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Ask HN: What are the books that changed the perspective of your life?

• chimmychonga 12y ago
  The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I had to read it back in high as part of my AP Lit course. It's not a very long book but it is very well written and teaches you to enjoy life and live out your dreams.
  • wpqq 12y ago
    I got the impression from reviews on Amazon that it might have to do with "the law of attraction" (which I dislike), because a lesson in the book is about the universe conspiring to help you when you want something badly enough. Is "the law of attraction" a major theme?
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• cessor 12y ago
  "On becoming a person" by Carl R. Rogers. He defines Psychotherapy as merely a special case of any relationship, where the relationship will help you grow by allowing you to overcome built up incongruence. Many technical books made me change my perspective, but few were as valuable as this. Although it is easy to read, it can be quite hard to understand. It comes along as non-scientific, but many of his ideas and findings have been substantiated by empirical studies in the past.
• herghost 12y ago
  "Who Moved My Cheese" by Spencer Johnson. It's only a short tale, but it changed my approach to more or less everything. I am eternally grateful to my good friend who showed it to me in about 2000/2001 ish.
• beachstartup 12y ago
  the hard thing about hard things, horowitz. it gave me a significant confidence boost about the startup i'm doing.
• 2color 12y ago
  "Letting Go: The Pathway To Surrender" by David R. Hawkins A well written pragmatic guide to spirituality.
• schrodinger 12y ago
  Vagabonding by Rolf Potts. Talks about minimalistic long term travel.
• serve_yay 12y ago
  "How to Win Friends and Influence People", Dale Carnegie "The Black Swan", Taleb "How To Be Idle: A Loafer's Manifesto", Tom Hodgkinson "The Tao Is Not Silent", Raymond Smullyan In that order.
• humanarity 12y ago
  Meditations (Marcus Aurelius) - incredibly clear ideas probably clear-up 80% of issues you have with everyday life The Bible (& The Gnostic Gospels) - I love the idea that Jesus was a real guy who (literally) petrified his childhood playmates because they "vexed" him by dispersing his anti-gravity water :) Atlas Shrugged - no excuses Self and Others - personal pyschology Seth Speaks - a lady channels an interdimensional being The Road Less Travelled - a psychoanalyst's memoirs Letters to a Young Artist - encouragement for going your own way, a series of letters The Alchemist - help you read the signs from the heart of the World for your own path An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, et al (T. Suzuki) - really interesting, non-duality, higher third unification of opposites Hear the Wind Sing (Murakami) - really bizarre and pure, his first one written late nights at kitchen table after working in a bar, before he became famous Rich Dad Poor Dad - solid advice Discrete Maths (Rosen) - interesting and very learnable, a great reference An Imaginary Life (Malouf) - great clarity of writing The Solid Mandala (Patrick White) - amazing observation of people
  • ghrifter 12y ago
    > Discrete Maths (Rosen) This is a required textbook for my Discrete Mathematics course. I also recommend it! Although I wish there was more visuals in the book, it is a great textbook.
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• jonawesomegreen 12y ago
  "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie A classic, but it has really helped change the way I deal with people.
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• edw519 12y ago
  "The Ultimate Secret to Getting Absolutely Everything You Want" by Mike Hernacki The title sounds hokey, but it's one of the few self-help books that ever made much difference for me. The secret is simple but for most people, elusive. We talk about it all the time here on HN. http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Secret-Getting-Absolutely-Everything/dp/1589804864/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428593698&sr=8-1&keywords=mike+hernacki http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Secret-Getting-Absolutely-Eve... SPOILER below . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "I am willing to do whatever it takes to get what I want." (My spoiler doesn't do it justice. Take an hour and read the book.
