Further Posted May 30, 2016 Share #1 Posted May 30, 2016 When I was a kid "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" had a big influence on me. Still reread it occasionally. More recently "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy made an impact, I can't bring myself to reread it. So what has affected you, good or bad ? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Wheels Posted May 30, 2016 Share #2 Posted May 30, 2016 Replay Clan of the cave bear series 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petitepedal ★ Posted May 30, 2016 Share #3 Posted May 30, 2016 "Illusions, Adventures of a reluctant messiah" by Richard Bach M.Scott Peck's "The Road Less Traveled" Matthew Fox "Original Blessing" Read all of these back in my college days.... I wanted to get a list of most influential books from some of the people at my church..especially those who seemed very dedicated to social justice or with a deep sense of spirituality...unfortunately..it didn't take off at the time and now some of those folks have passed. We do a parish read though, usually in January or February.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UglyBob Posted May 30, 2016 Share #4 Posted May 30, 2016 "The complete works of Edgar Allen Poe," especially the story "The Gold Bug." I started reading Poe when I was in the fourth grade. His style really grabbed me. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheep_herder ★ Posted May 30, 2016 Share #5 Posted May 30, 2016 No 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Kzoo Posted May 30, 2016 Popular Post Share #6 Posted May 30, 2016 Absolutely- the Bible. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneWolf Posted May 30, 2016 Share #7 Posted May 30, 2016 There are plenty that have. But I'll say that John Grisham's novel "The Chamber" had a significant impact on my views on the death penalty. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Longjohn ★ Posted May 30, 2016 Share #8 Posted May 30, 2016 13 minutes ago, Kzoo said: Absolutely- the Bible. ^ this 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Kosciuszko Posted May 30, 2016 Share #9 Posted May 30, 2016 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Posted May 30, 2016 Share #10 Posted May 30, 2016 I remember when I was a kid reading the book "Dove" by Robin Graham. It was about a 16 year old who sailed solo around the world long before there was constant communication and the internet to make everything accessible. I was a city kid and it was amazing to read about a teenager traveling to these exotic locations and having these adventures. It never inspired me to try to sail around the world, but it really exposed me to the idea of learning about new places and that you could choose to do something different from what most of your friends were doing. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post BR46 Posted May 30, 2016 Popular Post Share #11 Posted May 30, 2016 Stealing my dads Play Boys 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralphie ★ Posted May 30, 2016 Share #12 Posted May 30, 2016 8 hours ago, Kirby said: I remember when I was a kid reading the book "Dove" by Robin Graham. It was about a 16 year old who sailed solo around the world long before there was constant communication and the internet to make everything accessible. I was a city kid and it was amazing to read about a teenager traveling to these exotic locations and having these adventures. It never inspired me to try to sail around the world, but it really exposed me to the idea of learning about new places and that you could choose to do something different from what most of your friends were doing. That was Kon-Tiki for me. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralphie ★ Posted May 30, 2016 Share #13 Posted May 30, 2016 9 hours ago, Further said: When I was a kid "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" had a big influence on me. Still reread it occasionally. More recently "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy made an impact, I can't bring myself to reread it. So what has affected you, good or bad ? I am also a big fan of ZatAoMM, but I think a lot of people are. I even went so far as to read Pirsig's next book, Lila, which was also very good. Catcher in the Rye also - I often think of myself as a catcher in the rye for some reason. Catch-22 also. I recently started rereading it, and I love Joseph Heller's dark humour - he would have fit right in here, which says a lot for you bastards. Man, I am really showing my age. (I like channelling my inner Yossarian. ) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Square Wheels Posted May 30, 2016 Share #14 Posted May 30, 2016 A Complaint Free World. It made me realize I was part of the problem. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuzieQ Posted May 30, 2016 Share #15 Posted May 30, 2016 So many: the first which I think really kept me safe was "I Was A Drug Addict" I read it when I was 18 or 19 and because of the book I turned down any drugs offered to me (other than pot ) The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali The Bhagavad Gita many books by Pema Chodron, Jon Kabat Zin, Jack Kornfield, B.K.S Iyengar....... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris... Posted May 30, 2016 Share #16 Posted May 30, 2016 Catch 22, maybe because I was only around 13 when I read it. Or king rat and some Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn novel 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris... Posted May 30, 2016 Share #17 Posted May 30, 2016 Then there was this. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernest T. Bass Posted May 30, 2016 Share #18 Posted May 30, 2016 "Night" by Elie Wiesel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralphie ★ Posted May 30, 2016 Share #19 Posted May 30, 2016 2 hours ago, Square Wheels said: A Complaint Free World. It made me realize I was part of the problem. I recently read a book that was a good counterpoint to that. The Bright Siding of America, by Barbara Erenreich. