71–80 of 539 posts
As someone who got caught up in a lot of "spiritual materialism" in dharma practice, over-fixation on techniques and theory, this book reached me in a way that nothing else did.
The Tao Te Ching has given me more contemplative moments per page than anything else I've read.
I know it's trite to say it, but in my early 20s reading Atlas Shrugged helped me regain my bearings. And, no, it did not turn me into Peter Thiel.
Never read Atlas Shrugged, but I had to read The Fountainhead for English in high school and it was really transformative. It helped me suss out flawed philosophy and gave me a sense of skepticism when being told what to think by authority (my English teacher at the time thought Ayn Rand was the second coming of Christ). I remember offering different perspectives when discussing the themes of the novel and basically…
The Hithchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Catch 22. They helped me work through my teenage existential crisis.
And an NPR podcast, "Is Believing In God Evolutionarily Advantageous?", which explains why human are religious.
Those two changed my religious belief, so I can say that they changed my life.