Most important books?

Tonyandthewhale

Are there any books out there that had a major impact on you or the way you see the world?

For me reading 'Consider the Lobster' by David Foster Wallace as incredibly important because Wallace has such a unique and focused approach to writing which is incredibly detailled but never verbose. He says exactly what he feels necessary, no more, no less. Consider the Lobster is probably the best example of this style of writing and although it's as much about Pornography, the Maine Lobster Festival and tennis as it is about the english language I learnt a lot about writing and communicating in general from reading it, probably more than I ever learnt through formal education.

Similarly, 'The Places In Between' by Rory Stewart was a very important book for me. It's about some dude who walked across Afghanistan in January of 2002. This book taught me a lot about fortitude, conviction and that special brand of idiocy which defines great men, as well as, obviously about the joys of walking.

So after hours, are there any books that had a measurable impact on you? 'On the Road,' 'Nuts magazine, the novel' or the King James Bible perhaps?

OneArt

The Bible.

I love God. He's so deliciously evil.

TeddyTedson

The Quran has had a bit on an impact I guess...

AnamGlas

The Table Book!

bodhrandude

Noel Brownes Against the Tide was a good Irish history lesson for me about the developing 20th century. OP your not related to the group Noah and the Whale by any chance?

Fart

Ace on the River - Barry Greenstein.

Very good, especially when you read it in his voice.

Dotrel

Nineteen Eighty-Four. That opened my mind a bit.

ChunkyLover_53

Kama Sutra
Alan Carr's Easyway to give up Smoking
World War Z

Fart

ChunkyLover_53 wrote: »

Kama Sutra
Alan Carr's Easyway to give up Smoking
World War Z

You should have checked out Kama Sutra for Fatties, instead.

Tonyandthewhale

bodhrandude wrote: »

OP your not related to the group Noah and the Whale by any chance?

You mean Jonah and the whale, no? Either way, no.

the keen edge

The power of now, by Eckhart Tolle.

The past has never existed, neither the future; all that ever existed is the present moment, concentration yourself within it.

Deus Ex Machina

I read Tropic of Cancer and Dorian Gray when I was 11 or 12, and I blame everything in the intervening period on the seed of corruption they sowed in my young mind.

admiralofthefleet

viz and the profannisaurus

Dotrel

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

viz and the profannisaurus

Prior to Urbandictionary is was an invaluable resource.

Pherekydes

History of Western Science.

Everyone should read it at least once.

Kidchameleon

Through My Eyes - Gordon Smith
The Secret - Rhonda Byrne
A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking

Dotrel

Pherekydes wrote: »

History of Western Science.

Everyone should read it at least once.

Who's the author?

pragmatic1

On the origin of species-Charles Darwin.

My name is URL

The Ann & Barry series were pivotal publications

The King of Moo

1984 also, reading it as a teenager, really made me see how things work on a macro-level, and how power relations work in society, and just how much governments and powerful elites can control us.

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, helped me realise that worrying and getting angry over unimportant things is a waste of energy, and just chilling out and not getting stressed is a great thing to do most of the time.

A Tale of Two Cities: truly inspiring, a great story of redemption as a well as a great historical novel. It was the first time I read Dickens, and I realised how much of a master of language he was(especially noticeable in his more comic novels) and though he's often considered an institution, he earned that place.

Point/Counterpoint by Aldous Huxley: not very well-known, but a great, and very human, examination of mankind's search for meaning in life, and a way to live.

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke and Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon: both are poignant but also insightful and ultimately optimistic books about the inevitable tragedy and loss of mortality, but also about mankind's potential for greatness and achieving some manner of immortality.

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad: a great introduction to Conrad's brilliant ironic style of writing, but also a sharp critique of the very idea of Western civilization and its assumptions: great to read as a teenager.

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque: really hit home the futility and banality of war.

Pherekydes

Dotrel wrote: »

Who's the author?

John Gribbin.

Deus Ex Machina

Kidchameleon wrote: »

Through My Eyes - Gordon Smith
The Secret - Rhonda Byrne
A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking

Does not compute.

Mr Trade In

The Prince: Niccolo Machiavelli

Gonzor

Nietzsche and Ayn Rand....

tayto lover

The Cathechism, I can still feel my hands stinging after all the slaps I got for not knowing it by heart.

Kevin Duffy

No Logo, by Naomi Klien. Along with others, it should be compulsory reading in schools to help avoid the sort of traps we the sheeple keep falling into.

MissMoppet

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone taught me all I need to know.

InTheTrees

Ulysses

No other book has so completely immersed me in someone elses head.

Its not an easy book but the reward is huge.

