Books that changed your life?

[Urchina]

As a book lover I'm always looking for my next read. I'm curious -- what books have you read that changed your life? I'm looking for books that brought you a paradigm shift and allowed you to see the world in a new and improved way. Genre unimportant.

To start, here are some of mine:

A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Message for me was that imagination allows endurance and compassion means you will never be without friends.

Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe. My first introduction into the chaos that culture clash can create in people.

The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn. This was my financial "aha" book and allowed me to go on to achieve many of my goals.

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. As a book lover, very appropriate.

 

[W2R]

Moby Dick, by Herman Melville.

"Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored harborless immensities."

What an amazingly dynamic and visceral usage of the English language. NOBODY can write like that man did, and Moby Dick is by far his masterpiece. When I read sentences like this, I can almost feel the swaying of the ship's deck beneath my feet. Can't you just hear the gaping abyss in it? Whew - - this book is just awesome.

It did not originally inspire me to become an oceanographer, but has pulled me through a lot since. The book has many levels. Forget your bad high school experiences with it, which many share - - most people read this book when they are far too young to understand it. Read it as an adult, with the insights and wisdom you have gained through the years.

 

[Orchidflower]

Beginning a career in sales well over 30 years ago, this book's philosophy helped me go from zero to a hero:
Robert Ringer's "Looking Out for Number One." He basically said that if you adopt the attitude that there is no one deal, no one person that can make or break your life, and that you can gain inner power IF you can turn around and walk away from that one deal or one person. For the unconfident (as most beginning salespeople are), it made all the difference in the world to me and gave me the initial push I needed to succeed. I will forever be grateful to Mr. Ringer for his advice.

 

[W2R]

Beginning a career in sales well over 30 years ago, this book's philosophy helped me go from zero to a hero:
Robert Ringer's "Looking Out for Number One." He basically said that if you adopt the attitude that there is no one deal, no one person that can make or break your life, and that you can gain inner power IF you can turn around and walk away from that one deal or one person. For the unconfident (as most beginning salespeople are), it made all the difference in the world to me and gave me the initial push I needed to succeed.

Frank loves that book!! I have read it twice and you're right - - it is a terrific book. I wish I had read it when I was younger and more ambitious.

 

[Urchina]

Moby Dick, by Herman Melville.

Forget your bad high school experiences with it, which many share - - most people read this book when they are far too young to understand it. Read it as an adult, with the insights and wisdom you have gained through the years.

I loved this book when I read it in college -- maybe I'll read it again, Thanks for the reminder!

 

[CuppaJoe]

Moby Dick, by Herman Melville.

"Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored harborless immensities."

....

It's one of the first things I put on my e-book reader and have kept a paperback copy close for many years. It's a great read "...whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; ...methodically knocking people's hats off--then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can...." Great poetry.

Why is it that every quote can be related to retirement prep? Am I obsessed?

 

[toofrugalformycat]

I read these both for the first time as a teenager.
Lost Horizon by James Hilton. Every time I read it (three times now) I get more out of it.
1984 by George Orwell. Amazingly predictive of where we are now.
Then in the past 10 years, a standout is
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Dimond.
My next planned serious reading is Collapse by the same author. I think it'll be what 1984 was as a teen. Too bad it's not fiction.

 

[TromboneAl]

I enjoyed Moby Dick also, a lot of people probably avoid it because it's so long and it's "good litterchure." If you liked that, I recommend Dana's Three Years Before the Mast (nonfiction).

 

[CitricAcid]

A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
Liar's Poker - Michael Lewis
The Fountainhead (Atlas Shrugged is also good)- Ayn Rand

 

[RetiredGypsy]

Transforming Debt Into Wealth by someone whose name I can never remember. This was my first read regarding anything financial and it turned me on to Dave Ramsey (more of the same, but I found some humor in it), then the Dollar Stretch, frugality, this forum and most recently Jeff Yeager's book Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches. I just tried his grocery store tip of buying things that cost less than $1 a pound and came away an amazing assortment of foods I usually never would have thought of.

How to Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. There is no part of this book that isn't amazing, and the message of standing up for what's right even if you stand alone has never been put in a better character than Atticus Finch.

James Harriot's series of semi-autobiographies as a veterinarian in England. What amazing books.

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. The only book that's ever caused me to cry.

