Overcoming Low Self-Esteem by Melanie Fennell

Always helps me when I'm depressed

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

Probably, Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, or Consciousness Explained by Daniel Dennet.

Fucking insightful and introspective.

>>2150895
>Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

this completely.

>>2150893
This.

Also, Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski and Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance

Ulysses. On my second read through right now. Holy shit, Ulysses.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, it got me into reading.

>>2150953
>>2150924
>>2150923
Rowboats have surprisingly good taste.

The Gay Science by Friedrich Nietzsche
come at me

Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo

Love and Mr. Lewisham by H. G. Wells. The moral of the story is to disregard bitches, acquire education and break out of miserable lower middle class Edwardian life, unfortunately the protagonist gets it the wrong way round.

The Mack Within

Neuromancer

It proved to me that most sci-fi is shit.

enders game and call of the wild

I haven't been able to focus on a book in ages. My fucking thoughts always get in the way.

OP is a Monger.

By Anonymous

READING IS FOR FAGZ XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD

>>2150953

Most over-rated book in literary history.

>>2151053
He's just mad because he was turned into a eunuch by having his genitals crushed with an encyclopedia brittanica.

>>2151079
>Stop liking what I don't like!!11

Go back to /v/ kid

>>2151079
Next thing you know you'll say Vonnegut is terrible.

Like anon said, Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
Also The Prince - Machiavelli.
It surprisingly had a great impact on me.

The Prophet by Khalil Gibran

>>2150895
>Consciousness Explained by Daniel Dennet.

I heard it could literally change your life and make it hard to live like you did previous to reading the book. Is this true?

A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole.

I've read it 3 times, plan on reading it for a fourth time pretty soon here.

Catcher in the Rye
Because people said it was fantastic and it was shit, so now I don't listen to others' opinions.

The Prophet

>>2150923
>bukowski
>good

durr so then i'm an old alchoolic who have shit manners and i get all da pussy and shit yeah nigga my life's crazy

cant stand his books

>>2151124

I'm so sorry for you. I hope you grow out of it.

>>2151130

My brother! It's sadly rare to find people who've read that, though I've introduced most of my friends to it.

>>2151148
the guy is an awful writer and his book was pretty dull tbh

>>2151170

holy generalizing batman!

>>2151148
Not live, think. I think differently now, also if you like those kind of books anything by Steven Pinker is good, as well as The Symbolic Species, along with The Emperor's New Mind by Penrose.

London Fields by Martin Amis,

He became my favorite author after I read that novel.

Things Fall Apart

>>2151039
Ender's Game. Actually, a whole lot of Orson Scott Card's books.
But I'm young so there will probably be others.

>>2151225
If you like Pinker and Penrose, allow me to suggest Ray Kurzweil. Also anything by Steven Johnson, although he's a bit more pop-sci.

As much as I liked The Emperor's New Mind I disagree with his conclusion.

Siddhartha, and other Hesse works
shit taste I know, but his writing rings a bell with me.

Principles of Mathematical Analysis, by Walter Rudin.

Google Terms and Conditions

Ender's Game (series)
by Orson Scott Card

LIKE A BOWSS

>>2150923
fuck yeah, pirsig fan. ZMM and Lila are two books that influenced my philosophy more than anything else. Guys a goddamn genius.

>>2151154
nice.... I'm happy to see someone else has read and appreciated this..


For me, I would have to say it was something of Faulkner's...

either As I Lay Dying or The Sound and the Fury.
frankly, I', surprised neither of these are here yet

How to Win Friends and Influence People.

Wow it's like I actually can maintain a fuckin' conversation these days!!

Into the Wild,

Probably one of my most favorite books ever.

The Zombie Survival Guide

I'm ready.

1984.

Good, I was muted.

the stranger
siddhartha

"Words that Work" by Frank Luntz. He's a political consultant and pollster for both sides. The brilliance of this book is that it breaks down how the media and politicians frame conversations to make you agree with them. If you put these into practice yourself you can get anyone to do anything for you.

In this topic:

>I love book X!

>Sorry son, you're retarded!

>>2157694
Oh god I know "wacky" people like you who have read this book.
>LOL I TAKE ZOMBIES SERIOUSLY I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO DO INCASE OF A ATTACK XD

The Holy Bible by God and company

The Stranger mixed with a lot of LSD. Mostly because it got me into reading.

