Have You Ever Read A Book That Changed You/Your Ways or Inspired You?

[Radical Plato]

Yes its a favorite subject of mine. Its amazing how much is passed off as 'facts' that is really just speculation and theories. Things like the pyramids of Giza as well as the valley temple and other structures...we still don't know who, why, when, or HOW they were built. I love it

Yet, but all in all, apart from a few unexplained phenomena, they were pretty primitive peoples with superstitious societies and in comparison to today, pretty shitty technology.  I think the glowing admiration of ancient societies is completely inflated and overhyped.  So what, they piled some rocks on top of one another and built a pyramid shape, woopty doo.  We're sending men to the moon, transplanting hearts, mapping the entire dna code, developing earth destroying weaponry etc etc, yet most of the ancient civilisations struggled to invent shoes.

[jpm101]

Changed direction of thinking.

Illusions ...Bach.  Autobiography of a Yoga...Yogananda.   Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged...Ayn Rand.  Kipling Collected Reader.

Had to read The Book Of Mormon when a teenager. Compare it a little to reading L Ron Hubbard. Both  more like reading science fiction than a belief system (just my view). But I'll let people believe what they want to believe.

[BigRo]

Eckhart is the gayest human being and the greatest snake oil salesman ever.  That booked sucked massive dogs balls.  I can't believe people get sucked in by all that pseudo spiritual nonsense.  Yet another newage profiteer making millions of the gullible, restless masses.

he makes alot of money no doubt, snake oil? if the message was warped then maybe but his words are direct and helpful to bring the mind in to stillness and presence, something you obviously give little credence to in your own life.

[Simple Simon]

American Psycho , help me to understand women and where they are coming from.

[bigmc]

American Psycho , help me to understand women and where they are coming from.

ive never read it

is it still worth a look if you have seen the film

[Grape Ape]

ive never read it

is it still worth a look if you have seen the film

I read the book awhile before the film.  Thought is was much, much better, but that's usually the case.

[Simple Simon]

ive never read it

is it still worth a look if you have seen the film

Film doesnt come any where near the book.

Book is hard work but if you read it properly rather than skip the lists (you will know what I mean when you read it) then the murders are a release, just like they were for Patrick.

[Man of Steel]

the bible back when i used to believe in it, then i realised if there is a god he is a cruel n uncaring being

It's interesting how people come to different conclusions; unfortunately most never dive any further than a surface reading and then abandon ship. 

Me, I had a ton of questions, but over time I learned to study scripture with humility and a genuine desire to understand with greater depth how the good and bad stories about the behaviors of biblical folks all point to our need for Jesus Christ.  And how God works within the confines of our lives (both the good and the bad moments) to draw us closer to him.

[Simple Simon]

It's interesting how people come to different conclusions; unfortunately most never dive any further than a surface reading and then abandon ship. 

Me, I had a ton of questions, but over time I learned to study scripture with humility and a genuine desire to understand with greater depth how the good and bad stories about the behaviors of biblical folks all point to our need for Jesus Christ.  And how God works within the confines of our lives (both the good and the bad moments) to draw us closer to him.

[bigmc]

Film doesnt come any where near the book.

Book is hard work but if you read it properly rather than skip the lists (you will know what I mean when you read it) then the murders are a release, just like they were for Patrick.

il check it out

[snx]

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse: read as a young man, and many times since when I need refreshing. It has opened my mind to the idea that spirituality comes from within, and that one cannot build up until one has mastered the art of learning to let go.

How a 2nd Grader Beat Wall Street: a must-read for all investors...be it the day-trading whizzes on getbig.com to the casual investor in mutual funds. Ignore its message at your peril. I have been practicing its principles since.

The Road by Cormack. A must read for any father. You will be deeply moved. It distils and crystallizes the very fabric that bonds father to child. It didn't so much inspire me, as it reflected many things I felt yet put them more eloquently than I ever could.

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. A great novel on the plight of the Gen X male. It opened my eyes to what society views my real purpose to be, and why that's just not good enough for me anymore.

Anabolic Reference Guide by Bill Phillips. Hey, I'm a bodybuilder, and this book blew my mind and forced my eyes wide open to a universe I had only thought perhaps existed. This was back in 98.

[The Onion]

Finished this a couple of weeks ago. Highly recommend it.

[galeniko]

the bible.

i never ever read a better comedy book in my life, i laughed all the way through.

books on economics are always shit because always biased on side or another, but theyre informative.

most valueable books as far entertainment go are actualy comics for me,no joking.

and stephen king books, when realy bored, someone once said hes the mcdonalds of writers, agree, but i like him

[jpm101]

Those primate people build some very impressive structures, still standing, with mathematical precision that is marveled even today by experts. Including moving those huge stones into place, that even out modern heavy equipment can not move. And with exact fitting with one another, down to almost a nano measurement.. Evidence of brain operations, and other medical arts, from many ancient cultures. Their astronomy skills were amazing, being aware of distance constellations. And mapping the exact movements of our inner planets. All seemly without an aid of telescopes. Those some ancient glyph & written records, suggest that there were lens devices.

Always wondered why pyramids are discovered in just about anyplace on earth, each with similar basic building styles.  With the help of satellites, more are being discovered just about every month. And quite a few under oceans and lakes.

[Radical Plato]

he makes alot of money no doubt, snake oil? if the message was warped then maybe but his words are direct and helpful to bring the mind in to stillness and presence, something you obviously give little credence to in your own life.

