Most important books?

Tonyandthewhale · 05-12-2011 08:03PM #1

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 · 05-12-2011 08:04PM

The Bible.

I love God. He's so deliciously evil.

TeddyTedson · 05-12-2011 08:05PM

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

AnamGlas · 05-12-2011 08:07PM

The Table Book!

bodhrandude · 05-12-2011 08:08PM

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 · 05-12-2011 08:09PM

Ace on the River - Barry Greenstein.

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

Dotrel · 05-12-2011 08:11PM

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

ChunkyLover_53 · 05-12-2011 08:13PM

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

Fart · 05-12-2011 08:19PM

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 · 05-12-2011 08:20PM

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 · 05-12-2011 08:23PM

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 · 05-12-2011 08:23PM

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 · 05-12-2011 08:24PM

viz and the profannisaurus

Dotrel · 05-12-2011 08:27PM

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

viz and the profannisaurus

Prior to Urbandictionary is was an invaluable resource.

Pherekydes · 05-12-2011 08:27PM

History of Western Science.

Everyone should read it at least once.

Kidchameleon · 05-12-2011 08:27PM

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

Dotrel · 05-12-2011 08:28PM

Pherekydes wrote: »

History of Western Science.

Everyone should read it at least once.

Who's the author?

pragmatic1 · 05-12-2011 08:31PM

On the origin of species-Charles Darwin.

My name is URL · 05-12-2011 08:32PM

The Ann & Barry series were pivotal publications

The King of Moo · 05-12-2011 08:34PM

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 · 05-12-2011 08:36PM

Dotrel wrote: »

Who's the author?

John Gribbin.

Deus Ex Machina · 05-12-2011 08:38PM

Kidchameleon wrote: »

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

Does not compute.

Mr Trade In · 05-12-2011 08:39PM

The Prince: Niccolo Machiavelli

Gonzor · 05-12-2011 08:39PM

Nietzsche and Ayn Rand....

tayto lover · 05-12-2011 08:40PM

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

Kevin Duffy · 05-12-2011 08:45PM

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 · 05-12-2011 08:47PM

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

InTheTrees · 05-12-2011 08:48PM

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 · 05-12-2011 08:50PM

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

Ellis Dee · 05-12-2011 08:51PM

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

im invisible · 05-12-2011 08:52PM

'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,

Most important books?

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