What book(s) have you read that changed your life (the way you think or live)?

Question

Tell me why.

Answer 1

The course in miracles. It taught me the true meaning of love.

A long time ago I thought that love was something that you reserved for some special set of people that you had judged worthy of it.

After a while I got to thinking about what Jesus had said about turning the other cheek and loving our neighbor I put the two together and realized that he had made no exceptions in these statements. It became obvious to me that he intended that we exclude no one from the love that we are supposed to be giving. I started thinking about my idea of love and suddenly realized that I had not been loving anyone at all. I had simply been judging everyone and every thing.

Judging someone worthy of love is not love, it is only judgment. I actually started to cry when I realized this. I saw just how much of my life I had wasted being judgmental, thinking of myself as a Christian, when I was actually doing just the opposite of what Jesus had asked us to do.

I thought about the verse judge not lest ye be judged, and I understood it for the first time.

I realized that I have a lot of catching up to do. So many opportunities were wasted. I now try to apply the love that I have for the world in a universal way like Jesus asks us to do.

If I start to feel afraid and think that I see someone that I should not love because of something I have thought or heard I try to catch my mistake as soon as possible. I tell myself that I have forgot the truth and have fallen for the same old trick that had cost me so many opportunities to be loving in the past. The horror of this realization is often all that is necessary to bring me back to my senses and make me drop the judgmental nonsense I was thinking.

I still have a lot to learn about love, but at least I’m making progress.

Love and blessings

Your brother
don

Answer 2

I know two!

The first one I read when I was 38 years old. I was TERRIFIED at turning age "40." I decided to take up exercising. But knew absolutely NOTHING about exercising. So I bought the book "bodybuilding for women." The ONLY exercise book one of our local department stores sold! NONE of the other department stores sold exercise books and there were NO exercise books in the two local libraries and there were NO book stores in my town!!

So I read the book, studied the book, did the exercises the book said, and I got bigger, stronger, and healthier.

No longer did I worry about turning age 40....
I am now 55...

At age 54 I read yet another book titled "Fantastic!" In it I learned how to write down goals, and achieve them. Again, my life has changed DRAMATICALLY because after I read the book, I realized that goals that I have had over the years, almost all have become true for me! Even my main goal at age 13; job with office and window view. I got such a job and still have such a job...

Now my goals are 80% done. My life is indeed FANTASTIC!!

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

There are many. But the one book that made the most perceptible impact on me was a book called "The Road Less Traveled" by psychiatrist M. Scott Peck.

It's about spiritual growth through loving others, introspection and self-awareness, and finding the courage to confront our problems. I was 16 at the time, and it was the very first book I read of this nature, so it was very enlightening and inspiring. From that point on I have been very interested in self-analysis and gaining more and more self-awareness, and also, trying to find ways to engage with others in healthy ways. It's very philosophically deep and psychologically insightful -- even a little shocking at times.

Another book that I love is called "Man's Search for Meaning" by psychologist Viktor Frankl. Frankl was a Jewish psychologist who spent time in the concentration camps and, as you can imagine, observed first hand what suffering really was. Yet, he got out and managed to write this book devoted to the idea that, people are willing to endure suffering if we are able to find *meaning* in it. It may sound outlandish, but he gives some very poignant examples, and it does shed light on why and how some people are able to endure extreme and brutal suffering.

Another one is George Orwell's "1984." Not only is it a riveting read, it is the book that first ignited my awareness of the political world--both in terms of government and in terms of personal relationships. I became much more socially and politically aware after reading it because it managed to draw my attention to the ways in which we are controlled and manipulated by our government--and to the fact that we generally enable the gov't to do this. Very powerful book.

Another one, believe it or not, is a contemporary novel by Chuck Palahniuk called "Fight Club." This is a book I had to read for a college class, and it was very successful in getting me to think about the the role of consumerism in my life. I started thinking, "why the hell do I buy and buy and buy? What is it I think this will do for me? What void am I trying to fill? I also thought a lot about idolatry: we tend to worship certain things in our lives (money, people, *things*) because we feel a need to serve someTHING or someONE. (At least that's my interpretation.)

Ok. One more book I'll mention here: It's called "Speaking My Mind" by Sociologist and Theologian Tony Campolo. Basically, this man writes about what he believes to be the flaws in Christian thinking--especially organized institutions (ie., certain Churches.) He IS writing from a Christian perspective, but I found it very thought-provoking and balanced. I was also introduced to some new insights about Spirituality, God's nature, and the fact that even among Christians there are variations of thinking. Agree or disagree. It's interesting stuff.

Hope that helps!

Answer 4

George Orwell's "1984." It's so shocking that I really started thinking about the world and how we're being manipulated.
Also Jean Paul Sartre's "Nausea." It is an existentialist novella and it questions the meaning of our existence, the validity of our goals in life, our belief in life.
Also Checkov's "Ward Number Six" and Franz Kafka's "The Trial" - these works also raise many important questions about life and its meaning. They are all sad and shocking books but that is precisely why they affected me so much.

Answer 5

Sophies" World by Jostein Gaarder and Ideas and Opinions by Albert Einstein. Simply because it laid down the foundation of philosophy in life and it touches subjects on Religion, Science, Math, Human Rights and Education. This mold me and look back to assess what i have contribute in life. That i think is crucial in life to know and value the true meaning of life.

Answer 6

The Bible. Caesar's "Gaulic Wars", ancient, medieval, and modern Europe history, American history, Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Thackeray's "Vanity Fair", everything by Shakespeare, everything by Dickens, "The Imitation of Christ" by Thomas A'Kempis, "Spiritual Exercises" by Ignatius of Loyola, anything by Thomas Merton.

I was a self-centered youth. These books taught me about people, life and love, and how to live. Best wishes to you.

Answer 7

"Conversations with God" by Neil Donald Walsh. Read all Books I, II, & III and you'll realize you have no more questions to ask from God because He has already given you the answers before everything began.

Answer 8

the best book i've ever read is rich dad, poor dad by robert kiyosaki. it helped me to become the person who i am now, make choices in live which not only helped me to improve myself in general but most of all my financial intelligence which they don't teach at school

Answer 9

George Orwell's "1984" and Victor Hugo's "Bug-Jargal"

Answer 10

The Bible. After reading it i realized it was just a bunch of stories written by people like you and i, not the word of god.