many books have had positive effects on my thinking and perceptions but up to this moment, only one has really changed my life.

i remember reading 'the prophet' by kahil gibrahn and having one of those 'waking up' feelings.

'the invitation' by oriah mountain dreamer was beautifully real and profoundly spiritual and had a positive influence on my life.

'under milkwood' by dylan thomas changed my perception of words and i thought it was brilliant.

then a friend of mine gave me a book and said "read it!" i left it for some time then picked it up and a few pages in was a little quote...
"you are here to enable the divine purpose of the universe to unfold. that is how important you are!" _ eckhart tolle.

the book is 'the power of NOW' by eckhart tolle. whether it was a result of all the right factors being present and my state of mind being open to it, i don't know, but it changed my life! it made perfect sense to me and gave perspicuity to many bits of thoughts already floating around my head...

The Hichhikers guide to the Galaxy, because it is awsome.

1984, because it scared the hell out of me.

a portrait of the artist as a young man.

howl and other poems.

on the road.

chicago poems.

the fountainhead.

I think reading Alice In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass, as a young child, sort of fucked me up - in a strange way. I think it permanently fucked up my perceptions of reality or something.

Other books that I think fucked me up - in various ways - as a child were:

A Wrinkle In Time - This book caused me to become incredibly OCD, to the point where I was afraid I was slipping in and out of different plains of existence depending on whether or not I licked the light switched three times or four times when I walked into the room...

Grimm Brothers Faerie Tales - I don't know why my mum thought it would be a good idea to read these to me as a child... I was convinced I could see fairies, nymphs, nombs, goblins, etc until I was almost a teenager. I still can't get it out of my head, I can only rationalize it now.

Beowulf - Inspired my studies in religious sciences and the occult.

Ray Bradbury - I read everything by him when I was a kid and he fueled the OCD that I already had from A Wrinkle In Time.

Shakespeare: After reading Beowulf, when I was nine years old, I went on a crazy olde english binge and read the entire works of Shakespeare, a bunch of Roman and Greek mythology, and Poe. Shakespeare altered my perception of what writing was supposed to be like.

Edgar Allen Poe: The Pit And The Pendulum scared the crap out of me. Also, Poe seemed to have some very strange ideas of what romantic relationships are supposed to be like. I think my future romantic endeavors were skewed by his writings about his wife.

Sophocles: I think of all the Greek mythology that I read, I found Sophocles to be the most impacting. Odepius Rex is just fucked up, and the whole thing with Antigone... Really made me appreciate my family a lot more.

Journey To The East changed the way I wrote.

After reading Catcher In The Rye I realized that you can't compare your problems to other peoples problems, and that changed the way I really dealt with people.

Steppenwolfe inspired me to go on an opium binge.

A lot of books have changed me in a lot of ways. It's sad when a book leaves you unscathed.

Cheers,
Lost

yes, sophocles and the catcher in the rye belong on my list, come to think of it.

Notes from Underground really made me depressed and gave me the impression all people, even your best friends, were not worthy of associating with.

Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

Don't let the title fool you, the book will tweak you out.

Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas R. Hofstadter

Literary equivalent of dropping acid, your perception of reality will be expanded (and the experience isn't always comfortable). Even if you only understand 1% of it.

Human Robotics and Holy Mechanics-Reclaiming our Souls in a Machine World by David Kyle

Taught me why silence really is golden.

nice one LostCause... for some reason, i relate to where you're coming from. i've always maintained words flash like sunshine or blades and as a result, leave you blinded or cut up.

and as the infamous adage proclaims... 'the pen is mightier than the sword'... i got stabbed with a pen once and i'm left with a permanent blured ink mark on my left hand as a result of that unprovocked and vicious attack.

one of the many great things about TOTSE is sending out questions like this and getting a whole new spectrum of literature back from peoples journeys by the book... inspiring and encouraging. this world can work.

a good handful of self help books, about a true story of a kid getting abducted and molested, a kid getting the shit beat out of him and tortured by his mom, kid getting fucked by the dad, and also various POW's books, lead me to believe i have it good and if i think otherwise im a weak, soft, spoiled piece of shit. no matter how bad things get they will never be as bad as some unfortunate people have had it.

quote:

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Originally posted by LostCause:


Ray Bradbury - I read everything by him when I was a kid and he fueled the OCD that I already had from A Wrinkle In Time.

