The Hobbit, or There and Back Again. Changed my life by opening my imagination and getting me off of Judy Blume.
Wonderful book!
Ask HN: What book changed your life?
121–130 of 539 posts
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#122I 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…
I've read these. My first Rand exposure was Anthem, which I thought was interesting if a bit contrived (I read it as the same age as The Giver, felt The Giver was more relatable).
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#123Practical ethics by Peter Singer. It made me question a lot of my truths and habits and, in the end, made me more happy about how I live my life.
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#124I read the following 3 in this order and it definitely co-incided with a change in my life for the better:
* A confession and other religious stories by Leo Tolstoy * Happiness by Matthieu Ricard (a counter argument against French philosophers who believe happiness doesn't exist) * The Diary of Anne Frank * A Life Interrupted by Etty Hillesum (the most beautiful book I will ever read)
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#125Basic Economics from Thomas Sowell. It show me there is another world if you go outside socialism and that socialism has a lot of bad consequence that are never talked about
What bad consequences of socialism are never talked about?
I'm assuming the grandparent commentor is confusing communism with democratic socialist states? The Scandinavian states look pretty nice overall.
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#126First and foremost: The Bible. Not the watered down "everybody goes to heaven" theology that most people subscribe to, but rather an evidence based approach that uses the Bible to interpret itself as it was designed to do. Secondarily, this book saved my life in the sense that it helped me understand my depression, a clinical depression so deep that my psychologist had never seen such a thing previously: Get Out of Y…
I agree. I would also add continues to change my life. I read the Bible every day and am constantly amazed how relevant ancient wisdom is today.
In recent years teaching from Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament taught me how to understand my work. There is such a lot of nonsense on HN and the net about success. So many are pursuing a pipe dream. Below helped me to work hard, enjoy what I have, and not be concerned about what others have. See below, written in Ecclesiastes 5, thousands of years ago.
10 Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! 11 The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!
12 People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.
13 There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver. 14 Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children. 15 We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us.
16 And this, too, is a very serious problem. People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their hard work is for nothing—like working for the wind. 17 Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud—frustrated, discouraged, and angry.
18 Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life. 19 And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. 20 God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past.
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#127_The Mind Illuminated_ Hasn't changed my life yet but it might (found it three days ago out on hoopla.com). I say this as someone who has given meditation practice a good college try (more than a year at a time of daily practice) on a couple of occasions. Most books say just keep going and you will eventually fart pixie dust. This book says you can reach advanced practice in under a year BUT requires a consistent one hour a day which might be a deal breaker. This book gets very specific about technique, achievements and expectations which is unique in my experience. And the author is not saying you need to find a "mentor/guide". If you have seen a better book I would love to hear about it.
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#128First and foremost: The Bible. Not the watered down "everybody goes to heaven" theology that most people subscribe to, but rather an evidence based approach that uses the Bible to interpret itself as it was designed to do. Secondarily, this book saved my life in the sense that it helped me understand my depression, a clinical depression so deep that my psychologist had never seen such a thing previously: Get Out of Y…
> but rather an evidence based approach that uses the Bible to interpret itself as it was designed to do. Can you expand? Did you create this approach yourself or just read the Bible directly?
No, I did not create this approach at all. It is the approach taken by Jehovah's Witnesses who started out by questioning beliefs and looking directly at the Bible to figure out whether a belief was Biblical or not. That's how they came to the conclusion that hellfire is a lie and many other things that the Christendom accepts aren't actually Biblical. It's a very balanced approach. It also avoids all the "God hates $group" garbage and gives solid reasons for what's going on in the world. If you want to learn about that method of Bible study, check out jw.org.
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#129I think the only book I can recall having a direct impact on my conscious awareness was The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle[0]. The book is very easy to read and quite enjoyable with everything that it includes. I definitely recommend to check it out. [0]: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Now-Guide-Spiritual-Enlightenme...
I was very skeptical about this book, and even while reading along I'd get the feeling of "uh, this is way out there wacko", but I decided to just take it at it's word and follow along. And now I am able to briefly enter a state of complete acceptance and feel pure love flowing through me, like the perfect hug from a perfect being that understands me in every way. The first time I actually teared up a bit, the feelin…
Did you have to practice to achieve this or just from reading the book?
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#130"I am that" You can listen to some quotes from the book here: https://web.archive.org/web/2oe_/http://wayback-fakeurl.arch...
What do you like about it?
Well, it is a hard read, but in short - it offers a curious interpretation of your personal experience of the world, suggesting that you are the only being, reality is manufactured by you (or in other words, you and reality are the same thing), that mind is something external to you, that you were not born but rather you were and the idea of you being born was a construct that you conjured later. Also, the living state you take for granted is only maintained and recreated every moment by memory and is compared to a dream and you are encouraged to "wake up" a second time.
You should listen to the linked video for a better introduction.