Definitely has to be a legit English copy of the holy Quran. If you actually read a "real" version of it, one without all the lies that our society has come to believe, the book is a very complete narration of the abrahamic faith. Recommend it for all, give it a chance( forget all the Garbage). :)
Hell yeah, Siddhartha changed my life too! This book really covers the idea of Samsara well. It almost makes it seem easy to give up your possesions and become a monk. Search for higher purpose and all that jazz. I think Herman Hesse's Steppenwolf even impacted me more. I would say Island by Aldous Huxley impacted my life. The Light of the Soul; Yoga Sutras of Patanjali commentary by Alice A Bailey for non-fiction. The Ethics by Spinoza!
lets see...when i was 14 stephen kings "it" had a huge impact...the part where patrick hostetler or whatever the fuck his name was murdered his baby brother in the crib fucked me up....dont know why....all the nightmarish shit in that book...that part hung in my mind for months after...but as an adult definitely "blood meridian"
@gnites88 yeah man...when u get the time type "yalecourses blood meridian" in the youtube search bar and check our her video....may give you and idea of whether u want to read it or not...it's definitely not for all tastes...as far is"it" is concerned...reading it now as an adult it may come off sort of hokey...but at 14 holy shit...
Sound and the Fury. It helped me appreciate literature, helped me make the decision to choose English as my field of study, and made me want to be a writer myself. Gotta love Faulkner. :-)
@DallasShalDune duuuuuude I've been dying for a Faulkner experience but it never happened. I did start with Absolom, Absolom though, so maybe that wasn't the way to go?
@gnites88 Most of my Lit profs, who are smart people, hate Absalom. Most people seem to hate Absalom, though I have to admit I love it. I'd start with Light in August because its themes are perfectly executed, or "Rose for Emily" as a short story because it is effectively creepy. Maybe try Sanctuary, because it is surprisingly arresting.
Hesse's Glass bead game. The thought of the game as a symbiosis (or synthesis, whatever) of arts and science was so beautiful that i decided to become an architect. I'd say thats changing. And a bit crazy and naiive at the same time.
I was 12 the first time I read The Catcher in the Rye. That was the first book I read where I discovered that literature could be much more than mere entertainment. It stirred emotions in me never evoked by a book before and articulated feelings I could not then verbalize. As an adult, I empathize less with Holden Caulfield than I did in junior high, but its impact on my life, how I read, and my attitude on literature has been truly profound.
i'm pretty sure it is not what you had in mind, but I'd say Catcher in the Rye. It just hit me at the right time. It was junior year of highschool. The teacher assigned it over spring break. I read it at night while doing college visits with my father. I wasn't a happy kid, but I knew after reading Catcher, that i was not alone. It is easier to bare any pain when you know that it is an archetypal pain. Also, I never read much before that; Salinger opened the format of prose to me.
@suburiboy For sure. It's impressive to think someone past that age was able to capture the way it felt in words. I remember being that age, but couldn't convey it.
Cat's Cradle, when read around the same time as Emerson and Thoreau, will shake your perception of almost everything. At least that was my experience.
@gnites88 I read Emerson's "Self-Reliance" and Thoreau's Walden, at least bits of it. I found Emerson a little frustrating, but Walden is gorgeous. I would recommend them both, for sure. Both those pieces and Cat's Cradle definitely have an everything-you-think-is-real-is-actually-made-up-and-pointless sort of vibe to them.
@gnites88 The Stranger is one of my favorites too, I think if you enjoyed the more existential themes in that, you'll really love The Fall. It's in my top 5 favorite novels.
Most definitely The Diary Of Anne Frank, makes you appreciate her bravery and everything she had to go through, especially at her age. She has an inspiring story. In my opinion.
@gnites88 Aww. :(. It's still a great read. Very sad though, however, I'm glad I had an opportunity to have read it. Whenever you're not reading other books, you should give it another go. :)
Anything by Terence Mckenna.
BryanEKS89 3 months ago
Definitely has to be a legit English copy of the holy Quran. If you actually read a "real" version of it, one without all the lies that our society has come to believe, the book is a very complete narration of the abrahamic faith. Recommend it for all, give it a chance( forget all the Garbage). :)
frzzu 3 months ago
I enjoyed darkness visible by william golding. Amazing religious symbolism mixed with lots of sexual undertones. A lil hard to read tho
ebtatn13 4 months ago
Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
fuckestupest 4 months ago
Hell yeah, Siddhartha changed my life too! This book really covers the idea of Samsara well. It almost makes it seem easy to give up your possesions and become a monk. Search for higher purpose and all that jazz. I think Herman Hesse's Steppenwolf even impacted me more. I would say Island by Aldous Huxley impacted my life. The Light of the Soul; Yoga Sutras of Patanjali commentary by Alice A Bailey for non-fiction. The Ethics by Spinoza!
