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June 27, 2008 10:30 AM   Subscribe

What's the most radically life changing book you have read?

I'm looking for something that will inspire me to live on the edge, every day to the fullest, with confidence in risk.

Keeping this as open as possible, what do you think? :)

Thanks!
posted by bradly to Religion & Philosophy (22 answers total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: Books are awesome, but this is kind of hopelessly broad even unto, yea, chatfilter. -- cortex

 
The Invisibles.
posted by bunnytricks at 10:36 AM on June 27, 2008


You are aware of this, right? It's like you ripped a page out of the same book . . .
posted by Clyde Mnestra at 10:37 AM on June 27, 2008


Frogs Into Princes by Richard Bandler and John Grinder
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
posted by drinkspiller at 10:40 AM on June 27, 2008


The Snow Leopard, Peter Mathiesson
posted by mistsandrain at 10:42 AM on June 27, 2008


Fletch.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 10:43 AM on June 27, 2008 [1 favorite]


Atlas Shrugged.

Though whenever I need to put things in perspective, I simply consider the fact that we've only got 40 years or so to really hit it hard in life, love, career, etc. It's only one trip around the block, you know? That simple thought allows me to brush off the small stuff, take chances, try new things, etc.
posted by BirdD0g at 10:45 AM on June 27, 2008


The Republic! Plato!
posted by phunniemee at 10:46 AM on June 27, 2008


Fup.

It's about a Duck named Fup. It's about 60 pages long. And it's fantastic.
posted by ORthey at 10:46 AM on June 27, 2008


Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman by Richard Feynman, and A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers.
posted by xbonesgt at 10:46 AM on June 27, 2008


Omnivore's Dilemma
posted by zennoshinjou at 10:50 AM on June 27, 2008


I personaly would suggest Illusions by Richard Bach. Of course if you have nto read Johnathan Livingston Seagull also by Bach i would start with that... they are quick and easy reads but wonderful.
posted by elationfoundation at 10:53 AM on June 27, 2008


The Floating Opera by John Barth
posted by rmless at 10:55 AM on June 27, 2008


It's a tie between On The Road by Jack Kerouac and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig.
posted by JJ86 at 10:58 AM on June 27, 2008


Speaking from my own experience, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has probably had the most effect on my life. That and William Blake's Marriage of Heaven and Hell.

But, since reading is such a subjective experience, it's very challenging to recommend what someone else is going to be influenced by. Look these up on Wikipedia or something, and see if they fit your interests:

Henry Miller, Tropic of Cancer
Yann Martel, Life of Pi
Jack Kerouac, On the Road (or) Dharma Bums
Franz Kafka, The Trial (or) The Castle
William Burroughs, Naked Lunch
Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from Undergound
James Redfield, The Celestine Prophecy
Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle (or) Slaughterhouse Five (or) Mother Night
Paul Coehlo, The Alchemist
Robertson Davies, Fifth Business


Some of these books, I absolutely love. Others I hate, but recognize that others love. I hope this helps.
posted by ndicecco at 10:58 AM on June 27, 2008


I know there are some that may roll their eyes a bit at this one, but the first one that came to mind based on what you wrote was The Alchemist, by Paolo Coelho. The idea that life has signposts for you along the way that point you in the right direction, and you just need to pay attention, really resonated with me. I find myself being more mindful, and following paths that I otherwise might not have taken.
posted by DrGirlfriend at 10:59 AM on June 27, 2008


I'm somewhat embarrassed by this, but The Catalog of Cool. It helped give direction to my tastes and interests in my late teens, and really is a terrific compendium of little-known and alternative cultural. And its not as heavy on the cliched 60s jazzbo stuff as its design might suggest.

Alexander King's biographies, for reasons I detail in this post.

American Pictures caused me to rethink my understanding of poverty in America; poverty issues have been a prime focus in my life ever since.

The Tao Te Ching.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:01 AM on June 27, 2008


The Stranger by Albert Camus
posted by cowbellemoo at 11:03 AM on June 27, 2008


The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson (explicitly designed to reprogram your mind and alter your reality)

Truth or Dare by Starhawk
posted by overglow at 11:05 AM on June 27, 2008


For me, personally: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid.
posted by Khalad at 11:06 AM on June 27, 2008


Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hahn
posted by EatTheWeek at 11:06 AM on June 27, 2008


The Bhagavad Gita, not as a religious text, but as a practical philosophy of the nature of the world and how to live in it.

Here's some quotes on it by Thoreau, Gandhi, Einstein, and others.
posted by naju at 11:06 AM on June 27, 2008


Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (the whole series), by Douglas Adams
posted by Mach5 at 11:10 AM on June 27, 2008


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