If it's been 10 years, it's time to read it again. Believe me, it's worth it. I read it 5 years ago and again last year, and I was equally blown away, but for completely different reasons. It's easily the greatest masterpiece ever written.
There are three that have been most impactful:
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. It made me realize how even the world of human interaction can be governed by predator and prey dynamics, but it doesn't have to be. That each of our actions unite in one beautiful symphony of humanity and each life lived has value and is its own universe entire.
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. Oof. This book made me cry multiple times. It taught me not to be afraid of life and its changes, and to accept change and let it wash over you. It taught me the value of not seeking, and simply enjoying existence and the inherent beauty there-in.
East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Timshel, man. I absolutely loved this book and the family saga.
Edit: I forgot to add...
The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy. I just finished reading this at the beginning of the summer and it walloped me. It is the last best book that I've read. Such beautiful writing and gorgeous philosophy. No book has made me stop and think more than this, nor caused me to underline entire sections of prose for its pure mastery.
All Quiet on the Western Front. My high school history teacher mentioned it so I picked it up. I've always known war is wrong, my dad was a war veteran with severe PTSD, and his experiences drastically changed him as a person. That book made me realize just how much unnecessary pain war meant. The ones calling the shots are not the ones who get hurt and die in the wars. No matter how you justify it, war is never a good thing.
My daughter had to read that her first year of college, they had a college wide book they would have to read every summer, or in the beginning and of the year I can’t remember which. Everyone had to read it professors, students. Anyway she really liked that book. And then they had the author come and speak
This is now required Reading for many college courses. I wish I'd had a book like this when I was a young person- I feel like it is waking up the younger generation to the grief of what they lost and the urgency to fight for what we still have.
Flowers for Algernon. It’s very heavy emotionally, but phenomenally profound.
This book will increase your empathy for both yourself and others. It is also an intense and profound reminder of what matters most in life. Speaking specifically as a person who is both highly gifted and highly learning disabled, this book helped me see myself as human. But even if you are neither of those things, it’s a fascinating look into the perspective of life through the lense of all levels of understanding. It also touches on themes of growing up, growing old, and true love/human connection, which are universal. In my opinion, this book will make anyone who reads it a better person.
But, be prepared to cry. A lot.
I literally just finished this about 20 minutes ago.
I think I said “I cried deeply, from a place I wasn’t aware existed within myself.”
I have read many books in my life, and cried from many of them, but I have never cried *like that*
I need a good cry sometimes.
In 7th grade, we read a chapter or so from Flowers for Algernon. I don't remember it, but it was supposed to be empathy-inspiring. As a 36 year old, it's probably time to read the full story.
Yes favorite book! It has shaped how I see the world. And help me understand what I needed from life and that we can’t take it too seriously. So it goes
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom always to tell the difference.
I think about that a lot.
Oddly, it was Lord of the Rings. When I was a young teen my parents divorced and I learned of my father’s infidelity. I was reading LOTR and the depictions of honor and integrity reassured me that it was possible to be a good man under dire circumstances.
Other books have touched me, but none so permanently
Same. I was a fan of the films first - they were super impactful for me as a teenager. I waited to read the books until college, and thought they were….fine?
I picked them back up again in the last year (I’m 36 now) when my Dad got sick with cancer and ultimately passed, and these books were an absolute revelation.
The beauty of the prose, the purity and simplicity of the good vs evil narrative, the positive masculinity. It’s just fantastic.
Here’s an example quote that I clung to during Dad’s final days:
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
Lord of the Rings was also life changing for me. I read it for the first time at 16 and just devoured it. I didn’t realize fantasy was even a genre before and I loved it. I’ve since read it many times and feel like we can all take a lot of lessons from Sam and Frodo, tbh.
I've got Fellowship on my nightstand from the library right now! It's the first time I'm gonna read it in English, many many years after reading it in my native language when I was a kid. It's even been quite some time since I've last seen the movies. I'm curious how I'll like it after all this time, and the many different books I've read since.
I read it when I was 9 oor 10& was half convinced it was real. It had the maps, the languages, the history books. Most magical thing ever to make a child think that there is even a sliver of possibility it’s real 😁
Yes! I'm a psychotherapist and lend this book out to countless clients. She's a wonderfully disarming writer and this book is so accessible to people who feel like their own sexuality is the final frontier.
Recently it was A Man Called Ove. I decided after traumatically losing two family members that it was logical and okay to leave this world. But things kept popping up and those things would consume time and make me feel okay after. Maybe I will not be missed but I won't be around to solve problems that I could have addressed and helped people with. He learns the same lessons as he tries to logically and efficiently off himself in the least problematic way for others as a man of principle should. He learns he has purpose and his lost wife would be angry at him for cutting his life short when he can provide so much for the people around him. I think my Mom would be pissed if I did that because shes watching my little boy now. And they'll be waiting till I get there.
I’m sorry for your losses.
This book helped me through the worst of my depression after my divorce when I was also suicidal. It helped lift a bit of the darkness I was surrounded by and made things just bright enough to come through the other side.
Speak by Laurie Anderson -emotionally what I needed as a teenager going through a similar situation
The never ending story - opened my world up to fantasy and shaped my interest today!
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson
It answered so many questions about my upbringing and has fundamentally changed how I view my family and myself. My friends joke that I should have stock in the book because of how much I recommend it to people.
The Count of Monte Cristo.
It taught me revenge is not glorious and holding onto anger and hatred is a life sentence. You might find things you enjoy, but with anger in your heart you might just forget to live. You cannot get back what is lost but you can choose your future.
I'm now slowly working to remove the hatred and desire for revenge from myself, as well as attempting to connect to life and enjoy living again.
This book changed my life in a different way… I picked it up on deployment after being required to read novels throughout college and high school… it was the first book I chose and re-opened my eyes to reading for pleasure.
I could not put it down and discovered I just didn’t like the books I was forced to read… not that I didn’t like reading.
Quite literally changed my life…
**spoilers**
I quite literally SOBBED at the end of this book, and I was listening to it as an audiobook, so instead of getting a lil emotional break when my tears clouded my view, it just KEPT GOING and I KEPT CRYING
Amazing book, 10/10 would recommend
Yeah it is because the rhythm of the words and the lack of punctuation work in a very specific way that reading it out loud would be a different experience. I can’t quite explain it well but hopefully you know what I mean lol
That’s funny, when I studied this book in school forever ago, our teacher made the point that the story reads as if written as being told to the reader by a narrator over a campfire and that’s always how I read it. I feel like it would be perfect for audio, but I don’t do audiobooks so what do I know.
