How and why?
List below.
*Purchased a kindle during the eBay sale and could do with some inspiration.
The book (or books) that changed your life - What titles do you hold close?
AFC 23 on 07/10/2015 - 15:41
Comments
Check out Rick's videos on his church's youtube page. Really good videos as well. Watching one video a week while you do housework or iron your work clothes is a great way to pass time!
Read god is not great by hitchens instead
kids' stuff.
Fools' stuff really
"I think it would be silly to go through this life without ever carefully considering spiritual questions". It reminds me of Socrates "The unexamined life is not worth living." Although I rejected Christianity long ago if favour of a different type of spirituality, I think traditional religion (not Islam, it is alien to people of European extraction) is good for our community and acts as a foil to progressivism.
The vast majority of people in our community are nowdays passive atheists. They have rejected spirit and philosophy in favour of materialism and science, but they don't actively proselytize their godlessness the way obnoxious militant atheists do. They simply don't think about spirit at all. They are content with their shiny new appliances, electronic gadgets, overseas holidays and of course, their SUVs. Mammon is the new God for most, and for the rest it is leftist ideology, the so-called 'Church of Liberalism'.
Some interesting texts to read for people not comfortable with Christianity are The Dhammapada, Shantideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva's way of Life, The Bhagavad Gita, and The Enneads by Plotinus.
Obviously some but-hurt closed minded Christians have down-voted you. Shame how your post got down-voted, and a comment below about a Super Nintendo manual got 15+ upvotes; that really backs up your statement.
Hopefully the atheists are just late to the party
If there was a SNES and Sega Mega Drive religions, then then you would expect followers of the SMD cult to downvote the Super Nintendo manual comment (because obviously SNES users follow the wrong console god).
As it is, gamers take their games seriously but not as seriously as religionists take religion seriously, so the butthurtedness (or lack of) is easily explainable.
PS. I think Sega-fans should see the light and join Nintendo, or die in hell, heathens.
Pretty sure the SNES manual is more useful than religion is
"I think it would be silly to go through this life without ever carefully considering spiritual questions"
Ignorance is bliss
"Find your bliss" Joseph Campbell
Religion was great, back when the world was so dangerous and uncertain. Nowadays, its just a relic of a previous age, only surviving mostly due to brainwashing children from an early age.
I find it an amazing coincidence that 99.95% of sons and daughters who subscribe to a religion, that religion also happens to be the same one that their parents subscribe to.
"presents what Warren says are God's five purposes for human life on Earth "
Yeah. Uh. no thanks
"CLICK TO SEE GOD'S 5 REASONS OF HUMAN EXISTENCE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT THEY ARE!"
The Convoluted Universe by Dolores Cannon. I don't agree with everything she writes, however, some of the theories she presents are interesting and eye-opening.
Nintendo 64 Owners Manual - back in the late 90's, this was awesome
Probably the first piece of literature i can recall as a little tacker.
Also, Green Eggs and Ham was a good one, just so inspirational and topical - although it was written in a simpler time, its themes and social commentary still hold water in todays society.
Nintendo 64 Owners Manual - back in the late 90's, this was awesome
Really? That inspired a feeling of awe and changed your life?
Yes - especially the chapter on 'troubleshooting'
"Turn it off and on" and "gently blow cartridge" are applicable in so many areas of life.
i lold
You like blowing a lot cartridges?
@tyler.durden: in the late 90's it was a part of life…not really any alternative as it was so mainstream
A book that gave me direction in life - The Melways.
It's great but didnt help in my later in life in Qld! But as a kid in Melb, wow.
Don't you know how to use GPS ?
Not in 1998
A book that gave me direction in life
I found the book that gave me great life direction was the 1999 UBD Street Directory
Before that, i just had no idea as to where i was headed
I guess you don't know what Melways is, hey?
Do you "hold it close" as OP suggested?
Well I think you're confusing Noel Whittaker for something that he isn't - I guess he exists on a spectrum where sensible advice is at one end and charlatans and rip-off artists are at the other end selling lies.
He's about as far to the side of the sensible spectrum as you can get.
I find myself referring back to this book on a regular basis. Great read on the basics.
