ChristopherL
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Stranger in a strange land was a revelation for me despite not being a very good book.
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OK, it's on.
What books have influenced your world view?
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Artifice Orisit
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Man's Search For Meaning, by Viktor E. Frankl
The Essential Writings of Machiavelli, edited and translated by Peter Constantine
Dirty Japanese, by Matt Fargo
The Essential Writings of Machiavelli, edited and translated by Peter Constantine
Dirty Japanese, by Matt Fargo
Vegard Pompey
Well-Known Member
I believe that when I was little, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy helped me realize that the universe is a cosmic joke. So that one would count.
Android
Solyaris
-the "Tao Te Ching" by Lao Tsu - roughly translates as "The Book of the Way of Virtue" or "The Book of the Path to Virtue"
-the "Enchiridion" - a collection of the teachings of Epictetus - sometimes called "The Manual for Living" - the parts I draw from are about taking your responsibility for your actions and the development of self-discipline
-"Thus Spake Zarathustra" and "Beyond Good and Evil" by Friedrich Nietzsche - his Will to Power philosophy has been a huge influence on me.. first in accepting it and later modifying, then eventually rejecting it ... something I definitely need to explore some more
-"Media Control" by Noam Chomsky - huge eye opener for me
-"1984" and "Animal Farm" by George Orwell - helped me make sense of a lot of stuff
-"The Human Zoo" by Desmond Morris - A zoologists view on the human species. Great stuff.
-"The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
-"Why Nations Go To War" by John Stoessinger
-"The Psychology of War" by Lawrence LeShan
-"War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning" - Chris Hedges - this and the above three really helped me wrap my mind around War and why it has been a part of human development for as long as we know.
There are many more but I'll leave it at that.
-the "Enchiridion" - a collection of the teachings of Epictetus - sometimes called "The Manual for Living" - the parts I draw from are about taking your responsibility for your actions and the development of self-discipline
-"Thus Spake Zarathustra" and "Beyond Good and Evil" by Friedrich Nietzsche - his Will to Power philosophy has been a huge influence on me.. first in accepting it and later modifying, then eventually rejecting it ... something I definitely need to explore some more
-"Media Control" by Noam Chomsky - huge eye opener for me
-"1984" and "Animal Farm" by George Orwell - helped me make sense of a lot of stuff
-"The Human Zoo" by Desmond Morris - A zoologists view on the human species. Great stuff.
-"The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
-"Why Nations Go To War" by John Stoessinger
-"The Psychology of War" by Lawrence LeShan
-"War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning" - Chris Hedges - this and the above three really helped me wrap my mind around War and why it has been a part of human development for as long as we know.
There are many more but I'll leave it at that.
Sciosa
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"Biting the Sun" by Tanith Lee. Science Fiction. Not suitable for those with ingrained stigma on matters pertaining to gender identity, suicide, and nonconformism in general. Marginally experimental. Continues to produce reaction after multiple reads.
"Dune" by Frank Herbert. Science Fiction. Explores religio-social issues. Contemplates time and "destiny". The sequels are acceptable, but not ground-breaking reading.
"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu. Articulates my response to life in general.
"Dune" by Frank Herbert. Science Fiction. Explores religio-social issues. Contemplates time and "destiny". The sequels are acceptable, but not ground-breaking reading.
"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu. Articulates my response to life in general.
Dr. Why
Redshirt
"Thus Spake Zarathustra" by Friedrich Nietzsche has had a big influence on how I view life and how I approach how I handle school and work related tasks.
"1984" by George Orwell was a big influence on me, and was what started me down the path to my interests in politics, and other related subjects.
"The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand this book did influence some of my politics, but the biggest thing it did for me was to help give me confidence boosts in High School.
"The Universe in a Nutshell" by Stephen Hawking one of the first works on science I picked up, and it imbued in me a love of science and reason to this day.
"The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien definatly influences me, by far one of the books I have read most in my life though I am not altogether certain how it influences me.
"Radicals for Capitalism" by Brian Doherty this is a history of the modern American libertarian movement and I went in it a libertarian leaning conservative and came out a full fledged radical minarchist.
I am sure there are countless other tomes that have influenced my thinking as well thought I would be hardpressed to list them all.