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrentonMakes Posted May 30, 2016 Share #20 Posted May 30, 2016 15 hours ago, Further said: More recently "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy made an impact, I can't bring myself to reread it. I was in a strange mood for at least a week after I finished that. When I saw this thread title, that was my first thought. I have seen snippets of the movie, but I know there are scenes from the book that I don't ever want to see onscreen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Page Turner Posted May 30, 2016 Share #21 Posted May 30, 2016 "Roughing it" by Mark Twain "The Whole Earth Catalog" by Stewart Brand and a bunch of other people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zealot Posted May 30, 2016 Share #22 Posted May 30, 2016 Certainly, many, As a child, "My Wolf, My Friend" by Barbara Corcoran and "White Fang" by Jack London helped shape much of how I viewed the world. As an adult, "The Shack" by Paul Young and "The Sacred Romance" by John Eldredge have given my course in rethinking what I believed I understood about my faith and the God in whom I place that faith. And finally, Dan Allender's "The Wounded Heart" helped me to view into those places in my soul I'd long closed off; to see my self and understand that person in the light of eternity. Peace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerrySTL ★ Posted May 31, 2016 Share #23 Posted May 31, 2016 23 hours ago, UglyBob said: "The complete works of Edgar Allen Poe," especially the story "The Gold Bug." I started reading Poe when I was in the fourth grade. His style really grabbed me. The book was in the final jeopardy question on Jeopardy last week. Like Further, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" influenced me. It made me a better mechanic in that I took more pleasure in doing a job right. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate Posted May 31, 2016 Share #24 Posted May 31, 2016 The Holy Bible 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralphie ★ Posted January 14, 2022 Share #25 Posted January 14, 2022 The Annotated Forum Posts of Mr. Airwick with Cheese. 1 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralphie ★ Posted January 14, 2022 Share #26 Posted January 14, 2022 FTR, I bumped this thread because I often look at old posts from birthday people like Ernest T Bass on their birthdays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx ★ Posted January 14, 2022 Share #27 Posted January 14, 2022 One of the first introductions to the art of propaganda. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickinMD ★ Posted January 14, 2022 Share #28 Posted January 14, 2022 "The Millionaire Next Door" by Stanley and Danko When I had hit my 40's and realized I wasn't going to become extremely wealthy, my mother gave me that book. It is about people with ordinary incomes acquiring significant wealth by being smart about money - not necessarily miserly, but buy store brands when they're as good as name brands, buying only as much car as you need - it depreciates in value a lot, putting your money where it grows with reasonable safety, etc. I followed enough of the examples to enjoy life and retire comfortably. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zealot Posted January 14, 2022 Share #29 Posted January 14, 2022 I thought this was a new thread and was going to post my response. Then I read back through it to see others’ responses and saw my own. Good to know my answer was still the same! I’d like to add, “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” by Dee Brown. Was pretty young when I read it and it impacted me on a deeply emotional level. And of course The Bible. An ongoing, living, breathing dialogue. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Kosciuszko Posted January 14, 2022 Share #30 Posted January 14, 2022 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donkpow Posted January 14, 2022 Share #31 Posted January 14, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randomguy Posted January 14, 2022 Share #32 Posted January 14, 2022 Penthouse letters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maddmaxx ★ Posted January 14, 2022 Share #33 Posted January 14, 2022 54 minutes ago, Randomguy said: Penthouse letters. I knew somebody who just bought the mag for the articles. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted January 14, 2022 Share #34 Posted January 14, 2022 The Summer Day Who made the world? Who made the swan, and the black bear? Who made the grasshopper? This grasshopper, I mean— the one who has flung herself out of the grass, the one who is eating sugar out of my hand, who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down— who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes. Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face. Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away. I don't know exactly what a prayer is. I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass, how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields, which is what I have been doing all day. Tell me, what else should I have done? Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? —Mary Oliver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dinneR ★ Posted January 14, 2022 Share #35 Posted January 14, 2022 On 5/29/2016 at 7:23 PM, Further said: When I was a kid "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" had a big influence on me. Still reread it occasionally. More recently "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy made an impact, I can't bring myself to reread it. So what has affected you, good or bad ? On 5/30/2016 at 10:32 AM, TrentonMakes said: I was in a strange mood for at least a week after I finished that. When I saw this thread title, that was my first thought. I have seen snippets of the movie, but I know there are scenes from the book that I don't ever want to see onscreen. Have you read Blood Meridian? The belief is that it is unfilmable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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