  • ocfx 12y ago
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA7-3FKF-lE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA7-3FKF-lE
  • blatherard 12y ago
    One of my favorite articles on this topic is http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-ways-youre-sabotaging-your-own-life-without-knowing-it/ http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-ways-youre-sabotaging-your-own... The money quote to me is near the end of page 2: 'And I'm starting to think that the world really is divided between those who have a clear idea of what it means to want something -- including the total cost and sacrifices it will take to get it -- and those who are just content to leave it as an airy "wouldn't it be nice" fantasy. The former group hones in on what they want and goes zooming after it like a shark. The latter looks at them, shakes their head and says, "How do they do it?" As if they have a cheat code, or a secret technique.'
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• brudgers 12y ago
  Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco.
  • decasteve 12y ago
    Upon completion of the book I was left with the feeling that there was no book in the universe too complex or erudite that I couldn't tackle. It also gave everyone who read it a valid excuse not to read anything by Dan Brown.
    • wankel 12y ago
      The only reason anyone needs to never read anything by Dan Brown is Dan Brown's writing. I'm terrible at random-access, on-demand list building like this, but I strongly agree about a few of the other things mentioned here: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Godel, Escher, Bach by Hofstadter Orthodoxy by GK Chesterton The Abolition of Man by CS Lewis Walden by Thoreau A few of the better and more philosophical bits out of the bible (especially in a good modern translation), including Ecclesiastes and 1 Corinthians 13 To this list, I would also add Ralph Waldo Emerson's classic essays, including Self-Reliance and Experience
• enkiv2 12y ago
  The Masks of the Illuminati, by Robert Anton Wilson
• endlessvoid94 12y ago
  Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
  • probably_wrong 12y ago
    I use the book's definition of "quality" (or one of them) as my to-go mechanism whenever I have to explain why I think something is bad art. It's a shame that not even the author seems to like the definition.
  • echoless 12y ago
    I read this book a few years back and while I found it quite interesting as a story, I did not glean any major insights from it. It most likely has to do with my own ignorance about philosophy, but all I got from the book was that the author hates Aristotle and rigorous classification. And that quality is a more important property than morality.
  • jeffbush 12y ago
    I liked the part where he talks about gumption traps. Very relevant if you've worked on a big project.
• Red_Tarsius 12y ago
  - Losing my Virginity, by Richard Branson and Edward Whitley. It made me realize I've never really hustled in my life. Reading it was a humbling experience. When I finished the book I was on the verge of tears, an odd mix of shame and wonder. - Impro, by Keith Johnstone. It's about theatre, human flaws and taking back your self-expression. I'd gift it to anyone I know, if I could. 'What's for supper?' a bad improviser will desperately try to think up something original. Whatever he says he'll be too slow. He'll finally drag up some idea like 'fried mermaid'. If he'd just said 'fish' the audience would have been delighted. No two people are exactly alike, and the more obvious an improviser is, the more himself he appears. If he wants to impress us with his originality, then he'll search out ideas that are actually commoner and less interesting. [...] People trying to be original always arrive at the same boring old answers. [...] An artist who is inspired is being obvious. He's not making any decisions, he's not weighing one idea against another. He's accepting his first thoughts. [...] Striving after originality takes you far away from your true self, and makes your work mediocre.
  • thomk 12y ago
    What do you mean you realized you'd never "really hustled in your life"? Explain.
    • Red_Tarsius 12y ago
      In the past I had ideas I didn't act on because of I was afraid of failure. I told myself that it just couldn't be done because [insert bullshit]. In that regard, Richard Branson is like the fool of folklore culture: "he didn't know it was impossible, so he did it". He started a business before turning 20 and made incredibly heavy decisions without much self-doubt. He was a Just-do-it machine. The book inspired me to stop making excuses and be more confident.
  • twobits 12y ago
    "It made me realize I've never really hustled in my life. Reading it was a humbling experience. When I finished the book I was on the verge of tears, an odd mix of shame and wonder." There is a lot of survivor bias in that.
• carsongross 12y ago
  "Orthodoxy" - GK Chesterton "The Abolition of Man" - CS Lewis "The Master and Margarita" - Mikhail Bulgakov "The Brothers Karamazov" - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  • smizell 12y ago
    I thought the same of Orthodoxy. Chesterton just has a way with words and thoughts.