48 laws of power by greene. Influence by carnegie. They change my perception of communcation.
Hitchhickers Guide to the Galaxy - by Douglas Adams
The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
Of course you can watch the movies but reading the books takes less time :p
These were books I read before the movies came out when I was about 12/13 the Hobbit a bit earlier , but that was back in early 90s.
The viewpoints of the universe in Hitchhikers, the comedy and dry jokes probably shaped my sense of humour and personality.
The Hobbit - i found a lot more engaging then the LOFTRs , that book took me to far away places, dragons and elves and first ignited an interest in Fantasy and in stoked the fires of reading.The movies are nice to have a visual of some things, but the visuals in movies are usually never as good as the ones in your imagination. You loose so much in the movies, the subtext, the thoughts and feelings of the characters.
There are a whole bunch of other books along the way, Catch 22, Brave New World, The Metamorphosis, God of Small Things, The Bible, Julius Caesar, To Kill a Mockingbird, Treasure Island, 1984, a load of Roald Dahl books, Dune, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, nearly all of Terry Pratchett's works, Chronicles of Narnia, and many more, they have all touched me and shaped me and changed me in some way.
(sorry was in a rush this morning and didn't get a chance to elaborate on my choices).
Great response. Cheers!
Love your list Juvi. Mine would be Metamorphosis.
@lenlynn: I am from Prague and it's quite interesting to see how Kafka resonates with other readers around the world.
@duchy: as a lawyer, love the trial. Also the castle one of my favourite books, and liked America as well, one of his less finished works.
Have you seen the HHGttG movie?
The books are not even close to the steaming pile of excrement that Disney attached the HHGttG name to!
The only relevance between HHGttG movie and Books are that some character names are the same.
The characters are different, the story is completely different and the jokes that the movie loosely "borrowed" from the books are actually funny, as compared to the Disneyfied version that were put into the movie.
HHGttG - Actually the radio play was the best of the lot. Get hold of the CDs and listen to them.
@scubacoles: Where did you get the follow ups from? I hadn't even heard of them until you mentioned Dirk Maggs. (knew about the books, just not an audio version).
I downloaded them episode by episode initially, the day after broadcast (They were streamed on the BBC website - iView style for a week after broadcast)
Then when the 3 series were complete I bought them as a box set from Amazon UK I think.They're excellent quality, as good, if not better than the originals. Which was a huge surprise and relief.
There's also Dirk Gently Radio plays also by Dirk Maggs.
I only have downloaded copies of them, as at the time I bought the HHGttG followups, they were unavailable to buy and I never checked again.@scubacoles: I've read the Dirk Gently books; enjoyed them but they could be a bit patchy. I particularly liked the electric monks.
"Electric Monks believed things for you, thus saving you what was becoming an increasingly onerous task, that of believing all the things the world expected you to believe."
Looking through Amazon, Price could well have been the reason why I didn't buy the Dirk Gently Radio Plays on CD!
Ouch!
"The Lord of the Rings", rather than the Hobbit. I find it a profoundly sad book because it all came down to a simple Hobbit who was scarred for life by his sacrifice.
"Good Omens" - It introduced me to the works of Terry Pratchett.
Dilbert Cartoons - Scott Adams understands where management gets it wrong.
You should check out "The Dilbert Hole" cartoons. They got it so right where Scott Adams had it so wrong.
Frankly, I wish I could unsee that reference you gave me.
Oops sorry didn't mean to neg you. Fat fingers!
The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris.
Possibly The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene although I've read it 10 times or something and it's not an easy book to read or integrate into your life.
4HWW was a good book but the one that made the difference for me is/was the 4 Hour Body
Lost 20 kilos and changed my outlook on exercise, eating, cooking, relationship and critical thinking and lots of other stuffHaven't nailed down that 30 minutes female orgasm thing yet though … :)
It's all about practice! We all need to practice more…
It's the same with g-spot. The fun is in searching.
lol is that book for real? It makes a lot of claims… I'm surprised it doesn't use statements like "Weird trick.." "Doctors want this book banned" etc
what main lesson you learnt from 4 hour body?