---

fuck yeah, i agree, i too, younger read everything by him, i liked the illustrated man, somone mentioned an illustarted woman but i think its a myth, somone bullshiting. i also liked that one about going to mars and it was a bunch of short stories, but i did read everything by him. i also read everything by paulsen and i noticed a lot of his books were named the (tangible thing). the hatchet, the river, the island, the rifle, ect ect. he was good at writing realisim (i dont know if thats a real word i just made it up) the descriptions he used when it came to nature made you know he did his homework, it would make you feel like you did the actual experience.

p.s. im sorry for the two consecutive, i should have edited the first and put what was in the second ect ect but forgot and too lazy, i dont think anybody will mind.

[This message has been edited by Kendjo (edited 03-17-2004).]

I think it was called, Hard Travellin by Kenneth Allsop, but I'm not sure since I lost it.

It was about hobo's and I must have read it a hundred or more times. It showed me that with will and cunning you can survive. It also made me want to travel.

I'm pretty sure every book I've ever read except for the massive doses of pulpfiction; has in some way changed my life.

The Hagakure, The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde), Silas Marner, Wuthering Heights even.

Some of Kurt Vonnegut's books have played with my head some, and then I realized it was the same thing over and over. Siddharta (Herman Hesse) and Gullivers Travels made me realize how stupid people are.

I wish I could remember more of them.

The Grapes of Wrath - changed the way I think ofpeople, or when things go to the greatest down fall in my life. Great book

quote:

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Originally posted by LostCause:
Blearg.

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(didn't want to waste space with your huge ass post) anyways wow dude. No offense but.. I've never known anyone to be so influenced by books.. I really don't think thats normal.

anyways I'm reading the Dune series (on book 4). It may be Sci Fi, but I'll be damned if it hasn't inspired me. This is the greatest series I've ever read. Highly recommended to anyone.

Dragonlance series

Lewis carroll alice novels have both had a huge impact on me, they basically gave me a passion for fantasy and made me wanna take acid (this is after reading them recently), which was the most amazing experience of lucidity ive ever had.

Samuel Beckett - Waiting for Godot. Officially its a play, but you can buy the book, and it is amazing, if you can understand it.

Edgar Allan Poe- The raven, my favourite poem of all time, the black cat and the pit and the pendulum both scared the crap out of me.

H.P Lovecraft- The outsider, and the cthulhu mythos are genuinely scary as fuck. Especially cthulhu, this man was probably insane.I think he was in fact, nevertheless, brilliant writer. The cthulhu mythos has actually paved the way for almost every horror writer or fantasy horror writer, simply from his theories on the biology of cthulhu and the great old ones.

I recommend all of these books, read them now.

Yeah, Flowers for Algernon, it really makes you think.

quote:

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Originally posted by [G-Prime]:
...No offense but.. I've never known anyone to be so influenced by books.. I really don't think thats normal...

---

and television is so much better? god, if it wasn't for literature, i'd be a sad, sad man.

Religions are followed through books. People love because of books. People make fortunes because of books. People lose fortunes because of books. Wars are fought over books.

Songmaster by Orson Scott Card. It didn't change my life, but it really moved me.

Catcher in the Rye is such an awful book, I don't see why people like it so much.

"Catch-22" and "Slaughterhouse-Five" for the great satire and sarcasm on today's society. "The Joy Luck Club", although embarrassing, made me think about family life a lot more. "The Raven", excellant poem, I know its overrated, what can I say. "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest", simply because Ken Kesey was on LCD while writing most of the book.

The foundation series by Isaac Asimov (Prelude to Foundation; Foward The Foundation; Foundation; Foundation and Empire; Second Foundation; Foundation's Edge; Foundation and Earth; [titles are in the series' fictional chronological order]) really changed my perception of the world around me. He expresses complicated philosophical thoughts and ideas in such a way that even the casual reader can pick up on them.

There are like 6 books (all about 350 pages) but different people suggest reading them in different orders. Totse actually has some guides on reading them in the artical archives. I suggest reading the original three (Foundation; Foundation and Empire; Second Foundation; ) in order first and then going from there. If you like these books, read his other works. They all take place in the same universe and paralells can be traced back and forth across the different storylines.

