What book changed the way you look at life?

Answer 1

hitchikers guide to the galaxy

Answer 2

The Bible.
The Purpose Driven life ( By Rick Warren ).
- I went to the church regularly but I did not belong to any small groups like my church encourages me to do. So when we had the sermon series around this book, I also joined in to a small group. ( joined, but if my friend did not come to get me from my home...I doubt I would have ever went )My mom had been diagnosed with colon cancer, and I was absolutely unhappy about it. I did not know how I was going to be able to cope with the news. My mom lives thousands of miles away from me, and I could not be with her when she needed to be operated and when she started chemo. She never complains, but she has been sickly her whole life...I scared that she was not going to make it through chemo. Her neighbor had just died after the very first chemo...
If I did not have the sermon series about the Purpose driven life, and my Bible study group...I am afraid I would not have been doing too well. I already believed, then I found my faith.

I love to read a lot of books ( Pippi Longstocking, My brother Lion's Heart, The Count of Monte Christo...). But the Bible and the Purpose Driven Life have changed my life the most.

Answer 3

The trilogy of novels by Samuel Beckett; Molloy, Malone Dies and The Unnameable. Especially the second half of Molloy when Moran goes off to find Molloy with his son. When Moran's son leaves him, it was a pivitol moment for me. It was so sad. However, it was when Moran was standing in the midst of a flock of sheep that really changed my life. It was as though when the sheep dispersed, all of his audience left him. A feeling of calm, quiet came over him. I realized that Beckett was trying to say that you should write not for your audience, but for yourself. What does it matter who listens to what you say? The fact that you words mean something to you should be enough.

It was then that I realized that Moran,Molloy and his son all melded into one being. It helped me read the rest of the trilogy with open eyes and gain a better understanding into Beckett's philosophy which changed the way I looked at my life and changed the way I write.

Before that, Orwell had always been my favorite writer. His essay titled, "Why I Write" will always sit yellowed and dog eared next to my bed. Now, it's a toss up. I go between the two. Orwell for style and simpicity, Beckett for philisophy and theory.
Good Question! Thank you for asking it.

Answer 4

Bhagavath Geetha, the Hindus Holy Book which was offered by the Almighty the God some 6000 years back to the man kind for its safe existance!

In Bhagawath Geetha nothing controversial is mentioned to divide the world community,

The stanzas
"TRUTH WILL WIN"
"DO YOUR DUTY WITHOUT EXPECTING ANY FRUITS"
"MOTHER" (Is the living God for an individual)
"FATHER" (Is like the place of worship)
"TEACHER" (Is the treasure of knowledge)
If you respect the above THREE whole heartedly
"The Almighty God will bestow you with his kind blessings"

If not, a human will not be identified as he/she has to be, will be called a lunatic, vagabond, times he/she is compared with animals due to his/her mad and menial acts!

To the entire man kind He gave the following final message:
Whatever was happend, it was perfect
What ever is happening now, it is perfect
What ever will be happening, that also will be perfect

What you have lost?
Why you are too much upset and feel sorrow?
What you have brought with you to lose?
What you have created to destory?
What ever you have taken, that has taken from here only!
What ever you have given, that has given from here only!
What ever is yours today, it will be others tomorrow!
Some other day the same will be given to another!

"This is the world order and my creations' well explained truth"

Answer 5

The Mists of Avalon

Here is a quick plot summary in case anyone is interested!

Mists of Avalon is a generations-spanning retelling of the Arthurian legend. Its protagonist is Morgaine, who witnesses the rise of Uther Pendragon to the throne of Camelot. As a child, she is taken to Avalon by High Priestess Vivaine to become a priest of the Mother Goddess and witnesses the rising tension between the old pagan and the new Christian religions.

After Uther dies, his son Arthur claims the throne. Morgaine and Vivaine give him the magic sword Excalibur, and with the combined force of Avalon and Camelot, Arthur drives the invasion of the Saxons away. But when his wife Gwenhwyfar fails to produce a child, she is convinced that it is a punishment of God: firstly for the presence of "satanic" pagan elements, and secondly, for her forbidden love to Arthur's finest knight Lancelet. She increasingly becomes a religious fanatic, and relationships between Avalon and Camelot (i.e. Morgaine and herself) become hostile.

When the knights of the Round Table of Camelot leave to search the Holy Grail, a young man seeks to usurp the throne: Mordred, bastard son of Arthur and Morgaine, conceived when the two were the center of a pagan ritual not knowing who the other was. Mordred seeks to re-instate the power of Avalon at all costs. In a climactic battle, Arthur's and Mordred's armies square off, and in the end, it is Morgaine alone who lives to tell the tale of Camelot.

Answer 6

The Little Book of Letting Go by Hugh Prather really changed my life for the better. I recommend it to anyone, but I'll tell you now, he's a minister, so if you can't get past the whole "God and Jesus" thing, you might be wasting your time reading his books.

Answer 7

The Origins of Value
By William N. Goetzmann
This book goes into great detail about the mental leap of mankind from considering the immediate (food, shelter, water) to the extended view of value (gold, debt).

Answer 8

The Elf Queen of Shannara by Terry Brooks.

This made me realize the value of being a responsible leader/person. when you are given the responsibility, it is up to you to pull through the task or other people (someone close to you, etc.) might get in trouble too.

I was too much of an introvert back in high school but this book made me take on more leadership roles (still in high school and then on to college) with greater responsibility and seriousness. ^_^"

Answer 9

Brian Green - The Elegant Universe
Brian Green - The Fabric of the Cosmos

Answer 10

Unintended Consequences by John Ross

Answer 11

The Celestine Prophecy.