"1984" by George Orwell was a big influence on me, and was what started me down the path to my interests in politics, and other related subjects.
"The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand this book did influence some of my politics, but the biggest thing it did for me was to help give me confidence boosts in High School.
"The Universe in a Nutshell" by Stephen Hawking one of the first works on science I picked up, and it imbued in me a love of science and reason to this day.
"The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien definatly influences me, by far one of the books I have read most in my life though I am not altogether certain how it influences me.
"Radicals for Capitalism" by Brian Doherty this is a history of the modern American libertarian movement and I went in it a libertarian leaning conservative and came out a full fledged radical minarchist.
I am sure there are countless other tomes that have influenced my thinking as well thought I would be hardpressed to list them all.
snowqueen
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The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis (the book the film Narnia is based upon) was one of my favourite books as a child - not because of the Christian allegory which totally bypassed me, but because of the idea of parallel worlds which could provide escape to another world where my mother didn't exist. I loved the idea that I might find a large lion who would roar at the White Witch and destroy her (not too hard to work that one out either!)
The Secret Garden was another childhood book which I loved - again it was about a sad child being rescued. It gave me hope
The Phantom Tollbooth was the first book that made me realise other people loved language as much as I did.
As a teenager I read Herman Hesse's Damien and it introduced me to the idea that there is another perspective on good and evil (it's basically a yin-yang perspective) which absolutely blew my mind and changed me forever.
All of Herman Hesse's books and also Jorge Luis Borges just felt like taking drugs! I loved them as a young adult.
The Secret Garden was another childhood book which I loved - again it was about a sad child being rescued. It gave me hope
The Phantom Tollbooth was the first book that made me realise other people loved language as much as I did.
As a teenager I read Herman Hesse's Damien and it introduced me to the idea that there is another perspective on good and evil (it's basically a yin-yang perspective) which absolutely blew my mind and changed me forever.
All of Herman Hesse's books and also Jorge Luis Borges just felt like taking drugs! I loved them as a young adult.
Jennywocky
Creepy Clown Chick
These books all in some way "crystalized" thoughts and ideas I either already had / was growing into, giving me a ready framework by which to grasp things and also feeling validated because someone else had had such similar parallel thoughts/coherency on the topic.
How People Change by Allen Wheelis. Pretty much what it says. It's the realistic and rational view of change from the perspective of a philosophical psychiatrist, and I also could identify with some of his own personal primary anxieties.
People of the Lie by M. Scott Peck. Exploration of good/evil via the lens of psychology, an integration of philosohy and faith.
"Thomas Covenant" series by Stephen R. Donaldson. Exploration of the realities of community/alienation, health/disease, faith/doubt, and in ways that rationally follow without reaching contrived solutions. A series that embraces living paradox. I still reread it every few years and amazed at how much more I 'understand.'
The Bible. (Sorry to sound cliche, but I have to be honest.) I don't ascribe to the literal or even conservative interpretations per se, but it still influences how I think, how I view the world, and the collective symbolism I use to frame things.
The Earthsea series by Ursula K. LeGuin. Not only a good exploration of the power of names and the workings of power in the world, but a window on cultural gender and how it typical plays out (especially in the latter books published in the last decade.)
A Wrinkle in Time and A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle. The latter book especially in terms of understanding love, human maturation, and its intersection with community.
Some of C.S. Lewis' work (even his Narnia stuff, particular the Last Battle) was formative for me in terms of religious concepts.
JRR Tolkien mixed high fantasy with a sense of melacholic hope for me -- the future is not yet set and good can sometimes triumph against impossibly high odds... but not without cost and sometimes a remarkable degree of suffering. There is also a lot of inherent psychology and theology imbued into LotR that jived with my understanding.
The Lorax (and other books by Dr. Seuss). Mixing art, whimsy/humor, and social consciousness, it gave me an idea of what could be captured so succinctly as well as communicated without being high-handed.
How People Change by Allen Wheelis. Pretty much what it says. It's the realistic and rational view of change from the perspective of a philosophical psychiatrist, and I also could identify with some of his own personal primary anxieties.
People of the Lie by M. Scott Peck. Exploration of good/evil via the lens of psychology, an integration of philosohy and faith.
