Non-religious books that changed your life
By steerpyke
@steerpyke (396)
12 responses
@pacodecabra (160)
• United States
28 Jan 07
"The Razor's Edge" by W. Somerset Maugham. For me at least, a life-changing book that I read again once every year. It also has some interesting parallels to society today, even though it was written in 1944 and is set in the 1920's and 1930's.
@steerpyke (396)
•
28 Jan 07
I do have some Somerset Maugham collected stories somewhere but i have never read them. maybe i should find the time.
1 person likes this
@pacodecabra (160)
• United States
28 Jan 07
I like all of his books and short stories, but The Razor's Edge was the only one that changed the way I look at the world.
@cajundharma (641)
• United States
7 Feb 07
What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson. It made me more aware of the energy I feed into my family and household with my emotions.
@fizzytom (752)
• Maribor, Slovenia
7 Feb 07
There have been several that have really made an impact.
I just finished reading "Don't Eat this Book" by Morgan Spurlock which recaps the period when he lived on McDonalds food for thirty days for the "Supersize Me" documentary and talks in general about the the changing diets of people globally, not just in the industrialised west. It is a real eye opener and the reason why i have had only vegan food for the last two days! I don't intend to take this up full-time but I will cut out as much processed food as possible - not that I ate that much to start with.
Another one is "Full Tilt - Dunkerque to Delhi by Bicycle" by Dervla Murphy which makes you see that with a bit of common sense, a bit of daring and an open mind you can do anything. It is an account of Dervla's first big cycling journey - the first of many around the world, undertaken in the late 1960s when it was virtually unheard of for a lone female to make such an undertaking.
@Krishna666 (49)
• Indonesia
2 Feb 07
Think I've read many books that change my point of view about 'how the world works'. Friedrich Nietzche's books are wonderful (maybe u've read those), Jean-Paul Sartre is good as well, Mario Puzo's novels, etc. I got influenced by movies and music, too. Anyway, what about you? got any recommended books for me to read? cya
@steerpyke (396)
•
2 Feb 07
I have read Nietzche, though I can't say that i got my head around a lot of it but I really should try to find some JPS and further round out my education.
I'm not sure if any one book has changed my life as such but a number of authors have opened my eyes. I read a lot of history and religion, on the history side people like Graham Hancock, Richard Rudley and Andrew Collins have showed me that even something as seemingly established as history is really a put up job for the masses and is much more interesting when you tear it down and try to re-build it yourself. You normally get a completely different picture.
I expect that i now apply that to any area, i don't take someones word just because they are "qualified" first tear the subject appart, re-build it and see how it looks to you.
Here's to academic anarchy.
@TereFaerie (386)
• United States
2 Feb 07
I love Sartre! Have you read his correspondence with Simone de Beauvoire?
@TereFaerie (386)
• United States
2 Feb 07
The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood. I read this book as a young teenaged girl and it really changed my view of the world. The book is set in the not to distant future where women have lost their rights in the wake of a bio-engineered war and the political take-over of the religious right who subjugate women. Families are split up and many women are forced to breed with higher level political figures.
Let's just say it made me more cynical and less gullible and aware of the things that governments do in the name of what is right.
@steerpyke (396)
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2 Feb 07
I read this years ago, my girlfriend at the time was studying it and had trouble getting to grips with it, so i read it too, so we could discuss it and help her get her head around it. It was great, its just a pity that the film wasnt so good. it reminded be a bit of "that Monstrous Regiment" by storm Constantine..worth a go if you liked Handmaid.
@TereFaerie (386)
• United States
2 Feb 07
I'll have to give that one a try, thanks for the reccommendation.
@ElusiveButterfly (45940)
• United States
4 Feb 07
I read, but not as much as I should. The books I read are usually ficitonal, some are self-help books. The best books I have found to lift your spirits have been the Chicken Soup for the Soul books. I enjoy reading the stories. They make you feel good about yourself and also gives you the knowledge that you are not alone in whatever suffering you may be experiencing.
@iampaperbag (262)
• Philippines
29 Jan 07
There's a book by Trina Paulus called Hope For The Flowers. I read it five years ago. It changed my life. Funny, because it's a children's book.
@steerpyke (396)
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29 Jan 07
I guess it shows you that inspiritation is found in lots of places, not just the heavy philosophical works. Thank you for joining in.