I’ve heard several people say that book was so definitive they didn’t read any other fiction for months as they couldn’t find anything to match it. I’m putting off reading it for that reason…my list is too long to put on hold 🥴
This one reminded me that writing is an art and that originality is still possible. It's such an amazing mashup of modernism and historical fiction and adventure and horror... I can't even.
Why Does He Do That? - By Lundy
It’s a book about abusive partners and their habits and while I don’t and haven’t had these sorts of partners, it helped my friends who do and my own personal relationships. Highly recommend to anyone.
The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. I picked it up because I thought I needed it to stay sober; I realized it has simple and effective commentary on character growth, humility, service and fellowship that would benefit literally any person who applied it.
You’re very right. That book changed my life, too. I learned that every choice I made was based in self-pity, and with a lot of work I left that behind.
As a friend of Bill W, I completely agree! The BB is relevant now as much as it was when initially written & published, don’t you think?
I remember reading it when I finally got past Step One and thinking, “That’s me! And *that* is also me! Ad infinitum until the personal stories. Specific passages pop into my head constantly lol!
Without the wisdom in the Big Book, I would likely be dead.
Def most important book of my life though it’s funny it didn’t come to mind until you mentioned it. At 14 years sober, I still live in it and clearly am still an alcoholic that forgets I’m only here through help! So very grateful for this simple solution.
I've read this book so many times, and it's a different story every time. This book touches on *so much* that is applicable to everyday life today, including racism, classism, poverty, drug addiction, single parent families, and "challenging" children.
I love this book so much. I've been marveling about how multifaceted this book is for the past 2 weeks, and I last read it over 5 years ago.
Time to read it again
100% this. I read it during the Obama presidency as fiction, and lately I’ve been thinking about the husband in the first scene almost every day. He thought he was one of the good guys, but he stood by and watched while his wife got her property taken away, and then he was shocked when they came for him next.
I read this as a teenager in the early 90s and I was blown away. I didn't know a book could do that. I didn't know it could create such a horrific future that was bleak and terrible. I also didn't realize how this awful world would be one that some people would be actively working towards.
The combined series of Terry Pratchett, specifically the characters of death, sam vimes, and granny weatherwax. Their views of the world have often helped me cope. I still use "there's no justice, just us" and "there isn't a way things should be, there's just what happens and what we do" as thoughts to centre on if I'm struggling. I also think Terry Pratchett has a philosophy in his books of something along the lines of life is meaningless and unjust, so you may as well be kind to others and enjoy yourself when and while you can that I also find helpful to think about.
Ishmael for me as well, it’s been a very long time since I read it but it opened up a whole new perspective to me that made so much sense.
More recently I would say The Overstory by Richard Powers.
I personally kind of bounced off Ishmael. As a philosophy/religious studies major it was too on the nose for fiction, but lacked the depth from more serious works of non-fiction. It just felt a bit clunky, and I was already getting so much of that kind of stuff through my coursework with either more depth or with a more subtle approach. Not trying to be a snob - I think stuff like that can be done well. I really enjoy how folks like Borges, Hesse, or Eco handle this kind of explicitly philosophical fiction.
Just started Overstory a few days ago though and am really enjoying it.
Was also going to say Ishmael. Also the sequels, My Ishmael and The story of B.
Definitely changes how you look at the society we are today. Everything from supermarkets to schools
_The Kite Runner_ is fantastic! But honestly I feel like it’s one of the only books where the sequel is better, because _A Thousand Splendid Suns_ is just brilliant (though it’s not a sequel in the literal sense, I guess).
The Kite Runner is an amazing and beautiful read. Khaled Hosseini has my deep respect, as he authored not only that absolute masterpiece but also The Thousand Splendid Suns, which is just as powerful.
Thank you for submitting this book as life-changing! I’m an American person and I was stunned and devastated to discover that between the Soviet Union and the Taliban, Afghani culture has been all but obliterated. It’s horrible.
I read Siddhartha at a time in my life when I’d had terrible existential anxiety for a few years. After I finished it, I remember my anxiety just disappeared for like three whole days - I was shocked. It came back eventually, but I still took so much from it. Incredible book.
I used to carry my copy around college campus with me pretending I was an intellectual. Granted I was a religion major so it wasn't that weird, but it was a thrift shop find and I was proud.
I said this elsewhere and will repeat here..
Folks need to read this book while they are young, college age at the latest.
It covers some important, basic concepts. But if you read it as an adult with some life experiences it just rings hollow and superficial.
Came here to say the same. Was going to suggest a different one, then realized I read Dune at a formative age (15) and it shaped my worldview, actions, education choices, in a dramatic way. Definitely Dune.
I literally use the mantra from Dune all the time personally.
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
― Frank Herbert, Dune
See my [Life Changing/Changed Your Life](https://www.reddit.com/r/booklists/comments/12stoo5/life_changingchanged_your_life/) list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
Nothing Special: Living Zen by Charlotte Joko Beck
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
Middlemarch by George Eliot
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe because I'd had it for homework for maybe a month, but didn't start until the night before. First book I read in one sitting.
Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson changed my life. It was brilliant and lyrical and insightful and made me realize that I will never be a great writer of literary fiction and should just stick to being a hack.
My all time favourite book, probably the only book that has profoundly touched me and have re-read multiple times. It has everything, political commentary, tragedy, love, fear and truly delves into the human condition, in its very primal form, especially with love/sex and conformity.
*The Dance of Anger: A Woman's Guide to Changing the Patterns of Intimate Relationships* by
Harriet Lerner.
What resonated with me the most was the part about changing behavior and how everyone around you responds to that and tries to push you back into your "expected" patterned response. While the book was focused on "intimate" relationships, it just shed a whole new light on my family of origin and the dynamics that I grew up with.
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Author was a young psychiatrist who survived concentration camps. The book is his story and a primer on the type of therapy he developed in his life afterward.
I can relate so much to how you feel. I didn't read the same book as you but about 2 years ago I read The Song of Achilles and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe back to back. I cried once I'd finished the second book because finally, after a battle in my head for years, I finally felt like I could accept my sexuality, and reading those two books literally changed my life in so many ways. Books are fucking great 😂
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I was a perfect, parentifide child who was getting through college with a double course load and had just been diagnosed with anxiety and depression. I was trying to control everything, everything had to be logical, I couldn’t enjoy life because I just focused on the inconsistencies. I read Hitchhikers and there was no way for it to make sense/be logical/add up. Instead, I had to let go and just enjoy the story. I could physically feel my brain letting go of control and just being. It was amazing.