>>2157728

I was told to read this book, because I didn't believe there was a book based on zombies.
And yes I'll admit I do joke around with my friend a lot saying that stuff, but it's our fun.

I'm kinda into zombies, so I'm going to read World War Z in the summer and the walking dead series

Paradise Lost, maybe not changed my life, but one of my favourite books.

Most life changing? Probably The Confessions of St. Augustine. Beautiful.

Not even Christian, Muslim.

the four books by Robert Greene.
>yes, even the one that had 50 Cent in it.

Analects of Confucius

A Clockwork Orange.

No joke. It's actually better than the movie and I loved the fuck out of the movie.

I wish I could be more alpha like alex delarge.

Andra by Louise Lawrence
Loved the shit out of that book as a teen, really got me into post-apocalyptic stuff
Don't know how is changed my life but I feel like it did

Das Kapital

The Brothers Karamazov completely warped my life philosophy, it's probably inflicted the most drastic change in my life.

I think The Grapes of Wrath deserves an honorable mention too, as it stopped me being an angsty fuck and got me to respect my fellow man.

>>2158595
seconded.
Brothers Karamazov is what put an end to my militant atheism and taught me to appreciate the entire human experience, be it the saintliness of Alexei or the debauchery of Dmitri.

bump for more books and because too many threads on the front page are depressing

Carl Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot"
Check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wupToqz1e2g
>that feel when image is not original

The Man Without Qualities

I dunno if it really changed my life all that much, but I semi-recently finished reading all of Tolkien's Legendarium (The Hobbit, LotR, The Silmarillion) and I really liked it.

Way of the Peaceful Warrior

>>2157751
World War Z is (OPINION INCOMING) one of the most entertaining books i have ever read, I loved every page of that book. It has something for everyone and if you are into zombie books I really dont know why you arent reading it right now. Honestly you should just go but it asap, waiting for summer is pointless.

Quine, Kripke, Wittgenstein, Ayer, my friend I know, Plantinga, Gensler, Dawkins, Hawking, Goldman, Douglas, my professor, and, when I was younger, Existentialists like Nietzsche, Camus, and Sartre.

Am I a hipster for naming authors instead of books?

>>2151431
>Principles of Mathematical Analysis, by Walter Rudin
you have passed the test

>>2161554
No but you sound like you'd fit in on /lit/ better than anyone else in this thread. They would be foaming at the mouth about most of these high school level classics.

>>2161554
no but you are hipster for showing off how many authors you've read books by in a thread about 'books that changed your life' suggesting we name a book or 2.

>>2161611
>High school level
My sides. Besides the last three and maybe Dawkins and Hawking, what is on the high school level?

>>2161554

>Dawkins

The whiny little girl of Atheism.

>>2161633
Well, no. That's about the fullest extent of my reading, actually. I very meticulously select my books so I do not waste my time. They have all changed my life in significant ways. But I guess I can see your point.

>>2161554
You're a hipster for asking if you're a hipster

>>2161611
/lit/ would sage that thread

Also, I'd name Dune as being a book which changed my life

>>2161639
Do you consider 1984, Brave New World, Catcher in the Rye and all those to be below high school level or what? I just meant people still being hung up on books you should have read already by the age of 15.

>>2161661
I think he should get credit for doing his ex-official job: Being a representative of science to the common folk. He's basically the Hawkings of biology to the public.

Poker Without Cards - Ben Mack
Finite and Infinite Games - can't remember the author but it's a small but powerful philosophy book
Revelation X - Sub Genius
and pretty much anything by Robert Anton Wilson, mainly Prometheus Rising

>>2157606

Is that a sort of nonfiction self-help book?

I was just wondering because there was a movie called How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.

DON MOTHER FUCKING QUIJOTE

it taught me to stop white knighting and that people are dicks

My Past and Thoughts by Alexander Herzen.

It made me a progressive person - in the way I view everything, not just politics and economics and social issues.

Change is gradual, and life temporary. Enjoy the ride, but don't fuck over other people. And try and make things better if you can.

>>2161730
Yeah. It's one of the most famous ones.

Slaughterhouse five.

playing in traffic - gail giles

invisible - pete hautman

mein kampf

the giving tree

>>2161700

I'm an atheist myself, but I think Dawkins is just a disrespectful fuck about it. I was reading an article in PopSci a while ago, and at the end they had three little response paragraphs. One from a philosopher, on from a theologan, and one from Richard Dawkins. Basically dawkins ranted about how anyone who has anything to do with religion shouldn't be allowed to have input on (quote) "scientific issues, or any issues, for that matter."