:cool:

AhSureTisGrand

Finnegan's Wake. I only read two pages but my oh my they were a mind-bending two pages

Ellis Dee

I read The Lord of the Rings about 40 years ago. Much more believable than the Bible and contains far less violence.:):):)

im invisible

'Fermat's last theorem' by Simon Singh

'The Elegant Universe' by Brian Greene

i keep going back to these books, open a page at random and read a few chapters,

D

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.
I've never identified with a character as much as I did with the lead. (Even though I read it in my late 20's)

Ellis Dee

tayto lover wrote: »

The Cathechism, I can still feel my hands stinging after all the slaps I got for not knowing it by heart.

If you'd been in Daingean or Artane or Letterfrack or some of those places, your arsehole would probably still be sore as well.:rolleyes:

Shhh

Iris murdoch's writing but in particular; The sea the sea, The philosopher's pupil & The book and the brotherhood..

Cormac McCarthy's The Road..

Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance..

Shryke

You need a bit of everything. Nothing is most important, it's whatever interests you.

I'll give mention to Crime and Punishment though. You really get inside the head of the main character and you almost suffer with him. It's an excellent novel.

coonecb1

The Shock Doctrine - Naomi Klein

The Black Swan - Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Conscience of a Liberal - Paul Krugman

RichieC

Hegemony or survival - Noam Chomsky - infact, most Chomsky books I've read...

Shock Doctrine was eye opening as well.

Shhh

Shhh wrote: »

Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance..

A book I regret ever picking up.. Thought Id have the head for it but it just didn't do it for me.

Dudess

Ditto to 1984. Life-changing book for me.

Also The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Scary vision of an America run by Christian fundamentalists. Oh... wait...

the keen edge

Tonyandthewhale wrote: »

Are there any books out there that had a major impact on you or the way you see the world?

For me reading 'Consider the Lobster' by David Foster Wallace as incredibly important because Wallace has such a unique and focused approach to writing which is incredibly detailled but never verbose. He says exactly what he feels necessary, no more, no less. Consider the Lobster is probably the best example of this style of writing and although it's as much about Pornography, the Maine Lobster Festival and tennis as it is about the english language I learnt a lot about writing and communicating in general from reading it, probably more than I ever learnt through formal education.

Similarly, 'The Places In Between' by Rory Stewart was a very important book for me. It's about some dude who walked across Afghanistan in January of 2002. This book taught me a lot about fortitude, conviction and that special brand of idiocy which defines great men, as well as, obviously about the joys of walking.

Right, just read a couple of online reviews and ordered both books.

So they can put whatever shite they want on the tv this xmas!

Saila

lord of the rings

Kanoe

twilight by Stephanie Meyer. Its about shiny vampires.

Micky Dolenz

Zombie survival guide- Max Brooks.

mr lee

under the eye of the clock-christopher nolan

HalloweenJack

Cancer Ward by Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

It somewhat helped me get through depression. What I took from it is that you have to try and enjoy what you have as much as you can, even if times are tough. A quite simplistic review of it but if you read, you'd get a better idea of what I mean.

witty username

Dotrel wrote: »

Nineteen Eighty-Four. That opened my mind a bit.

Definitely. Animal Farm too. And if you want a little more, try "The Gulag Archipelago" by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. You will sit and shake your head at the madness of it all.

John Doe1

Anything George Orwell has written, also reading Richard Dawkins in 5th year cemented my atheism

Tonyandthewhale

John Doe1 wrote: »

Anything George Orwell has written, also reading Richard Dawkins in 5th year cemented my atheism

Yeah, Homage to Catalonia and Down and out in London and Paris would have to appear in any list of my top five favourite books. 1984 is also a seminal read. I read Dawkins in 5th year or leaving cert as well and came out of it an atheist, couldn't read him now though. I agree with the man but he's a bit too dogmatic for my old bones nowadays.

CathyMoran

Dune by Frank Herbert - I love the story but the Litany Against Fear has kept me going in rough times.

Contact by Carl Sagan for the story in general but the ending is awash with memorable quotes. My daughter is named in part after the central protagonist.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte - for the strong story and in particular Chapter IX. Some of my earliest memories are of the song by Kate Bush that brought me into the book.

Helgele

Real eyeopener in my early 20s was "The Myth of Sisyphus" Albert Camus
/Lack of Hope doesn't mean Despair/
/Happiness is about being aware of and accepting the absurdity of existence/
/To live without hope is to not make unrealistic demands of life. It is to “live without myths, without consolation/...can't beat that!

Conchir

Nineteen Eighty-Four, definitely.
A World of My Own by Robin Knox-Johnston, it really affected how I look at life.


Also, all the Calvin & Hobbes collections. I'm not messing :P