"Thomas Covenant" series by Stephen R. Donaldson. Exploration of the realities of community/alienation, health/disease, faith/doubt, and in ways that rationally follow without reaching contrived solutions. A series that embraces living paradox. I still reread it every few years and amazed at how much more I 'understand.'
The Bible. (Sorry to sound cliche, but I have to be honest.) I don't ascribe to the literal or even conservative interpretations per se, but it still influences how I think, how I view the world, and the collective symbolism I use to frame things.
The Earthsea series by Ursula K. LeGuin. Not only a good exploration of the power of names and the workings of power in the world, but a window on cultural gender and how it typical plays out (especially in the latter books published in the last decade.)
A Wrinkle in Time and A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle. The latter book especially in terms of understanding love, human maturation, and its intersection with community.
Some of C.S. Lewis' work (even his Narnia stuff, particular the Last Battle) was formative for me in terms of religious concepts.
JRR Tolkien mixed high fantasy with a sense of melacholic hope for me -- the future is not yet set and good can sometimes triumph against impossibly high odds... but not without cost and sometimes a remarkable degree of suffering. There is also a lot of inherent psychology and theology imbued into LotR that jived with my understanding.
The Lorax (and other books by Dr. Seuss). Mixing art, whimsy/humor, and social consciousness, it gave me an idea of what could be captured so succinctly as well as communicated without being high-handed.
Kianara
Active Member
Hmmm... books that have influenced me...
The Bible - I'm a PK. What else can I say?
The Chronicles of Narnia - This was the first book series I read on my own. I've read them several times since then, but I'd say that they fostered a love of reading and stories. I've also always loved (though I now wonder if Narnia started the love) the idea of a parallel world (especially a medieval-ish one) where you could live a life, return to your own world, and not have aged a day. I <3 parallel worlds in general.
The Lord of the Rings - This was the first non-'kiddie' book that I read. I'm a Tolkein-dork to this day and LotR books have their own shelf on my bookcases. This book started my love affair with fantasy books.
Ender's Game - Haha, my grandfather gave me Ender's Game for Christmas when I was in fourth grade. It's still one of my favorite books of all time. It greatly influenced me because, at fourth grade, I didn't feel like 'just a kid'. My life and my concerns felt -just- as important and real as 'adult' problems did and in Ender's Game, the lives of children (who normally would count for nothing) determined the fate of the entire world. It also started my love affair with SF books.
I'd also just entered a new school with higher standards and discovered that I was the Best of all my classmates and hated for it.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer + The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - I still own the beaten up copy I was first given. You can actually take out the first half of Tom's adventures and carry them separately. These books started my interest in faking my own funeral and taught me what 'fun' was. I was far too serious as a child and these books made me smile and chill out a bit.
A Step from Heaven - I read it Sophomore year, and it read like my own autobiography would read from a past life. The main character had a lot in common with me, enough to be creepy actually, and it's still the book that identifies closest with my life. In the end my hands are worn and scarred, but I would never change them.
The Bible - I'm a PK. What else can I say?
The Chronicles of Narnia - This was the first book series I read on my own. I've read them several times since then, but I'd say that they fostered a love of reading and stories. I've also always loved (though I now wonder if Narnia started the love) the idea of a parallel world (especially a medieval-ish one) where you could live a life, return to your own world, and not have aged a day. I <3 parallel worlds in general.
The Lord of the Rings - This was the first non-'kiddie' book that I read. I'm a Tolkein-dork to this day and LotR books have their own shelf on my bookcases. This book started my love affair with fantasy books.
Ender's Game - Haha, my grandfather gave me Ender's Game for Christmas when I was in fourth grade. It's still one of my favorite books of all time. It greatly influenced me because, at fourth grade, I didn't feel like 'just a kid'. My life and my concerns felt -just- as important and real as 'adult' problems did and in Ender's Game, the lives of children (who normally would count for nothing) determined the fate of the entire world. It also started my love affair with SF books.
I'd also just entered a new school with higher standards and discovered that I was the Best of all my classmates and hated for it.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer + The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - I still own the beaten up copy I was first given. You can actually take out the first half of Tom's adventures and carry them separately. These books started my interest in faking my own funeral and taught me what 'fun' was. I was far too serious as a child and these books made me smile and chill out a bit.