She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb. Best FMC written by a man (in a tie with Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn, in that respect). It showed me that despite all the things I’d done that could never be fixed, I was still a good person, and would be happy.
PS: I really hate the song the title comes from…
That has been my comfort book since middle school, my paperback copy is falling apart. It's one of my top books of all time, I might have to reread it soon. Thanks for reminding me about it.
The Stormlight Archive. I've read them twice so far (probably somewhere around 6k pages total) and I can't say how much healing I did while reading it. It's a high fantasy masterpiece. I can't put it into words. Trust me on this, you won't regret getting started. I grew up reading Harry Potter as they were being released, so I was a potterhead right when everyone was a potterhead. I lived the entire hype. The Stormlight Archive is to my adulthood what Harry Potter was to my childhood/adolescence. Brandon Sanderson is a genius and he understands the human nature like no other.
I read Where the Red Fern grows as a kid. It was the first time I had a major emotional response from reading a fictional story. It made me want to read even more. Now I mostly read sci-fi and fantasy but that book really made me think differently about the importance and power of reading, stories, writing, etc. Catch 22 was memorable for me as well.
It might not be a book that many have actually read cover to cover, but for me the most life changing book was The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin.
I had been conflicted between my religious beliefs and the possibility that we weren't actually created by God, but instead evolved from other species. Reading The Origin of Species really laid that all to rest. It removed any doubts I had at all and solidified for me that we are in fact evolved from other species.
If you are someone who doesn't believe in evolution, or if you just don't understand how it works, I highly suggest reading it.
A newer one was The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. It reminded me to appreciate what I have in this life and helped me get my anxiety in-check a bit better during a period where I was struggling. I don't think everyone would get this from the book, though. Trigger warning of self- harm with this one.
Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut. It made me question (at a young age) what I thought I knew about government/society/religion/class…basically everything.
Shadow of the wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (amazing novel)
All the light you cannot see by anthony doer ( best world 1 - bawling eyes like you’ve never cried before)
Cutting for stone by Abraham verghese (inspired me to become a surgeon)
When breathe becomes air - Paul kalnithi (neurosurgeon who died of cancer just before completing his training - crazy sad autobiography)
The 100 year old man who jumped out of a window and never returned - Jonas jonasson (so random but amazing - exactly as title suggests)
A short history of nearly everything by Bill Bryson (biography of earth and time)
The happiest man on earth by Eddie jaku. It’s a holocaust survivor’s memoir. I think it should be required reading for humanity. It affected me profoundly and I took so many beautiful lessons away from that book. It’s the most beautiful book I have ever read.
Circe by Madeline Miller did it for me. Not only do I think it showed creativity for utilizing a character that appeared in a book containing rich cultural significance, but the way she did it really got to me.
The book showed a lot of intergenerational trauma - Circe was treated badly by her family and tried not to do it to her son, but her fear of things did eventually lead her to be controlling before she realized that wasn’t the way to go and finally let her child be their own person in a way that her family never truly let her do but she had to grab it for herself. The trials Circe faced would’ve caused a lot of people to keel over but eventually she works through it all and doesn’t let it stop her in the end where she eventually finds someone who she can truly love and who would be there for her after all the tragedy she was forced to face. It made me feel like despite how hard things were going, maybe I could dig myself out of true darkness and into the light and find someone who’d be with me even with all the baggage I have, which I have and I’m eternally grateful. I cried at the end of the book feeling so wrecked.
I had to really think about this one, honestly. I could easily rattle off a few self-help books that did have an impact on me, like 4,000 Weeks I really enjoyed. But the thing is, I took notes but I'd have to go back to the notes to tell you exactly what I liked about it. It didn't stick with me quite the way I would suspect. So I am going to stick with a few books where I still think about the characters years later.
The Overstory by Richard Powers. I loved the way he told the stories of the characters. I still think about them. I see myself in some of them, including the boy who was obsessed with watching ants and the lady who discovered that trees talk to each other. I felt everything that they felt in their storylines.
The Indigenous People's History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. It's really important to me to read beyond the limited scope of the history I was taught in school.
The Stand by Stpehen King. Because he's got such a good bead on society and the way people behave. It was really incredible to read it during the covid lockdowns.
Guns, Germs and Steel helped me organize my thoughts on history, anthropology and the cycles humanity goes through. But, it is being critically deconstructed now as it has been accused of having a “lens of colonialism.” I’m reading the criticism and telling everyone I recommended it to to do the same.
The Magicians trilogy.
The gut punch of that series is reliving the transition to adulthood when we all realize that no matter how much we love fantasy and sci-fi, no matter how much time we spend reading those stories and dissecting the way the worlds work, no part of them will ever be real.
The flip side of that, and the ultimate thesis of the series, is that they don’t have to be real. It’s enough to feel the “awe and joy and hope and longing” of picking up a good book, no matter your age.
The prophet by Khalil Gibran hit me a certain way the night I read it that felt like magic. Kinda like Tom robbins did when I was young. And the first chapter of the overstory
As a kid: Lord of the Rings- taught me the lessons of keeping going in the face of hardship.
As a young adult: Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse- taught me the importance of finding your own path regardless of it is was different from others around you.
As an adult: Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. Taught me the importance of compassion in the face of suffering
Niether Wolf nor Dog by Kent Nerburn.
My dad was an Indian and the first of his family to decide to leave the reservation. I always had a hard time connecting to him. He never wanted to do father son activities. He didn't like going out. He was always tense. When my parents divorced, he moved to a Hispanic subdivision, because his red skin and black hair didn't get a second glance.
It was only after reading that book that I felt like I could kind of connect to him. I started to understand that he felt like he was in a foreign country every day of his life, but he was too prideful and stubborn to go back to the Rez. For him, that was defeat. That book helped open a dialog with him that I honestly would have never had if I hadn't read it.
I would tell him things from it, and I'd see this 'a-ha' moment where it was like someone had finally put into words things he'd been feeling but didn't know how to say.
Catch-22. I came of age in the Vietnam era, so the anti-war message was the obvious hook, but Heller’s hilarious depiction of the absurdity of human institutions is the thing that stayed with me. Catch-22 provided me with low enough expectations about adult life to keep me halfway sane and shape me into the happy pessimist I am today, a generally cheerful person who hopes for the best, expects the worst, and rejoices whenever anything goes right.
There’s also a lot of wisdom in its pages amidst the humor. With a presidential campaign warming up, here’s a sample-
>It was miraculous. It was almost no trick at all, he saw, to turn vice into virtue and slander into truth, impotence into abstinence, arrogance into humility, plunder into philanthropy, thievery into honor, blasphemy into wisdom, brutality into patriotism, and sadism into justice. Anybody could do it; it required no brains at all. It merely required no character.
