Book recommendation: something that blew your mind

pourquoi · 25-08-2011 8:06pm

I adored Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates.

Whispered · 15-02-2012 8:48am

Tuesdays with Morrie is very uplifting, makes you examine your relationships with those close to you and makes you look at life slightly differently.

Acheron3 · 16-02-2012 3:21pm

SecurityGuy wrote: »

The Age of Absurdity: Why Modern Life Makes It Hard to Be Happy by Michael Foley
Light and profound at the same time.

+1 to this. Really enjoyed it, much more than a sacastic coffee table book.

jaqian · 17-02-2012 11:30pm

DS333 wrote: »

"Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand. I know she's pushing her philosophy but they're both a damned good read, different to anything else I've read.

I've heard "Atlas Shrugged" mentioned many times on the web and decided to give it a go but really struggling to finish it. When they're not having sex (like something out of Mills & Boon) her characters are giving looong speeches. Determined to finish it to see where its going but not enjoying as much as I was.

noserider · 06-03-2012 7:05pm

A million little pieces James Frey.
Don't let the controveresery around the book distract you from what is a pure page turner. I dare you not to read it!!

Also if you like it, try My Friend Leonard, same author.

Pippy1976 · 22-03-2012 4:17pm

A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby

Then We Came To The End by Joshua Ferris (frikkin' awesomely written)

Catcher In The Rye by J D Salinger

Borboletinha · 30-03-2012 9:42pm

noserider wrote: »

A million little pieces James Frey.
Don't let the controveresery around the book distract you from what is a pure page turner. I dare you not to read it!!

Also if you like it, try My Friend Leonard, same author.

Omg, I hated that book so much still beating myself up for wasting time reading it!:( And that was before i found out he made up most of the rubish!:mad: A million little lies would be a more siutable title

Having root canals without anestesia, yeah right...:pac:

Woodward · 13-06-2012 1:49pm

Everything by Farren Farrell, especially the myth of male power. It really opened my eyes and completely changed the way I see the world

Elmidena · 18-06-2012 3:19am

Shelley's Frankenstein... reading it my mind was absolutely blown. The book in all honesty couldn't be further from any of the films made of it (Branagh's was closest, but Christ that was tripe). I really longed for there to be a spinoff book from the monster's POV, because I felt there was a segment that desperately needed expanding and gave a whole different dynamic to the book. No spoilers here, go and read it!

Clavell's Shogun. Total page turner, and though it was (loosely) based on historical fact so not all *that* much was a surprise, I found the humanity and emotions portrayed amazingly. Also, his King Rat was also a great hard-to-put-down read, and the ending shows a deep shock of cold as the roles are lost in the bite of release.

Orwell's 1984. Not long finished this myself, and it was on my to-do list for a long time. I found most of it underwhelming at best, but jeez, the anger/pity it brought out in me to read the last few pages.... very powerful stuff. Ended in a way I completely did not see coming... to me I always think that's the highest compliment you can pay a writer!

Clanket · 19-06-2012 5:09pm

Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance - Robert M. Pirsig. I've been fascinated with the idea of quality since. I've recently bought it for my wife and I bet she will get something different from it than I did.

Ayn Rand - Atlas shrugged has been mentioned also. It's a bit drawn out at the times but some of the ideas are great.

claudrinaB · 08-08-2012 11:10am

Cant recommend Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts enough! Such a good read. I read it a few years ago and it still crosses my mind every now and then. Its based on the authors real life events, as a criminal he escapes prison and flees to India.
Think Johnny Depp bought the movie rights not so long ago.

Clanket · 08-08-2012 11:26am

Yeh loved Shantaram. Isn't he supposed to be writing either a prequel or sequel? Must have a look

Beeker · 08-08-2012 1:29pm

Cosmos - Carl Sagan

angelman121 · 02-10-2012 3:57pm

'The Art of Inner Peace' free e book about spiritual awareness.

http://www.paulwilliams.ie/Books/The%20Art%20Of%20Inner%20Peace.pdf

flowerific · 16-10-2012 11:23pm

Celestine Prophecy - James Redfield.
I read it when it first came out and it had a bit of a cult following
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Celestine_Prophecy

Clanket · 26-11-2012 3:53pm

18AD wrote: »

The Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot.

Read this recently. Excellent book.

Gadfly Girl · 16-12-2012 4:49am

Not sure about life changing but definately thought provoking, I'd recommend anything by Xinran especially 'The Good Women of China' (it's a short enough read too if you just want to give it a try).

syngindub · 21-12-2012 9:35am

Currently reading shantaram, dam it's a long book..about 50% through

Synode · 21-12-2012 11:07am

syngindub wrote: »

Currently reading shantaram, dam it's a long book..about 50% through

Love Shantaram. He says it's part of a quartet. I hope he can maintain the standard with the others.

syngindub · 21-12-2012 6:36pm

how old is it?

Brussels Sprout · 29-12-2012 6:33pm

The Acid House-Irvine Welsh: This was the first of the Welsh books that I read when I was about 18 and it made me realise that there was a whole different genre of book out there that I didn't even know existed. A genre where the darkest of my thoughts were surpassed, spun in great storytelling style.

Outliers-Malcolm Gladwell: Gladwell tells how to be highly successful you need three things: natural ability, hard work and luck. In part this book inspired me to change my career path completely.

Synode · 30-12-2012 8:37pm

syngindub wrote: »

how old is it?

2003

Aglomerado · 02-01-2013 2:55pm

Wild Swans by Jung Chang.

It's a great telling of China's modern history as seen through three generations of Chinese women.

Still to tackle her Mao biography.

