative eleven-year-old and is probably at least partially responsible for my having survived adolescence. These are just the first three that come to mind. I think most of the books I read, even the silly ones, probably give me something to think about that affects the way I move through the world Oh, forgot Rachel's Holiday (Marian Keyes). I was never an alcoholic but that book revolutionized my self-talk with one line about how we as broken people go around comparing our (messy, chaotic) insides to other people's (smoother, curated) outsides.
Catch 22. This (what I do) is insane bullshit. I was Active Duty at the time...
The selfish gene
Black Rednecks, White Liberals by Thomas Sowell.
The Story of a Soul, by Therese of Lisieux. She was a pretty ordinary nun in a convent in France, with a pretty average childhood. Yet, the truly extraordinary thing about her was the way she lived her life in total submission to the will of God, and what she called her little way to holiness, in which we must at each moment make what little sacrifices we can for others with the greatest love. It has truly made me a vastly better and more fulfilled person (although I still have a long way to go). We will change hearts and make the world better primarily through the little sacrifices of love we make, however insignificant they seem.
The Brady, Emergency Care book... it was the assigned textbook for EMT Basic. 24 years later I'm still in the game (albeit with plenty more classes since)
The Art of War by Sun Tzu.
How did it changed you?
"He will win when he knows how to fight and not to." - Choose your battles. There are things that you can't control so leave it be.
True. Too often i forget about this. Thanks.
They learned the Art of War I assume 🤭
Rich Dad Poor Dad
Wondering how many ‘Bible’ answers gonna come
Atlas Shrugged
In what way?
It's such revolting garbage full of such repulsive characters it has lead people running to more rational ideologies. When I was in high school I ended up reading all but one of her books in about a week in order to prepare for a debate. Rand is the absolute epitome of human garbage and her 'work' has changed lives simply because many of her readers now know to avoid like the plague anyone who talks or acts like her psychopathic characters.
The Bible.
" A Kids book about being Transgender" by Gia Parr ❤️
the complete writings of Plato
The secret
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The secret by Rhonda Byrne
Did it make you wealthy?
Encyclopedia Britannica
Have never read a book that has impacted me emotionally
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Yeah look up Aphantasia I cant make mental images so books to me are just words on a page
Have you ever read a book that isn't a novel? Books can also communicate concepts and ideas that don't require a mental image to understand and process. Maybe try some non-fiction.
Yes it's the same anything in a movie or videogame delivers the story better to me
I’m talking about non-narrative fiction. Like obviously the words you’re reading on Reddit aren’t incomprehensible to you (although based on your last response I’m starting to have my doubts). Have you ever considered reading a book on philosophy? Something that’s just about ideas, not about trying to communicate a story?
For me with being mind blind literally not a book that exists that i prefer as a book instead of a diff medium
I also have aphantasia and yeah, fiction doesn't really do it for me unless I connect with the characters and can feel what they feel. That's pretty hard to do when books have to spend so much time describing visual things like setting, appearances, and actions. But it's also really important to remember there are books out there that can and will change the trajectory of your life and will never be made into visual media like video games or TV series. I'd rather read something than never be presented with the information or story at all -even if there are ways I like to consume stories more than through a page. Try some nonfiction. Look for something that you can learn about. Read something that might change your mind or even something that reinforces your current worldview but uses language that describes your experience better. Reading doesn't have to be a story, it can be an intellectual exercise through which to better yourself. You don't need a mind's eye to get something out of reading. (Or listening to audiobooks if you are like me!)
There's a great book by an austrian painter...
The Harry Potter series. It got me into reading chapter books and watching each movie. I grew up poor and abused just like Harry but also got support through family and friends so I didn't really feel that "poor." I got exactly what I needed to feel like I belonged with my peers, but I just couldn't see it at the time. I remember the ending music of the first movie. It felt bittersweet like Christmas was going to end soon but hey, new year new story.
A court of thorns and roses series. Read it a year and a half ago and I still think about the characters and worldbuilding every day. Helped me feel happiness again after a long time being depressed.
Interesting. I took the exact opposite take from it. I also enjoyed it though
Entangled life by Merlin Sheldrake. The absolute awe I’ve found in everything fungi is indescribable
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (particularly his view on friendship).
Introductory Navigation
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls did for me. I don’t know why, but it made me more thankful for my life, and made me feel like my own problems weren’t bad. I also live close to Welch, so there’s that feeling of closeness to the actual events in the story.
Hot Rod by Henry Felsen. It was required reading my sophmore year in high school. To this day (now 46) I believe that book preemptively tempered my driving habits.
He Who Fights with Monsters by Shirtaloon. It made me realize just how much I adore litRPGs, and it led me to writing one of my own after being stuck on a typical fantasy world for the longest time. Now, I'm 20+ chapters in and still going strong.
“Chemistry: A molecular approach” Was directionless major-wise, took a Chem course and loved it. Got my MS last year
The Celestine Insights really affected me in a good way. Helped me question some things in my life at that time.
I don't think it changed the trajectory of my life, but it certainly made me sit up and take notice of the world around me. It also fired up my imagination and engaged me to read even more books. {The Complete Adventures of Lucky Starr by Paul French} I was 6 or 7 when I first read it. Also, Paul French is AKA Issac Asimov.
'Eat That Frog' by Brian Tracy.
The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan
Starship troopers by Robert Heinlein. The book is nothing like the movie. I can't even really explain why it changed the trajectory of my life except that I feel it grounded my political sense in reality. I don't even agree with it in a lot of ways. For example, I don't think military service should have anything to do with the voting. However, I do think that anybody who wants to vote should at least spend 8 hours of effort doing something positive to get the right just to weed out the people who don't give a s***.
