Name at least five books that changed your life.

[Ichirou]

They don't necessarily have to be great books, or even particularly good ones, but name five books (or more, but don't go overboard to prove you're literate) that you've read that have, in some way, shaped or changed your way of thinking, and perhaps even your life.

The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger

On the Road, by Jack Kerouac

The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories, by Mark Twain

18 Best Stories by Edgar Allan Poe, by Edgar Allan Poe

It, by Stephen King

Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy

[Boogie]

I read mostly:

history books

international politics books

shlock fiction books (ie. Tom Clancy)

As much as I enjoy reading, I can't say that any books have truly, by themselves, changed my life, or even deeply affected me.

[Ichirou]

There is this thing called hyperbole.  I used it to get people to look at my thread. 

[Van Cruncheon]

not a whole lot as an adult, but as a kid:

why i am not a christian by bertrand russell (accessible logic for a surly thirteen year old)

the second chronicles of thomas covenant by stephen r donaldson (poignant albeit terribly overwrought fantasy with a strong humanist element; compelling stuff to an angsty early pubescent)

the metamorphosis by franz kafka (metaphor and allegory clicked with me for the first time in the ninth grade)

catcher in the rye by j d salinger (duh)

destination: void by frank herbert (a celebration of computer engineering in the pursuit of god; pretty cheesy, now, but it convinced my seventh-grade self that sci-fi wasn't just edgar rice burroughs flights of fancy and star wars shoot-em-ups)

[Van Cruncheon]

you posted six books, ichirou.

[Phoenix Dark]

Black Boy, by Richard Wright

The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. DuBois

The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson

M.C. Higgins, the Great, by Virginia Hamilton

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Beloved, Toni Morrison    :'( I still don't know what I think about this

[close]

It's no coincidence that all these books deal with issues of race, inequality, and discrimination

[brawndolicious]

and that you haven't gone 50 yards from your mother's vagina until you were about 14.

[Phoenix Dark]

Books that pissed me off beyond recognition:

The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros. To this day I still debate my former English teacher over this abortion, and why she gave me a god damn C on my paper. UGHH first and only C paper

[Human Snorenado]

Illuminatus!  by Robert Anton Wilson and Richard Shea- this pretty much shaped my highly paranoid, hyper aware state of being.  It's also funny.

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran- if I could pick one book for people to learn morality from, it would be this book.

Hells Angels by Hunter S. Thompson- the first book I ever read by the good Dr.  The rest, as they say, is history.

Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco- one of the best books ever written by one of the greatest living authors.  Seriously, this guy poops all over everybody else working today.

Slaughter House Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.- such a fucking good book.  You can kind of tell what it took out of him to write it, too.  I will always appreciate what Mr. Vonnegut left us.

[Ichirou]

you posted six books, ichirou.

Topic says "at least five" because I couldn't narrow it down.

[etiolate]

First four Dune books, especially the first and God Emperor, and uh *shrug*

[Mupepe]

It's no coincidence that all these books deal with issues of race, inequality, and discrimination

I guess it makes sense considering how persecuted you are and the fact that you have to go outside everyday and face the horrible injustices set in front of you.

[Flannel Boy]

why i am not a christian by bertrand russell (accessible logic for a surly thirteen year old)

So you are saying that PD won't get it?

If you enjoyed that essay, you might also enjoy these essays by Russell as well: Has Religion Made Useful Contributions to Civilization?, Mysticism, Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?, Is There a God?, and On the Value of Scepticism. Also the book Religion and Science.

[Himu]

I don't know about "changing my life", but these 5 have had an influence on me.

1. The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley
2. Stride toward freedom: the Montgomery story by Martin Luther King Jr
3. Roots by Alex Haley
4. Paradise Lost by John Milton
5. The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien

[border]

Full of Secrets: Critical Approaches to Twin Peaks (ed. David Lavery) -- the first time I read any sort of scholarly criticism

Microserfs (by Douglas Coupland) -- inspired me to take up (and subsequently fail at) Computer Science...it was a fun couple of semesters at Georgia Tech, though

Less than Zero (by Brett Easton Ellis) -- just generally added to my bleak outloook on things

The Catcher in the Rye (by JD Salinger) -- pretty much a requisite listing

Death of a Salesman (by Arthur Miller) -- technically not a book, but even as just a script on a page it's still pretty affecting

[CajoleJuice]

1984 by George Orwell - just so goddamn depressing and haunting

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - no explanation needed

The Awakening by Kate Chopin - biggest piece of feminist shit I've ever read

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad - cool book made into a cool movie

ESPN: The Uncensored History - probably made me start hating ESPN when I read it years ago

[Phoenix Dark]

What's the ESPN book about?

[CajoleJuice]

What the hell do you think it's about?