AngelLight · 12-02-2013 12:57am

I have to say I absolutely love books! I have so many of them and a kindle that I wonder if I have a problem hehehe. No seriously I really enjoy reading and enjoy many spiritual books and fiction too. I've just finished reading a trilogy by Brent Weeks Shadows, Beyond The Shadows, Shadow's Edge. They are set in medieval times with Magic, Mages and many interesting battles and characters oh and assassins or wetboys as they are known in the books. They are also a story with humor, love and conspiracies. There is colorful language in them so if your easily offended then maybe not for you. You can't help but love the main character and dislike the nasty bad guys. These made a nice change to some of my other books, which as I said are mainly spiritual.

Pippy1976 · 12-02-2013 12:12pm

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

Has me still thinking about it 3 weeks after finishing it.

Justin1982 · 29-06-2013 11:56pm

Hidden Soldier by Padraig O'Keefe - Biography. An Irish chef in Cavan runs off and joins the French Foreign Legion and ends up in Iraq during the worst part of the insurgency. He ends up being the only survivor of an ambush on a convoy near Falujah. Just the most amazing book from start to finish. This guy tells the story with such honesty and it will grab any guy/girl who ever wanted to join the army by the nuts and tug hard. Hair just stood on the back of my neck as he described the ambush of the convoy near the end and the death, one by one, of the other mercenaries/truck drivers that were with him. His description of when he realized he was the last man standing is chilling.

The Bodhran Makers by John B. Keane - The best written story I've ever come across. Perfectly depects the beauty, repression, madness and social injustice of a small rural Irish parish in early 1900's. Tarry Flynn by Patrick Kavanagh was along a similar vein and just knocked my socks off when I was studying English for my Leaving Cert.

Big Bang by Simon Singh - Presents the origins of our universe with absolute clarity and explores all the twists and turns in the science that led to current day thinking on the subject, from ancient greece to today. I just couldnt put it down.

AshleyRose330 · 01-08-2013 4:51pm

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson was thrilling yet moving.

I was thinking about it for weeks after.

CaSCaDe711 · 01-08-2013 5:07pm

Philip Carlo's The Ice Man - Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer. Excellent read.

aliceayres · 06-08-2013 2:38pm

syngindub wrote: »

Currently reading shantaram, dam it's a long book..about 50% through

I was really looking forward to reading that until someone told me it was largely fiction

Synode · 06-08-2013 2:52pm

I think some of the characters and dialogue are fictional but a lot of the situations he wrote about are real.

It's well worth a read anyway.

aliceayres · 06-08-2013 3:29pm

Synode wrote: »

I think some of the characters and dialogue are fictional but a lot of the situations he wrote about are real.

It's well worth a read anyway.

Perhaps largely was unkind and it's been recommended to me so many times it must be good.

Weevil · 14-08-2013 3:18am

The Floating Opera, by John Barth.

Probably the most surprising book I have ever read.

Weevil · 15-08-2013 1:16am

Pippy1976 wrote: »

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

Has me still thinking about it 3 weeks after finishing it.

My wife bought it for me to- day, and I was wondering where I'd heard of it before. It's still on the Sunday Times best sellers list.

Chrisita · 31-10-2013 9:27pm

By Brian Weiss. I have reread it many times.

tunguska · 09-11-2013 11:42am

Miracle in the Andes - Nando Parrado

Apologies if this has been mentioned already, its the famous story of the Uruguayan rugby team that crash lands in the Andes in 1972 told by the main man himself. Alive was a good book, but very matter of fact. This on the other hand is told in a really personal way. A book I just couldnt put down. There are moments of awesome-ness that blow the scale, how Parrado and canesa did what they did is mindblowing. Inspiring to say the least.

hsianloon · 17-11-2013 8:01pm

On Conspiracies and The Prince by Machiavelli

It's a book I think every guy should read

Henry Thoreau'S Civil Disobedience

Watch Ryder · 19-11-2013 8:40am

The Thirteenth Tribe - Arthur Koestler.

Fingerprints of the Gods - Graham Hancock.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer · 29-11-2013 11:08am

'Amusing Ourselves to Death' by Neil Postman.

jkforde · 07-12-2013 10:37am

heard John Lloyd of QI on BBC 6 Music yesterday talking about his new book.... 1,339 QI Facts To Make Your Jaw Drop... it sounds great

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01mylbr

janmaree · 10-12-2013 9:11pm

On the Beach by Neville Shute. Very old book now but I read it when I was much younger, it has stayed with me ever since. Great movie made out of it too.

thegreatgonzo · 27-12-2013 3:57pm

Man's search for meaning by Viktor Frankl. It's just remarkable.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man%27s_Search_for_Meaning

thegreatgonzo · 27-12-2013 4:00pm

jaqian wrote: »

I've heard "Atlas Shrugged" mentioned many times on the web and decided to give it a go but really struggling to finish it. When they're not having sex (like something out of Mills & Boon) her characters are giving looong speeches. Determined to finish it to see where its going but not enjoying as much as I was.

I have to say it's possibly the worst book I've ever read. Dagny and her contemptuous looks indeed.

Poulgorm · 02-01-2014 8:29pm

Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart. Thirty True Things You Need to Know Now. By Gordon Livingston, m.d.

A short little book, but a great insight into the dynamics of husband / wife and family relationships.

Really practical and common sense. A bit uncomfortable to read in places - it certainly challenges many assumptions that you hold.

But well worth the effort. Worth re-reading every so often, to remind yourself how family interactions are triggered. Particularly in husband / wife relationships.

Howyahorse · 23-01-2014 7:38pm

Bill Cullen's Its a long way from Penney Apples..
Read it about 5 years ago and it has kept me motivated and working hard ever since
On my must read list for next month..mind you it'll be the only book i'll read!