Anyway, the fact that the books themselves are wonderful should be enough to make you read them... However, if that doesnt do anything for you, read them out of respect for the father of science fiction.

[This message has been edited by DilatoryDevil (edited 03-21-2004).]

The first two books by Carlos Casteneda changed how I think about personal responsibility and my place in the world. Reading the other ten in the series is on my to-do list.

Geez, I didn't even mention that many books! There may be ten there, mentioned. In reality a lot other books have alter my perception in a lot of different ways.

But, I'm very interested in the literary arts as an avid writer and an avid reader. I have a library of books that puts my old high school to shame.

Of course, a lot of people call me crazy and my collection is a symptom of OCD.

Wait till I'm rich. Then I'll just be eccentric.

Thanks onionjack.

Cheers,
Lost

all in one way or another
Ovid
Ishmael-quinn
1984-orwell
Capo-puzo
Dhalgren-sam delany
Behold a Pale Horse-william cooper
every Carlos Castaneda book published
and each chuck palahniuk book i finish has me looking at the world very suspiciously with contempt, hilarity, and disgust.
i.e.(fc, lullaby, diary, survivor, invisible monsters)

-you have confused the true and the real."
George Stanley, in conversation

[This message has been edited by dhalgren's haze (edited 03-24-2004).]

[This message has been edited by dhalgren's haze (edited 03-24-2004).]

goosebumps - the ghost nextdoor.

its a life saver

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. Really.

quote:

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Originally posted by ashesofzen:
and television is [b]so much better? god, if it wasn't for literature, i'd be a sad, sad man.[/B]

---

I absolutely agree with you.

On the Road, by Jack Kerouac. this book, along with the influence of my 11th grade lit teacher, made me who i am today. huge influence...

alot of the stuff i end up reading on the net has a pretty large influence on me.

Letters To A Young Conservative - Dinesh D'Souza

Life At The Bottom: The Worldview That Makes The Underclass - Theodore Dalrymple

quote:

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goosebumps - the ghost nextdoor

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You know, as scary as this is I remember that book, probably the first one I remember reading and being impressed when I'd finished.

Nevermore by Neil Gaiman made me look at homeless people with more compassion.

Huw Like A God.... (best book ever)

Timbuktu

House of Leaves: really had an effect on me. I guess it's questioning space and time effect kind of fucks with you. Also it kind of takes you through the course of someone going slowly insane.

Johnny the homicidal Maniac: It had a greater effect on my than probably most. It basically put things into perspective for me and showed me just how pathetic we all are.

Atlas Shrugged by Ann Rand, yeah I know the jury nullification scene is unrealistic, changed the way think about socialism and anarchy.

Dune by Frank Herbet, changed the way I think about human potential.

Neverness by David Zimmel, got me into a posthumanist frame of mind.

The Cassini Division by Ken MacLeod, got me out of a posthumanist frame of mind.

how could i forget, 1984 and Farenheit 451. Also V for Vendetta.

quote:

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Originally posted by Duck:
The Hichhikers guide to the Galaxy, because it is awsome.

1984, because it scared the hell out of me.

---

YES, ditto, entirely.

"Dandelion Wine" by Ray Bradbury
"The Stranger" by Albert Camus
"Slaughter-House-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
"Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli
"The Rum Diary" by Hunter S. Thompson
"Ask Me Something Easy" by Natalie Honeycutt
"Catcher In The Rye" by J.D. Salinger
"The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand
"The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway
"a night without armor" by Jewel
Bible
"The Five People You Meet In Heaven" and "Tuesdays With Morrie" by Mitch Albom

probably many more, but i can't think of them...

did u know the author of alice in wonderland was addicted to opium? hehe know we all know where all that crazy shit came from.

book that influenced me- Guiness book of world records.I realized that I'm not the bbiggest freak in the world

2001: A Space Odessey was disturbing, especially the end.

The Lucifer Principle changed how I thing about things like foreign relations, society, gangs, and generally any form of intelligence. Thankyou to whoever recommended it on this forum.

Kiwi, I dont believe that opium has a hallucinogenic effect. Although i've never tried it, I doubt this could have effected his writing that much.