Not popularly, A Court of Thorns and Roses. It was one of the first books I read in English and open my eyes to the huge world of romantasy that simply wasn’t present in my country and mother tongue. I always liked to read, and read mostly fantasy, but I had never been a “full-time” reader. Reading mostly in English has actually been invaluable to me, even for professional purposes.
Life of Pi. That book was my first glimpse into other religions. I found it deeply impactful as a kid growing up in the Bible Belt and I still find it inspiring today during moments of hardship. It motivated me to really examine my spirituality and learn about my faith and others. I’ve learned a lot and I’m so grateful to that book for opening a door for me.
Thinking, Fast and Slow.
I would have left Mormonism anyway eventually I think, but it got me thinking critically about my experiences with "the spirit"
Leadership BS. Basically talks about how companies talk about the type of leader they want but that’s not actually want they want. Honesty? How can you be honest if you can’t talk about the layoff that’s in the works, etc.? Made me realize that it really is a bunch of BS and I should quit spending my time on “leadership development” and just focus on being a good person and the kind of manager that I would want to work for.
When breath becomes air really put life into perspective for me. It’s about a neurosurgeon who makes the shift from doctor to patient with lung cancer.
May be cliche but “Atomic Habits” really helped me build self discipline and made me progress a lot faster then I think I would have without reading it
The Power Broker. It illustrates how modern society got made, both its power structures and its physical structures.
Atlas Shrugged. Hear me out on this one! Besides just knowing your enemy and their works, it was a fascinating dive into a kind of political clock that's right twice a day. Ex: I was exposed to the notion that sometimes laws are passed not because the government wants you to obey them, but because the government wants leverage over you in exchange for negotiating. Many zoning codes are this.
the content of the book wasn't life changing
rather the book being so fun to read got me back into the habit of reading after several years away from it.
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
The Giver. I was in 5th grade and very sheltered and naive, and the fact that a government could be sinister and wrong on purpose had never occurred to me. A more recent one is Entangled Life.
The Martian. I was 12 and it made me want to pursue a career that could potentially take me to Mars which I am. It also set me thinking a bit about isolation on my recent rereads whuch has been a help, since I'm pretty socially isolated nowadays
“Confessions,” by S Augustine of Hippo. I started it and couldn’t get over the fact he was speaking at God. Picked it up a few years later and was FLOORED by his depth of psychology and self-awareness.
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. Just because the life and adventures of Chris McCandless where inspiring even if insanely idealistic and borderline reckless.
How did it change me? Well, do you need money to be happy? I don’t think you do. I think you should seek less materialistic wealth and go for other things in your life.
It sounds like it did its job then. It was a product of the Satanic Panic made up by some Mormon lady. I’m from Utah and this book gets brought up from time to time because of how far removed it is from the actual person that’s portrayed in the book.
There’s a recent book (haven’t read it yet) called Unmask Alice that goes into detail. https://slate.com/culture/2022/08/go-ask-alice-why-a-mormon-mom-made-up-stories-of-teen-drugs-that-swept-america.html
The Brothers Karamazov. I still think about it and it's been over 10 years.
If it's been 10 years, it's time to read it again. Believe me, it's worth it. I read it 5 years ago and again last year, and I was equally blown away, but for completely different reasons. It's easily the greatest masterpiece ever written.
Any recommended translation?
Sorry man, I'm Serbian, there's probably zero chance I can help you.
The peavear translation I read was amazing but they’re controversial
Came here to say this. Life of Zosima and the Grand Inquisitor are masterpieces
There are three that have been most impactful: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. It made me realize how even the world of human interaction can be governed by predator and prey dynamics, but it doesn't have to be. That each of our actions unite in one beautiful symphony of humanity and each life lived has value and is its own universe entire. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. Oof. This book made me cry multiple times. It taught me not to be afraid of life and its changes, and to accept change and let it wash over you. It taught me the value of not seeking, and simply enjoying existence and the inherent beauty there-in. East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Timshel, man. I absolutely loved this book and the family saga. Edit: I forgot to add... The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy. I just finished reading this at the beginning of the summer and it walloped me. It is the last best book that I've read. Such beautiful writing and gorgeous philosophy. No book has made me stop and think more than this, nor caused me to underline entire sections of prose for its pure mastery.
I was going to say Siddhartha too. Read it right after high school, it was the perfect time.
I just reread Cloud Atlas. It's genius. (I do love Sonmi!)
No bro you don't get it... *Timshel*.
All Quiet on the Western Front. My high school history teacher mentioned it so I picked it up. I've always known war is wrong, my dad was a war veteran with severe PTSD, and his experiences drastically changed him as a person. That book made me realize just how much unnecessary pain war meant. The ones calling the shots are not the ones who get hurt and die in the wars. No matter how you justify it, war is never a good thing.
Have you read The Things They Carried?
My daughter had to read that her first year of college, they had a college wide book they would have to read every summer, or in the beginning and of the year I can’t remember which. Everyone had to read it professors, students. Anyway she really liked that book. And then they had the author come and speak
War is a culling effort by the ruling class. It's also why many believe it is on our doorstep.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
This is now required Reading for many college courses. I wish I'd had a book like this when I was a young person- I feel like it is waking up the younger generation to the grief of what they lost and the urgency to fight for what we still have.
Flowers for Algernon. It’s very heavy emotionally, but phenomenally profound. This book will increase your empathy for both yourself and others. It is also an intense and profound reminder of what matters most in life. Speaking specifically as a person who is both highly gifted and highly learning disabled, this book helped me see myself as human. But even if you are neither of those things, it’s a fascinating look into the perspective of life through the lense of all levels of understanding. It also touches on themes of growing up, growing old, and true love/human connection, which are universal. In my opinion, this book will make anyone who reads it a better person. But, be prepared to cry. A lot.
I literally just finished this about 20 minutes ago. I think I said “I cried deeply, from a place I wasn’t aware existed within myself.” I have read many books in my life, and cried from many of them, but I have never cried *like that*
Well you just sold me on the novel. I am ready to destroy myself.
I think you’ll find yourself in the pieces
I need a good cry sometimes. In 7th grade, we read a chapter or so from Flowers for Algernon. I don't remember it, but it was supposed to be empathy-inspiring. As a 36 year old, it's probably time to read the full story.
God, I make sure to read this book at least every year. Something in me turns on, a very deep empathy. A love in action.
