Books so good they changed your life.

[Auto Artisan]

Are there any books that you’ve read that have changed your perspective on life? Or were so good you wished that you could read it again for the first time. I’m look to build a list of great books.

[Grumbly]

Prepare to win by Carrol Smith

[LE62NDE]

There is a River, by Richard Vaughan. I'd been visiting the same milltir sgwâr/square mile in Wales for 35 years, and this was a book packed full of its history, in a captivating, child's-eye, autobiography. I wanted to turn each page, but at the same time didn't want to reach the end. Brilliant, unknown, and out of print.

[speedy_thrills]

Walden by Henry David Thoreau. I don't usually recommend it because of its eccentric qualities but what really resonated with me was this idea of finding happiness and contentment in a simpler life. The book draws on philosophical underpinnings both from German idealism and Eastern mysticism. Thoreau wrote it after the death of his brother, so inevitably it's deeply reflective in parts but there isn't a sense of sadness about it.

It's a book I've returned to repeatedly and has influenced a number of subsequent works with similar themes (Desert Solitaire, Sand County Almanac, Pilgrims At Tinkers Creek etc.) because it speaks to yearnings so many carry innately within us.

[shirt]

Slaughterhouse Five: Kurt Vonnegut

It’s one I’ve come back to as I’ve grown older and my personal philosophy moves more towards absurdism.

It manages to create a better sense of that than anything Camus himself wrote, with more humour and style. Also brings in other concepts such as pre-destiny and the allusion of time. And of course it’s a very powerful anti war book rooted in Vonnegut’s personal experience in Dresden.

[Martin350]

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

Veronica Decides To Die, also by Paulo Coelho.

1984 by George Orwell.
Not a particularly pleasant read, I read it for the second time about eight years ago, and it makes you think about some things which are going on today.
Quite remarkable considering it was published in 1949.

[keo]

Martin350 said:

1984 by George Orwell.
Not a particularly pleasant read, I read it for the second time about eight years ago, and it makes you think about some things which are going on today.
Quite remarkable considering it was published in 1949.

I have got this in my pile, I haven’t read it yet.

[shirt]

Auto Artisan said:

Or were so good you wished that you could read it again for the first time.

In Cold Blood: Truman Capote

Best to read the wiki page if you want a summary, but better if you don’t and read it without knowing the backstory. It’s a masterpiece.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Cold_Blood

[fttm]

Martin350 said:

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

Veronica Decides To Die, also by Paulo Coelho.

1984 by George Orwell.
Not a particularly pleasant read, I read it for the second time about eight years ago, and it makes you think about some things which are going on today.
Quite remarkable considering it was published in 1949.

1984 and Animal Farm both make you stand back and look how society has so called progressed , or not (sighs).

[Turn7]

Alcohol explained by William Porter

[Tuftie]

keo said:

I have got this in my pile, I haven t read it yet.

You can get a cream for that!

On topic, I can recommend Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, I wouldn’t suggest its life changing but it has a lot to offer to those of us trying to make some sense of it all, it’s beautifully written.

I think the early 20th century produced some of the best literature.

[toasty]

The Easy Way to Stop Smoking by Allen Carr

I’d tried so many times before but gave up after reading the first three chapters and haven’t smoked again. That was over 20 years ago now. Definitely changed my life.