Oh Brother, bring the mind to stillness and presence.  What the fuck are you talking about?  And why the fuck would you want your mind to be still?  The only reason Eckhart wants your mind to be still is so that you stop thinking so then you won't discover what a charlatan he is peddling pseudo spirituality as some type of objective truth.  To simply focus on the present moment constantly is a ridiculous way to live, it's dangerous and can only lead you to waste your life.  It simply amazes me, literally, that people can fall for this garbage. 

[Man of Steel]

the bible.

i never ever read a better comedy book in my life, i laughed all the way through.

I love a good laugh....share some of the humor!

[Radical Plato]

Those primate people build some very impressive structures, still standing, with mathematical precision that is marveled even today by experts. Including moving those huge stones into place, that even out modern heavy equipment can not move. And with exact fitting with one another, down to almost a nano measurement.. Evidence of brain operations, and other medical arts, from many ancient cultures. Their astronomy skills were amazing, being aware of distance constellations. And mapping the exact movements of our inner planets. All seemly without an aid of telescopes. Those some ancient glyph & written records, suggest that there were lens devices.

Always wondered why pyramids are discovered in just about anyplace on earth, each with similar basic building styles.  With the help of satellites, more are being discovered just about every month. And quite a few under oceans and lakes.

And yet they thought the earth was flat and sacrificed children to appease imaginary gods.  Things that make you go HHHMMM  !!!!

[Skorp1o]

I love a good laugh....share some of the humor!

Genesis 19:8
 
“Look, I have two daughters, virgins both of them. Let me bring them out to you and you could do what you like with them. But do nothing to these men because they have come under the shelter of my roof.”

Deut. 23:1
 
"No man whose testicles have been crushed or whose organ has been cut off may become a member of the Assembly of God."

[alabama ftw]

I was forced to read the Bible when I was thirteen. I was a believer at the beginning and an science loving atheist when I turned the last page.

[snx]

I read the book awhile before the film.  Thought is was much, much better, but that's usually the case.

The book is game-changingly (is that a compound word?) good, versus the movie.

I will admit; I had an especially hard time getting through the passages where Bateman slits the boy toddler's throat in the crowd. I of course still enjoyed the novel and read it all; but it's not often that I react so viscerally in disgust and horror to what someone writes. Plenty of books shock me with their messages (my list above for example); very few are able to visibly move me to disgust and horror. In fact, this has been the only one that I can recall.

Not sure if that's a feather in Easton-Ellis' cap, or even if that was his intention. But I was moved, to say the least.

If you enjoyed American Psycho, give Glamorama a try. A bit more of a challenging read, but I thought it showcased his story-telling with great aplomb than American Psycho (one layman's opinion, which, of course, is worth one tidy pile of shit).

[JasonH]

Why men don't listen and women can't read maps. Helped me to be more patient with women. No homo.

Yes, I've read that as well - interesting book. Liked the bit about how it explained why men always get busted by their girlfriends for checking out other women - it's because men have evolved as hunters over the years to have tunnel vision and can only "look" in one direction at a time. They possess poor peripheral vision whereas women are the opposite - they've evolved to sense danger coming from all sides and therefore have greater peripheral vision. The same reasoning about the tunnel vision explains why men make better airline pilots whereas women don't.

[BigRo]

Oh Brother, bring the mind to stillness and presence.  What the fuck are you talking about?  And why the fuck would you want your mind to be still?  The only reason Eckhart wants your mind to be still is so that you stop thinking so then you won't discover what a charlatan he is peddling pseudo spirituality as some type of objective truth.  To simply focus on the present moment constantly is a ridiculous way to live, it's dangerous and can only lead you to waste your life.  It simply amazes me, literally, that people can fall for this garbage. 

Your loss.

[Megalodon]

My current read is a short story called Bride Of The Ape by Harold Ward. It hasn't changed my life thus far but I'm ever hopeful.

[Radical Plato]

Yes, I've read that as well - interesting book. Liked the bit about how it explained why men always get busted by their girlfriends for checking out other women - it's because men have evolved as hunters over the years to have tunnel vision and can only "look" in one direction at a time. They possess poor peripheral vision whereas women are the opposite - they've evolved to sense danger coming from all sides and therefore have greater peripheral vision. The same reasoning about the tunnel vision explains why men make better airline pilots whereas women don't.

What nonsense.  Women don't have some greater vision than men, if anything, men would have been more likely to evolve such ability, as they were far more often in dangerous situations, being the hunter and protector and all.  Contrary to popular belief, women worry less about danger as they know they can get men to worry about it for them.  And tunnel vision in an airline pilot is a dangerous thing. When combined with piloting an aircraft, driving, crossing roads or operating heavy machinery, the consequences can be fatal.  

ANd their is zero evidence suggesting men are better pilots than women.  Ten out of every 100 Army helicopter pilots are women — but they account for only 3 out of every 100 accidents, and that's from an official army report.

For the record, I never get busted by my girlfriend for checking out other women.

The book was obviously written by pro feminist nutjobs, you know the type, where men are subtly put down and women elevated on a pedestal, that sells millions to feminists and their white knight counterparts who collectively suffer from misandry.

[bigmc]

the bible.

i never ever read a better comedy book in my life, i laughed all the way through.

books on economics are always shit because always biased on side or another, but theyre informative.

most valueable books as far entertainment go are actualy comics for me,no joking.

and stephen king books, when realy bored, someone once said hes the mcdonalds of writers, agree, but i like him

the gunslinger stephen king books are good

what ever you say about the guy his imagination is immense