Books that have changed your life?

elixir · 11-08-2003, 10:05 AM

In every possible way:
*they've made you think
*they've changed you views
*they've gave you an extremely powerful feeling

Cowlek · 12-14-2003, 10:23 AM

I read a book called Stravaganza-City of Makss and it stopped me being afraid of death.I dont know why...just did.And Terry Pratchett-The WeeFree Men tought me that anyone can do anything if they want it that bad.
Wahey thats in my sig.Andits not even a quote from the book.
They're both really good books,i strongly advise you to read them

Bilbo · 12-16-2003, 10:21 AM

ANy books from the following authors:

Terry Pratchett
Douglas Adams
Philip Pullman
JRR Tolkein

BUt especially:
To kill a mockingbird

Human#3.141592653 · 01-14-2004, 08:48 PM

Books that have changed one's life?

Generally, I wouldn't think that by merely reading a book you can change your whole life (Life is rather large, after all) but many books have aided in changes the way in which I see things.

Iodro by William Gibson is a great book if you want to change your views on online identies. In it a pop rock stars marries the computer generated image of a woman created by a company that also produces music for her.

Very trippy.

Katie of the Golden Wood · 03-11-2004, 06:00 PM

I think books can definitely change your life. They change how you see things, and that in turn changes your reactions and your life.

Number one is Lord of the Rings, or I wouldn't be here. It made things clearer and better in my life.

Number two goes to Life of Pi (also being discussed on religion thread)

Honorable mentions: Chronicles of Narnia, Baudolino, and His Dark Materials Trilogy.

Katie

Lalaith_Elf · 04-06-2004, 07:17 AM

I'd have to say that LOTR's definatly made me see life in a new way. I'm a literature student so I pretty much automatically look for the 'deeper meanings' when I'm reading a book for the first time, and Tolkien's stuff definatly has moral and themes that can make you look at your own life and act of it.

Also Death of a Salesman. It's a play, but it still has the potential to change something in you. Not that I like to admit this much. I've pretty much spent the last month in arguments with my teacher about how DoaS isn't really that interesting

.

Also anything by Philip Pulman as well. It has the same effect as Tolkien has (maybe not as uch as Tolkien), but it still makes you think and view life in a different way than before you picked up the book.

I'm sure I'll think of other books soon.

brownjenkins · 04-06-2004, 09:04 AM

joseph campbell's the power of myth... gave me a whole new pov on mankind and religion

BeardofPants · 04-06-2004, 04:17 PM

Tolkien goes without saying. I'd also like to add PK Dick, and Frank Herbert to the list. Ubik and Dune are both incredible reads. Ubik is definitely one of those WTF... books.... And Dune, well, everyone must read dune.

Ithilgalad · 04-06-2004, 04:37 PM

T. H. White: "The once and future King" (great book on King Arthur and Merlin and the whole Camelot affaire

)

Brian Bates: "The Way of Wyrd" (how a catholic monk gets involved with the anglo-saxon concept of religion and believe and shamanism)

J. R. R. Tolkien of course

... (my whole world, philosophy, 'religion' is a mixture of his works and the facts I read about the Celts yet)

Marion Zimmer Bradley (though mainly if I want to read kind of 'easy' literature)

Anything about the Celts available to me

... they helped me find a way of living my life without going TOOOOOO nuts...

Michael Moore (all three of his books made me think a lot... not only about the US but about the way Europe is heading towards)

Ephraim Kishon (if I really need a laugh, he´s there for me

)...

There´s so much more... but I can´t think of anything really important at the moment that I´ve not mentioned already

.

hectorberlioz · 04-06-2004, 04:40 PM

Oh!
Dostoyevsky, and Dickens

The Brothers Karamazov is a book that really made me think about things in a different perspective than my own (not changing my perspective, but seeing different ones as well).
And the same goes for "Crime and Punishment".

I cant say that LotR ever changed my life, because its always been part of my life. I grew up with LotR and The Hobbit.

zinnite · 04-06-2004, 07:37 PM

For me, it's Philip K. Dick, too. Ubik is a great one, but the book that did it for me was A Scanner Darkly.

Some other fine reads that significantly moved me:

God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut (as well as Jailbird and Breakfast of Champions)

People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn

Perdido Street Station by China Mieville (I can't say it enough--READ THIS BOOK!!!)

That one about the hobbits and a ring...

The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis

The various writings of Eugene Debs and Emma Goldman

Random Acts of Senseless Violence by Jack Womack

cassiopeia · 04-06-2004, 08:53 PM

The Lord of the Rings changed my life because I think about it everyday, probably look through it for something every other day and I'm still on Entmoot two years later.

All the books by Carl Sagan I love, but his book, Demon-Haunted World, changed my life. It made me more sceptical, and to question things more than I had previously.