The Power of Now
My meditation instruction manual
Isn't this book just a rip off many other famous books/ people etc.
1984 - It's fiction-turned-reality horror.
An instruction manual for would-be fascists.
Just wait until you see it in the 'non-fiction' section..
Fascists? Politically correct social justice warriors is actually closer to the mark. Unfortunately, every year our society becomes more and more like Oceania.
If you read 1984 and regard it as a nightmare, you are conservative. If you regard Oceania as a utopia, they you are a lefty. In our society, people aren't allowed to think for themselves. There is only one correct view, and anyone deviating from that ('thought crime') is viciously attacked. An example: Just recently I saw a public official state that is was unAustralian to criticize Islam. Since when is Islam part of traditional Australian culture? There are no 3rd or 4th generation Muslims in Australia.
"There are no 3rd or 4th generation Muslims in Australia"
That's where you are wrong dude, I don't know what boat you sailed in on but you should try reading a Stralian history book.
I spent a bit of time out in the red centre and there is quite a rich tapestry left behind by our Afghani forefathers and sisters. The white Australia policy kinda ended that.
In our society, people aren't allowed to think for themselves. There is only one correct view, and anyone deviating from that ('thought crime') is viciously attacked.
Which society, are you talking about Australian society? Re: getting "viciously attacked" for expressing an unpopular view. Well bro, that's called freedom of speech. You're free to share your opinion and people are free to denounce it. I get that all the time here too, what with getting downvoted and having my comment disappear. If you truly think your view is the correct view, then consider using more measured and controlled language to improve your persuasive abilities.
An example: Just recently I saw a public official state that is was unAustralian to criticize Islam. Since when is Islam part of traditional Australian culture?
Oh lookie here, sounds like someone's (read: you) being a politically correct social justice warrior!
You're looking at this issue the wrong way. The issue is calling anything UnAustralian (something frequently done by both left and right-wingers) is a fallacy, a brain terminating thought process. What is Australian, what is UnAustralian? Who cares. Debate an issue based on its own merits/demerits and not be measured by some intangible fluid entity known as Australianness.
@nrg2010: "The Battle of Broken Hill" or massacre, is an event not many Australians I know have heard about. Possibly Australia's earliest known Islamic attack which happened over 100 yrs ago.
That's North Korea
Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. Explains a lot about relationships and the opposite sex regardless of if you are a man or woman yourself.
I've read the book and I've listened to the audio book three times. I've used the techniques in the book with two girlfriends, but all I found is I looked like an arrogant prat by telling them what I want. The letter technique may work for some, but it backfired for me.
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle - totally changes the way you think about yourself, others and humankind in general. I think everyone should read it..
Love and Respect by Dr Emerson. It's a best seller, very highly acclaimed book. It is religious but the principles are really good.
It teaches you how to talk to your spouse/partner. I used to be an 'bad' female that would be critical towards my partner, 'mothering' him per se. Now I don't, partly because of this book. Relationship has improved by leaps and bounds. I recommend it to people who are open to a reading a Christian book and have relationship issues. Particularly helpful if you keep having failed relationships.
http://www.amazon.com/Love-Respect-Desires-Desperately-Needs…
Wings of fire - A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
RuneScape: The Official Handbook. Teaches you many things, from money making strategies to basic metallurgy (bronze is made from tin and copper).
Escape from Freedom - Erich Fromm
The book that got me into psychology. Now I look back, the book itself is lacking at best, it still holds a place in my bookshelf though because of how special it is (It was "donated" to me from my dad, my dad bought it during 1980s). I frankly got the gist that it's distant from the modern psychology which have gone into the fields of science (though this is from my recollection of the book).The Lucifer Effect - Philip Zimbardo
Something that I'd consider to be better since it looks at experiments and proper data. It was a good read imo, albeit slightly long.Those two might bore you if you have no interest in psychology.