  • dcsommer 12y ago
    The Abolition of Man is a great essay. It's short and still relevant. Consideration of the "men without chests" is particularly interesting.
  • AnimalMuppet 12y ago
    I second "The Abolition of Man". Also "The God Who Is There" or "Escape From Reason" by Francis Schaeffer.
• probably_wrong 12y ago
  "You Can Negotiate Anything", by Herb Cohen. By taking the point of view that "negotiation" is not "convincing morons to do what I want" but "let's try and solve this together", the author introduces a couple points about how to deal with all sorts of conflicts and difficult situations. I read it several years ago, and yet there's not a month in which I don't put at least one of its lessons in use. I found it a lot more useful and honest than the famed "How to influence friends and win people" but, somewhat ironically, I never used it in any negotiation involving money.
  • steveeq1 12y ago
    Interesting. I hate books that teach you how to negotiate like a scumbag (ie most trial attorneys and car salesmen) so this is a refreshing change of pace. I will put this on my to-read list. A book in similar vein is "Getting to Yes". which influenced me greatly in how to handle disputes. It was recommended by Charlie Munger, in his book "Poor Charlie's Almanack" (antoher great book). Also, check out "Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger". Both that and Poor Charlie's Almanack are two books that describe the Warren Buffett/Charlie Munger way of thinking. In fact, I found out about "Getting to Yes" through those two books. Read them, these three books changed my outlook on life in a big way. A summary of these books is here: http://sivers.org/book/SeekingWisdom http://sivers.org/book/SeekingWisdom
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• ThomPete 12y ago
  "The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind"– Julian Jaynes http://www.amazon.com/Origin-Consciousness-Breakdown-Bicameral-Mind/dp/0618057072 http://www.amazon.com/Origin-Consciousness-Breakdown-Bicamer... Either the theory is crazy or it's one of the most groundbreaking discoveries in newer history.
• grey-area 12y ago
  Meditations by Marcus Aurelius - a wonderfully simple explanation of what is truly important in life. The Order of Things or Madness and Civilisation by Michel Foucault - a look at how our culture and time limit the horizons of our world view. Anna Karenina by Tolstoy - a complicated set of love stories set in 19C Russia - brilliantly observed. Godel, Escher, Bach by Hofstadter - an exhilarating skip through the wonderland of western maths, art, music and philosophy. Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston - a great insight into the first computer revolution - interviews with a lot of very interesting people.
  • humanarity 12y ago
    I literally jumped in my chair and facepalmed myself when I saw you'd included Meditations and I'd left it out. Damn. Thank you for reminding me how great that was. Putting it in now :)
  • plongeur 12y ago
    I also read Anna Karenina (I am a big fan of Russian literature) - but none the less (or maybe rather b/c of that) I am curious to learn how this book did change your perspective on your life?
    • grey-area 12y ago
      I first read it when quite young, so probably it provided an emotional education, but also a lesson that literature can be more than just a clever plot - it's full of wonderful observations of human character, even characters that Tolstoy was not particularly sympathetic to (e.g. Stiva, who chooses his opinions as he chooses his hat, from the selection available, or Anna, the tragic focal point of the novel) - there are no villains and no heroes, only bumbling humans dealing with problems entirely of their own creation. I also liked Madame Bovary from the same period, another riff on doomed attempts to escape unhappy circumstances - perhaps all happy novels are alike, whereas every unhappy novel is unhappy in its own interesting way?
  • cheriot 12y ago
    Meditations: Read this thinking about the power held by the hand writing it. Absolute control of the Mediterranean world! Incredible!