[Cyanista]

Books have never actually changed my life, but the top ones that have affected my thinking are:

1984

The Prophet

Ishmael

Atlas Shrugged (heavy stuff, when I was 12)

King James' Bible

[Phoenix Dark]

What the hell do you think it's about?

Why don't you get my dick out your mouth and tell me what's up - I can't hear you.

[CajoleJuice]

What the hell do you think it's about?

Why don't you get my dick out your mouth and tell me what's up - I can't hear you.

I'm sorry you can't figure out something that the 13-year-old version of me knew just by reading the title.

[bluemax]

Books can change your life? The only thing that remotely springs to mind would be the Fortran book I had for my second AE class and then the text book for the next class. These books made me realize I didn't want to be a rocket scientist anymore.

And I guess the LOTR was kinda influential on me as a third grader or something.

1984, Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies were all interesting but didn't have earth shattering changes on my life.

[Robo]

Goosebumps vol. 6: Let's Get Invisible!
Goosebumps vol. 17: Why I'm Afraid of Bees
Goosebumps vol. 30: It Came from Beneath the Sink!
Goosebumps vol. 35: A Shocker on Shock Street
Goosebumps vol. 38: The Blob That Ate Everyone

[bud]

What the hell do you think it's about?

Why don't you get my dick out your mouth and tell me what's up - I can't hear you.

I'm sorry you can't figure out something that the 13-year-old version of me knew just by reading the title.

well, pd was homeschooled...

[Phoenix Dark]

What the hell do you think it's about?

Why don't you get my dick out your mouth and tell me what's up - I can't hear you.

I'm sorry you can't figure out something that the 13-year-old version of me knew just by reading the title.

God I just wanted to know what the book was about. You made it sound like it painted them in a bad light so I was curious.
http://www.amazon.com/ESPN-Uncensored-History-Michael-Freeman/dp/0878332707

THANK YOU Amazon for telling me what this is about. Unlike some homosexuals who will go nameless

[Human Snorenado]

Books have never actually changed my life, but the top ones that have affected my thinking are:

1984

The Prophet

Ishmael

Atlas Shrugged (heavy stuff, when I was 12)

King James' Bible

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

You had such potential, too...  :'(

[bud]

how many film adaptations were there of 1984's story? i remember the movie 1984 and equilibrium (with bale) was kind of the same storyy.

[Phoenix Dark]

Brazil is similar to the 1984 movie in a few ways as well. But it's amazing go see it omg

[Cyanista]

Brazil is great.

Equilibrium is....laughable.  But DAMN Christian Bale has never looked hotter.  Never.  I could watch this movie seventy two times.

[CajoleJuice]

What the hell do you think it's about?

Why don't you get my dick out your mouth and tell me what's up - I can't hear you.

I'm sorry you can't figure out something that the 13-year-old version of me knew just by reading the title.

God I just wanted to know what the book was about. You made it sound like it painted them in a bad light so I was curious.
http://www.amazon.com/ESPN-Uncensored-History-Michael-Freeman/dp/0878332707

THANK YOU Amazon for telling me what this is about. Unlike some homosexuals who will go nameless

 

[The Fake Shemp]

Not a lot of books have an impact on me.  Maybe one or two during phases.

When I was a child, it was Jonathan Livingston Seagull.  When I was a teenager, it was probably Julius Caesar.  As an adult, it's probably been The DaVinci Code a toss-up between Underneath the Banner of Heaven and a collection of stuff I read in World Lit.

[bud]

Brazil is great.

Equilibrium is....laughable.  But DAMN Christian Bale has never looked hotter.  Never.  I could watch this movie seventy two times.

equilibrium is one of my guilty pleasures. i loved the gunplay
[youtube=425,350]_bGqnK0mFq4[/youtube]

don't mind the music :p

[The Fake Shemp]

Equilibrium is one of those awful hivemind GAF recommendations that was pretty bad.

[brawndolicious]

I've never cared about books to be "affected" by them that much but Catcher in the Rye was...meh.  what was so special about it?

I remember liking it at one point but I don't remember why.

[Phoenix Dark]

I've never cared about books to be "affected" by them that much but Catcher in the Rye was...meh.  what was so special about it?

I remember liking it at one point but I don't remember why.

Redardation: It's not just for homeschoolers anymore

[The Fake Shemp]

But still mostly for the home schooled.

[brawndolicious]

lurn 2 READ.

[Human Snorenado]

lurn 2 READ.

Learn to spell, savage.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

The Wizard Knight, by Gene Wolfe
Light, by M. John Harrison
Gravity's Rainbow, by Thomas Pynchon
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne

[demi]

Welcome To Horrorland - R.L. Stine
Zombie Survival Guide - something Brooks
Day of the Triffids - some guy
How to Eat Fried Worms
Johnny Got His Gun - Dalton Trumbo
The Boxcar Children

[Cheebs]

Welcome To Horrorland - R.L. Stine
Zombie Survival Guide - something Brooks
Day of the Triffids - some guy
How to Eat Fried Worms
Johnny Got His Gun - Dalton Trumbo
The Boxcar Children

I LOVED THE BOXCAR CHILDREN.