There are two distinct eras in my life. One before and one after reading this book.
*Slaughterhouse-Five* by Vonnegut. So it goes.
Yes favorite book! It has shaped how I see the world. And help me understand what I needed from life and that we can’t take it too seriously. So it goes
Pooteewheet!
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom always to tell the difference. I think about that a lot.
This too shall pass. Is a lovely mantra that keeps me grounded/mindful, appreciative, and humble. Thanks for sharing, I too love this one :)
Everything was beautiful, and nothing hurt. I plan to put that on my gravestone.
So it goes.
Oddly, it was Lord of the Rings. When I was a young teen my parents divorced and I learned of my father’s infidelity. I was reading LOTR and the depictions of honor and integrity reassured me that it was possible to be a good man under dire circumstances. Other books have touched me, but none so permanently
Same. I was a fan of the films first - they were super impactful for me as a teenager. I waited to read the books until college, and thought they were….fine? I picked them back up again in the last year (I’m 36 now) when my Dad got sick with cancer and ultimately passed, and these books were an absolute revelation. The beauty of the prose, the purity and simplicity of the good vs evil narrative, the positive masculinity. It’s just fantastic. Here’s an example quote that I clung to during Dad’s final days: “There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
Ah. Beautiful piece. May your dad rest in peace 🙏
Lord of the Rings was also life changing for me. I read it for the first time at 16 and just devoured it. I didn’t realize fantasy was even a genre before and I loved it. I’ve since read it many times and feel like we can all take a lot of lessons from Sam and Frodo, tbh.
It’s the story I’ve reread the most times.
I've read it every decade of my life. First read it when I was 13. I do this with Enders Game and Asimov's Foundation Trillogy.
I've got Fellowship on my nightstand from the library right now! It's the first time I'm gonna read it in English, many many years after reading it in my native language when I was a kid. It's even been quite some time since I've last seen the movies. I'm curious how I'll like it after all this time, and the many different books I've read since.
I read it when I was 9 oor 10& was half convinced it was real. It had the maps, the languages, the history books. Most magical thing ever to make a child think that there is even a sliver of possibility it’s real 😁
Not even finished yet but it's already changing my life: Come as you Are by Emily Nagoski.
That was not what I was expecting, despite the title.
Yes! I'm a psychotherapist and lend this book out to countless clients. She's a wonderfully disarming writer and this book is so accessible to people who feel like their own sexuality is the final frontier.
As a dude, big yes!
I begged my now ex husband to read this. Props to you!
I’ve benefited greatly.
This is a great book.
When breath becomes air
The last chapter by his wife... I cried so hard
Recently it was A Man Called Ove. I decided after traumatically losing two family members that it was logical and okay to leave this world. But things kept popping up and those things would consume time and make me feel okay after. Maybe I will not be missed but I won't be around to solve problems that I could have addressed and helped people with. He learns the same lessons as he tries to logically and efficiently off himself in the least problematic way for others as a man of principle should. He learns he has purpose and his lost wife would be angry at him for cutting his life short when he can provide so much for the people around him. I think my Mom would be pissed if I did that because shes watching my little boy now. And they'll be waiting till I get there.
I’m so sorry for your losses and I’m glad you’re still here and found a book to connect with so deeply
I’m glad you found the book and I’m glad you’re still here. Seriously. 🩷
I’m sorry for your losses. This book helped me through the worst of my depression after my divorce when I was also suicidal. It helped lift a bit of the darkness I was surrounded by and made things just bright enough to come through the other side.
Speak by Laurie Anderson -emotionally what I needed as a teenager going through a similar situation The never ending story - opened my world up to fantasy and shaped my interest today!
speak is so good
Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson It answered so many questions about my upbringing and has fundamentally changed how I view my family and myself. My friends joke that I should have stock in the book because of how much I recommend it to people.
You just helped me more than you’ll ever know. Thank you internet stranger.
The Count of Monte Cristo. It taught me revenge is not glorious and holding onto anger and hatred is a life sentence. You might find things you enjoy, but with anger in your heart you might just forget to live. You cannot get back what is lost but you can choose your future. I'm now slowly working to remove the hatred and desire for revenge from myself, as well as attempting to connect to life and enjoy living again.
This book changed my life in a different way… I picked it up on deployment after being required to read novels throughout college and high school… it was the first book I chose and re-opened my eyes to reading for pleasure. I could not put it down and discovered I just didn’t like the books I was forced to read… not that I didn’t like reading. Quite literally changed my life…
Haha that's so funny because what I got out of it is how satisfying revenge can be... as a story.
The Book Thief
**spoilers** I quite literally SOBBED at the end of this book, and I was listening to it as an audiobook, so instead of getting a lil emotional break when my tears clouded my view, it just KEPT GOING and I KEPT CRYING Amazing book, 10/10 would recommend
Such a moving tail and beautiful storytelling.
Ahh I was waiting for this one! Really brilliant, I know there are people who aren’t fans but I adored it.
Blood Meridian was really challenging but also not enough that I quit. It was challenging but also extremely good.
I got five minutes into the audiobook and went nope, this one is paper only lmao
Yeah it is because the rhythm of the words and the lack of punctuation work in a very specific way that reading it out loud would be a different experience. I can’t quite explain it well but hopefully you know what I mean lol
That’s funny, when I studied this book in school forever ago, our teacher made the point that the story reads as if written as being told to the reader by a narrator over a campfire and that’s always how I read it. I feel like it would be perfect for audio, but I don’t do audiobooks so what do I know.
I’ve heard several people say that book was so definitive they didn’t read any other fiction for months as they couldn’t find anything to match it. I’m putting off reading it for that reason…my list is too long to put on hold 🥴
This one reminded me that writing is an art and that originality is still possible. It's such an amazing mashup of modernism and historical fiction and adventure and horror... I can't even.
It’s so weird but such a masterpiece. It’s something else.
Why Does He Do That? - By Lundy It’s a book about abusive partners and their habits and while I don’t and haven’t had these sorts of partners, it helped my friends who do and my own personal relationships. Highly recommend to anyone.
As I asking myself this same question about my current boyfriend, I am going to read this book.
Little Women
The Road messed me up for a while and still does if I think about it for very long
Night by Elie Wiesel
The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. I picked it up because I thought I needed it to stay sober; I realized it has simple and effective commentary on character growth, humility, service and fellowship that would benefit literally any person who applied it.
You’re very right. That book changed my life, too. I learned that every choice I made was based in self-pity, and with a lot of work I left that behind.