There are many more books I love, but those two really have changed my life.

brownjenkins · 04-07-2004, 09:08 AM

Demon-Haunted World was a very good book!

i forgot about that one... will have to pick it up again one of these days

sun-star · 04-07-2004, 11:30 AM

The first book I ever read changed my life, because it made me a book-lover. Unfortunately I don't remember what it was

Last Child of Ungoliant · 04-07-2004, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ithilgalad
Anything about the Celts available to me ... they helped me find a way of living my life without going TOOOOOO nuts...

do u mean Ancient Celts, or the Celtic People
i am quarter Irish, Quarter Scottish,
so i am a Celt

anything by Tolkien i would say
and 'The Little Book of Wisdom', by His Holiness, the Dalai Lama

eowyngirl14 · 05-20-2004, 10:33 PM

Where the Red Fern Grows! i love that book so much i read it for the first time in 4th grade and i cried for literally 2 hours at the end and i wouldnt let go of my pet cat or let her out of my sight for the next week. my mom thinks its that book that made me such an 'emotional reader'. AKA i cry in like every book ever.
but every book i read changes my outlook on life a little, hence changing how i live my life, hence chaning my life...

i just read Empress of the World about a teenage lesbian, its not that well written or anything, but it doesnt have to be. it gets its point across very neatly. and yes, i did cry.

Count Comfect · 05-21-2004, 12:00 AM

I don't think any books have changed my life... but my English teacher keeps saying after *EVERY* book we read that it changed her life. It gets annoying... but it might be true.

Forkbeard · 05-21-2004, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Katie of the Golden Wood
I think books can definitely change your life. They change how you see things, and that in turn changes your reactions and your life.

Number one is Lord of the Rings, or I wouldn't be here. It made things clearer and better in my life.

Number two goes to Life of Pi (also being discussed on religion thread)

Honorable mentions: Chronicles of Narnia, Baudolino, and His Dark Materials Trilogy.

Katie

Yeah, I have to say Lord of the Rings and Til We Have Faces were two big life altering books. Augustine's Confessions, Dante's Commedia, and Bede would also be big ones. The Bible. No, not because you're supposed to say that, it really did shape the way I view the world and think. So it didn't change my life so much as influence it greatly.

Forkbeard

hectorberlioz · 05-22-2004, 12:00 AM

I have Bede

BelegS · 05-22-2004, 03:02 AM

Books that changed my life.

Enid Blyton's Second Famous Five book got me hooked to literature which has played a big role in my subsequent life.

Harry Potter books, helped structuring my English language ability a great deal.

Books that changed my lifestyle.

Roots, I can never offer any justification of slavery after reading it.

Birdsong, It did to me in the matter of War what Roots did for slavery.

And although It didn't quite change my lifestyle but To Kill a Mockingbird effected me a great deal too.

Oh and 'Animal Farm'. Helped me developed my political sense and realize many many things.

11-08-2003, 10:05 AM	#1
elixir Elven Warrior Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: wherever my dreams take me Posts: 356	Books that have changed your life? In every possible way: they've made you think they've changed you views they've gave you an extremely powerful feeling __________________ ~ Time is a drug. Too much of it kills you ~ "We've got a wizard and we're not afraid to use him!" HOBBITS NEEDED! Some dwarves as well !!! Last edited by elixir : 05-30-2004 at 02:28 PM.*

12-14-2003, 10:23 AM	#2
Cowlek Sapling Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hogwarts! Posts: 10	I read a book called Stravaganza-City of Makss and it stopped me being afraid of death.I dont know why...just did.And Terry Pratchett-The WeeFree Men tought me that anyone can do anything if they want it that bad. Wahey thats in my sig.Andits not even a quote from the book. They're both really good books,i strongly advise you to read them __________________ "Sorry Mr Frodo Sir"-Samwise Gamgee What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us. Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools. If you're going through hell, keep going. --Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965) British Statesman, Prime Minister, Author How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live. Albert Einstein--Genius....Dyslexic.Anyone can do anything if they want it that bad.

01-14-2004, 08:48 PM	#4
Human#3.141592653 Elven Warrior Join Date: May 2002 Location: Truth or Consequences, New Mexico Posts: 292	Books that have changed one's life? Generally, I wouldn't think that by merely reading a book you can change your whole life (Life is rather large, after all) but many books have aided in changes the way in which I see things. Iodro by William Gibson is a great book if you want to change your views on online identies. In it a pop rock stars marries the computer generated image of a woman created by a company that also produces music for her. Very trippy. __________________ You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.

