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It is the story of Beowulf, told from the monster's point of view. It underscores the constant internal struggle between nihilistic despair and finding meaning in life (for yourself and others). It strikes a chord with Ozymandias[0].
It is primarily responsible for me abandoning my strong Catholic upbringing (and, ironically, despite John Gardner himself being a Christian).
Principles by Ray Dalio, completely changed the way I think. Currently in the middle of thinking fast and slow, and I think it may be happening again :p
2. Dale Carnegie - How to Win Friends and Influence People. The definitive guidebook to interpersonal relations. Taught me empathy.
3. Thornton Wilder - Our Town. A play about a little girl who gets one more day after her death to visit her memories. I read it at 16 and it brought me to my first understanding of mortality.
4. Peter Watts - Blindsight. A romping and intellectually trusting sci-fi involving space vampires. Good biology. Made me seriously question the nature of consciousness.
5. Eric Hoffer - The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements. Dense and hard to get through old book on what it says in the title. Helped me better understand the Trump movement and similar nazi/alt-right movements that were beyond my ability to grasp before.
6. Douglas Adams - The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Helped me understand that though I may die (or the universe may end), that might be OK.
* The Selfish Gene - our bodies are vessels for DNA as they travel through time. Also colony insects and birds are fascinating. * Thinking Fast and Slow - study after study shows that we exhibit so, so many cognitive biases, as our minds take shortcuts. there are some things you can do to recognize and mitigate these biases. * Imagined Communities - the notion of a "nation" is only 300 years old and has no objective…
I read through the bible every year and each time it shapes my thinking. For example, I was reading Exodus this morning about how we should care for the foreigner. I imagine several thousand years ago this was pretty radical. It also seems very relevant today.
The Selfish Gene by Dawkins. The gene is the unit of replication, and this affects every process in this universe.
Note, of course, that he was wrong about the gene being the unit of selection. Selection happens at an organismal level. As we've come to understand the interconnectedness of the genome, this has become even more clear. Dawkins' ideas generated a lot of debate among evolutionary biologists in the 1980s, but have largely fallen out of favor. They're just too simplistic to reflect reality.
One book that changed me was reading Master and Margarita in Russian for the first time. It was the first book I started reading I could not put down until the end. Gained a lot of appreciation for literature at that time. The other book that I enjoyed and changed me was ‘The Wisdom of Insecurity’ by Alan Watts. I was a fan of Alan Watts works through his lectures already and it was wonderful to hear his ideas in wri…
Thanks for mentioning an amazing book of literature. The Master and Margarita is my favorite fiction book! I've read it in two translations and I prefer the Burgin & O'Connor to the Glenny, but both are great. Everytime I read it I gain more insights. I absolutely recommend reading this book alongside a readers guide which gives more background and depth, there are many biblical, historical, and author-related refere…
The author poses the idea of intentionally losing when arguing with a loved one since the victory will usually be a hollow one. It might seem like simple advice, but I found it extremely influential in my life.
There are many times when being right is actually the worst thing to be and made me consider if winning an argument was worth (potentially) damaging a long term relationship. When it was, this book gave some good advice about quickly repairing the damage and minimizing the consequences.
Most recent: Factfulness , by Hans Rosling. For the past year or so, I've been trying hard to understand why people act the way they do, when those actions and beliefs are often irrational. This book brought so much of that together. Very first: The Song of Wandering Aengus , by William Butler Yeats. I read this when I was six or so. I found it as an illustrated children's book in children's section of the public lib…
A book I enjoyed on understanding people is The Elephant in the Brain. I'll check out yours. Thanks!