• claar 12y ago
  The Bible. No wait, don't go. I'm serious here. Read Proverbs -- from a purely atheistic mindset if you must. Very practical business and life advice if you're willing to hear it. Read Ecclesiastes. Don't spend your life chasing after the wind -- you can't take it with you. Read Romans 12:9-21. Do what it says for a week. Read about Jesus washing His servant's feet (John 13:1-17). Serve your team/family, put them first. It's confirmation bias, but I'm continually amazed how the "next new business/life strategy" was already written ~2-5 thousand years ago. (edit: Romans reference fixed, thanks)
  • tubbs 12y ago
    Is Romans 9:12-21 the right reference? I might not be looking into it enough, but it doesn't seem like "do what it says for a week" material. That being said, I wholeheartedly agree with your suggestion.
    • computmaxer 12y ago
      Try Romans 12: 9-21
      • tubbs 12y ago
        That makes much more sense. "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
• kabdib 12y ago
  "Godel, Escher, Bach" by Douglas Hopfstadter. I was in high school when it came out, and it really opened my eyes up to the field of computability. The philosophy was interesting, too. "Holy the Firm" by Annie Dillard. Not really about religion, more about our relationship to the world. A beautifully written little book. "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" by Richard Rhodes. This one works on me at several levels: The physics (which are explained well), the sheer titanic scope of the Manhattan project, and the meta-knowledge that someone was able to write a book this good. "The C Programming Language", by Kernighan and Ritchie. Probably the single most influential book on programming that I've read.
• fmstephe 12y ago
  The Glass Bead Game - Herman Hesse Read when I was about 14. I just remember the way it excited my mind.
• MrMiracle 12y ago
  L'etranger - Albert Camus Le mythe de sisyphe - Albert Camus
• Denzel 12y ago
  Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. I recommend it to everybody that asks for a life-changing book. Truly a piece of art.
  • plongeur 12y ago
    "Ich kann denken. Ich kann warten. Ich kann fasten."
• habosa 12y ago
  There are many, but the one off the top of my head is "The Alchemist". I have read it at least ten times (it only takes about two hours). It's something like meditation in a book for me, it allows me to reset my mind and gain perspective whenever I am overly stressed or anxious. Edit: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
  • chrisbuchholz 12y ago
    By whom? Google gives me numerous books with that title.
    • habosa 12y ago
      Paulo Coelho, edited the post to include that.
• ashark 12y ago
  Franny and Zooey -- Salinger Mostly by introducing me to the Stoics (Aurelius especially) and a variety of Eastern, especially Zen Buddhist, works. Revolutionary Road -- Yates Yay, mentioned that one in two threads today and it's not even noon yet! A History of Western Philosophy -- Russell Vonnegut in general. Bluebeard serves as a good overview of his major themes and ideas, to pick just one book. The part about how people with small talents who were once valued by their communities have been rendered eccentrics of no special value to anyone by easy, cheap, global distribution of media is always near the front of my mind. How to Read a Book -- Adler
• dghf 12y ago
  Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson, Illuminatus! Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World. Daniel Dennett, Consciousness Explained. T.H. White, The Once and Future King. George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia.
• aqme28 12y ago
  Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman
• rasz_pl 12y ago
  Das Kapital
• suncanon 12y ago
  The Gift: Imagination and the Erotic Life of Property (1983) by Lewis Hyde. It is not only a powerful deconstruction of the creative process, but it details the history of relationships between gift/craft and acquisition/capital. A valuable read for anyone who has ever wanted to put more into their projects than what is asked or required.
• bobcostas55 12y ago
  Hume - An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding Quine - Two Dogmas of Empiricism Stirner - The Ego and its Own Nietzche - All of them, really Metzinger - The Ego Tunnel
• sqyttles 12y ago
  Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell helped me understand why some people are successful and while others are not (despite superior intelligence).
