A Book That Changed Your Life

Yo Yes

 

Cronicals vol 1. I think is the only book that touched me in a life changing way. The way Bob looked at his life in the autobiogrphical sence showed me what being an artist is and how to live whit it.

 

Eat Mangoes Naked, Succulent Wild Woman, and Inspiration Sandwich all by SARK. I love her writings and the fact that she freely admits to being "splendidly imperfect" when so few people are willing to attribute that adjective to themselves.

 

Catch 22 by Joesph Heller, which I read a week before I got drafted into the Army in 1967...I couldn't take any of the rules and regulations seriously after that. Apparently none of the brass had read the book and failed completely to see my way of thinking...It was a difficult two years for all of us. Tales of a Shamans Apprentice by Mark Plotikin and One River by Wade Davis lead me into the Amazon River Basin to try and live on the wilder side of life... Nothing has proven more rewarding. I found my soul in the jungles of Peru,washed by the Amazon river and hung out to dry by the local shamans. Twenry trips in 15 years has not been nearly enough.

 

Forgot to mention R Crumb's ZAP comics along with S Clay Wilson and the Checked Demon and the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers by Gilbert Shelton...whhoooeee, boy, did those puppies come along at the right time along with window pane, orange sunshine and a tad bit of Purple Haze...as an after thought theres a great old underground comic ...the Forty Year Old Hippie...what a role model!

 

'Go Ask Alice' by Anonymous
it gave me an insight on what drug addictions could do to someone's life. reality is scary. i substitute yours for my own.

 

"Into the Wild" by Jon Krackauer

 

I browsed the posts here, and found a lot of books mentioned that I love. Some of the ones that I noticed were (in no particular order) Watership Down, Where the Wild Things Are, and Kon Tiki (also the first 'real' book I ever read...in the third grade, I think)...I have read hundreds in my lifetime.


I am currently reading a volume that is changing the way I look at the meaning of life, and my purpose here and hereafter. It's called The Wisdom of James Allen Vol. 1, and all I can say is that I'd recommend it to anyone. I intend to collect the remaining four volumes in the collection soon after I finish reading this one.

 

this is gonna sound weird but it was a book in the babysitters club series called dawn saves the planet..that pretty much molded who i am today, vegan hard core recycler...i recommend it for kids ages 8 through 13.....if u want an earth conscience child have them read it!

 

Tibetan Book of the Dead - the Evans Wentz version

 

All of Hesse's works have had a huge impact on me. Ayn Rand certainly left her mark on my psychology. Even though I now reject many of her views, ideas are like hats, and her ideas are very useful for everyone to try on. I've loved so many books, and I suppose tons of books have changed my life on a small scale... Be Here Now by Ram Dass was probably the most important book I ever read, but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. 1984 got me to thinking a lot.

 

A few books that have changed my life and perspective in no particular order:

Be Here Now by Baba Ram Dass
Walden by Thoreau
Age of Reason by Thomas Paine
Rasta Heart: A Journey into One Love by Robert Roskind

 

I think I carry a little of each book inside me...
I think they all changed me in some small way.
the last one I read that made me kind of think of life
was "killing yourself to live" by chuck k.

 

For me it was "Fight Club". That book got me thru a tough time. Its view on society felt like an echo. Also though Poes short story "The Pit and the Pendulum," and looking back it's amazing how many movies dirived from that short story alone.

 

That's so true. I've picked up nuggets of real wisdom from very unexpected sources, like romance novels or humor books or other "fluffy" reads.

 

That one was pretty life-altering for me as well. So were these:

Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman. (Nothing is as it seems!)

Party of One: The Loners' Manifesto by Anneli Rufus. (I'm not a freak for enjoying my solitude!)

Diets Don't Work by Bob Schwartz. (Eat what you want, when you want, and eventually you'll grow bored with binge eating. Who would have thought it would be so easy?)

 

I got a lot.
Franny and Zooey-J.D. Salinger, The Bell Jar-Sylvia Plath, Dharma Bums-Jack Kerouac Siddhartha-Herman Hesse, Cats Cradle-Vonnegut , The Wind That Blows is All that Anybody Know-Thoreau, Harriet the Spy-Louise Fitzugh, Skywriting by Word of Mouth-John Lennon.
Everything changes my life cause i take it alllll in..

 

Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test......dont ask me why, I really dont know myself!

I think it gave me the comfort in knowing that I dont have to conform to society as I grow older.....I can still have fun. And I love that era, and I love history, and this book is really great in illustrating how the whole psychedelic scene exploded......for good or ill.

Also Hamlet. The first time I read it, it put me in a daze for weeks. I started asking questions about life and humanity that I never asked before. And this was when I fell in love with Shakespeare, not just as a writer, but as a philosopher and his insight into the psychology of his characters.

 

"life! reflections on your journey" & "the power is within you"
both books by louise l. hay

 

Black Eyed Suzie by Susan Shaw.
Definitely a pre-teen book, but I'd recommend it to anyone. It's short, and you can read it in one or two days. I actually picked it up on accident. It's terrifying, in it's own way, and is very psychological. Makes you wander if you really know your mind.