MusicalEuphorias 4 months ago
lets see...when i was 14 stephen kings "it" had a huge impact...the part where patrick hostetler or whatever the fuck his name was murdered his baby brother in the crib fucked me up....dont know why....all the nightmarish shit in that book...that part hung in my mind for months after...but as an adult definitely "blood meridian"
matthunterrlf 4 months ago
@matthunterrlf "It" has been something I always wanted to read. You've really got my interest with this Blood Meridian.
gnites88 4 months ago
@gnites88 yeah man...when u get the time type "yalecourses blood meridian" in the youtube search bar and check our her video....may give you and idea of whether u want to read it or not...it's definitely not for all tastes...as far is"it" is concerned...reading it now as an adult it may come off sort of hokey...but at 14 holy shit...
matthunterrlf 4 months ago
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
sduffyfilms 4 months ago
@sduffyfilms Really? Never read it, I've wanted to, but I didn't think it was a book like that?
gnites88 4 months ago
Sound and the Fury. It helped me appreciate literature, helped me make the decision to choose English as my field of study, and made me want to be a writer myself. Gotta love Faulkner. :-)
DallasShalDune 4 months ago
@DallasShalDune duuuuuude I've been dying for a Faulkner experience but it never happened. I did start with Absolom, Absolom though, so maybe that wasn't the way to go?
gnites88 4 months ago
@gnites88 Most of my Lit profs, who are smart people, hate Absalom. Most people seem to hate Absalom, though I have to admit I love it. I'd start with Light in August because its themes are perfectly executed, or "Rose for Emily" as a short story because it is effectively creepy. Maybe try Sanctuary, because it is surprisingly arresting.
DallasShalDune 4 months ago
Hesse's Glass bead game. The thought of the game as a symbiosis (or synthesis, whatever) of arts and science was so beautiful that i decided to become an architect. I'd say thats changing. And a bit crazy and naiive at the same time.
ropogop 4 months ago
@ropogop haha that's crazy. Is it sci-fi? I've never heard of it. But it's by the guy who did Siddhartha?
gnites88 4 months ago
I was 12 the first time I read The Catcher in the Rye. That was the first book I read where I discovered that literature could be much more than mere entertainment. It stirred emotions in me never evoked by a book before and articulated feelings I could not then verbalize. As an adult, I empathize less with Holden Caulfield than I did in junior high, but its impact on my life, how I read, and my attitude on literature has been truly profound.
frumaatholoid 4 months ago
@frumaatholoid Well, that pretty much sums up my ideas on Catcher, too. Well said.
gnites88 4 months ago
Kurt V's Timequake. Taught me how to be optimistic.
SaveAD 5 months ago
@SaveAD haven't tried that one but I've yet to read a dud by Vonnegut so I'd bet it's good.
gnites88 4 months ago
i'm pretty sure it is not what you had in mind, but I'd say Catcher in the Rye. It just hit me at the right time. It was junior year of highschool. The teacher assigned it over spring break. I read it at night while doing college visits with my father. I wasn't a happy kid, but I knew after reading Catcher, that i was not alone. It is easier to bare any pain when you know that it is an archetypal pain. Also, I never read much before that; Salinger opened the format of prose to me.
suburiboy 5 months ago
@suburiboy For sure. It's impressive to think someone past that age was able to capture the way it felt in words. I remember being that age, but couldn't convey it.
gnites88 4 months ago
Not going to lie: Hamlet.
wuz352 5 months ago
@wuz352 haha dude Hamlet made me cross the line into a Shakespeare-believer. Really good.
gnites88 4 months ago
The kite runner
579093 5 months ago
Unleashing!
jerkythesandpiper 5 months ago
Cat's Cradle, when read around the same time as Emerson and Thoreau, will shake your perception of almost everything. At least that was my experience.
thazzchair 5 months ago 3
@thazzchair What's some good Emerson or Thoreau? Haven't ever really gotten into either of them.
gnites88 4 months ago
@gnites88 I read Emerson's "Self-Reliance" and Thoreau's Walden, at least bits of it. I found Emerson a little frustrating, but Walden is gorgeous. I would recommend them both, for sure. Both those pieces and Cat's Cradle definitely have an everything-you-think-is-real-is-actually-made-up-and-pointless sort of vibe to them.
thazzchair 4 months ago
Albert Camus' The Fall. Really makes you question the motives behind each of your actions and consider how pure the good will of those around you is.
TheMusicalInquiry 5 months ago
@TheMusicalInquiry The Stranger has turned into one of my favorites. I'm assuming The Fall couldn't be any worse. I wanna read it.
gnites88 4 months ago
@gnites88 The Stranger is one of my favorites too, I think if you enjoyed the more existential themes in that, you'll really love The Fall. It's in my top 5 favorite novels.
TheMusicalInquiry 4 months ago
Almost every book that i really enjoyed.. to name a few: the old man and the sea, the tao of pooh, ordinary people
HopeLiesInTheProles1 5 months ago
@HopeLiesInTheProles1 Old Man and the Sea made me really start to focus on the way authors write, as opposed to just the story they told.
gnites88 4 months ago
Most definitely The Diary Of Anne Frank, makes you appreciate her bravery and everything she had to go through, especially at her age. She has an inspiring story. In my opinion.
laurenbgrove 5 months ago
@laurenbgrove I started reading that once, but then I got scared of how horrible it would turn out and stopped.
gnites88 4 months ago
@gnites88 What do you mean? Horrible as in poorly written or the fate of what happened?
laurenbgrove 4 months ago
@gnites88 the fate, knowing what was to come...
gnites88 4 months ago
@gnites88 Aww. :(. It's still a great read. Very sad though, however, I'm glad I had an opportunity to have read it. Whenever you're not reading other books, you should give it another go. :)
laurenbgrove 4 months ago