Changed my life....okay some in a good way other's in another way.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou

The souls of black folk WEB Dubois

Soul on Ice by Elderidge Cleaver

Message to the Blackman by Elijah Muhammad

The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
I actually had to look her name up because my mother read these stories to us when I was a kid.

Bible, yeah it did.

Of course Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon

"The Stranger" by Albert Camus

and

"Topsecret/majic" by stanton T. Friedman

I was in 8th grade when I read Grapes of Wrath and it was when I surprised to experience how enthralling great literature can be. So now I teach 8th grade English because that first thrill has never left me.

Light on Yoga - B.K.S. Iyengar
My personal favorite with 600 illustrations of Yoga postures, 2 year program of what to do each following week (in the back of the book), a philosophers opinion about Yoga, its religious impact and practice. Also, extremely well in-depth explainations.

Hacking: The Art of Exploitation - Jon Erickson
The thing that got me seriously into computers. (for malious use ) But that was a long time ago.

Insight Meditation - Sharon Salzberg & Joseph Goldstein
Best book I can come up with to teach you insight meditation... If you already know meditation, this will serve as an extremely good reference. If you don't need a reference, its a good read, and I ain't just saying that to give it praise

80x86 Assembly Language and Computer Architecture - Richard C. Detmer
Very good ASM programming book that taught me things I didne't know to begin with .

Overall, i'd have to say "Light on Yoga" and "Insight Meditation" led me to a turning-point in my life.

Many good books cited on this thread.

Some books that have had a big influence on my outlook are:

1.The Gypsy's Curse - Harry Crews

2.Wise Blood - Flannery O'Connor

3.The Power and The Glory - Graham Greene

4.Karate is a Thing of the Spirit - Harry Crews

5.Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons - John Carter

6.Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

7.Man, Myth and Magic - Richard Cavendish

8.History of Magic & Experimental Science - Lynn Thorndike

9.The Book of the Damned, Lo!, Wild Talents, New Lands - Charles Fort

10.Weird America, The Rebirth of Pan - Jim Brandon

11. Anything by John A. Keel

Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling - These books simply take me away. Call them childish, call them cheap retellings of mythology, but NEVER have I read any books that simply erase my world and surroundings and replace them with imaginary wonderland that Rowling created for me. I have spent countless hours trapped in this wizarding world that only Rowling can call herself the master of; the ones that complain of her plagiarism slightly annoy me, as I have seen minor things that could of been 'taken', but I don't believe in the significance.

Animal Farm by George Orwell - To be honest, I'm still in the process of analyzing this book; I'm only in 9th grade, so we are actually right now in the process of being 'required' to read it. I have taken it as one of the most interesting required reading books, if not the most interesting that I have ever had. His ingenius retelling of history while replaying it with playful animals is brilliant, to say the least. And his quote "All animals are equal, some are just more equal than others." has brought new depth to many things that I hear and see in the every day world. Orwell's 1984 could also be placed in this list.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson - This book taught me the value of life at an early age. It was not required reading, but my 2nd grade teacher personally purchased a copy for all of her students. Few read it, but I took the time to do so. The fact that I remember most of the storyline and how events played out in the book even now is enough to convince me that this book had an effect on my life.

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown - I don't know so much that the reason I liked this book is because I agree with the ideas in it as much as that it was one of the building blocks that first encouraged me to research conspiracy. I don't agree with the various things mentioned to be factual, but rather the ideas in it are some that I can relate to. As I said earlier, this was probably one of the first 'conspiracy' books I ever read, and was actually the book that eventually resulted in me coming across ATS.

The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank - This absolutely changed my life. I have never been able to directly relate to her, because I know I have never been any situation that is even remotely similar to what these people had to endure. I find it incredibly sad that she met her fate in a concentration camp, there are so many questions that I wish could of been answered with her words. Nevertheless, this book will stay in history as mark of horrors past that should not come to pass ever again.

There are some others that could be placed in this list, but these are some of the most monumental books I have read. I really am tempted to place Fahrenheit 451 in this list, but the last I read it was so long ago that I have forgotten many of the ideas and details expressed in it. Perhaps after reading it again, I can respectfully add it to this list.

EB White also wrote Charlotte's Web, which had a tremendous impact on me as a child. What a sad, wonderful little book. I remember my grade school teacher reading this out to us and all of us (including her) trying not to sniffle.

The book that I remember actually changing the way I think was the Illuminatus! trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea. In one of the appendices, it actually tells you that your way of thinking is changing, even if you don't know it. A freaky experience for an adolescent.

Lao Tse's Tao Te Ching I discovered around the same time and its calm, philosophical, observant approach to life has informed the way I approach things. The older I get, the more I appreciate Taoism as a modus vivendi.

There are other landmark books, of course.

Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas was my introduction to the late, great Dr. Gonzo. He is sadly missed.

The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass was recommended by a drummer friend of mine. I was blown away, and certain passages have stayed with me ever since.

Wilhelm Reich's The Function of the Orgasm came into my life at precisely the right moment and forever altered the way I view myself and those around me. It's his (pardon the unavoidable pun) seminal work, but Character Analysis is another good one. At some stage I want to get hold of The Oranur Experiment. If you want to know more about this, check out the Reich page in TinWiki.

An early morning toast to Gonzo.

I haven't read any of the books on your list Rich23 - but I've noted them for future reference as I like to read new things. I wonder if my library has them

Indeed, I shall raise a glass to the good Doctor right now.

I don't think there are enough avatars to cover his excesses, though we could start with these:



I read the whole of Fear and Loathing in one night, it just kept me up on an adrenaline-fuelled rollercoaster right to the end. The film was an exceptionally brave attempt by a director I admire greatly, but... it actually failed, in a way, because it was too faithful, which is weird.

I hope you find the other books if you're interested.

Good avatar attempt. These would also be appropriate:




“American Dream? Wasn’t that an old discotheque? I think it’s closed down now.”


The Illuminatus! trilogy is first on my list. The library online shows it as out and I'm entertaining myself at work by imagining that it has been borrowed by a sweet-faced suburban septuagenarian.

Oh well... there is always Waterstones.

Wolf Brother by Michelle Paver from the new series "the chronicals of anciant darkness"

it inspired me to follow an interest in Anthropology

sorry,the books can't change my life.

but I like "Chicken soup for the soul" very much.

I wouldn't really say it changed my life, although it definately made an impact when I read it, I was about 15 when I read it.

'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck.

Such an amazing read, highly recommended!

Cosmic Trigger [Volumes I-III] - Robert Anton Wilson

Of Mice and Men is a great book, as is Grapes of Wrath by the same author. Steinbeck has an amazing style.

My all time favourite is
One Hundred Years of Solitude.
Anyone read this yet?

It has a vast of magics that you never knew and this book is great for improving my imagination.It helps a lot.

Beeping highly recommend.

[edit on 16-6-2006 by bscale]

Marquez' finest moment. He has a lot of good writing, but this was brilliant. Especially the first 6 chapters, which I read with a combination of amazement and anger (anger because he can write like this). I did get a little confused that he kept naming everyone the same 3 names, but I went with it. It is part of his magia.

I read something once that Senor Marquez locked himself up for 10 years to write his masterpiece and his wife was left with no other choice but to sell the furniture for his ciggies.

May not be true - but it sounds bohemian enough to me. I loved this book.

The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood.....I read this about 1 week following 911 and the goose pimples stayed on my arm for quite a while. There is one sentence in in paragraph #2, page 174 that still haunts me from time to time........

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

Anything by Philip K. Dick

I'd have to say that the Bible was a book that changed my life. The change didn't come from reading it though.