04-06-2004, 07:17 AM	#6
Lalaith_Elf Her Infernal Majesty Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 2,188	I'd have to say that LOTR's definatly made me see life in a new way. I'm a literature student so I pretty much automatically look for the 'deeper meanings' when I'm reading a book for the first time, and Tolkien's stuff definatly has moral and themes that can make you look at your own life and act of it. Also Death of a Salesman. It's a play, but it still has the potential to change something in you. Not that I like to admit this much. I've pretty much spent the last month in arguments with my teacher about how DoaS isn't really that interesting . Also anything by Philip Pulman as well. It has the same effect as Tolkien has (maybe not as uch as Tolkien), but it still makes you think and view life in a different way than before you picked up the book. I'm sure I'll think of other books soon. __________________ "It is a good viewpoint to see the world as a dream. When you have something like a nightmare, you will wake up and tell yourself that it was only a dream. It is said that the world we live in is not a bit different from this." - Yamamoto Tsunetomo

04-06-2004, 09:04 AM	#7
brownjenkins Advocatus Diaboli Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Reality Posts: 3,767	joseph campbell's the power of myth... gave me a whole new pov on mankind and religion __________________ Your reality, sir, is lies and balderdash and I'm delighted to say that I have no grasp of it whatsoever.

12-16-2003, 10:21 AM	#3
Bilbo Enting Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Last Homely House Posts: 52	ANy books from the following authors: Terry Pratchett Douglas Adams Philip Pullman JRR Tolkein BUt especially: To kill a mockingbird __________________ Does God play The Sims?

03-11-2004, 06:00 PM	#5
Katie of the Golden Wood Enting Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: US of A Posts: 69	I think books can definitely change your life. They change how you see things, and that in turn changes your reactions and your life. Number one is Lord of the Rings, or I wouldn't be here. It made things clearer and better in my life. Number two goes to Life of Pi (also being discussed on religion thread) Honorable mentions: Chronicles of Narnia, Baudolino, and His Dark Materials Trilogy. Katie

04-06-2004, 04:17 PM	#8
BeardofPants the Shrike Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: San Francisco, CA <3 Posts: 10,647	Tolkien goes without saying. I'd also like to add PK Dick, and Frank Herbert to the list. Ubik and Dune are both incredible reads. Ubik is definitely one of those WTF... books.... And Dune, well, everyone must read dune. __________________ "Binary solo! 0000001! 00000011! 0000001! 00000011!" ~ The Humans are Dead, Flight of the Conchords

04-06-2004, 04:37 PM	#9
Ithilgalad Elven Warrior Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Vienna, Austria Posts: 101	T. H. White: "The once and future King" (great book on King Arthur and Merlin and the whole Camelot affaire ) Brian Bates: "The Way of Wyrd" (how a catholic monk gets involved with the anglo-saxon concept of religion and believe and shamanism) J. R. R. Tolkien of course ... (my whole world, philosophy, 'religion' is a mixture of his works and the facts I read about the Celts yet) Marion Zimmer Bradley (though mainly if I want to read kind of 'easy' literature) Anything about the Celts available to me ... they helped me find a way of living my life without going TOOOOOO nuts... Michael Moore (all three of his books made me think a lot... not only about the US but about the way Europe is heading towards) Ephraim Kishon (if I really need a laugh, he´s there for me )... There´s so much more... but I can´t think of anything really important at the moment that I´ve not mentioned already . __________________ ~ I amar prestar aen, han mathon ne nen, han mathon ne chae a han noston ned 'wilith. ~ ----- Gedichte, Texte, Wallpapers: www.ithilgalad.info ----- The Queendom of The Roaming Galadhrim

04-06-2004, 04:40 PM	#10
hectorberlioz Master of Orchestration President Emeritus of Entmoot 2004-2008 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Lost in the Opera House Posts: 9,328	Oh! Dostoyevsky, and Dickens The Brothers Karamazov is a book that really made me think about things in a different perspective than my own (not changing my perspective, but seeing different ones as well). And the same goes for "Crime and Punishment". I cant say that LotR ever changed my life, because its always been part of my life. I grew up with LotR and The Hobbit. __________________ ACALEWIA- President of Entmoot hectorberlioz- Vice President of Entmoot Acaly und Hektor fur Presidants fur EntMut fur life! Join the discussion at Entmoot Election 2010. "Stupidissimo!"~Toscanini The Da CINDY Code The Epic Poem Of The Balrog of Entmoot: Here ~NEW! ~ Thinking of summer vacation? AboutNewJersey.com - NJ Travel & Tourism Guide Last edited by hectorberlioz : 04-07-2004 at 12:30 AM.

