Books that shaped your worldview

[strider1]

So,the thread about what we're currently reading got me wondering what everyone here would say have been the books that've had the biggest impact on you and the way you see the world.Here are the ones I can think of right now.

Fiction:
Atlas Shrugged
Lord of the Rings

Non fiction:
Wealth of Nations-Adam Smith
The Road to Serfdom-Friedrich Hayek
Capitalism and Freedom-Milton Friedman
For a New Liberty-Murray Rothbard
The Machinery of Freedom-David Friedman

 

[nessonite1]

What a fantastic topic...I'd say I'd have to list books I read when I was very young. Books that changed the way I saw the world were read when the way I saw the world was still being shaped. Off the top of my head I would say
The Fledgling - Jane Langton
A Wrinkle in Time - ??

 

[MistressValerie1]

Non-fiction:
Justice in Everyday Life, Howard Zinn http://www.southendpress.org/books/justice.shtml
The Myth of Mental Illness, Thomas Szasz http://www.szasz.com/
The Libertarian Reader, ed. David Boaz http://www.libertarianism.org/reader.html

Fiction:
Pallas, L. Neil Smith http://www.rationalreview.com/announcements/070403.html

 

[moondog83uk1]

Something I can chat about...

Allo,

Plenty of books really:

Non-fiction:
Capital State - George Monbiot.
No Logo - Naomi Klein.

Fiction:
1984 - George Orwell.
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley.
The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien.

Good idea for a thread, this! Something to express and discuss properly without there being any arguments caused or whatever. Nice one.

Cheers, Moondog 😀

 

[Camel26]

The Catcher in the Rye

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Rubyfruit Jungle

Stone Butch Blues


All good books...all changed the way I think...

 

[Faramir]

Hustler magazine...!! 😉

 

[ElFewja1]

Invisible Man and Heart of darkness. Forget the authors, but they are damn good books, completly fuck with your mind too.

Lord of the Rings didn't exactly affect me, since its more of a fantasy novel series, and all that, but eh.

1984 and Brave new world, maybe, but they were more assumed concepts that weren't all that new to me, you know?

Etc.

 

[Ghost_Host_9991]

I love talking about books...thank you for starting this thread. 🙂

Having written some very scary stuff on my own, I know that the vision put forth by George Orwell in 1984 was easily the most disturbing and had the greatest effect on me. Another classic that I love is Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne. I would not want to ruin the ending for anyone who has not read it, but the message that the book puts forth at the end I think is one that anyone can relate to.

Oh, and for ELFewja---The Invisible Man was written by H.G. Wells and Heart of Darkness was written by Joseph Conrad.

 

[MayDay1]

The Book Of The Subgenius-J.R. "Bob" Dobbs
Fight Club-Chuck Pahalniuk (I doubt I spelled it right)
Get In The Van-Henry Rollins

 

[Cbarton]

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
The Bible, esp. three Old Testament books:
Nehemiah--how a good leader can get anything done
Ecclesiates--the seeking of life's true meaning
Proverbs--whether your a believer or not, the absolute BEST advice on living, in one's personal and busniess life.

 

[alchemy1]

books eh?

In no particular order..

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Brave New World - Aldus Huxley
The Tao of Jeet Kune Do - Bruce Lee
Lord of Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
1984 - George Orwell
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson
Brain Droppins - George Carlin
The Great and Secret Show - Clive Barker
and just any books on ancient Greek history

 

[AphroditeRabbit]

Fantastic topic! I hate it. And you know why? Because this is the sort of topic that I get into and sort through my entire book collection so I can recall the ones that shaped who I am. And it bothers me because I'll search forever because I know there's always one missing that is fantastic and I just don't own it so I didn't post it because I can't remember the name! Blast you!

Anywho, sorting through what I have as of now I found....

Strangers In Paradise (the entire series) - Terry Moore
Classical Myth - Barry B. Powell
The DaVinci Code- Dan Brown
Island of the Blue Dolphins - Scott O'Dell
The Women of Brewster Place - Gloria Naylor
Rubyfruit Jungle - Rita Mae Brown
The Color Purple - Alice Walker
The Joy Luck Club - Amy Tan
Oh the Places You'll Go - Dr. Seuss
The Rainmaker - John Grisham
The Stranger - Albert Camus

 

[HOLLYWOOD]

this is a hard post because the hollywood brother has read so many hollywood brother books in his lfe. could it be the classic catcher in the rye? Maybe some of shakespeare works? The hollywood brother does not know. all the hollywood brother knows is a good book on a nice day sitting on the beach at wildwood new jersey and the hollywood brother is in heaven

 

[BigNorm]

not exactly mean by shaping your world views..... but my favorite novels are Halo (the prequel story to the game)

The Resident Evil Series. a group of 6 novels all about the video game series by S.D. Perry.

and my #1 book of all time, i forgot the name and author of it it, but it was something about mankind discovered 100's of underground tunnels connecting countries, thus opening new ways of travel, the only problem being they were infested by gargoyles, who were smart and intelligent and killed many people and made some their slaves. i know it sounds corny, but the author made this an incredible book, with lotsa action and stuff to keep you on the edge of your seat.

if any one knows the name of it, pretty please tell me, been looking over 2 years for it.

anyway, i don't reead non-fiction, can't keep my entrance.