1984 I have known about this book for a long time but have never actually gotten to reading it. I will definately be reading it soon (I've also noticed the US government is developing into fascism).

A Wrinkle in Time really got me thinking about space and time. It basically lead to my abandonment of christianity. Huge influence.

The Giver was probably the most influencial book in my life. It opened my eyes and made me think that you can never be certain about anything.

You Are BEing Lied To is a book by disinfo.com that has a bunch on atricles about social misconceptions like religion, politics, science, stuff liek that. It helped me look into things alot more. The religion articles really cealed my beleif as an agnostic.

Books that change my life or the way i percieved things was

1)Caesar
2)Coldest Winter Ever
3)Made Men
4)Art of War
5)Black Gangster
6)Shower Posse

more than any other form of communication, books have the profoundest effect upon me.

i suppose after finishing any book my perception of the world has shifted in some way. it's funny really, we are constantly changing and adapting, regardless of what we think and we certainly can't think ourselves into remaining the same as we were before we finished a book...

the fact is that every book in one sense has changed us. change is inevitable and resistance is futile.

books rock!

william blake, oscar wilde, jack kerouac, patrick suskind, wordsworth, colridge and the lake side poets, stenciled their wisdom on my soul.

we don't learn enough from the most blatant learning tool: HISTORY. we celebrate and honour authors (as we should), that were amazingly persecuted in their time.

yet we still try to exercise our misgiuded moral rights and cast judgements upon litterary leaps that are vital to the progression of the art of painting with words.

i do believe that resisting human forces and disgruntled critics are a VITAL part of new discoveries. without them, there would be no one to define and take us to the boundary... and it's boundaries we are trying to break.

a book is... let's say, 300 canvases in a series, each painted with words and words paint our personal pictures in our hearts and souls.

forgive my little rambling detour from the question.

the word is where it's at...

The Eternal Champion by michael moorcock (Sp) first introduced me to the idea of the multiverse.
The Third Wave by Alvin Tovler. Helped me to put world history into a context that not makes sence. Which has increased my understanding of the world around me.

White Oleander severely changed my persona. Like .:snaps:. that.

Beyond Good and Evil. Whoa. Totally threw my perspective out of whack for a while. That was my first encounter with a conflict of belief and genius. Nietzsche is still my idol because of that book, even if I do think all of that intelligence was a waste.

And another off the top of my head--The Bible. What else? It completely changed me once I started reading it, instead of droning over it.

I like what LostCause said--"It's sad when a book leaves you unscathed." True.

The Lucifer Principle. It attempts to explain human behavior in biological terms. I found it difficult to read in places, but it offers some true insight into the events that make the headlines.

Juliet Marillier was a great author. so was S.E. Hinton. I've read all of her books at least twice.
Philip Pullman (sp) changed me when I was younger. I also liked the Tomorrow series by Marsden. It really made me apprieciate a warm bed and a place to live.
Thanks for the new readin list guys

"The language of Chemistry and chemical equations"--Tuli.
I could actually understand chemistry after reading this book.

"Super power memory", or something like that.--Harry Lorayne.
I can remember numbers!!

"How to win friends and influence people"--Dale Carnegie.

"Vedic Mathematics"
Fantastic book for mental mathematics. Division was never so easier. (No, we aren't allowed to use calculators in our schools.)

"After the First Death"--Robert Cormier
First book I read on someone going crazy. Changed my views about patriotism.

I just amazoned quite a few books... thanks everybody


the "Ender's Game" series by Orson Scott Card was a really good series. I read Ender's game when i was a halfwitted little fucktard, and after reading Speaker for the Dead, i looked at everybody differently. amazing how impressionable a maturing boy is...

poe's poems scare the shit out of me

conversations with god.

this book caused me to have an out of body experience when i was in the army. i also know of two other people who had an out of body experience after reading this book.

quote:

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Originally posted by ashesofzen:
a portrait of the artist as a young man.

howl and other poems.

on the road.

chicago poems.

the fountainhead.

---

i'm with you on howl to the fucking max, best poem ever man!

quote:

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Originally posted by ashesofzen:
and television is [b]so much better? god, if it wasn't for literature, i'd be a sad, sad man.[/B]

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How is it television comes into this? I never said anything about television.. never mind the fact that I watch maybe an hour or so every 1-2 weeks, since TV sucks.. but you might want to read LostCause's post before you make it seem like I said something against literature.