• gmu3 12y ago
  I like these posts as much as everyone else, but this is literally at least the third one this week. Maybe it could become a recurring monthly thing like the hiring posts. Walden: "Society is commonly too cheap. We meet at very short intervals, not having had time to acquire any new value for each other. We meet at meals three times a day, and give each other a new taste of that old musty cheese that we are. We have had to agree on a certain set of rules, called etiquette and politeness, to make this frequent meeting tolerable and that we need not come to open war. We meet at the post-office, and at the sociable, and about the fireside every night; we live thick and are in each other's way, and stumble over one another, and I think that we thus lose some respect for one another. Certainly less frequency would suffice for all important and hearty communications." Part of the reason I'm off fb.
• IanCal 12y ago
  Thinking, fast and slow - Daniel Kahneman A stunningly good book about cognitive biases, with fairly understated claims and backed up with studies. Excellent advice for life and it's changed how I view decisions and interactions. [edit - if you want it and can't afford it, get in touch and I might be able to buy you a copy] The Evolution of Cooperation - Robert Axelrod Rather hammers the prisoners dilemma a lot, but it does feel justified. It's been maybe 9 years since I read this and it was the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw this question. How does co-operation work? What properties are required for co-operation? If I recall correctly it examines these questions from the scale of bacteria to nation states.
  • gbersac 12y ago
    > Thinking, fast and slow Definitely one of the most mind blowing book I ever read. Loved it.This could be summarised in : "I know that I know nothing". It's incredible how our mind is biased in so many way to the point of being untrustworthy.
    • IanCal 12y ago
      What I particularly love about it is that it makes quite reasonable claims, and explains the data behind them. Often it comes from him doing an experiment and finding something odd, then trying to eliminate the effect by reducing more and more parts before being left with incredible results. It is not a self help book, it's not a "10 crazy things your doctor won't tell you!" book, it's a story about the more interesting findings of a Nobel Prize winner (Nobel Memorial Prize apparently, after checking wikipedia) extremely well explained. I think the only book that's left me stopping every few pages and going "huh... so that's why..." or prodding someone near to explain a cool new thing is a Brief History of Time when I was younger (also a thoroughly good read if you've not done so, having being reminded now).
• ianamartin 12y ago
  Naked Lunch -- William S. Borroughs
  • plongeur 12y ago
    How did it change the perspective on your life?
• pakled_engineer 12y ago
  Voltaire's Bastards by John Ralston Saul and SICP (Structural Interpretation Of Computer Programs) because at the time I had no idea wizardry could be performed and was banging out boring scripts for a living.
• pakled_engineer 12y ago
  Voltaire's Bastards by John Ralston Saul and SICP (Structural Interpretation Of Computer Programs) because at the time I had no idea wizardry could be performed and was banging out boring scripts for a living.
• fatjoel 12y ago
  I find these threads are often very interesting, but can we please make sure to include something about the book or about how it changed your perspective? If I just see a title it doesn't add much value to the discussion. Thanks for taking the time, y'all.
  • kristiandupont 12y ago
    Excellent idea! The minute I saw the thread I knew that it was going to pan out this way: first, there will be three or four threads and I will be excited about books I hadn't heard of before. But soon it will turn into 20 and then 100 lists of books, overwhelming me and ultimately leading me to do nothing. However, if people could write (and some of you have) little excerpts and details about what is significant about a book, I'd love it. More than "shows you what is truly important" please, I believe that it might but I will also assume that it concludes that love is more important than money, or some variation of that idea. And I really don't want to read another book that tells me that unless it will make me realize it on some new level through a specific perspective.
• fatjoel 12y ago
  I find these threads are often very interesting, but can we please make sure to include something about the book or about how it changed your perspective? If I just see a title it doesn't add much value to the discussion. Thanks for taking the time, y'all.
• fatjoel 12y ago
  I find these threads are often very interesting, but can we please make sure to include something about the book or about how it changed your perspective? If I just see a title it doesn't add much value to the discussion. Thanks for taking the time, y'all.
• fatjoel 12y ago
  I find these threads are often very interesting, but can we please make sure to include something about the book or about how it changed your perspective? If I just see a title it doesn't add much value to the discussion. Thanks for taking the time, y'all.
