life changing books

[moth]

Not sure that I can name any books that have changed my life. I read alot and always have and think I take something from every book I have read even if we are not aware of what it is.

However these books have been influential at the times I have read them.

Women's Ways of Knowing - The development of self, voice and mind.
Feminist Philosphers.
Both read while at Uni years ago but I've kept them on my bookshelf and thinking about this thread made me want to pick them up again.

The Drama Of Being A Child - Allice Miller

How To Be Good - Nick Hornby - this book made me start reading again after some time away from books.

We need To talk about kevin - Lionel Shrivener and The Pact - Jodie Picoult. Have helped me through the past year and as my son reaches adulthood.

There are too many others and probably really important ones that I have forgotten - passed onto other people. I do think that a little bit of every book stays with you.

[CouldntThinkofaName]

PlayBoy!!

Seriously, Sophies World

[rayman]

My Voice will go with you, teaching tales of Milton Erikson by Sidney Rosen is a great book

[coco]

I have just posted a reply to an other thread about books and I was mentioning "Feel the fear and do it anyway" by Susan Jeffers. It had a life changing effect on me so much so that I wrote to the writer (so unlike me) to thank her personally and I could not believe when I received her reply and a copy of her latest tape! I still read the book once in a while to remind me of things, it is like a hug in words and an invite to change your life for the better. After the book I had the courage to leave my bad marriage, start a new job and feel different about life in general. I highly reccomend it!!!!!!!!!!

[Cellardweller]

Gillian Butler, Overcoming Social Anxiety And Shyness.
David D Burns, M.D., Feeling good.

Both books are based around CBT but worth a read anyway.

[faith]

Originally Posted by coco

I have just posted a reply to an other thread about books and I was mentioning "Feel the fear and do it anyway" by Susan Jeffers. It had a life changing effect on me so much so that I wrote to the writer (so unlike me) to thank her personally and I could not believe when I received her reply and a copy of her latest tape! I still read the book once in a while to remind me of things, it is like a hug in words and an invite to change your life for the better. After the book I had the courage to leave my bad marriage, start a new job and feel different about life in general. I highly reccomend it!!!!!!!!!!

I wanna get this book I have heard it is really good- think I will def get it now :D :D

[Bob]

Anybody tried these books?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/reader/07...15#reader-link



http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P...CMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P...CMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

[vero]

i'm not over 30, sorry. :D
They are not intended to be self-help books, but they are books that gave me a new look on life (and some new hope for a while !) :

Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist (makes you think different on little things of life !), Eleven minutes . Some people also advised me "Veronica decides to die".

Patrick Modiano - La petite bijou (don't know if it was translated into English)

Amélie Nothomb - Antechrista (same remark ; I identified myself with the main character, at the time I read it : she is a girl lacking self-confidence and friends, and social experience people of her age have...)

[indiekid]

i agree with Vero, Paulo Coello books are great and I particularly liked 'veronica decides to die'. would also recomend barefoot doctor's 'twisted fables for twisted minds' hilarious! Not exactly life changing but really excellent are books by Hiruki Mirikami especially 'wind up bird chronicles', very David Lynch if you like that sort of thing.

[Coward]

I read Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People when I was a teenager. It had a huge influence on me at the time - you can tell because it is so dog-eared beaten up and full of underlining. I was in a rut when it came to social interaction at the time. Basically I was a grunting teenager who found any form of conversation immensely frustrating. This book succeeded in helping me out of the rut and giving me the tools I was craving, moreover it did so in a captivating and accessible way.

[cog]

On Having No Head - Douglas Harding. An amazing step into eastern philosophy, and really helped me to understand and feel good about my relationship to the world (although I don't entirely accept everything he says).

The Easy Way To Control Alcohol - Allen Carr (of Stop Smoking fame). Quite simply, saved my life.

[LonelyGuy]

Jewish Supremacism - THE BEST SELLING BOOK IN RUSSIA:



My Awakening:



http://www.davidduke.com/index.php?p=129

http://www.davidduke.com/index.php?p=130

[Statelyhomo]

The book on the school SUMMERHILL by A.S. Neil
The function of a child is to live his own life - not the life his anxious parents think he should live, nor a life according to the the purpose of the educator who thinks he knows what is best. All of this interference and guidance on the part of adults only produces a generation of robots A.S. Neill

All of the books by Claire Weeks Self Help For Your Nerves, Peace from Nervous Suffering

The poems of Walt Whitman a man who knew about life

[waveydavey]

I recently read Ian McEwan's Atonement (Film's out now I think, and yeah I partly read it just so I could be one of those that 'preferred the book') It's very cleverly written and without giving anything away, reading the book brought it home to me how life, everything we do, is pretty much pointless as we're all going to die, nothing will be remembered, we'll grow old and become a dribbling idiots. A lasting legacy would be nice but that won't happen. Maybe, as I'm an atheist (I think), I believe when we're gone, we're gone. Why wait 50 years to die old and lonely? Life is fleeting and pointless. So er, yeah for me, a quite depressing book, it had me thinking of an easy way out now. Why not? Then I remembered I wanted to watch the IT Crowd on TV on Friday so thought better of it ending it right away.

As a side note, I read the full Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe series a couple of years ago. It's a very christian series of books and the very last book has everyone die with the good people going to heaven to meet their loved ones etc. This too disturbed me, as an SA sufferer I could think of nothing more hellish than an eternity of meeting past family and friends, what would I talk about? It'd be downright weird to meet my dead relatives, I know I'm supposed to want to see them again and part of me does but, I dunno.

[Logan]

Ooh, I hadn't noticed this thread until now. Absolutely no doubt for me: Watership Down - and yes, that's where my sig comes from! It's not exaggerating to say that I would probably have never made any friends at all as an adult were it not for the people I've met because of that book.

[cheesehoven]

Shakespeare The complete works.
All the insight into the human condition you will ever need.

[Ibex]

Originally Posted by Jessie Phillips

Status Anxiety, by Alain de Botton

That's a great book, although I think his The consolations of Philosophy is much better. Another of his books, How Proust can change your life, is worth read too, if you haven't already.

[Dee Ranged]

Read 'Mr Polly' by HG Wells. If you don't like your life - you can change it.

[Dee Ranged]

I have to admit, I love 'Gormangast'. It's life changing in so much as it celebrates an alternative world, with fingers dipped in our world. But watch out for the Steerpikes of this world. They're deadly.

[CeeJay]

I do love certain books....Pollen by Jeff Noon and the Sandman comic series by Neil Gaiman allow me to escape reality now and then. But they haven't changed my life sadly!!

I am finding the massive Che Guevara biography I picked up kind of inspiring tho'! His idealism at least...

I also think snippets from Susan Jeffers book:feal the fear and do it anyway have altered me for the better!