Holy shit, boxcar children series are unsurpassed classics.

[Lonestar]

"he's just not that into you"

[Van Cruncheon]

why i am not a christian by bertrand russell (accessible logic for a surly thirteen year old)

So you are saying that PD won't get it?

If you enjoyed that essay, you might also enjoy these essays by Russell as well: Has Religion Made Useful Contributions to Civilization?, Mysticism, Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?, Is There a God?, and On the Value of Scepticism. Also the book Religion and Science.

oh, that book lead me to read just about everything russell ever wrote.

[Flannel Boy]

why i am not a christian by bertrand russell (accessible logic for a surly thirteen year old)

So you are saying that PD won't get it?

If you enjoyed that essay, you might also enjoy these essays by Russell as well: Has Religion Made Useful Contributions to Civilization?, Mysticism, Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?, Is There a God?, and On the Value of Scepticism. Also the book Religion and Science.

oh, that book lead me to read just about everything russell ever wrote.

He's one of my favorite philosophers. 

[Ichirou]

Gulliver's Travels
Gravity's Rainbow
Candide
CrashWhite Noise
There are plenty of others but those divide my young reading life pretty well. 

How old were you when you read these?  That's so damn intimidating.

I remember reading Lord of the Rings and Lord of the Flies when I was in seventh grade...those had a big impact on me but I wouldn't say they changed my life...for a while, I read a lot of fantasy novels due to LotR but I haven't read a single fantasy novel in about twelve years.

[Madrun Badrun]

Fucking Jedi apprentice series - I basically taught my self to read on those. 
Iliad - revived my interest in reading
History of westren philosophy - gave me a very good new interest
Great expectations - I feel like Pip.

can't think of a fifth. 

[Flannel Boy]

History of westren philosophy - gave me a very good new interest

Good intro by Russell, but he breaks Godwin's Law every other paragraph. Product of the times I suppose, but blaming every philosoper for Nazism is a bit much.

[Madrun Badrun]

lol, yes.  It's very good as long as you can see he's a bit opinionated and use it as a launching point to read first hand the stuff he talks about. 

His attack on Nietzsche was pritty funny though. 

[demi]

Fucking Jedi apprentice series - I basically taught my self to read on those. 
Iliad - revived my interest in reading
History of westren philosophy - gave me a very good new interest
Great expectations - I feel like Pip.

can't think of a fifth. 

How about The Dictionary?

[Madrun Badrun]

Fucking Jedi apprentice series - I basically taught my self to read on those. 
Iliad - revived my interest in reading
History of westren philosophy - gave me a very good new interest
Great expectations - I feel like Pip.

can't think of a fifth. 

How about The Dictionary?

No I have an Oxford Canadian student dictionary and it's useless.   

[Oblivion]

The Chronicles of Narnia
Little Black Sambo
Mein Kampf
The Bible (King James Version)
Tikki Tikki Tembo

[Ichirou]

Fucking Jedi apprentice series - I basically taught my self to read on those. 
Iliad - revived my interest in reading
History of westren philosophy - gave me a very good new interest
Great expectations - I feel like Pip.

can't think of a fifth. 

Thanks for not being embarassed to post that.  So many of us probably had imporant formative experiences reading crappy fiction...I bet I read at least a hundred Star Trek novels while growing up.

[Madrun Badrun]

Fucking Jedi apprentice series - I basically taught my self to read on those. 
Iliad - revived my interest in reading
History of westren philosophy - gave me a very good new interest
Great expectations - I feel like Pip.

can't think of a fifth. 

Thanks for not being embarassed to post that.  So many of us probably had imporant formative experiences reading crappy fiction...I bet I read at least a hundred Star Trek novels while growing up.

It was grade 4 and 5.  I can't be embarrassed of stuff so long ago. 

[Ichirou]

...yeah, man...me too...grades 4 and 5 only, I swear.  I certainly didn't keep reading Star Trek novels when I got to junior high. 

[Cheebs]

I was addicted to those jedi apprentice novels when I was like 10. 

[CajoleJuice]

I read Goosebumps and Animorphs when I was really young (don't remember what grades exactly). Jesus, what a fucking waste.

[Madrun Badrun]

I was addicted to those jedi apprentice novels when I was like 10. 

that puts us at the same age then   

[demi]

Embarrassed? wtf

Fuckin squares

I was readin Goosebumps and Boxcar Children and Encyclopedia Brown and FEAR STREET and all that dope ill shit

Bunnicula

Mouse and the Motorcycle

Ramona Quimby

Wayside School

I could go on

I didn't read Animorphs since I wasn't a disgusting FURRY like CajoleJewce

[CajoleJuice]

FEAR STREET!! YES!!

[demi]

A furry, CajoleJewce