Books! What Books made a effect in your Life?

[Knight Hadron 372]

I can honestly say there are two books which have changed my entire outlook on life; books I came away from with the profound sense that I had been woken up, altered in someway.

 

The first is the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy by Phillip Pullman. (The Golden Compass, Subtle Knife and Amber Spyglass. So, technically three books there.)

The second is '1984' by George Orwell.

 

I would recommend them most highly.

1984 I can get how you can be changed; even though I haven't read the book I know the general outline. For His Dark Materials, what exactly started the outlook shift from the book? By the way, extremely good avatar picture (or whatevever those things are called).

[fabrarity 138]

The Art Of Racing In The Rain was an incredible book.

It got me into reading.

 

That was one of my favorite books of all time, until I read The Fault In Our Stars, which made me cry for a few hours.

[Kay Dreamer 884]

1984 I can get how you can be changed; even though I haven't read the book I know the general outline. For His Dark Materials, what exactly started the outlook shift from the book? By the way, extremely good avatar picture (or whatevever those things are called).

 

His Dark Materials is not only an extremely gripping story, it has very powerful moral undercurrents. It's what first opened my eyes to the importance of self-determination; of humans having ownership over our own destinies, vs surrendering ourselves to fate or some higher power. The books also advocate the importance of knowledge and discovery; of the dangers inherent in believing everything you're told and following blindly rather than forming your own conclusions. I read it dozens of times as a teenager. Every time I did, I discovered something new. It has as many layers of meaning as the alethiometer on the cover.

 

It's said the series is anti-religious. I don't believe that. To me it encourages critical thinking, and that doesn't necessarily equate to the same thing. The formalised religion as presented in HDM may be false, but Dust itself is written like something holy. A subconscious, natural kind of holiness that blesses life wherever it touches.

 

Suffice to say, that series impacted me in a big way.

 

And thanks for the compliment on my avatar! I drew that picture late last year.  :grin2:

[Dsanders 5,742]

*writes down a list of all the highly recommended books mentioned on here*

 

Reading as a pastime is something that I'm just beginning to try. Though that is not to say that most of the books that I had to read in high school were bad. Not at all. Some of the books that I really enjoyed reading in English class include "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, "How to Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, and "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelby, which is by far my favorite book.

 

The writing style is absolutely superb and the bittersweet atmosphere of beauty and tragedy blew me away. The mood, the astonishing amount of details, and the romanticism and the subtle elements of naturalism (especially evident when Mary briefly describes the beautiful mystique of the Arctic poles and the sublime scenery of the French Alps) not only made the story a satisfying read but it also inspired me to pursue my dreams and explore my horizons without losing my mind and all sense of reality like Victor Frankenstein. He allowed his twisted passions to consume all aspects of his waking life, and because of that, he had to endure an ineffably great emotional suffering later on his life when his foolish past came back to haunt him and ruin his life.

 

He cowered away in fear when he saw his creation teeming with life. All those years in which Victor had put forth all the effort that his body and mind could feasibly provide, which eventually lead to his successful bestowal of life onto an inanimate being, were deemed immediately null in just one moment. His success turned out to be a grave mistake to which he only looks at with regret, disgust, and despair. He didn't even try to fix his mistake. He just abandoned his lab, his creation, and desperately tried to regain his old life and loved ones back. He fled like a coward and admittedly, that is something we can all relate to at some point in our lives; there are moments in our lives where we know we did wrong but refuse to quickly owe up to our mistakes like we ought to. One of the many things we can learn here is that running away from your mistakes will only cause you harm later on down the road.

 

Needless to say, this book had a great impact on my life, philosophy, and perception of the world around me.

[Misty Rose 3,215]

*writes down a list of all the highly recommended books mentioned on here*

 

Reading as a pastime is something that I'm just beginning to try. Though that is not to say that most of the books that I had to read in high school were bad. Not at all. Some of the books that I really enjoyed reading in English class include "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, "How to Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, and "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelby, which is by far my favorite book.

 

The writing style is absolutely superb and the bittersweet atmosphere of beauty and tragedy blew me away. The mood, the astonishing amount of details, and the romanticism and the subtle elements of naturalism (especially evident when Mary briefly describes the beautiful mystique of the Arctic poles and the sublime scenery of the French Alps) not only made the story a satisfying read but it also inspired me to pursue my dreams and explore my horizons without losing my mind and all sense of reality like Victor Frankenstein. He allowed his twisted passions to consume all aspects of his waking life, and because of that, he had to endure an ineffably great emotional suffering later on his life when his foolish past came back to haunt him and ruin his life.

 

He cowered away in fear when he saw his creation teeming with life. All those years in which Victor had put forth all the effort that his body and mind could feasibly provide, which eventually lead to his successful bestowal of life onto an inanimate being, were deemed immediately null in just one moment. His success turned out to be a grave mistake to which he only looks at with regret, disgust, and despair. He didn't even try to fix his mistake. He just abandoned his lab, his creation, and desperately tried to regain his old life and loved ones back. He fled like a coward and admittedly, that is something we can all relate to at some point in our lives; there are moments in our lives where we know we did wrong but refuse to quickly owe up to our mistakes like we ought to. One of the many things we can learn here is that running away from your mistakes will only cause you harm later on down the road.

 

Needless to say, this book had a great impact on my life, philosophy, and perception of the world around me.

Pardon my curiosity but if this book made such a big impact on you, why did you make the same mistake Frankenstein did?

[Soul Flare 403]

The Art of War.

Yes, the one by Sun Tzu.

 

You know, it's not just a handbook for generals. I got a version that also explains what Sun Tzu meant in detail, and most of it can be some highly useful life advice for anyone.

[RainbowPastel 185]

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirates_of_the_Caribbean:_Jack_Sparrow

 

MMYYY LLIIIIIIFFFEEEE!!!!!!