To everyone who has a brain....I ask you this?

Question

What books would you recommend?

Fiction, philosophy, books that change your life are preferred. THANKS.

Answer 1

Catch 22 absolutely. Excellently written, and explains all about the catch phrase that came from it and how insane life is.

The Portrait of Dorian Grey. A journey into the depth of the temptation to shallowness we all have within us and the consequences.

***If you can find the stories that Mary Shelly's friends wrote when she wrote 'Frankenstein', I would be interested in see what they came up with on there challenge to each other to create.

And of course, my book when it's finished and published. Tentatively called for now: "Gemini Rising"

Answer 2

How about the first story that is known to have been written and published by Humans? It is older (third millennium BC) than the Bible. It is life changing in that it describes people doing the same things we all do in our modern world so as to make you realize people haven't changed much. The book is:

N. K. Sanders (translator); "The Epic of Gilgamesh"; Penguin Group (USA) Inc., N.Y. NY, 1972

A history of the discovery and publication of it with commentary on various translations is to be found in:

David Damrosch; "The Buried Book" the loss and rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh; Henry Holt and Company, N.Y. NY, 2006

Good reading, good luck, peace and love!

Answer 3

I find that the most profound and prolific comments -- life changing moments -- generally come from unexpected sources.

Whenever we have a bias of who is "in the know" we isolate ourselves from other knowledge.

Speak to a homeless person of how they went from living on the streets to being university educated. That is a life lesson far more important than a pampered and elitist philosopher.

Speak to someone who has attempted suicide several times, but now has found reasons to let go of such destructive behaviour.

Speak to an addict who makes a choice each day to face the world and reality without the aid of mind altering substances.

Speak to someone who has a life threatening illness and a very short time to live but still finds it in themselves to help others.

These are people that most will pass by and considered to have no knowledge of any value.

You won't find that in most books.

Answer 4

Three books have affected me powerfully: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (Robert Pirsig), The Selfish Gene (Richard Dawkins) and The Green History of the World (Clive Ponting).

I also highly recommend Guns, Germs and Steel (Jared Diamond) and The View from the Center of the Universe (Primack & Abrams).

Answer 5

Fiction: Read "Carrion Comfort" and "Hyperion" by Dan Simmons...and "Lord Foul's Bane...The Thomas Covenant Trilogy" and the "Gap into Madness" series both by Stephen R. Donaldson...Also, a new book by Cormac McCarthy called "The Road" is astounding...

Non fiction: Read "The Evolution of the Human Mind" (forgot the author's name) and "The Selfish Gene" (also forget the name) and "The End of Faith" (also forget who wrote it)
Those are real "eye openers" that will affect the way you think the rest of your life...

Answer 6

Jitterbug Perfume
by Tom Robbins

Healing Love through the Tao
by Mantak Chia (sorry not fiction)

Answer 7

The Dewey Color System : Choose Your Colors, Change Your Life

The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinism by Michael J. Behe

SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE : Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey

Managing Personal Change [AUDIOBOOK] (Audio Cassette)
by Hyrum W. Smith

Answer 8

Fiction: John Irving - A Prayer for Owen Meany

Self-Help - Sarah Ban Breathnach- Something More (changed my life)
Self-Help - Melody Beatty - Co-dependent no more (changed my life some more)

Answer 9

I love to read and I could give you a laundry list of books and authors I love, but you may hate them. The best advice I could give is to simply read what you love, otherwise you may read nothing at all. Read books that make you stay up late to finish them and make you think about them long after they are put away. As long as your reading, and reading often, your doing your brain a favor.

Not specific enough? Then I will share my top three: Harry Potter series, the 'Socratic Dialogues' and Machiavelli's 'The Prince'. Happy reading :)

Answer 10

While there are a lot of excellent books out there. There are only a handful that made me think about the course of my life.

Here's my suggestions:

Fiction: Replay by Ken Grimwood

The general gist is the main character dies on the first page and continually replays his life making different choices. It's well worth reading.

If you haven't read the Confederacy of Dunces yet by John Kennedy O'Toole, that would be worth reading--it's very funny, and does cause you to think about different aspects of life.

If you wanted more classical fiction:
Babbit and Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis are both excellent.

A nonfiction book that was interesting that I read recently was: The Gift of Fear (mainly a book that makes you consider your subconscious responses to fear and teaches you to trust your instincts."

Good luck to you...finding new books to read is always fun.