• pramalin 12y ago
  From Sex to Superconsciousness - Osho A great stress reliever for an Indian who was feeling guilty all the time waking or sleeping. Many articles by rationalist and reformer Periyar E.V.Ramasamy http://Periyar.org http://Periyar.org
• alfiedotwtf 12y ago
  Say what you want about ESR, but if I had never read "The Art of Unix Programming", my life would be unrecognisable and sad.
• andrea_sdl 12y ago
  Tiny beautiful things by Cheryl Strayed. Out of the overcrowded self-help world this book will challenge you and get to your heart. There's something to learn in every story. Another one is "The power of vulnerability" by Brene Brown, actually it's an audiobook, I think the book has no equivalent written version but it might be something on the line of "Daring greatly" (same author). These books will challenge you in many ways.
• galephico 12y ago
  Altruism - Mathieu Ricard Search Inside Yourself - Chade-Meng Tan Bible - several authors Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk Eléments de Philosophie Angélique - Denis Marquet (french) Au coeur de l'instant - Jean Bouchart d'Orval (french)
  • epsylon 12y ago
    The one book that I first thought of when I read the OP's original question was Mathieu Ricard's L'Art de la Méditation (an English translation aptly named The Art of Meditation is available). At some point in my life, while I was going through severe depression, I got interested (by the folks on HN) into looking more into Buddhist philosophy and meditation. This little book, quick to read, made me realize that our selves are not what we think they are, and that our emotions are impermanent, that we can deal with them by simply acknowledging them instead of letting them overthrow us. It's a brilliant simple idea, though it is harder to put into practice. (I am still not quite managing to be a regular meditator to this day) This little book changed my life, and I've now bought it or lent it to several people from my friends or family in the hope that it may have the same impact on them as it had on me.
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    • galephico 12y ago
      I forgot to list this book but it is changing at the moment my way of managing thoughts and feelings, especially strong ones. Thanks !
• blumkvist 12y ago
  Good suggestions already ITT, so I'm not gonna repeat. All of Enderverse by Orson Scot Card is simply excellent. Ender's game is a nice peak into what goes on in the whole series. A mash between true strategy, relationships, personal development, philosophy and is very engaging. However the rest of the Ender series deal mainly with philosophy. Plenty of nuggets there. Additionally Shadow's saga is situated on Earth and is about strategy and competing. Highly recommended too.
  • moron4hire 12y ago
    I'm sorry, this isn't meant as an attack on you, but I thought Ender's Game was a rather terrible piece of over-indulgent nerd fantasy with a heaping helping of apologia for "preemptive" warfare. My wife also loved the book and I just don't see it. Well, I sort of see it, it's appealing to anyone who felt like an outsider in school. But its treatment of that feeling all seems very dangerous. It resorts to a weird sort of ego-stroking to explain away why the reader cum Ender was an outcast, then justifies all of the hyperviolence against all offenders under the age-old abuser's excuse "I didn't know my own strength." I don't think people read enough into the book and treat it too much as light, throw-away fiction.
    • grandalf 12y ago
      The best one is Speaker for the Dead. Also, Ender's Shadow attempts to address some of the flaws you mention. I don't think the book justifies pre-emptive war at all: The problem of a potential alien attack is relevant (in an ironic way) b/c many human political decisions are framed by leaders as a choice between action and annihilation. In the original short, that framing is intended to get the reader on board with the rest of the story without extensive justification. In subsequent books, the fictitious society comes to view the decision made to kill the aliens as having been a terrible atrocity.
      • moron4hire 12y ago
        I tend to think of that more as Orson Scott Card backpedalling after the various backlashes against his personal values. Books are reflections of the people who write them. Every violent encounter in the book is "it's really too bad how everything turned out, but nobody knew, so that makes it okay!" On several occasions, Ender commits what amounts to manslaughter at best, 2nd degree murder at worst, and it's all just washed away as "well, but they hate him because he's so freaking good." It's absurd.