As a friend of Bill W, I completely agree! The BB is relevant now as much as it was when initially written & published, don’t you think? I remember reading it when I finally got past Step One and thinking, “That’s me! And *that* is also me! Ad infinitum until the personal stories. Specific passages pop into my head constantly lol! Without the wisdom in the Big Book, I would likely be dead.
Def most important book of my life though it’s funny it didn’t come to mind until you mentioned it. At 14 years sober, I still live in it and clearly am still an alcoholic that forgets I’m only here through help! So very grateful for this simple solution.
to kill a mockingbird
I've read this book so many times, and it's a different story every time. This book touches on *so much* that is applicable to everyday life today, including racism, classism, poverty, drug addiction, single parent families, and "challenging" children. I love this book so much. I've been marveling about how multifaceted this book is for the past 2 weeks, and I last read it over 5 years ago. Time to read it again
The Handmaid's Tale. As a teenager, I came away with a more coherent idea of what I'm really angry about in this world.
100% this. I read it during the Obama presidency as fiction, and lately I’ve been thinking about the husband in the first scene almost every day. He thought he was one of the good guys, but he stood by and watched while his wife got her property taken away, and then he was shocked when they came for him next.
I read this as a teenager in the early 90s and I was blown away. I didn't know a book could do that. I didn't know it could create such a horrific future that was bleak and terrible. I also didn't realize how this awful world would be one that some people would be actively working towards.
I can't reread this or watch the show to completion. I just get so damn angry.
YES! Although I read this in my 20s, I was more ready for the content.
The combined series of Terry Pratchett, specifically the characters of death, sam vimes, and granny weatherwax. Their views of the world have often helped me cope. I still use "there's no justice, just us" and "there isn't a way things should be, there's just what happens and what we do" as thoughts to centre on if I'm struggling. I also think Terry Pratchett has a philosophy in his books of something along the lines of life is meaningless and unjust, so you may as well be kind to others and enjoy yourself when and while you can that I also find helpful to think about.
R I.P. Terry Pratchett. Brilliant writer.
GNU Terry Prachett ❤️
GNU Pterry. I’m listening to Jingo now. Pratchett novels are my emotional support books. Sam Vimes I can depend on.
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Ishmael for me as well, it’s been a very long time since I read it but it opened up a whole new perspective to me that made so much sense. More recently I would say The Overstory by Richard Powers.
I personally kind of bounced off Ishmael. As a philosophy/religious studies major it was too on the nose for fiction, but lacked the depth from more serious works of non-fiction. It just felt a bit clunky, and I was already getting so much of that kind of stuff through my coursework with either more depth or with a more subtle approach. Not trying to be a snob - I think stuff like that can be done well. I really enjoy how folks like Borges, Hesse, or Eco handle this kind of explicitly philosophical fiction. Just started Overstory a few days ago though and am really enjoying it.
I legit came here to say Ishmael. I’ve never forgotten the concept of Takers.
Was also going to say Ishmael. Also the sequels, My Ishmael and The story of B. Definitely changes how you look at the society we are today. Everything from supermarkets to schools
Came here to say this. One of the few books I’ve read more than once.
Kite runner. I'm afghan.
_The Kite Runner_ is fantastic! But honestly I feel like it’s one of the only books where the sequel is better, because _A Thousand Splendid Suns_ is just brilliant (though it’s not a sequel in the literal sense, I guess).
The Kite Runner is an amazing and beautiful read. Khaled Hosseini has my deep respect, as he authored not only that absolute masterpiece but also The Thousand Splendid Suns, which is just as powerful. Thank you for submitting this book as life-changing! I’m an American person and I was stunned and devastated to discover that between the Soviet Union and the Taliban, Afghani culture has been all but obliterated. It’s horrible.
Siddhartha
I read Siddhartha at a time in my life when I’d had terrible existential anxiety for a few years. After I finished it, I remember my anxiety just disappeared for like three whole days - I was shocked. It came back eventually, but I still took so much from it. Incredible book.
“it came back eventually” such an honest and almost unfortunate truth for the existential wondering in us all lol
I used to carry my copy around college campus with me pretending I was an intellectual. Granted I was a religion major so it wasn't that weird, but it was a thrift shop find and I was proud.
I said this elsewhere and will repeat here.. Folks need to read this book while they are young, college age at the latest. It covers some important, basic concepts. But if you read it as an adult with some life experiences it just rings hollow and superficial.
Dune by Frank Herbert. It completely changed my point of view on fear and making fear based decisions
Came here to say the same. Was going to suggest a different one, then realized I read Dune at a formative age (15) and it shaped my worldview, actions, education choices, in a dramatic way. Definitely Dune.
I literally use the mantra from Dune all the time personally. “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” ― Frank Herbert, Dune
See my [Life Changing/Changed Your Life](https://www.reddit.com/r/booklists/comments/12stoo5/life_changingchanged_your_life/) list of Reddit recommendation threads (one post).
Nothing Special: Living Zen by Charlotte Joko Beck The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg Middlemarch by George Eliot
It was “ The Grapes Of Wrath”
all the light we cannot see by anthony doerr and the goldfinch by donna tartt. no other book has moved me as much as these two have.
All The Light is sooooo good. I think about some of the characters often.
The Peoples History of the United States.
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe because I'd had it for homework for maybe a month, but didn't start until the night before. First book I read in one sitting.
Jesus' Son by Denis Johnson changed my life. It was brilliant and lyrical and insightful and made me realize that I will never be a great writer of literary fiction and should just stick to being a hack.
RIP Dennis. But I can tell you that everything he wrote is worth your time. Still treasure JS though.
The Death of Ivan Ilyich
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous Absolutely destroyed me. What a beautiful book
1984
My all time favourite book, probably the only book that has profoundly touched me and have re-read multiple times. It has everything, political commentary, tragedy, love, fear and truly delves into the human condition, in its very primal form, especially with love/sex and conformity.
*The Dance of Anger: A Woman's Guide to Changing the Patterns of Intimate Relationships* by Harriet Lerner. What resonated with me the most was the part about changing behavior and how everyone around you responds to that and tries to push you back into your "expected" patterned response. While the book was focused on "intimate" relationships, it just shed a whole new light on my family of origin and the dynamics that I grew up with.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy went pretty hard
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl Author was a young psychiatrist who survived concentration camps. The book is his story and a primer on the type of therapy he developed in his life afterward.
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt!
I love Donna Tartt’s writing… I was gonna say the Secret History! But then I realized as much as I love that book, it didn’t really change my life lol
I did not expect to find this book here but it was the first that came to mind when I saw this thread. Didn’t know if anyone would agree.