I think he has the right idea, but he's an asshole.

>>2161717

Also I forgot to include The Invisibles (though it's a graphic novel)

Andrea Dworkin - Pornography: Men Possessing Women

None, sadly. I consider myself pretty well read but I'm still a shut-in NEET.

>>2161786
I think that's more because he's a total fucking dick than because he's unintelligent. Sometimes you get things wrong simply because you're an asshole. Usually I have no problems valuing people regardless of whatever dickich behavior they exhibit.

>>2161800
Did any authors make you become more of a NEET by beating down your humanity?

>>2161868

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he's intelligent, but I'd rather have someone else as such a prominent figure in atheism.

>>2161878
No but books like

Party of One: The Loner's Manifesto

made me feel justified to keep doing it.

Slaughterhouse 5 was such a beautiful portrayal of PTSD, and after growing up with a father who suffered from it, the book really helped me understand what he was going through.

Hitchhiker's Guide and the rest of Bop's books pretty much shaped my sense of humour and gave me my warped look on life.

Ummmm... Fight Club talked about the fact that men aren't men anymore, and that struck a chord with me, a mangled weak nerd, American Psycho kinda got me into pseudo-philosophical post modernist books - plus it gave me nightmares for fucking ages.

To Kill a Mockingbird was fucking pointless though, it had nothing about the killing nor maiming of mockingbirds, although it did teach me to respect my fellow man irrespective of race or difference but what good is that?

Camus' The Stranger and Wittgenstein's Tractatus.

Solaris by Stanislaw Lem. It greatly inspired my own creative works, and it was the start of my current outlook on life.

CCNA: Cisco Certified Network Associate Study Guide: Exam 640-802

maybe not what you thought

The Stranger and Crime and Punishment

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2404684.Gold_Dust

Of Gold Dust by Ibrahim al-Koni

an Arab introduced me to this book.
willneverstoplovingher

Donkey Kong Country 2 Instruction Manual
dat cranky

>>2158552
My interest is piqued, but from the lack of critical praise on the Wikipedia page, something tells me someone has done it better. Can you recommend anything similar?

2001: A Space Odyssey by Clarke
VALIS by Dick
The Things They Carried by O'Brien
Norwegian Wood by Murakami
Infinite Jest by Wallace

All in that order.

can anyone suggest a surreal book, maybe about a lonely teenager turn vagabond?

None of them. I tried reading some classic literature but the next day I still had the same job, appearance, personality and living situation.

>>2165347
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Fahrenheit 451
I Kill Giants
Hunger Games Trilogy
The books were fucking amazing. Easy reads, yeah. Great commentary on today's society. Really hit home personally for me too.
Haters gonna hate

harry potter and the prisoner of azkabam

Ender's Game series. Shit blew my fucking mind in high school.

>"Ask The Dust" by John Fante
AND
>"Women" by Charles Bukowski
AND
not to be a hipster, but
>"Cat's Cradle"

Tim O'Brien books, specifically The Things They Carried and In the Lake of the Woods.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Nineteen Eighty-Four

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne.

well not changed my life but influenced a bit.
jarhead
>dat feel when your life is like you are in the fucking desert

Catch 22, loved the humor. Made me try and see the funnier side of everything, even depression.

>>2165704
>In the Lake of the Woods
I had to read this for an English class. I have to ask: how on earth did it change your life?

Reading comics growing up easily had more of an impact on my life than any one book.

Tractatus Logico Philosophicus by Wittgenstein
Pretty much sums up any and all existential philosophy.
But to be completely honest: Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu has to be the most profound book I've ever read.

>Ishmael was really good as well
The Cosmic Serpent is extremely important as well, in my opinion. It didn't particularly change my life, but gave me a new understanding of how everything connected throughout the ages. Well documented research, too.

This might sound stupid but... the Harry Potter series. Beautiful, magical, wonderful read. I don't care how gay I sound.

>>2165874
Good, because you sound a fucking lot gay.

brave new world made me think a lot about dystopias and how we are basically in one

>>2165935
reported.

blexxx

I found Island by Huxley had a far greater effect, read after Brave New World.

The Lucifer Principle.

>>2165953
Is this some sort of attempt at humor or are you just that much of an aspie?

Probably the works of Hume and Camus, possibly some Kafka. Also, this thread is a fucking joke, whoever said the dystopian high school novels or children's books (Hunger Games, Harry Potter, etc) should just end it.