04-06-2004, 07:37 PM	#11
zinnite Elven Warrior Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Lawrence, Kansas, USA Posts: 195	For me, it's Philip K. Dick, too. Ubik is a great one, but the book that did it for me was A Scanner Darkly. Some other fine reads that significantly moved me: God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut (as well as Jailbird and Breakfast of Champions) People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn Perdido Street Station by China Mieville (I can't say it enough--READ THIS BOOK!!!) That one about the hobbits and a ring... The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis The various writings of Eugene Debs and Emma Goldman Random Acts of Senseless Violence by Jack Womack __________________ A citizen runs to the fire department yelling that he's spotted a roaring blaze from his car. "WHERE IS IT?" the fire department asks, pen ready. "It rises like some brooding , glaring trail of cosmic fury from- " "WHERE? WHERE?" "Oh. Well, it blazes up from a crimson-sheathed visage brooding darkly above the haunted towers of impotent indignity which, like melons hovering unhappily over lifetimes of empty meaning which-" "THE ADDRESS!" "Oh. Oh, I didn't notice. But look for a brooding, glaring trail of cosmic fury rising from a crimson-sheathed visage-" They lead him back to his car, and send him on. -- Philip K. Dick "Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest." -- Diderot

04-06-2004, 08:53 PM	#12
cassiopeia Viggoholic Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Australia Posts: 1,749	The Lord of the Rings changed my life because I think about it everyday, probably look through it for something every other day and I'm still on Entmoot two years later. All the books by Carl Sagan I love, but his book, Demon-Haunted World, changed my life. It made me more sceptical, and to question things more than I had previously. There are many more books I love, but those two really have changed my life. __________________ Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.

04-07-2004, 09:08 AM	#13
brownjenkins Advocatus Diaboli Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Reality Posts: 3,767	Demon-Haunted World was a very good book! i forgot about that one... will have to pick it up again one of these days __________________ Your reality, sir, is lies and balderdash and I'm delighted to say that I have no grasp of it whatsoever.

04-07-2004, 11:30 AM	#14
sun-star Lady of Letters Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Either Oxford or Kent, England Posts: 2,476	The first book I ever read changed my life, because it made me a book-lover. Unfortunately I don't remember what it was __________________ And all the time the waves, the waves, the waves Chase, intersect and flatten on the sand As they have done for centuries, as they will For centuries to come, when not a soul Is left to picnic on the blazing rocks, When England is not England, when mankind Has blown himself to pieces. Still the sea, Consolingly disastrous, will return While the strange starfish, hugely magnified, Waits in the jewelled basin of a pool. Last edited by sun-star : 05-21-2004 at 11:34 AM.

05-20-2004, 10:33 PM	#16
eowyngirl14 i don't know what i am talking about either, so don't ask Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 1,353	Where the Red Fern Grows! i love that book so much i read it for the first time in 4th grade and i cried for literally 2 hours at the end and i wouldnt let go of my pet cat or let her out of my sight for the next week. my mom thinks its that book that made me such an 'emotional reader'. AKA i cry in like every book ever. but every book i read changes my outlook on life a little, hence changing how i live my life, hence chaning my life... i just read Empress of the World about a teenage lesbian, its not that well written or anything, but it doesnt have to be. it gets its point across very neatly. and yes, i did cry. __________________ 'The coming of dawn is ever the hope to the heart of men' -Aragorn 'Then I will die as one of them' -Aragorn TTT movie “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little safety deserve neither liberty nor safety” - Benjamin Franklin arms are made for hugging avatar from the avatar shop! made by Eowyn, Lady of Rohan

05-21-2004, 12:00 AM	#17
Count Comfect Word Santa Claus Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 2,922	I don't think any books have changed my life... but my English teacher keeps saying after EVERY book we read that it changed her life. It gets annoying... but it might be true. __________________ Sufficient to have stood, yet free to fall.

05-22-2004, 12:00 AM	#19
hectorberlioz Master of Orchestration President Emeritus of Entmoot 2004-2008 Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Lost in the Opera House Posts: 9,328	I have Bede __________________ ACALEWIA- President of Entmoot hectorberlioz- Vice President of Entmoot Acaly und Hektor fur Presidants fur EntMut fur life! Join the discussion at Entmoot Election 2010. "Stupidissimo!"~Toscanini The Da CINDY Code The Epic Poem Of The Balrog of Entmoot: Here ~NEW! ~ Thinking of summer vacation? AboutNewJersey.com - NJ Travel & Tourism Guide

05-22-2004, 03:02 AM	#20
BelegS Enting Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 64	Books that changed my life. Enid Blyton's Second Famous Five book got me hooked to literature which has played a big role in my subsequent life. Harry Potter books, helped structuring my English language ability a great deal. Books that changed my lifestyle. Roots, I can never offer any justification of slavery after reading it. Birdsong, It did to me in the matter of War what Roots did for slavery. And although It didn't quite change my lifestyle but To Kill a Mockingbird effected me a great deal too. Oh and 'Animal Farm'. Helped me developed my political sense and realize many many things. __________________ Member of Guild of Bumbling Toilet Cleaners.

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