A Step from Heaven - I read it Sophomore year, and it read like my own autobiography would read from a past life. The main character had a lot in common with me, enough to be creepy actually, and it's still the book that identifies closest with my life. In the end my hands are worn and scarred, but I would never change them.
callmemigs
Redshirt
I might be so lame to admit this but:
"To Kill A Mockingbird" helped me out of my "nihilistic" state of psyche and sympathize with people more (although I'm still apathetic to most people's standards).
"To Kill A Mockingbird" helped me out of my "nihilistic" state of psyche and sympathize with people more (although I'm still apathetic to most people's standards).
snowqueen
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I thought of another one which was really influential to me:
Gyn/Ecology by Mary Daly. I never saw words the same way again after reading that book. The world changed for me as a result.
Gyn/Ecology by Mary Daly. I never saw words the same way again after reading that book. The world changed for me as a result.
Enne
Consistently Inconsistent
Hmm...I liked Ender's Game. It was moving but in a weird, almost chilling way. I had the same sentiments after reading In Cold Blood. =/
I remember reading Inferno (Dante). I was REALLY well behaved that week.
I remember reading Inferno (Dante). I was REALLY well behaved that week.
Citizen X
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On the heights of despair, by Emil Cioran
Cosmos, by Carl Sagan
Brief history of Time, by Stephen Hawking
The conspiracy against the human race, by Thomas Ligotti (unreleased, but I got a chance to get a .pdf file of the whole text, with T. Ligotti's permission through the Ligotti forum)
The fiction of Jorge Luis Borges
The fiction of Thomas Ligotti
The fiction of H. P. Lovecraft
The fiction of J. G. Ballard
The Fighter, by Craig Davidson
I'm sure there are others, but I don't remember at the moment.
Cosmos, by Carl Sagan
Brief history of Time, by Stephen Hawking
The conspiracy against the human race, by Thomas Ligotti (unreleased, but I got a chance to get a .pdf file of the whole text, with T. Ligotti's permission through the Ligotti forum)
The fiction of Jorge Luis Borges
The fiction of Thomas Ligotti
The fiction of H. P. Lovecraft
The fiction of J. G. Ballard
The Fighter, by Craig Davidson
I'm sure there are others, but I don't remember at the moment.
snowqueen
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I love JG Ballard - I find his writing exquisitely mesmerising. When I read the one about the drought (I have a terrible memory for names) by the end my mouth was getting dryer and dryer. If you live in the UK then I highly recommend Millennium People. It's hilarious and prophetic.
Anthile
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Siddharta by Hermann Hesse
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry(I am shocked that no one mentioned it...)
Homo Faber by Max Frisch
The Robbers by Friedrich Schiller
Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The Physicists by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
Yeah, you see where I come from...
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry(I am shocked that no one mentioned it...)
Homo Faber by Max Frisch
The Robbers by Friedrich Schiller
Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The Physicists by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
Yeah, you see where I come from...
snowqueen
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omg you're right - it is nearly my favourite book of all time - contains so much wisdom starting with 'all grownups were children once though few of them remember it'
Citizen X
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Did you know that Ballard passed away a month or so ago?
He left behind an impressive body of work. His fiction figured out a lot in various essays I wrote in college.Edit: By the way, another book that has shaped my view of things is Storms of Steel, by Ernst Jünger
snowqueen
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Yes I did - they had a good obituary on the BBC Radio 4 programme 'Last words' It was sad.
dents
Member
"The Incredible Universe" by Brian Greene - I know it's a lame pop book =\
"The Emotional Machine" by Marvin Minsky - Completely altered my worldview
"Programming the Universe: A Quantum Computer Scientist Takes On the Cosmos" by Seth Lloyd - Integrated the second one into the first one and went from there
"The Emotional Machine" by Marvin Minsky - Completely altered my worldview
"Programming the Universe: A Quantum Computer Scientist Takes On the Cosmos" by Seth Lloyd - Integrated the second one into the first one and went from there
The Fury
is licking himself.