Allen Carrs book, i read it 2 days ago and just gave up 7 years of smoking.

Ender's Game- Orson Scott Card
Lost Boys- Orson Scott Card
The Fountainhead- Ayn Rand
Ready, OK!- Adam Cadre
The Catcher In The Rye - J.D. Salinger

I can't really go into how all these books affected me, but I picked up a few ideas and philosophies about human beings, emotions, love, etc. Even if these books don't change your life, you'll enjoy reading them if you know how to take experiences from a book and learn from them.

quote:

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Originally posted by Kendjo:

a good handful of self help books, about a true story of a kid getting abducted and molested, a kid getting the shit beat out of him and tortured by his mom, kid getting fucked by the dad, and also various POW's books, lead me to believe i have it good and if i think otherwise im a weak, soft, spoiled piece of shit. no matter how bad things get they will never be as bad as some unfortunate people have had it.

---

If thats seriously your philosophy, I wanna reccomend to you a book called 'The Perks Of Being A Wallflower'. Just because your problems aren't as bad as some others doesn't mean they aren't important.

1984

Mutatis Mutandis

Nothing in this book is true...but it's exactly how things are

Something in this book is true...

Lord of the flies

Rats

1984, of course, and animal farm.

"the giver" was a good book, though fairly short.

anything by vonnegut (ive read nearly all of his works)

The books that have influenced me the most would have to be:

The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen king

His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman

From the Corner of His Eye, by Dean Koontz

When I first started learning about parallel universes and quantum physics, reading these books gave me profound insights to theories I previously couldn't understand. I greatly recommend these to everyone, because they are easy to read and comprehend, and they are just kick-ass overall.

The Martian Chronicles

F451

by Ray Bradbury.

Call me shallow, but I found The Catcher in the Rye to be overrated.

for me the list is as follows
-catcher in the rye(loads of irony in it)
-clockwork orange(the 21st chapter explianed alot)
-fight club(made me think that as males we have become very feminine)
-all richard stark novels(teaches one how to rob banks and other places were the money is)
-metamorphasis(kafka's transformation idea kicked ass)

His Dark Materials kicks ass. That series changed me for sure... Fahrenheit 451 is pretty good too... gah cant think of many good ones right now sorry.

anything by chuck palahniuk
anyhting by hunter s. thompson
1884
animal farm
tao of pooh
theres probably more

the turner diaries steal this book
the stand
the great gatsby
these are a small percentage of books i have read that have influenced me

The Lucifer Principle. It is hard to read in places, but it offers real insight into human behavior. I have not looked at things the same after reading it. I would also recommend the Illuminatus Trilogy.

THE BIBLE
http://bible.gospelcom.net/

BUDDISM
http://www.sivanandadlshq.org/saints/buddha.htm

Rich Dad-Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
http://www.richdad.com/rich-dad-poor-dad-book.html


The four agreements by Miguel Ruiz
http://www.miguelruiz.com/agreements.html


THE POWER OF NOW by Eckhart Tolle
http://www.eckharttolle.com/


Awaken the Giant Within & Unlimited Power by Robbins, Anthony
http://www.anthonyrobbins.com/


You can find most of these in P2P



[This message has been edited by theartist (edited 05-27-2004).]

-----------------------------------
Kiwi, I dont believe that opium has a hallucinogenic effect. Although i've never tried it, I doubt this could have effected his writing that much.
-----------------------------------
wrong on all accounts, sorry./

On the Road,
Naked Lunch,
Vissions of Cody,
Autobiography of a Yogi,
Tibetan Book of Living and Dying,
The Biography of Milareapa,
Tao Te Ching,
Winnie the Pooh,
"Rimbaud" The collected works of Authur Rimbaud
Collected works of William Blake
Selected peoms of P.B.Shelly
Biograhphies of Jim Morrison
Story of the Greatful Dead by Hank Harrison (forgotten the acctual name)
Biography of Brett Whitely
Fear and Laothing in Las Vegas
Collected works of Bauldelaire(I think I acctualy got that right, I never have been able to remember)
_+more

A Year At The Movies by Kevin Murphey. I never really gave the movie going experience much thought before this book. After reading it, I'm aware of much more and am able to enjoy going to see almost any movie now.

mindfullness in plain enlish.

changed the way i live my life.

