What books have changed your life?
Discussion
I think I'll have to go for Frank Ferdinand Celine - Journey to the end of the night. It is really well written, but the thing that changed me the most was how well the author revealed the absurd nature of certain phenomenon in life, particularly war, but the book is broader than that. Love and friendship relationships are shown with both good and bad and a certain dose of humor is added, laughter through tears I would say, really stuck in my mind.
Rich Dad Poor Dad. It totally changed how I looked at finances, job security etc. Really is a brilliant book. I think a lot of people would make different financial decisions if they read this book.
This book really changed my life. I wish I read that book in secondary school instead of wasting so much term time on "of mice and men".
This book really changed my life. I wish I read that book in secondary school instead of wasting so much term time on "of mice and men".
LimaDelta said:
Cormac McCarthy's The Road, especially as I read it just after our first child was born and was already (as any new parent knows) going through a bit of emotional turmoil at the time
This is one of the worst books i've ever read, predictable and thoroughly boring. Felt like reading an episode of Bear Grylls. 
k" by Mark Manson (I think) are good in that respect. 'A Movable Feast ' by Hemingway. The complete master of concise , perfectly observed but deceptively simple prose. He wrote it as an older man , reflecting on his time in Paris in the 1920s before he achieved real success. He hung out with F Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein and many other 'names' of the era and he was then the archetypal impoverished writer , scribbling his notes in the Cafe Deux Magots and cadging books from the legendary bookshop for expats , Shakespeare and Co .
I made a pilgrimage to Paris in the 90s - we had coffee in the Deux Magots before buying another copy from Shakespeare's . And I don't mind admitting I was close to tears ...
I write myself , and it took me at last 20 years to stop trying to write like a Poundshop Hemingway . I'm still not sure if I've succeeded but Hem would certainly not have approved of the adverb count in line 1 of this post . The hell he would ...
I made a pilgrimage to Paris in the 90s - we had coffee in the Deux Magots before buying another copy from Shakespeare's . And I don't mind admitting I was close to tears ...
I write myself , and it took me at last 20 years to stop trying to write like a Poundshop Hemingway . I'm still not sure if I've succeeded but Hem would certainly not have approved of the adverb count in line 1 of this post . The hell he would ...
Edited by coppice on Sunday 30th December 19:07
Nothing very highbrow but at around 12 years of age I was housebound with whooping cough. A neighbour dropped off several Alexander Kent books, all were The Bolitho 'saga'. I had never read much before, apart from Commando comics (+ similar). Those books got me into reading and I have been an avid reader since. They also started my love of the Napoleonic era.
Secondly was around the age of 14. We read The Darling Buds Of May at school. This widened my scope of reading as I realised books can be rally good without canon muskets and swords.
Finally, around 15 years of age, Adolf Hitler, My Part In His Downfall. Comic genius and, bizzarely, made me start looking into various conflicts and eras throughout history.
Those 3 books, whilst not life changing in a deep and profound way, were pivotal in my reading and interests ever since.
Secondly was around the age of 14. We read The Darling Buds Of May at school. This widened my scope of reading as I realised books can be rally good without canon muskets and swords.
Finally, around 15 years of age, Adolf Hitler, My Part In His Downfall. Comic genius and, bizzarely, made me start looking into various conflicts and eras throughout history.
Those 3 books, whilst not life changing in a deep and profound way, were pivotal in my reading and interests ever since.
Levin said:
spikeyhead said:
Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
What did you take away from Pirsig's book? I read it but want to reread it so that I might better appreciate his words. I'm curious what you took away from it to change your life entirely.Gassing Station | Books and Literature | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff