Ask HN: Books that changed your life? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Books that changed your life?

#41

Post by blinkit » Wed, Aug 25, 2010, 7:34 PM UTC

Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse. Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov.

Re: Ask HN: Books that changed your life?

#42

Post by arethuza » Wed, Aug 25, 2010, 8:57 PM UTC

satori99 wrote: post #5

The Demon Haunted World - Carl Sagan. Corny as it sounds,, that book changed my way of thinking and indeed my life when I was around 18yo.

It doesn't sound corny at all - it really is an extremely good wee book. I occasionally like to debate with people what five books we think everyone should read by the time they leave school - The Demon Haunted World is on my list.

Re: Ask HN: Books that changed your life?

#43

Post by Arun2009 » Wed, Aug 25, 2010, 9:01 PM UTC

Man's search for meaning, by Viktor Frankel

The Republic, by Plato. It introduced me to a whole new way of thinking.

The Gita. I later came to know about the chariot allegory in the Kathopanishad (http://www.atmajyoti.org/up_katha_upanishad_17.asp), and thought that the writer's depiction of the charioteer as Krishna and the rider as Arjuna was just brilliant.

Re: Ask HN: Books that changed your life?

#44

Post by dandrews » Wed, Aug 25, 2010, 9:14 PM UTC

The Student as Nigger, Jerry Farber's collection of essays published circa 1970. Powerful, angry, and a product of its time (Farber was active in the civil rights movement), it exposed the university social dynamic in raw terms.

Re: Ask HN: Books that changed your life?

#45

Post by jnorwood2000 » Wed, Aug 25, 2010, 10:25 PM UTC

Time Enough for Love. Robert Heinlein. http://www.amazon.com/Time-Enough-Love-Robert-Heinlein/dp/04...

Re: Ask HN: Books that changed your life?

#46

Post by sandipagr » Wed, Aug 25, 2010, 11:29 PM UTC

The Alchemist http://www.amazon.com/Alchemist-Fable-About-Following-Dream/...

Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Motorcycle-Maintenance-Inquiry...

How to win friends an Influence people http://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/14...

Re: Ask HN: Books that changed your life?

#47

Post by danielzarick » Thu, Aug 26, 2010, 4:00 AM UTC

sandipagr wrote: post #46

The Alchemist http://www.amazon.com/Alchemist-Fable-About-Following-Dream/... Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Motorcycle-Maintenance-Inquiry... How to win friends an Influence people http://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/14...

Definitely all three of these...

Plus recently "Made to Stick" has really changed how I think about ideas and sharing them with others. http://www.amazon.com/Made-Stick-Ideas-Survive-Others/dp/140...

Re: Ask HN: Books that changed your life?

#48

Post by adammichaelc » Thu, Aug 26, 2010, 5:38 AM UTC

Business: 7 Habits, 8th Habit, Getting Things Done, 4 Steps to Epiphany, Straight from the Gut

Spiritual: Book of Mormon, Book of Isaiah, The 4 Gospels in the New Testament

Relationship: The 5 Love Languages, Men are from Mars Women from Venus

Physical: Spark, The Vitamin D Solution

Re: Ask HN: Books that changed your life?

#49

Post by lotusleaf1987 » Thu, Aug 26, 2010, 6:34 AM UTC

Brave New World, 1984, The Metamorphosis, The Stranger, and...possibly Les Miserables if you have A LOT of free time.

Re: Ask HN: Books that changed your life?

#50

Post by phoenix24 » Thu, Aug 26, 2010, 12:02 PM UTC

Matsushita Leadership

http://www.amazon.com/Matsushita-Leadership-John-P-Kotter/dp...