What Book Flipped Your Life Upside Down?

kristian

What book made you stop, gasp for breath, and continue reading like a slave, until you reached the end?

And then - change your life for good!?

briano

"Shantaram" By Gregory Roberts

And "Traces of Guilt" by Neil Barrett. Interesting book that got me to apply for a masters. Which I am now doing, Like a sucker.

theCzar

briano wrote:

"Shantaram" By Gregory Roberts

And "Traces of Guilt" by Neil Barrett. Interesting book that got me to apply for a masters. Which I am now doing, Like a sucker.

If "Shantram" flipped your life upside down, does that mean "Traces of Guilt" flipped you right side up again, and restored you to some previous condition, or were you flipped on some different axis the second time to end up in some new, 3D position?

I've never read a book which flipped me (and i havn't read the above), i've read lots that made me list to one side for a few weeks though.

Tusky

The truth about cats and dogs. I was shocked.

2 Espressi

The Dice Man, by Luke Rheinhardt.

For about a week...

Then the dice told me to put them away for ever...

John

1984 by Orwell of course. Like a smack to the face.

In another way (and definitely flipped on a different axis Czar), Charles Darwin's books have impacted hugely on my life, both on my outlook on life and career choices.

Miles

The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge
by Carlos Castaneda


Copied review:

Carlos Castaneda's intelligence shines through as clearly in his updated commentary in the 30th anniversary edition of The Teachings of Don Juan as it does in his original story. It is impossible to encapsulate what Castaneda has achieved with his first book about the teachings of the enigmatic Don Juan Matus, a Yaqui Indian sorcerer who shared his ancient knowledge with Castaneda. The academic character of The Teachings of Don Juan is evident in Castaneda's in-depth analysis (and sometimes overanalysis) of his experiences with Don Juan, and readers who lack an interest in anthropological analysis may find this section a bit tedious. However, Castaneda's journal accounts flow effortlessly, the current carrying us through his conversations with Don Juan and opening doors to an astounding realm outside the bounds of everyday life. The phrases "life changing" and "earth shattering" come to mind, and perhaps these are just metaphors, but what Castaneda offered in the 1960s is still for many an entirely new perception of reality.




Great read, weird but a great read all the same.

smokingman

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Pirsig (Life altering - I read Nietzsche now as a result)

...and "The Player of Games" - Ian M Banks (Not so much life altering more un-put-down-able)

and the first one was "Lord of the Flies"

FranknFurter

Nova Express - William Burroughs

...........best book ever!

tHE vAGGABOND

Lord of the Rings - could not put it down to the point I would be reading it while walking down the road to work, and was the book that got me really into reading...

the smiley one

"The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbera Kingsoliver
Absolutely brilliant, gave me a whole differnet prespective on life, at least for a while.........I suppose it opened up my mind to different ways of life - even though it's fiction........it's incredible - read it!!

superconor

Magician by Raymond E Feist - Opened me up to fantasy and the music that goes oh so well with it. now me and my friends are plannig on dressing up as knights and elves. From now on.

theCzar

John2 wrote:

1984 by Orwell of course. Like a smack to the face.

In another way (and definitely flipped on a different axis Czar), Charles Darwin's books have impacted hugely on my life, both on my outlook on life and career choices.

1984 did actually give me a whole different, deeply disturbing, view point, before i read it i kinda drifted along optimistically presuming things were getting better, and always would, after reading it, i stopped taking this for granted. I suppose that's a flip, so i retract my previous position!

REDZ

superconor wrote:

Magician by Raymond E Feist - Opened me up to fantasy and the music that goes oh so well with it. now me and my friends are plannig on dressing up as knights and elves. From now on.

ditto on the book front anyway.."Catch 22" as well also of course

athena 2000

'A Wrinkle in Time' by Madeleine L'Engle. My first fantasy sci-fi book many moons ago. Because of it I realized I loved my brother even though he drove me totally bonkers.
Need a brother?

In a nutshell: Meg Murry's physicist father has been experimenting with time travel and now he has mysteriously disappeared. The time has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and her brother Charles Wallace to rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space? A Newbery Medal winner.

s8n

the catcher in the rye

DadaKopf

Most recent book I got sucked into was "We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families" by Philip Gourevitch. It's a brilliantly written, heart wrenching account of the Rwanda genocide.

The first book that really 'got' me was The Outsider by Albert Camus. "Perfume" by Patrick Suskind was another one.