Atlus Shrugged by Ayn Rand - It made me realize how important selfishness can be
Collected works of Lenin - Showed me how broken the communist system is
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins - It's one of the reasons I'm now an atheist
Collected works of Lenin - Showed me how broken the communist system is
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins - It's one of the reasons I'm now an atheist
Kidege
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The Sandokan series by Emilio Salgari. I wanted to be like the heroes: traveling across cultures and countries, always making jokes and moving forward, having all kinds of adventures.
The tales of Avanti, which showed me wit is a necessary trait.
A book on the Ermitage museum, with hundreds of reproductions, that my friend and I would look at for hours and shaped my idea of art.
Canek, by Abreu Gómez. It taught me that freedom is not a "natural" state we share with animals but something that requires wisdom. It also taught me that souls can be greater than bodies...
The first chant of the Song of the Cid should have taught me about endurance and courage.
And I've already posted about the I-Ching and the Red and the black.
The tales of Avanti, which showed me wit is a necessary trait.
A book on the Ermitage museum, with hundreds of reproductions, that my friend and I would look at for hours and shaped my idea of art.
Canek, by Abreu Gómez. It taught me that freedom is not a "natural" state we share with animals but something that requires wisdom. It also taught me that souls can be greater than bodies...
The first chant of the Song of the Cid should have taught me about endurance and courage.
And I've already posted about the I-Ching and the Red and the black.
loveofreason
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Dibs: in search of self. Virginia Axline.
It was a tiny little non-fiction work about an exceptionally bright and sensitive child attempting to construct an identity in perversely strange circumstances...
It was a tiny little non-fiction work about an exceptionally bright and sensitive child attempting to construct an identity in perversely strange circumstances...
truthseeker72
Active Member
-Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
-Libertarianism, A Primer, David Boaz
-Animal Farm, George Orwell
-Libertarianism, A Primer, David Boaz
-Animal Farm, George Orwell
Jordan~
Prolific Member
None - unless the above post counts as a book, in which case it has influenced my world view in that it now contains significantly more of the externalised contents of my stomach.
<---- couldn't find a worried emoticonmotrhead
Active Member
Seven Years In Tibet-Heinrich Harrer
The Chrysalids- John Wyndham
Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev- (Whether or not you believe it's real, it does present an interesting alternate view of the world. I believe it is real.)
The Chrysalids- John Wyndham
Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev- (Whether or not you believe it's real, it does present an interesting alternate view of the world. I believe it is real.)
motrhead
Active Member
I just found the title of a Heinlein story that influenced me. Heinlein left me questioning many things (especially after reading all he had written while still an impressionable pre-teen), but If This Goes On— from "Revolt in 2100" was like the final key that opened a Pandora's box of emotions and attitudes (further influenced, -but negatively- by The Outsiders) . Eventually, I realised that I was somehow different, and outside the mainstream. My brain just didn't work like anyone else's; I couldn't blindly accept what I was taught, or mindlessly accept "authority".
Soon after that I began getting in trouble in English for offering my own interpretations of what Shakespeare was trying to say, which only made me more stubbornly independent...
In retrospect, the story wasn't that profound, but it was for me.
Soon after that I began getting in trouble in English for offering my own interpretations of what Shakespeare was trying to say, which only made me more stubbornly independent...
In retrospect, the story wasn't that profound, but it was for me.
Xel
When in the course of inhuman events....
Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu: The Wisdom of this book keeps inspiring me all the time.
1984 - George Orwell : Got me thinking more about political issues.
The Twilight of the Idols and other works by Nietzsche : Nietzsche's work always inspires, gives me a burst of confidence and strength every time I read him.
Notes From The Underground -Dostoyevsky : At the time I could see a lot of my self in the main character which prompted some self evaluation on my part.
Anna Karenina - Tolstoy : I don't know how it influences me really... just a really good book.
The Communist Manifesto - Karl Marx : Got me looking into the area of Leftist politics, my switch to Anarchism was part inspired by and a reaction against various ideas in Marxism.
The Lord of The Rings - Tolkien : Like Anna Karenina I love the books very much yet am not sure how the influence me. However whenever I try to write fantasy I have to keep saying to myself "Don't copy Tolkien!"
The Bible: Most of my childhood was spent believing this book could never be wrong. Reactions against it have formed who I am today.
