Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig.
Structures: Or Why Things Don’t Fall Down by J.E. Gordon.
Gödel, Escher and Bach by Douglas Hofstadter.
Once a Runner by John L. Parker- this didn’t so much change my life as capture a lot of what I went through when I was a competitive runner. Excellent book, even if you have never competed as a distance runner. The sequel, Again to Carthage, is at least equally as good.
Bible- especially the Gospels. I might get flamed for this, but a lot of the teachings of Jesus (not necessarily the other parts) are pretty good ways to live your life.
The War of Art and The Warrior Ethos by Steven Pressman. Definitely worth a read.
The Old Man and the Sea- simply one of the most badass stories ever. Awesome.
Playboy changed my life. It was after I read my first Playboy I discovered my love for boobs.
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet and Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa. Both of them are epic novels and just changed the way I look at/think about things.
I’m with Nards on this subject. Cat’s Cradle and The Gallapagos by Vonnegut are great books. Off the fucking wall, but great.
I can’t be sure, but I think that all of the books I’ve ever read have changed my life. They’ve change what I think and what I think about. Once your thoughts change, your actions do too.
At least thats my theory. Its not like I can un-read them and compare with to without.
[quote]Chushin wrote:
[quote]USMCpoolee wrote:
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet and Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa. Both of them are epic novels and just changed the way I look at/think about things.[/quote]
Musashi is a good one.
It’s too bad that the English version is not a complete translation of the original. [/quote]
I heard that a while ago and bought a teach yourself Japanese book, man that was biting off more than I could chew. Have you read Taiko (I believe is how its spelled) by Yoshikawa? Its about Hideshoyi and a damn fine read as well.
I skimmed through a book titled ‘Audit Your Life’ a while back (I don’t recall the author), twas a fairly straightforward overall message, Ie: Take an accountant like look at everything in your life right now & ask yourself, What do I keep & what do I chuck-out?
Incredibly simple, but reading this book did at least play some part in my decision to ditch a long-term friend who always tended to let me down.
[quote]Chushin wrote:
[quote]USMCpoolee wrote:
[quote]Chushin wrote:
[quote]USMCpoolee wrote:
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet and Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa. Both of them are epic novels and just changed the way I look at/think about things.[/quote]
Musashi is a good one.
It’s too bad that the English version is not a complete translation of the original. [/quote]
I heard that a while ago and bought a teach yourself Japanese book, man that was biting off more than I could chew. Have you read Taiko (I believe is how its spelled) by Yoshikawa? Its about Hideshoyi and a damn fine read as well.[/quote]
Ha! Yeah, it can be done, but self-taught Japanese is a bear.
If it makes you feel any better, I’m pretty much fluent, and found Musashi impossible to get through. Yoshikawa makes up a lot of his own words, so that even Japanese people have trouble with his writing…
I read part of Taiko, but then got way-layed with other more pressing stuff.
I assume you’ve read Shogun?[/quote]
That does make me feel better, thanks. Yea I really enjoyed Shogun, I really enjoy Japanese history of the Samurai era, so anything like that I am into. But, aside from the 3 books mentioned thats about it for epic Japanese stories for me.
This book helped me learn the toilet is my friend.
[quote]strungoutboy21 wrote:
This book helped me learn the toilet is my friend.[/quote]
I am sill conflicted.
This is pretty bad. I mean the whole pua thing at the beginning of this thread…
And the Bible? puke.
So to get back on track.
Infinite Jest-David Foster Wallace
Starting Strength, Practical Programming for Strength Training, Mean Ol’ Mister Gravity-all by the inimitable Mark Rippetoe.
“The Alchemist” & “The Pilgrimage” – Paulo Coelho
“Rich Dad, Poor Dad” – Robert Kiyosaki
“The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” – Steven Covey
…and the enormous body of work by David Deida, David DeAngelo, Dr. Paul, and the rest of the PUA community.