The Holy Koran.

'The Once and Future King', by T.H. White.

Seriously, it's a brilliant look into the psyche of mankind and civilisation throughout the ages. It shows how humane and ruthless people can be, and how nobility is oft destined to fail but should always be held to.

The final lines in the book are amazing. King Arthur dies, his round table folding in upon itself, but the author goes on to challenge future generations to take up the task of bettering the world. Bettering it regardless of the strain involved, because right is right.

"Crazy", by Benjamin Lebert, superb....

Demian - Hermann Hesse

Playboy

Well, Nietzsche did. Probably Thus Spake Zarathustra the most, as I read it first, but Twilight of the Idols and Genealogy of Morals added something.

Otherwise, I can't think of any books that actually changed me. Even there, those books more accelerated and clarified the direction I was already heading in than anything else.

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka fucked up my sense of reality and made me understand the essential loneliness of modern man struggling to comprehend an incomprehensible universe

The Legend of Bagger Vance by Steven Pressfield based on the baghavad gita (which was recently added as a file on TOTSE), this confirmed many of the spiritual/philosophical ideas i'd been playing with, specifically regarding the Authentic Self

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury & Demian by Hermann Hesse these books really cemented in my mind the idea that there are two worlds, one of light and one of dark. This keeps everything in perspective when i'm interacting with people or reading the newspaper

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams made me realize that everything is amusing if you just look at it through the other end of the telescope--i now do this everyday.

On Writing by Stephen King got me writing, one of the reasons i will majoring in journalism this Fall

so many other great books, but these have probably had the greatest impact on my life.

Farenheit 451-by Ray Bradbury;
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "Trilogy"-Douglas Adams;
To Kill a Mockingbird-Harper Lee;
The Perks of Being a Wallflower-Stephen Chbosky;

I can't really think of any more right now.


P.S.-IMO, The Catcher in the Rye is the most overratted book of all time. It's really boring, and all Holden does is wander around and bitch and go crazy.

[This message has been edited by sellout_10 (edited 06-30-2004).]

His Dark Materials - I own the Amber Spyglass but I have read the other 2. Great books although they did fuck me up when I first read them in 5th grade(seeing light as particals instead of beams) The wheeled animals kick ass! The books really make you think about science and the flow of matter and energy around you.

Anthem - Ayn Rand Its a great book and I like it moreso as it contains technological discovery in an old tech setting(like that theme and want to get ahold of a copy of The Cross-Time Engineer) I now understand liberty and freedom better.

I have not read that many good books as of late. What happened is that I read a lot in 5th to 6th grade but stopped for a while. I want to pick it back up but our school has a shitty library and the public library has next to nothing but shit novels.

Pit and the Pendulum, 1984, Satanic Verses (expanded reality), Haroun and hte SEa of STories (also by Rushdie - starts out like a children's story, ends as a powerful argument for free speech), flowes for algernon.

The Catcher in the Rye, it was totally kickass.

quote:

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Originally posted by Artificial Stupidity:
The Catcher in the Rye, it was totally kickass.

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Go with that.

The Count Of Monte Cristo - by Alexander Dumas

Notes From Underground - by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Notes From Underground (Modern Version) - by Eric Bogosian

Fight Club - by Chuck Palahniuk

1984

the bible and the koran

-Fight Club and Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk made me realize how superficial people are and that we put too much importance on "nice neat flaming shit"
-Ishmael by Daniel Quinn is a brilliant book in that you learn about man from someone who is not man.
-Between Heaven and Hell by Peter Kreeft despite its religious connotations, its an amazing dialogue about the meaning of life
-On Writing by Stephen King only fueled my desire to be a writer
-Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, because I really identified with the narrator
-1984 by George Orwell, because it scared me to think of what society could become
-Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Simply because its a cool idea
-'Salems Lot and The Body by Stephen King. Salems Lot because it scared the shit out of me, and The Body because it reminded me of my summers when I was younger.
-Anything by EA Poe because he's just so brilliant.
-What dreams may Come by Richard Matheson because of the beautiful imagery I got from it when I read it.
-Heavier Than Heaven by Charles Cross. I could identify with the portrait Cross paints of Kurt Cobains life so much it scared me.
-The Satanic Verse by Salman Rushdie, its just so damn bizaar
-Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak....the all time best childrens book because there is no moral whatsoever, and the illustrations are amazing