Being and Time - Martin Heidegger : Showed me a whole new way of thinking about philosophy. I know its a dense word muddled mess but if you get into it with proper diligence and carefulness it can be quite rewarding.
Siddhartha - Hesse : Got me looking into Buddhist thought.
1984 - George Orwell : Got me thinking more about political issues.
The Twilight of the Idols and other works by Nietzsche : Nietzsche's work always inspires, gives me a burst of confidence and strength every time I read him.
Notes From The Underground -Dostoyevsky : At the time I could see a lot of my self in the main character which prompted some self evaluation on my part.
Anna Karenina - Tolstoy : I don't know how it influences me really... just a really good book.
The Communist Manifesto - Karl Marx : Got me looking into the area of Leftist politics, my switch to Anarchism was part inspired by and a reaction against various ideas in Marxism.
The Lord of The Rings - Tolkien : Like Anna Karenina I love the books very much yet am not sure how the influence me. However whenever I try to write fantasy I have to keep saying to myself "Don't copy Tolkien!"
The Bible: Most of my childhood was spent believing this book could never be wrong. Reactions against it have formed who I am today.
Being and Time - Martin Heidegger : Showed me a whole new way of thinking about philosophy. I know its a dense word muddled mess but if you get into it with proper diligence and carefulness it can be quite rewarding.
Siddhartha - Hesse : Got me looking into Buddhist thought.
telepathink
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I am surprised how many people like Hesse, its my top favourite and influenced me greatly!
Tim Leary made me curious. Jung made me interested in psychology. Wittgenstein explained how language works. Krishnamurti refreshed me with spirituality.
Tim Leary made me curious. Jung made me interested in psychology. Wittgenstein explained how language works. Krishnamurti refreshed me with spirituality.
snafupants
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Dostoevsky's The Idiot because it shows the endless ways humans can complicate life. Brothers Karamazov does this too, but that gets enough accolades as is, me thinks.
snafupants
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Also, Sanctuary, Sound and the Fury, and Light in August. Will I be kicked off this forum for liking an INFP writer? There is much sci-fi love here...
the internet
the internet
I always get asked this question and I really find this hard to answer, even though I read a lot. I find myself wondering if I only say these books have influenced when really it hasn't at all, just so people can get an 'idealized' picture of me.
Although my friend told me once how 'white oleander' really affected his life, so i had to read it and i realized how true that was.
I guess if I had to say something, I might say On the Road by Jack Kerouac, when I read it when I was a preteen I guess it did change my life, even though I'm embarrassed to say that it did now. Or maybe, another cliche, fear and loathing in las vegas. Or perhaps hermann hesse.
Although my friend told me once how 'white oleander' really affected his life, so i had to read it and i realized how true that was.
I guess if I had to say something, I might say On the Road by Jack Kerouac, when I read it when I was a preteen I guess it did change my life, even though I'm embarrassed to say that it did now. Or maybe, another cliche, fear and loathing in las vegas. Or perhaps hermann hesse.
I struggled a lot to come up with a list, having read so much books (and internet stuff)...
In no particular order:
• Jostein Gaarder - Sophie's World.
I was very young when I first read this, and it opened up my mind to all sorts of philosophies.
• Friedrich Nietzsche - The Antichrist.
It put the final nail in the coffin to my wavering religiosity, turning my slight skepticism and dislike of Christianity into outright disgust. His whole body of work still is deeply influential with the ideas of the Will to Power, the Übermensch and the Reevaluation of all Values, but no book in particular was a turning point in my life like the previously mentioned.
• Isaac Asimov - I Robot &
• Jordi Sierra i Fabra - ... en un lugar llamado Tierra (... in a place called Earth) and its prequel and sequel.
The first sci-fi books I read as far back as I can remember. They both fueled my love of science, space, robots and psychology from an early age. The second is a spanish author who is apparently unknown outside the spanish-speaking world.
All of the books from my IB History HL classes (damn how I miss them), most notably:
• Paul Kennedy - The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers,
• Henry Kissinger - Diplomacy,
• Norman Lowe - Mastering Modern World History.
I made sense of politics and the world at large.
• Various by Sartre, Camus and Kafka.
They left me in a pit of despair and human loathing for several years.
• Guy Debord - The Society of the Spectacle.