A lot of other shitty books mentioned as well, but those were the main ones. If you're going to stay in all day /r9k/, at least become better versed in something creative. Whether it be film, books, music, all three or more, it helps to make you a more interesting person and to form connections with others.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

I loved the idea that everyone has his own "Personal Legend" and that if he ignores it, he will never truly be happy. Fuck, I love that book. Changed my outlook on so many things.

cosmos - carl sagan , I look at the universe and life so different now that I have more of an understanding on how everything works. Reading it actually stopped me from killing myself because i realize now how amazing it is that I exist, that the universe has aligned my atoms through millions of years of evolution in such a way that I can observe the universe itself. Whenever I feel down I think of that and it put's things in perspective.

>>2166221

thiiis

bleexxx

The Stranger made me apathetic, Thus Spake Zarathustra cured it.

Walden made me appreciate economy.

>2012
>books

Seriously, why are books still held to be a higher art form than movies and tv, just because they're old? Hurr durr let's just keep an inefficient and annoying way of absorbing information because it's old. Fucking hipsters.

>>2166286
>douchebaggery
Wow. I really hate people like you.

>>2166326

ur gay

big ol poopyhead

lol

i bet u lick buttes faget

get owned nerd

By far the best book to kick start reading. It's short too, you'll mow it down in under a day.

None... And yet all of them.....The most impactful to me was "La Mort est Mon Metier" (Death is my trade)...
>fictionalized biographical novel by Robert Merle. The protagonist, Rudolf Lang, was closely based on the real Rudolf Hob, commandant of the concentration camp Auschwitz...
It goes from childhood to his work on industrialized killing. The thing is I was 11 when I read it.
Found it on a library shelf. It didn't turn me into a neo-nazi, but it made me think about a lot of things.
Human nature, multidimensional shades of grey, how close to the abyss we are, the importance of perspective, being the product of environment, how easy it is to brainwash, how honor and pride can be misguided...
I stopped being a kid right there I think. All these feels.

Twilight xDDDD

>>2161554

How did Wittgenstein change your life? Or are you just listing every philosopher you have read?

I don't think any books have really changed me as far as the contents or themes causing me to act differently in my life or to change my character. I'm also very sceptical of anyone that says a novel has. At least as far as fiction (including things like philosophy as fiction) goes.

I suppose having done a degree in philosophy my perception of the world has changed quite a bit. I don't really see things as right or wrong but more a smelly mess that can be interpreted however you like.

The Kingdom of God is Within You by Tolstoy and then a subsequent reading of the Bible are about the closest anything has come to changing my life. I'm not sure how I didn't realise how much of a pacifist Jesus was before I read this stuff. I didn't become religious but It made me realise that pretty much all Christians are idiots who have never studied their own religion. But more importantly it got me to mellow out quite a bit. I find it quite good to use for anger management. Instead of getting into confrontational I just realise that I love everyone and aggression solves nothing and so I gain a great contentment from life.

The Power of Now by Echkart Tolle

>>2166519
>loving everyone
I seriously hope you guys don't do this.

Iain Bank's the Wasp Factory when I was younger, The Doors of Perception by Huxley was a big one for a while, recently it's been Lolita by Nabokov.

Not so much a big dramatic life change, but like subtle changes in thinking that lead to bigger things eventually.

Except maybe Huxley, I got arrested for importing Mescaline.

Harry Potter. turned into robot when I realized I didn't have superpowers.

Everybody Poops changed my life.

Loomis

All of it

The Stranger by Albert Camus

pretty much the first book I've read on my own initiative and it was special.

The books of Carlos Castaneda. Its impossible to view the world the same after reading him.

Authentic Happiness by Martin Seligman

A little too self-helpy and preachy for what I thought was going to be an academic book, but it changed my thoughts on gratification and spirituality.

Also A Hope in the Unseen, Ishmael, the Alchemist; the standard stuff you read in gynasium.

>>2167260

just finished reading it like 10 mins ago

pretty neat

>>2167260

Read that for English class in high school, and I enjoyed it as well.

>>2150781
>>2161661

Fuck you Dawkins invented evolution you moron

>>2167274

How did they change your perception? My mother is a huge Castaneda fan.

>>2167260
One of the few books I read in english class I can truly say I enjoyed. I went out and bought The Plague and a couple of his essays afterwards.