What is a book that has changed your life?

Question

Think back on all of the books you have read. Was there a certain book that has changed your life? How did it change your life? Sometimes, these books are the catalyst to our success in love for literature.

Answer 1

The most important book I've read, in terms of influencing my philosophical approach and worldview is The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. Originally written in Czech, it's a novel of ideas which uses the frame of a story to demonstrate and enrich a philosophical concept, which is, in this case, Nietzsche's theory of Eternal Recurrence (which Kundera challenges). The book is strange, fascinating, and delightful.

Answer 2

The book that by far changed my life is "Free Will" by Sam Harris. He is a neuroscientist who, with several others in his field, question the reality of free will and how much choice we have over our thoughts and actions. There is data showing that the brain makes a decision before we are conscious of it. The simplest experiment is asking a test subject to choose a hand to raise - right or left. The measured brain waves show the scientists' the brain's decision before the person knows it.

If this is truly how the brain works, it has enormous implications in the area of Criminal Justice Reform, something about which I am extremely passionate. Reading this book has refocused by legal specialty, set me on a career path, and really has changed the way that I think about the world and about people.

HIGHLY recommended read.

Answer 3

One of the books that I read that changed my life was "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss. Growing up with a love for music, the lyrical, musical sway of Dr. Seuss's writing style helped me to see the possibilities of everything that I could do and everywhere I could go.