I finally began to make sense of the fucked up present and the insidious nature of our media-intense consumption society. Not that I wasn't aware before reading it, but it made it painfully clear...
• Miscellaneous readings of Marshall McLuhan, Jean Baudrillard, Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, Italo Calvino, Jacques Derrida, and Umberto Eco.
Reality, language and meaning were never the same after these bastards mindfucked me over and over.
• Not a book, but deserves mentioning: That website where I first read about transhumanism.
For something so defining of my present worldview, I never did realize at that time of reading it so many years ago how influential it would turn out to be. I don't even remember when it was or what page it was...
In no particular order:
• Jostein Gaarder - Sophie's World.
I was very young when I first read this, and it opened up my mind to all sorts of philosophies.
• Friedrich Nietzsche - The Antichrist.
It put the final nail in the coffin to my wavering religiosity, turning my slight skepticism and dislike of Christianity into outright disgust. His whole body of work still is deeply influential with the ideas of the Will to Power, the Übermensch and the Reevaluation of all Values, but no book in particular was a turning point in my life like the previously mentioned.
• Isaac Asimov - I Robot &
• Jordi Sierra i Fabra - ... en un lugar llamado Tierra (... in a place called Earth) and its prequel and sequel.
The first sci-fi books I read as far back as I can remember. They both fueled my love of science, space, robots and psychology from an early age. The second is a spanish author who is apparently unknown outside the spanish-speaking world.
All of the books from my IB History HL classes (damn how I miss them), most notably:
• Paul Kennedy - The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers,
• Henry Kissinger - Diplomacy,
• Norman Lowe - Mastering Modern World History.
I made sense of politics and the world at large.
• Various by Sartre, Camus and Kafka.
They left me in a pit of despair and human loathing for several years.
• Guy Debord - The Society of the Spectacle.
I finally began to make sense of the fucked up present and the insidious nature of our media-intense consumption society. Not that I wasn't aware before reading it, but it made it painfully clear...
• Miscellaneous readings of Marshall McLuhan, Jean Baudrillard, Jorge Luis Borges, Julio Cortázar, Italo Calvino, Jacques Derrida, and Umberto Eco.
Reality, language and meaning were never the same after these bastards mindfucked me over and over.
• Not a book, but deserves mentioning: That website where I first read about transhumanism.
For something so defining of my present worldview, I never did realize at that time of reading it so many years ago how influential it would turn out to be. I don't even remember when it was or what page it was...
Lostwitheal
Mr. LoveRobot
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- Jun 4, 2010
- Messages
- 562
In no particular order..
The Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu
I've read a few translations of this now and the clarity of what Lao Tzu is trying to express seems to vary wildly depending on how it's translated. It is a truly amazing text though.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert Pirsig
I'm not sure it's possible to over-state the importance of what he has to say in this book.
Mister God, This is Anna - Fynn
I am not generally affected by anything that I read or watch, but this book is just exceptional. It gets to you. Though it's based on a Christian view of/relationship with god what it has to say is largely universal.
Illusions - Richard Bach
It's quite easy reading, and an entertaining story which touches on some important issues.
The Art of War - Sun Tzu
The applications are almost limitless...
I'm sure there are more that I can't think of at the moment
The Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu
I've read a few translations of this now and the clarity of what Lao Tzu is trying to express seems to vary wildly depending on how it's translated. It is a truly amazing text though.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert Pirsig
I'm not sure it's possible to over-state the importance of what he has to say in this book.
Mister God, This is Anna - Fynn
I am not generally affected by anything that I read or watch, but this book is just exceptional. It gets to you. Though it's based on a Christian view of/relationship with god what it has to say is largely universal.
Illusions - Richard Bach
It's quite easy reading, and an entertaining story which touches on some important issues.
The Art of War - Sun Tzu
The applications are almost limitless...
I'm sure there are more that I can't think of at the moment
Cavallier
Oh damn.
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Good thread. Thanks for necroing it.
Lord of Light, Zelzny and Siddhartha, Hesse- These novels started me on Hindu and Buddhism. 8 years later I minored in these religions in college. I love every single passage in these books.