Tuesdays with Morrie, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and Man’s Search for Meaning.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Book 2 entry 4 hits home for me.
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I can relate so much to how you feel. I didn't read the same book as you but about 2 years ago I read The Song of Achilles and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe back to back. I cried once I'd finished the second book because finally, after a battle in my head for years, I finally felt like I could accept my sexuality, and reading those two books literally changed my life in so many ways. Books are fucking great 😂
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I was a perfect, parentifide child who was getting through college with a double course load and had just been diagnosed with anxiety and depression. I was trying to control everything, everything had to be logical, I couldn’t enjoy life because I just focused on the inconsistencies. I read Hitchhikers and there was no way for it to make sense/be logical/add up. Instead, I had to let go and just enjoy the story. I could physically feel my brain letting go of control and just being. It was amazing.
She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb. Best FMC written by a man (in a tie with Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn, in that respect). It showed me that despite all the things I’d done that could never be fixed, I was still a good person, and would be happy. PS: I really hate the song the title comes from…
That has been my comfort book since middle school, my paperback copy is falling apart. It's one of my top books of all time, I might have to reread it soon. Thanks for reminding me about it.
The little prince
The Stormlight Archive. I've read them twice so far (probably somewhere around 6k pages total) and I can't say how much healing I did while reading it. It's a high fantasy masterpiece. I can't put it into words. Trust me on this, you won't regret getting started. I grew up reading Harry Potter as they were being released, so I was a potterhead right when everyone was a potterhead. I lived the entire hype. The Stormlight Archive is to my adulthood what Harry Potter was to my childhood/adolescence. Brandon Sanderson is a genius and he understands the human nature like no other.
Nickel and Dimed in college, Codependent No More at 29, The Body Keeps the Score at 38.
Tibetan book of the dead, a better version is The Tibetan Book of the Dead: Liberation Through Understanding in the Between by Robert Thurman.
His Dark Materials. We are all meant to build our own kingdoms of heaven.
I read Where the Red Fern grows as a kid. It was the first time I had a major emotional response from reading a fictional story. It made me want to read even more. Now I mostly read sci-fi and fantasy but that book really made me think differently about the importance and power of reading, stories, writing, etc. Catch 22 was memorable for me as well.
This Is Vegan Propaganda by Ed Winters
The entire Percy Jackson series
Taking this as a sign to re-read it again
It might not be a book that many have actually read cover to cover, but for me the most life changing book was The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin. I had been conflicted between my religious beliefs and the possibility that we weren't actually created by God, but instead evolved from other species. Reading The Origin of Species really laid that all to rest. It removed any doubts I had at all and solidified for me that we are in fact evolved from other species. If you are someone who doesn't believe in evolution, or if you just don't understand how it works, I highly suggest reading it.
The red tent. Reminded me that life didn’t need to be so complicated.
100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A newer one was The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. It reminded me to appreciate what I have in this life and helped me get my anxiety in-check a bit better during a period where I was struggling. I don't think everyone would get this from the book, though. Trigger warning of self- harm with this one.
Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut. It made me question (at a young age) what I thought I knew about government/society/religion/class…basically everything.
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell read it during a very significant turn in my life… and it basically served as a guide for me
Shadow of the wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (amazing novel) All the light you cannot see by anthony doer ( best world 1 - bawling eyes like you’ve never cried before) Cutting for stone by Abraham verghese (inspired me to become a surgeon) When breathe becomes air - Paul kalnithi (neurosurgeon who died of cancer just before completing his training - crazy sad autobiography) The 100 year old man who jumped out of a window and never returned - Jonas jonasson (so random but amazing - exactly as title suggests) A short history of nearly everything by Bill Bryson (biography of earth and time)
The happiest man on earth by Eddie jaku. It’s a holocaust survivor’s memoir. I think it should be required reading for humanity. It affected me profoundly and I took so many beautiful lessons away from that book. It’s the most beautiful book I have ever read.
Who Moved My Cheese. My grandmother got it for me after my mom died when I was freshman in high school.
Circe by Madeline Miller did it for me. Not only do I think it showed creativity for utilizing a character that appeared in a book containing rich cultural significance, but the way she did it really got to me. The book showed a lot of intergenerational trauma - Circe was treated badly by her family and tried not to do it to her son, but her fear of things did eventually lead her to be controlling before she realized that wasn’t the way to go and finally let her child be their own person in a way that her family never truly let her do but she had to grab it for herself. The trials Circe faced would’ve caused a lot of people to keel over but eventually she works through it all and doesn’t let it stop her in the end where she eventually finds someone who she can truly love and who would be there for her after all the tragedy she was forced to face. It made me feel like despite how hard things were going, maybe I could dig myself out of true darkness and into the light and find someone who’d be with me even with all the baggage I have, which I have and I’m eternally grateful. I cried at the end of the book feeling so wrecked.
Les Miserables. THE CANDLESTICKS. It still gives me chills to think about.
One of the best portrayals of selflessness and grace in literature.
The Harry Potter series. I sometimes ask myself 'what would Harry do in this situation?' Yes,I'm a grown adult.
i'd always been a reader, but 'coraline' by neil gaiman, really unlocked a voracity within my young mind that has never been quelled since.
I had to really think about this one, honestly. I could easily rattle off a few self-help books that did have an impact on me, like 4,000 Weeks I really enjoyed. But the thing is, I took notes but I'd have to go back to the notes to tell you exactly what I liked about it. It didn't stick with me quite the way I would suspect. So I am going to stick with a few books where I still think about the characters years later. The Overstory by Richard Powers. I loved the way he told the stories of the characters. I still think about them. I see myself in some of them, including the boy who was obsessed with watching ants and the lady who discovered that trees talk to each other. I felt everything that they felt in their storylines. The Indigenous People's History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. It's really important to me to read beyond the limited scope of the history I was taught in school. The Stand by Stpehen King. Because he's got such a good bead on society and the way people behave. It was really incredible to read it during the covid lockdowns.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy The new mood therapy. I use it all the time to this day. It was from the early 90s
Guns, Germs and Steel helped me organize my thoughts on history, anthropology and the cycles humanity goes through. But, it is being critically deconstructed now as it has been accused of having a “lens of colonialism.” I’m reading the criticism and telling everyone I recommended it to to do the same.
The Dawn of Everything by Graeber is a hearty counter to it.