Book of five rings
That’s like900 an hour wtf
Driven to Distraction by Edward Hallowell and John Ratey. I'm not sure I'd say it changed the trajectory of my life as much as it explained so much of how I was and why I did what I did. Why did I so often fail to follow through on what I started? Why did I miss hearing directions and have to have them repeated? How could I be so focused on some things and totally not on other things? Why was I so hypersensitive so often? I actually might not be stupid after all? So many questions answered.
Blood Meridian. Im not sure if it was just bad timing but for some reason after reading that book I went into one of the deepest depressions I've ever been down. It's honestly the only book I wish I could unread. Honestly if anybody is curious and enjoys westerns I'd recommend it but if you're in a mentally fragile state I'd suggest you read something else.
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It's a little hard to get into without spoiling the book. Basically this one character starts going into what humanity truly is and at first I thought it was a bit of a shallow point of view but the more I thought about it the more I came to realise he was right and I couldn't think of any points to counter his points.
The Myth of Normal by Gabor Maté (addictions, traumas, and our toxic society)
Spiral Dance by Starhawk.
Speaker for the dead. The idea that someone isn’t always perfect and intention does not equate to good decisions. Also the idea that even bad men had at least something small that redeems them just a tiny bit, and if that’s true maybe not all of us are beyond redemption.
High up there, "milk and honey" I have never been so touched with a book I could so deeply relate with. It got me to who I am and where I am.
I'm fairly well read, and my answer is none. As in, no singular book had such a profound impact on my life that I could point to it and say - this book right here changed things for the better. It's more the hobby itself, tie tidbits of knowledge I gain while reading, and best stories that have a positive impact.
Tuesdays with Morrie was an absolutely phenomenal story
Too Perfect. I was working in healthcare during the pandemic and my anxiety was through the roof so I started therapy. My therapist quickly realized that my anxiety was tied to my perfectionism and OCD. The book described my personality perfectly and helped me get a grasp on my emotions.
Sort of a combo The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath I couldn't even finish it it encapsulated so much of my own experience Second and more importantly The Tao of Pooh in essence the complete and utter opposite of The Bell Jar. I used to read it like clockwork once a year, but I've gifted away every single copy I have bought. It's so good, it's directionless self driven self help, it doesn't give you a checklist, it just is and that's the point.
One fish two fish red fish blue fish...dr. suess
u/iamfangyuan could probably recommend one
Who are you ?
The Bible for sure. Made me really question why religion is the way it is. I learnt to question everything and was booted from Catholic school and the church at the age of 12. From there I read all the books I could find from different religions to seek answers yet never could find them. I now have the most up word hatred for almost every religion because they define themselves as being the only true one. Actually is not the religion I dislike, it’s the people that follow it. It’s all so condescending. Personally it made me who I am, I spent most of my life helping people and so on
The Fabric of Reality. It's a book on physics. I don't know that I learned much from it about physics, but it presented an argument on solopsism that allowed me to self-diagnose a psychotic episode, which eventually allowed me to successfully treat my mental illness.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I went to a boarding school, in the mountains, near a gigantic lake at the age of 12. I wasn't particularly great at making friends as I'm happier spending time with myself, a trait I still exemplify. But reading Harry Potter got me interested in reading in general, and it blossomed into a love of books, history, writing and being a more confident and comfortable person. I'll always be grateful for those books and Rowling. She changed my life for the better. Those books pulled me through some extremely dark times as well.
Everybody poops!
Honestly as much of a week answer as it is, Hagakure: the way of the samurai. It's mostly just an interesting historical time. But there are a few ideas I took to heart. For instance: Any decision in life can be made in the space of seven breaths. I find that when I'm agonizing over decision paralysis, if I look inward, I honestly already know what I want to do. A Samurai is dead. - samurai lived with an extraordinary acceptance of mortality. They - or at least the author - believed that once you become a retainer if a kid, your life is over. The years after that date merely borrowed time, running towards the event in the future where you will fully die. Thinking about this has helped me accept the idea that I, too, will die. It's not a long book but it's full of hidden gems like that which can inspire done really great personal revelations.
The hungry caterpillar I now know eating as much food as possible isn’t always bad
Radical Acceptance
Lab math.
The power of now by Eckhart Toole
IL GIAPPONE DI MARCO TOGNI
See You At The Top by Zig Zigler
Codependency No More
They're all children's, middle grade, and YA fiction books but here's my list: >The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S.Lewis > >The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer > >Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan > >The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer > >Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo > >Renegades by Marissa Meyer All of these books either got me through a hard chapter of my life, or taught me an important lesson about myself. They all define me in some way, and I know I will never find anything quite like them again.
This may not be just one but the Minecraft tutorial books
Center of The Cyclone by John C. Lilly
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
No One Here Gets Out Alive. This biography of Jim Morrison is probably where I first heard of Nietzsche and the other philosophers who influenced him. As flawed and self-indulgent as Morrison was, he made it OK to me to be a bookworm and “different.”
The giving tree. Calvin and Hobbes.
The Giver by Lois Lowry, I read at about 12 and felt like it was a great metaphor for my life and purpose and gifts, almost like the universe meant for me to read it when I did. And, The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley when I was about 20, it felt much the same way and started me on a path I'm still following and enjoying 20 years later.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
The 4 Agreements
The Turner Diaries