Illuminations and A Season In Hell/Une Saison en Enfer, Arthur Rimbaud
Flowers of Evil/Fleurs du Mal, Charles Baudelaire
Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl
Frankenstein; Modern Prometheus, Mary Shelley
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway
As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner - I have a love/hate relationship with this book. I really hate Faulkner because he was a crook and a fake. I don't want to admit that this book is actually really good because I hate Faulkner on principle. I have to admit though that this story had an impact on my life.
H.G. Wells - I can't choose one. He was the first SciFi I read and he started my love of that genre as well as showing me that "genre" doesn't mean a lack of creativity.
Andre Norton, Anne McCaffrey, and Marion Zimmer Bradley, - For giving me strong capable female protagonists I could identify with when I was young and impressionable.
Lord of Light, Zelzny and Siddhartha, Hesse- These novels started me on Hindu and Buddhism. 8 years later I minored in these religions in college. I love every single passage in these books.
Illuminations and A Season In Hell/Une Saison en Enfer, Arthur Rimbaud
Flowers of Evil/Fleurs du Mal, Charles Baudelaire
Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl
Frankenstein; Modern Prometheus, Mary Shelley
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway
As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner - I have a love/hate relationship with this book. I really hate Faulkner because he was a crook and a fake. I don't want to admit that this book is actually really good because I hate Faulkner on principle. I have to admit though that this story had an impact on my life.
H.G. Wells - I can't choose one. He was the first SciFi I read and he started my love of that genre as well as showing me that "genre" doesn't mean a lack of creativity.
Andre Norton, Anne McCaffrey, and Marion Zimmer Bradley, - For giving me strong capable female protagonists I could identify with when I was young and impressionable.
Inappropriate Behavior
is peeing on the carpet
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- Behind you, kicking you in the ass
Ishmael
The first Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
Starship Troopers
The Art of War
Silas Marner
Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors
Ender's Game (becoming cliche to even mention)
The Iliad
The Rama series
Enemy at the Gates
Life of Pi (tepid)
Lord of the Flies
I'm sure plenty of others. Almost anything I learn/read can and does affect my world view.
The first Chronicles of Thomas Covenant
Starship Troopers
The Art of War
Silas Marner
Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors
Ender's Game (becoming cliche to even mention)
The Iliad
The Rama series
Enemy at the Gates
Life of Pi (tepid)
Lord of the Flies
I'm sure plenty of others. Almost anything I learn/read can and does affect my world view.
Inappropriate Behavior
is peeing on the carpet
- Local time
- Today 12:18 PM
- Joined
- Sep 21, 2008
- Messages
- 3,795
- Location
- Behind you, kicking you in the ass
Everything I read and learn affects my world view.
snafupants
Prolific Member
- Local time
- Today 11:18 AM
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- May 31, 2010
- Messages
- 5,007
no logo - naomi klein
people's history of the united states - howard zinn
the idiot - fyodor dostoevsky
light in august - william faulkner
1984 - george orwell
thus spoke zarathustra - friedrich nietzsche
adventures of augie march - saul bellow
autobiography of mark twain - mark twain
the stranger - albert camus
the trial - franz kafka
essays of emerson - ralph waldo emerson
the bible- various authors yak yak yak
great expectations - charles dickens
people's history of the united states - howard zinn
the idiot - fyodor dostoevsky
light in august - william faulkner
1984 - george orwell
thus spoke zarathustra - friedrich nietzsche
adventures of augie march - saul bellow
autobiography of mark twain - mark twain
the stranger - albert camus
the trial - franz kafka
essays of emerson - ralph waldo emerson
the bible- various authors yak yak yak
great expectations - charles dickens
HemlockTrouper
Redshirt
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- Aug 3, 2010
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- 2
coal country...it's rly a group of articles written by many people. edited by shirley stewart burns, mary-lynn evans, and silas house. i'm not neccessarily a "tree-hugger", i just hate seeing an atom bomb dropped on my home every week. it's unsettling. end mountain top removal. now!
Thoughtful
Nom Nom Nommin' on Heaven's door
You're a Minarchist Dr.? *High Fives*
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
V for Vendetta
What Ever Happened to Penny Candy?
My side of the Mountain
The Art of War
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
V for Vendetta
What Ever Happened to Penny Candy?
My side of the Mountain
The Art of War