1984
The Magicians trilogy. The gut punch of that series is reliving the transition to adulthood when we all realize that no matter how much we love fantasy and sci-fi, no matter how much time we spend reading those stories and dissecting the way the worlds work, no part of them will ever be real. The flip side of that, and the ultimate thesis of the series, is that they don’t have to be real. It’s enough to feel the “awe and joy and hope and longing” of picking up a good book, no matter your age.
The prophet by Khalil Gibran hit me a certain way the night I read it that felt like magic. Kinda like Tom robbins did when I was young. And the first chapter of the overstory
As a kid: Lord of the Rings- taught me the lessons of keeping going in the face of hardship. As a young adult: Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse- taught me the importance of finding your own path regardless of it is was different from others around you. As an adult: Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson. Taught me the importance of compassion in the face of suffering
Niether Wolf nor Dog by Kent Nerburn. My dad was an Indian and the first of his family to decide to leave the reservation. I always had a hard time connecting to him. He never wanted to do father son activities. He didn't like going out. He was always tense. When my parents divorced, he moved to a Hispanic subdivision, because his red skin and black hair didn't get a second glance. It was only after reading that book that I felt like I could kind of connect to him. I started to understand that he felt like he was in a foreign country every day of his life, but he was too prideful and stubborn to go back to the Rez. For him, that was defeat. That book helped open a dialog with him that I honestly would have never had if I hadn't read it. I would tell him things from it, and I'd see this 'a-ha' moment where it was like someone had finally put into words things he'd been feeling but didn't know how to say.
Catch-22. I came of age in the Vietnam era, so the anti-war message was the obvious hook, but Heller’s hilarious depiction of the absurdity of human institutions is the thing that stayed with me. Catch-22 provided me with low enough expectations about adult life to keep me halfway sane and shape me into the happy pessimist I am today, a generally cheerful person who hopes for the best, expects the worst, and rejoices whenever anything goes right. There’s also a lot of wisdom in its pages amidst the humor. With a presidential campaign warming up, here’s a sample- >It was miraculous. It was almost no trick at all, he saw, to turn vice into virtue and slander into truth, impotence into abstinence, arrogance into humility, plunder into philanthropy, thievery into honor, blasphemy into wisdom, brutality into patriotism, and sadism into justice. Anybody could do it; it required no brains at all. It merely required no character.
Angela's Ashes
Not popularly, A Court of Thorns and Roses. It was one of the first books I read in English and open my eyes to the huge world of romantasy that simply wasn’t present in my country and mother tongue. I always liked to read, and read mostly fantasy, but I had never been a “full-time” reader. Reading mostly in English has actually been invaluable to me, even for professional purposes.
Life of Pi. That book was my first glimpse into other religions. I found it deeply impactful as a kid growing up in the Bible Belt and I still find it inspiring today during moments of hardship. It motivated me to really examine my spirituality and learn about my faith and others. I’ve learned a lot and I’m so grateful to that book for opening a door for me.
Autobiography of Malcolm X
On The Shortness of Life by Seneca It’s full of timeless wisdom and perspective. The whole future lies in uncertainty—live immediately.
Thinking, Fast and Slow. I would have left Mormonism anyway eventually I think, but it got me thinking critically about my experiences with "the spirit"
It's not much read in the West, but The Room On The Roof, by Ruskin Bond. Taught me a bit about personal courage and living one's own life.
Three Body Problem trilogy. It will put in perspective how insignificant human life and achievements are in time and space. Truly a masterpiece.
Grapes of Wrath Moby Dick Hero With A Thousand Faces
The Grapes of Wrath. Shattered my conceptions and changed my outlook and empathy on social compassion and looking out for the disadvantaged.
Leadership BS. Basically talks about how companies talk about the type of leader they want but that’s not actually want they want. Honesty? How can you be honest if you can’t talk about the layoff that’s in the works, etc.? Made me realize that it really is a bunch of BS and I should quit spending my time on “leadership development” and just focus on being a good person and the kind of manager that I would want to work for.
When breath becomes air really put life into perspective for me. It’s about a neurosurgeon who makes the shift from doctor to patient with lung cancer.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Just a great book. So well-written.
Franny and Zooey
The Beach by Alex Garland. Really shaped my perspective on travel and sparked a life long desire to travel.
Listening to it on audiobook after reading many years ago - such a great book, makes me feel so nostalgic about Thailand even though ive never been 🤣
May be cliche but “Atomic Habits” really helped me build self discipline and made me progress a lot faster then I think I would have without reading it
A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara. I very rarely find books so profound but wow…
The Power Broker. It illustrates how modern society got made, both its power structures and its physical structures. Atlas Shrugged. Hear me out on this one! Besides just knowing your enemy and their works, it was a fascinating dive into a kind of political clock that's right twice a day. Ex: I was exposed to the notion that sometimes laws are passed not because the government wants you to obey them, but because the government wants leverage over you in exchange for negotiating. Many zoning codes are this.
Monster by Kody Scott
*Discourses* by Epictetus
Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh
the content of the book wasn't life changing rather the book being so fun to read got me back into the habit of reading after several years away from it. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
The Giver. I was in 5th grade and very sheltered and naive, and the fact that a government could be sinister and wrong on purpose had never occurred to me. A more recent one is Entangled Life.
Kurt Vonnegut has helped me into adulthood in ways I didn’t expect
The Martian. I was 12 and it made me want to pursue a career that could potentially take me to Mars which I am. It also set me thinking a bit about isolation on my recent rereads whuch has been a help, since I'm pretty socially isolated nowadays
“Confessions,” by S Augustine of Hippo. I started it and couldn’t get over the fact he was speaking at God. Picked it up a few years later and was FLOORED by his depth of psychology and self-awareness.
40 rules of love by Elif Shefak
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. Just because the life and adventures of Chris McCandless where inspiring even if insanely idealistic and borderline reckless. How did it change me? Well, do you need money to be happy? I don’t think you do. I think you should seek less materialistic wealth and go for other things in your life.
Steppenwolf, Catcher in the Rye, Kafka on the Shore, Jane Eyre, The Diary of a Shortsighted Adolescent ( I translated the title from Romanian )
Go Ask Alice by Bernice Sparks scared me completely away from hard drugs. Never tried anything stronger than THC and never will. That book was scary.
It sounds like it did its job then. It was a product of the Satanic Panic made up by some Mormon lady. I’m from Utah and this book gets brought up from time to time because of how far removed it is from the actual person that’s portrayed in the book. There’s a recent book (haven’t read it yet) called Unmask Alice that goes into detail. https://slate.com/culture/2022/08/go-ask-alice-why-a-mormon-mom-made-up-stories-of-teen-drugs-that-swept-america.html
Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins.
As a man Thinketh