Heroes Die by Matthew Woodring Stover. The main character may be the best antihero ever imagined.

 

[HFWR]

Mad Scientists Club

 

[Janet H]

My name is Asher Lev - Potok. My first encounter with angst about honesty in art.

Travels With Charley, Adventures in America - Steinbeck. Elevating wanderlust to noble pursuit.

 

[AzDreamer]

Fletch was probably the first adult book I read for pleasure and it opened my eyes to what existed outside the world of crap my English teachers were pushing. Ayn Rand's books were also good, they helped me see the destruction that fascist/socialist states lead to.

 

[Midpack]

I almost never read fiction, but for me (no particular order):

Atlas Shrugged (many years ago) - Ayn Rand
Free to Choose - Milton Friedman
Walden - Henry David Thoreau
The Good Life and Its Discontents - Robert J Samuelson
Your Money or Your Life - Dominguez & Robin
The Four Pillars of Investing - Dr William Bernstein
The Millionaire Next Door - Stanley & Danko
Marley & Me (can't help it, I adore dogs...)
Body for Life - Bill Phillips
and too many to list by name, about 40 books on sailing (my absolute passion)

Not quite the same impact, but lately:

The World is Flat - Thomas Friedman
Work Less, Live More - Bob Clyatt
Spend til The End - Kotlikoff & Burns

Like so many here, I love to read.

 

[Khan]

Your Money Or Your Life

Humanure

Rubaiyat

Tao te Ching

Childhood's End

The Demon-Haunted World

 

[Moemg]

I read constantly so it's hard to narrow it down but I'd have to say " The Glass Castle " really affected me . How could those parents be so clue less ?

 

[Gumby]

A few months ago, I posted this list of books that have affected my political beliefs. There are books that have affected me in other ways, so I may supplement later

The Bible, particularly the Gospels
1984 by George Orwell
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Nickel & Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
A Theory of Justice by John Rawls
A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Jesus Rode a Donkey by Linda Seger
Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Plato's Republic
A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt

 

[Zoocat]

"Return to Love" Marianne Williamson. Changed how I viewed my relationships with other people.
"The Power of Now" Eckhart Tolle. Changed how I viewed my relationship with myself.

 

[dumpster56]

1984, Old man and the sea , Night, Green Eggs and Ham.

 

[Free To Canoe]

The books I actually buy for myself is small. Perhaps these are the best.
The Birth of Plenty by William Bernstein
Why Geography Matters by Harm de Blij

 

[Donzo]

The Naked Ape and Lives of a cell by Desmond Morris.
Your money or your life
Millionare next door

It's not a book, but this forum changed my life by focusing me on whats really needed to retire. I know that I would feel guilty about retiring early w/o this support group as well...............come on - group hug!

 

[FinanceDude]

Transforming Debt Into Wealth by someone whose name I can never remember.

John Cummuta.............

 

[Alec-Eldifrawi]

Elegant Universe. made me realize how amazing every day interactions and the existence of life is.

 

[ajs56]

Mad Scientists Club

Yowsa! I recently reread "the Strange Sea Monster of Strawberry Lake" (entire book) after finding it available in reprint on the net. I had read it when I was maybe 10-11 years old, and remembered it often and fondly. I ordered several copies for my pre-teen neices/nephews.

-AJ

 

[Pete]

Sir John Templeton, famous investor, apparently is on a spiritual quest.

We are trying to persuade people that no human has yet grasped 1% of what can be known about spiritual realities. So we are encouraging people to start using the same methods of science that have been so productive in other areas, in order to discover spiritual realities.

—Sir John Templeton, Interview with Financial Intelligence Report
​

I believe it was Author Martin Seligman in Authentic Happiness who described a meeting of great minds on an island in the Carribean owned and hosted by John Templeton. Purpose-to discover the meaning of life. Seligman, Czichsentmihaly,and Robert Wright were some of the speakers. I have read all that these authors have produced, and all the books linked to their books on Amazon.

Complete paradigm shift. Everything now makes sense.

Start with Authentic Happiness and pay special attention to The Evolving Self by Czichsentmihaly. Each chapter ends with questions designed to challenge you and open your mind. Czichsentmihaly now teaches at the Claremont Colleges in Calif. Right down the road from me. I hope to take a class of his.