• moron4hire 12y ago
  A lot of good suggestions. To try to avoid repeating what others have said too much, here are some from a different perspective. # "JPod" by Douglas Coupland helped me realize that it was corporatism, not me, that was broken. # Benjamin Franklin's autobiography showed me a history that was made of people, a people no different than me and mine, and that success comes from standing up and going your own way. # "Time Enough for Love" by Robert Heinlein taught me that, while culture is arbitrary and we should be free to try to make it what we wish, that doesn't make it fake or ignorable. # "Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, re-read as an adult, taught me the importance of formula in consistency and how much a market of fans love predictability. # "Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin taught me that the movie can be a lot better than the book and that there is a problem with modern generations making an affectation out of book reading.
• shahocean 12y ago
  Bhagavad Gita. Mahatma Gandhi once said that he reads Gita whenever he can't find the solution of any problem.
• MichaelGG 12y ago
  This is embarrassing. I grew up with sorta fundie parents (they got better) and dropped out of school early (religious schools...), so it might be different for HNers that had a solid mental upbringing. A Brief History of Time because it pretty much slapped any thoughts I had of a supernatural universe/god right out of my mind. I know it's not highly regarded, but for a rather ignorant guy, it woke me up. The Selfish Gene (inc The Extended Phenotype). This is one I think is the most powerful, even for people that had OK education. Showing how life could possibly evolve, just with random mutations and non-random survival made it real to me that we live in a natural world. And not just that, but that since it's so obviously a natural world, it's up to us to decide what is right, what our purpose is. The earth and nature aren't going to help us there - it's our call, full stop. That is huge, and many otherwise seemingly well educated people don't seem to get it. Heuristics and Biases. (Though Thinking Fast and Slow might be more approachable.) This book opened me up to the fact that I'm running on busted hardware. That I've got serious, unfixable, biases built into my brain. That a lot of what I do is a fast but inaccurate parallel system at work. (Interestingly, this is the essence of Taoism, wu wei). Lately, LessWrong. (Available as a book called Rationality: From AI to Zombies). These sequences have helped me, well, get less wrong, slowly, at making decisions and general thinking. I try to be aware of when I'm being biased and incorrect. I make better predictions and actively try to update my priors, instead of just confirming my previous beliefs. As I get older (34) I find I'm unwittingly acting close minded on occasion, and need to actively work against it.
  • booruguru 12y ago
    > I know it's not highly regarded Really? I've only heard good things about it. Would you mind elaborating?
    • MichaelGG 12y ago
      I just remember reading comments from other physicists along the lines of that they didn't even know what Hawking was talking about because the descriptions were so far off. But now I cannot find the quote, so perhaps I imagined it or it was referring to something else.
• delibes 12y ago
  Maverick: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maverick_%28book%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maverick_%28book%29 Read it when I was 17 and it shaped what I expected from work in the future.
• samora 12y ago
  Rich Dad, Poor Dad - Robert Kiyosaki
• mgarfias 12y ago
  Heinlein: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress Robert Coram: Boyd Mark Donohue (w/Paul Van Valkenburgh): The Unfair Advantage Carroll Smith: XXX To Win (its a series of books)
• dome82 12y ago
  The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
• deskamess 12y ago
  The Prophet - By Kahlil Gibran. Beautifully written prose. A co-worker lend it to me and I kept it in my desk until I was clearing up before leaving the company. Decided to read it before giving it back to him... it had an impact on me (more compassionate and considerate). Sounds silly, but I still look back fondly at my decision to read it before giving it back - it meant that much to me!!
• goodgoblin 12y ago
  Thomas Mann's "The Magic Mountain" has always stuck with me. I read it during my lunch break for about 6 months. The book animates the ideas that brought about the modern world.
• georgiev 12y ago
  "Zorba the Greek" by Nikos Kazantzakis It's a novel which makes you think about how you want to spend your everyday life. It's a book about appreciating what you have, about friendship, about love. It's very pure. I'd recommend it.
