Ask HN: What book has been most influential in your life? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What book has been most influential in your life?

#11

Post by defrost » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 10:53 AM UTC

trumbitta2 wrote: post #6

Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Left around at home to indoctrinate me into "stuff" at age 8. Ended up being the first sparkle of my rebellion against "stuff".

Film critic Roger Ebert wrote that the book was "so banal that it had to be sold to adults; kids would have seen through it."

You might have fared better with Russell Hoban's The Mouse and His Child .. it's a cracking search for the secret of being self-winding.

http://www.ocelotfactory.com/hoban/mouse.html

Failing that, Kleinzeit

http://www.ocelotfactory.com/hoban/kleinz.html

Re: Ask HN: What book has been most influential in your life?

#12

Post by gnz11 » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 11:59 AM UTC

aristofun wrote: post #8

You may not like it, but the bible is still the most influential book today. Even if you’re not spiritual or never read it yourself - all the story archetypes used in modern fiction are there. Not to mention ethical standards. Literally there is very little fundamentally new in literature that isn’t there already in the bible in one way or another.

Somewhat related, several months ago I read Karen Armstrong's "A History of God" based on a recommendation in a similar thread. While not the most influential book I've read (I'm not even sure what that would be), it provided a nice perspective on the history and evolution of Judaism/Christianity/Islam and changed a lot of my opinions on the matter. Would recommend a read for anyone interested in the matter.

Re: Ask HN: What book has been most influential in your life?

#13

Post by stealthcat » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 12:03 PM UTC

Quran

Re: Ask HN: What book has been most influential in your life?

#14

Post by aszantu » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 12:08 PM UTC

bible was the first book - weirdly enough, what I took from it was that women are worthless, and so I never wanted to be one... so I behaved like the boys did, screaming, biting, fighting a lot... feels like a lot has gone wrong after this, and hopefully I took enough pain, so someone else didn't have to suffer like this.

Then I was pretty much raised by the Perry Rhodan scifi books - they were a bit like star trek, lots of physics in there, that lasted from 6-16 or so, I guess I missed puberty a bit.

byron katie's - the work, turned around a lot of beliefs I held, I've been suffering less lately.

Re: Ask HN: What book has been most influential in your life?

#15

Post by trumbitta2 » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 12:23 PM UTC

defrost wrote: post #11

trumbitta2 wrote: post #6

Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Left around at home to indoctrinate me into "stuff" at age 8. Ended up being the first sparkle of my rebellion against "stuff".

Film critic Roger Ebert wrote that the book was "so banal that it had to be sold to adults; kids would have seen through it." You might have fared better with Russell Hoban's The Mouse and His Child .. it's a cracking search for the secret of being self-winding. http://www.ocelotfactory.com/hoban/mouse.html Failing that, Kleinzeit http://www.ocelotfactory.com/hoban/kleinz.html

I don't care what film critic Roger Ebert wrote.

The book is a masterpiece every person should read, several times, at different ages.

Re: Ask HN: What book has been most influential in your life?

#16

Post by aristofun » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 5:21 PM UTC

swah wrote: post #9

aristofun wrote: post #8

You may not like it, but the bible is still the most influential book today. Even if you’re not spiritual or never read it yourself - all the story archetypes used in modern fiction are there. Not to mention ethical standards. Literally there is very little fundamentally new in literature that isn’t there already in the bible in one way or another.

Does anyone really read it, though? I'm a catholic and never read it in full... Someone said it on X "if christians really believe that that is the word of God, they should be reading it much more than they actually do". Applies to me..

Ive read it. It’s quite intense and exciting if you put some focus and imagination into it. The original “tora” part in particular.

Re: Ask HN: What book has been most influential in your life?

#17

Post by bwh2 » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 6:18 PM UTC

Difficult Conversations. So much stress and anxiety comes from anticipating, avoiding, or not knowing how to have difficult conversations.

Re: Ask HN: What book has been most influential in your life?

#18

Post by dhr » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 6:37 PM UTC

Probably Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

The message of choosing the better story is at the heart of the book, and I apply it in so many areas of my life.

Re: Ask HN: What book has been most influential in your life?

#19

Post by muffinman26 » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 6:44 PM UTC

gnz11 wrote: post #12

aristofun wrote: post #8

You may not like it, but the bible is still the most influential book today. Even if you’re not spiritual or never read it yourself - all the story archetypes used in modern fiction are there. Not to mention ethical standards. Literally there is very little fundamentally new in literature that isn’t there already in the bible in one way or another.

Somewhat related, several months ago I read Karen Armstrong's "A History of God" based on a recommendation in a similar thread. While not the most influential book I've read (I'm not even sure what that would be), it provided a nice perspective on the history and evolution of Judaism/Christianity/Islam and changed a lot of my opinions on the matter. Would recommend a read for anyone interested in the matter.

I know it's a bit fraught to share on a public forum, but would you be willing to share how it changed your opinions on the matter?

I also really enjoyed "A History of God', but found the author's conclusions a bit odd. She seemed to still be devout, and yet her book destroyed what little faith and hope I still had in organized religion. It really laid bare how so much religious change was due, not to some sort of new understanding of the world, but either attempts to acquire political power or abstract debates over semantics.

Re: Ask HN: What book has been most influential in your life?

#20

Post by defrost » Thu, Oct 05, 2023, 11:35 PM UTC

trumbitta2 wrote: post #15

defrost wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Film critic Roger Ebert wrote that the book was "so banal that it had to be sold to adults; kids would have seen through it." You might have fared better with Russell Hoban's The Mouse and His Child .. it's a cracking search for the secret of being self-winding. http://www.ocelotfactory.com/hoban/mouse.html Failing that, Kleinzeit http://www.ocelotfactory.com/hoban/kleinz.html

I don't care what film critic Roger Ebert wrote. The book is a masterpiece every person should read, several times, at different ages.

I have read it several times at ~12, ~25, and again in my late 40s.

It has the illusion of depth and will certainly strike a chord with some, but its not altogether that great a book in the opinion of many, but exactly the kind of book that others will swear by.