What is History? - E. H. Carr
An interesting book, imo, that looks into methodologies of historians (and I'd say philosophy as well). While it sounds boring, I frankly found it interesting since well, everyone is influenced by the "history", though what we know as "history" is something written by historians. It looks into how history is written.Perfume: The Story of a Murderer - Patrick Süskind
A decent novel that I think was made better with the commentaries and such (which I don't recommend reading until you finish reading, since I found the book to have that shock value before knowing those things).A Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel García Márquez
Another novel that I really liked, because of the surrealism and the way the book is written. It can be bloody confusing though (time line jumps from chapter to chapter, within chapter etc).Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
One of the most famous dystopian novels out there (with 1984, Fahrenheit 451 and more). It's a good read.Harry Potter series
The book is really good, though the ending felt tad bit rushed.Twilight
The first book of the infamous Twilight saga. It made me go, wow, blatantly making a worse copy of a classic can get you this much publicity, I am not touching any of the Twilight books. It was one of the most awful book I've ever read.If you want a classic psychology read but wrapped up in a heartbreaking but very powerful story: Man's search for meaning by Viktor Frankl. A highly rated book on amazon and A lot of the modern psychology concepts I feel come from this guy.
The Indian epic Mahabharatha has made me think a lot about life, and probably helped my decisions. To be precise, the sections around Yaksha Prashna and many chapters of Bhagavad Gita.
The Dip - Seth Godin. For deciding when to give up and when to persist
Shantaram - Gregory Roberts. For epic storytelling and glorious wordsmithery, inspires me everytime I read it.Practical Knots for Today’s Fisherman by MAXIMA
Playboy
I assume you got caught and that changed your life?
yeh kinda awkward when your mum catches you
No ones mentioned the Bible?
I did indirectly.
I recommend it to everybody… it will turn you atheist faster than anything in the world…
Lol… Was wondering how many down votes I'd get.
I don't care about the Bible, but I know it makes a difference to many lives.
I guess we are anti Christian, or just anti religion.
I did not down vote you mate. To be honest I was expecting your votes to be way positive.
Yep, wasn't really directed at you.
BTW, why do you think that "it will turn you atheist faster than anything in the world…"? Because obviously (based on the number of followers), this hasn't happened, and churches encourage everyone to actually read it. It wouldn't serve their purpose if the Bible would turn people way :/
@inose: most people have not read the bible. They are on autopilot because they were brought up in the religion and they only know the good parts of the bible because those are talked about at sermons.
It talks about dragons, slavery as being something normal, sex with underage woman, kidnapping rape and cheating on the wife as being part of the normal courting behavior, genocides as being ok etc.
It also contains some funny stuff like it prevents shaving, wearing 2 different fabrics in your cloths etc.
This. It's extremely rare for people to read a text, and based purely on that, become religious. People really only are religious because of their family, or dissatisfaction with life and finding acceptance in a religious community.
The texts themselves are ridiculous by modern standards, which is apparent to any unbiased/unconditioned, critical reader.
Also, religious groups probably foist the bible on others because they are so far down the rabbit hole that they don't realise it will never convert people. Just because they do it, doesn't mean it's effective.
Allen Carr's easy way to quit smoking
I read the book and it helped me go cold turkey on smokes, though I went back to it (sadly) I was off for a year and half.
PS: I plan to re-read the book and hope to quit smoking again.
Read the same book.
Quit cold turkey and never looked back.
Not sure what about it worked but it did. As long as there's an initial motivation to want to quit, then the book does the rest.
Bought that book for my mum, audio book for my step dad and another two copies for mates all for xmas 3 years back. Thet all still smoke. Pretty surd none of ghem read it.
As levitize said in his comment above, the person who is reading the book should have the initial motivation or intention or at the very least open mind before reading the book.
Before I bought the book I was sceptical but I decided to buy and have an open mind before reading it. The key is to finish reading the book in a reasonable amount of time (2-5 days max).
I bought a copy for my brother in law but he didnt even turn the first page. I'm sure your mates are in the same boat.
The Kama Sutra.
Stops you repeating the same old exercise routine, and exercise is much more fun with a friend :-)
a friend.
Idiots Guide to Dim Mak
The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.
I think it would be silly to go through this life without ever carefully considering spiritual questions. Feel free to down-vote me but apparently it's the best-selling non-fiction title ever. In a similar vein you could read The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel or Christianity for Skeptics by Dr Steve Kumar and Dr Jonathan Sarfati.