[This message has been edited by Solar Absolute (edited 07-05-2004).]

quote:

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Originally posted by Solar Absolute:
[B-Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak....the all time best childrens book because there is no moral whatsoever, and the illustrations are amazing

[This message has been edited by Solar Absolute (edited 07-05-2004).][/B]

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Word!

Henry Miller's "Tropic of Cancer."

PLAYBOY

the tibeten(sp) book of living and dying.

quote:

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Originally posted by midgeymonkey2:
the tibeten(sp) book of living and dying.

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edit and dostoyevky's crime and punishment.cliche`,i know,buti love this shit.

The Picture of Dorian Gray.
A Rebours

ModelFifteen

"Simulacra and Simulation" Baudrillard
"High Fidelity" Nick Hornby

quote:

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Originally posted by LostCause:
Ray Bradbury - I read everything by him when I was a kid and he fueled the OCD that I already had from A Wrinkle In Time.

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Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 changed my life and made me appreciate all the things I had. The Martian Chronicles taught me not to fuck with people. The Beasts (from the collection of short stories entitled "One More For the Road") made me love my girlfriend more than life itself. I love Ray Bradbury. Michael Moore should give him back his fucking title, the goddamn hack.

quote:

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Originally posted by Duck:
1984, because it scared the hell out of me.

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Word.

And what's even scarier is that we are headed in that direction:

http://www.studentsfororwell.org

the first book of the oddyessy(sp) block.

Book of the Subgenius
Illusions
The Giver
Catch 22
The Bible
The Koran
The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Tao Te Ching
1984
Animal Farm
Joy Slut Club(oops that's a porno)
100 Years of Solitude
All novels by Mario Vargas Llosa

Fight Club- Chuck Palanuik

Ferienhiet 451- Ray Bradbury

The art of war, the art of happiness.

Talk about the irony.

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Originally posted by hellhounds:
The art of war, the art of happiness.

Talk about the irony.

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When things turn out different than expected. What else ya got?

ModelFifteen

"P.S.-IMO, The Catcher in the Rye is the most overratted book of all time. It's really boring, and all Holden does is wander around and bitch and go crazy."

It's like drugs or poetry in that only some people will get or like it. That's how it is.

Now, okay. Here's mine:

The Hobbit, Tolkien: Made me want to be a writer.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter Thompson: This came along into my life after I got into drugs, and while I was getting heavy into the 60s. It pointed out a few things, and somehow, made me like Steinbeck. I realized that Thompson and Steinbeck were both hunting for the American Dream, just in very, very different ways. Also made me want to be a journalist/commentator.

My Philosophy Textbook: It was a monster. And it was beautiful.

The Jungle, Sinclair: We all have our follies...this turned me from a youngster who bought that bullshit line about a free market meaning a free populace into a real, thinking person. Actually, I think that was the first real door that got opened for me, I started checking out all the other shit that society and the government and my parents and teachers had lied to me about, out of the goodness and/or greed of their hearts...for a while there, I was almost a communist type. Pendulum always swings too far.

On the Road: This made my writing much more poetic. It also taught me more about...well, things in general.

Now, here's one whose title I can't even recall...mainly because the title was changed in a second edition, or something like that, as I recall. It was by the same guy who wrote Ender's Game (I'm tired), and it was about this planet where all these exiled clans were trying to raise money to get off...it was basically a prison planet. Hey, I think it was called Treason/A Planet Called Treason. Anyway, this book is pretty vile, and not very kid-friendly. But I read it when I was ten, I think, and it gave me a sort of bad shock. Woke me up a great deal.

Reading this thread makes me realize that I need to lock myself up for a year and do nothing but read.

Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg

"The Outsider" by Albert Camus

"The Man Without Qualities" by Robert Musil

In both books the central characters were like me, and I had never comes across "me" before in books. Camus is French, and Musil Austrian, and not well know in the English speaking world. Both have been translated into English.