  • twobits 12y ago
    It's on my reading list. Have read "Report to Greco" by Nikos Kazantzakis, and it's my favorite book of all time. Very deep, very touching, very thought provoking, and at the same time very simple, easy, and accessible.
• JSeymourATL 12y ago
  Man's Search for Meaning-- There is no finer book for perspective setting than Viktor Frankl's classic work> http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4069.Man_s_Search_for_Meaning http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4069.Man_s_Search_for_Mea...
  • shobu 12y ago
    This was the book that shook me to core. After this I realised no matter how much problems you face, there is always hope. Excellent book.
    • JSeymourATL 12y ago
      Indeed - I pick up this book every few months for quick refresher. Always good food for thought.
• mkadlec 12y ago
  Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
• blackle 12y ago
  Permutation City by Greg Egan really changed my personal cosmology
• ph4 12y ago
  Alan Watts - The Wisdom of Insecurity An exploration of man's quest for psychological security and spiritual certainty in religion and philosophy.
  • wordbank 12y ago
    "Out of your mind" audio lectures by Alan Watts completely changed my perception of world and myself.
• pariya 12y ago
  "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield (good read if you want to learn how to quit procrastinating!) "The Greatest Salesman on Earth" by Og Mandino "The Zahir" by Paolo Coelho is about challenging tradition, highly recommend. "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie When I was in high school- "The Alchemist" by Paolo Coelho
• jlhenry 12y ago
  be here now by ram dass
• ArekDymalski 12y ago
  In order of appearance: "Fables for Robots" by Stanislaw Lem - it shaped my love for SF for the rest of my life "Mindwatching: Why We Behave the Way We Do" by Hans and Michael Eysenck - it influenced my choice of studies "The social animal" by Elliot Aronson - it helped me to understand people a bit better :) "Rich dad, poor dad" by Robert Kiyosaki - it really helped me in the transition from the corporate world to own business
• jilted 12y ago
  Nick Cave - And the Ass Saw the Angel Gary Jennings - Aztec Gary Jennings - The Journeyor
• rayalez 12y ago
  "Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality" by Eliezer Yudkowsky - the most brilliant book I've read this year. I wish I'd read it 10 years ago. And Atlas Shrugged - controversial, I know, a lot of people here hate it for some reason, but it was incredibly influential on me, inspired my passion for entrepreneurship and science and philosophy. Still is one of the best books I am aware of. If I could send 2 books back in time to the 14-year-old me - these would be it.
• galfarragem 12y ago
  IMHO to really change your whole life perspective, you must experience a traumatic event, not reading a book. Anyway I would say that a book can trigger a change of perspective on a particular aspect of your life: '4-hour workweek' - Tim Ferriss (on lifestyle) 'Get Things Done' - David Allen (on organization and productivity) 'The Way of the Superior Man' - David Deida (on relationships) 'The prince' - Machiavelli' (on business and strategy) 'The little prince' - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (on meaning of life) 'The Feynman Lectures on Physics' - Richard Feynman' (to remember you to be humble) A lot of other books had broaden my perspective of life even if they weren't enough to trigger a change. That list would be immense.
• geldedus 12y ago
  "The 4-Hour Workweek", no doubt
• chrisBob 12y ago
  Atlas Shrugged. I found out that the people who claim it changed their lives mostly think that they are the smartest, most important people in the country. Beware of the elite who think that the country is there to serve them and that it is criminal how the government demands taxes to help those who were not born into wealth and privilege.
• pdiddy 12y ago
  Guy Davenport is the writer who resonates with me the most. If I had to choose one work it would be "Wo es war, soll ich werden." Kenneth Goldsmith's work, probably epitomized in the book Day, is what challenged me the most. It shook my ideas about what it means to be original and create art in the world today.
• kapauldo 12y ago
  Big Bang, Simon Singh The Trial, Franz Kafka Both life changing and both permanently modify your lens on the world.