Books that Really Changed/Helped You/Your Perspective and Why?

liz24 · Post by **liz24** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 5:31 am

Hello,

I wanted to see if the good people here would be willing to contribute the titles of one (or more) books that really deeply helped you and changed your way of thinking/perspective. And maybe too- if you are willing- a reason why. I would love to be guided to some gems.

Background: Due to someone mentioning it on some thread here, I started reading "The One Life We're Given" by Mark Nepo. Nepo went through some substantial challenges in his life, and his journey and what he has to say has been resonating with me, as I went through very different but also quite substantial challenges myself recently.

I am nearing the dreaded... end of this book! And I want more!

The books do not have to be similar to Nepo's at all. Could be anything- just some cherished books you hold dear.

Thank you in advance!

jebmke · Post by **jebmke** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 5:43 am

On Being Mortal by Atul Gawande

this is about thinking about how you want to live your life and die near the end.

itispossible · Post by **itispossible** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 6:56 am

When Breadth Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

As the cover of the book states, it is about "what makes life worth living in the face of death."

Valuethinker · Post by **Valuethinker** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 7:24 am

Man's Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankel. The universe is brutal, purposeless, Godless. We are redeemed by our capacity for human, and humane, action.

The Intelligent Asset Allocator - William Bernstein - the science of investing can be used to craft better financial life strategies.

The Weather Makers - Tim Flannery - what's happening to the planet, and what we can do about it (old now, 2003, but a very clear explanation of the mechanics).

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Robert Heinlein - nicely sketched out the future of war - resistance movements, artificial intelligence, orbital bombardment etc.

kleiner · Post by **kleiner** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 8:04 am

The soul of a new machine by Tracy Kidder. This book inspired me to get into computers and then into software which led to a great career in the field.

Mr. Rumples · Post by **Mr. Rumples** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 8:12 am

When I was 13, a friend introduced me to Emerson's Essays: First and Second Series Complete. I appreciated from then on writing, philosophy. Then later Shirley Chisholm's Unbought and Unbossed my first book on politics. Both were instrumental in breaking me out of my somewhat narrow world of growing up in a small Jewish community in a small southern city.

theorist · Post by **theorist** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 8:22 am

I found Meditations by Marcus Aurelius very useful.

Sandtrap · Post by **Sandtrap** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 8:35 am

Long long ago in a land far away......

Books with real paper...also was available on cassette tape..which I played every morning and evening..for years...

As a Man Thinketh..by James Allen
Richest Man In Babylon...by George Clason
Think And Grow Rich...by Napoleon Hill
Acres of Diamonds ... by Russel Conwell

also

"Life Strategy" and "Life Code" by Phil McGraw

"On the Shortness of Life" by Seneca

also

"Delusions of Crowds: Why People Go Mad In Groups" by W. Bernstein (huge favorite of mine: extreme implications at all levels)
(how the masses are manipulated...ie: often on the forum..."ignore the noise" applies to everything.)
Also by William Bernstein:
Masters of the Word
A Splendid Exchange
The Birth of Plenty
The Four Pillars of Investing
The Ages of the Investor: Life Cycle Investing (my favorite of all time)

"Man's Search For Meaning" by Viktor Frankl (avail amazon, hard/soft cover...a must).

also
Books by Tim Marshall
ie: The Age of Walls

also
Books by Amy Chua
ie: Political Tribes, The Triple Package, etc.

Dao De Jing...A Qiqong Perspective, by Lao Tzu/Dr. Jwing Ming Yang

also
Books on Cognitive Psychology and Cognition and Implicit Psychology, etc.
Oxford University Press...excellent sources.

Story:
When I was 10, an Uncle gave me the hardcover books: Bhagavad Gita, The Teaching of Buddha (english/japanese), Introduction to Zen, Biography of Ghandi, and a few more from around the world.
Being a "photo reader", I read them and internalized them in about a week....Living in a place of "internationally diverse cultures"...they opened my "eyes" and expanded my awareness/ethos/academia possibilities and forever changed the way to look at things and people, et al.
Thus.....
**Each person around the world of 8 billion has thier own perspective of life and culture and ideology, et al. And, each one is correct, to that person.

j

Nowizard · Post by **Nowizard** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 8:42 am

The Little Book of Hygge by Neil Wiking. He is the CEO of the Danish Happiness Institute. Denmark is a country with high taxes and questionable weather, but the people are considered to be the happiest in Europe. They see taxation as providing a floor for basic necessities for all and are supportive of a community spirit. Hygge is variably interpreted but basically means activities leading to contentment. The book discusses discoveries associated with the concept.

Tim

goblue100 · Post by **goblue100** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 8:51 am

kleiner wrote: ↑Sun Oct 29, 2023 8:04 am The soul of a new machine by Tracy Kidder. This book inspired me to get into computers and then into software which led to a great career in the field.

A book I have and enjoyed. I was already in the field when I read it. Captures a moment in time which will never be repeated.

andypanda · Post by **andypanda** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 8:55 am

Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality (1951)

Frederick Salomon Perls, Ralph F. Hefferline, Paul Goodman

"A seminal book that placed the study of human behaviour in a new perspective, demolished many schools of psychology and brought about a return to the dynamic view of human personality."

alexbogle · Post by **alexbogle** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 9:29 am

A Guide to the Good Life by William Irvine. Good summary of stoic principles and history.

mhc · Post by **mhc** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 9:42 am

The Bible has impacted my life in many ways. If I had to choose only one book, it would be the Bible.

It speaks to love, joy, peace, wisdom, .... Things every person needs.

windaar · Post by **windaar** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 9:54 am

For money matters, definitely The Millionaire Next Door, which taught me the difference between income and wealth, and inspired me to save instead of spend. Recently I'm reading David Brooks's The Second Mountain which deals with the part of life after you've scaled and conquered that first life mountain of college, family, and career. Good stuff.

KlangFool · Post by **KlangFool** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 10:00 am

https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Consulti ... 0932633013

"The Secrets of Consulting" by Gerald M. Weinberg

Some wisdom from the book:

"The Law of the Hammer: “The child who receives a hammer for Christmas will discover that everything needs pounding.”

“If you can’t think of three things that might go wrong with your plans, then there’s something wrong with your thinking.”

Prescott’s Pickle Principle: “Cucumbers get more pickled than brine gets cucumbered.”

It started me down the road of reading 30+ books by Gerald M. Weinberg and

General System Thinking.

What if you could learn any subject matter quickly and better? And, you could solve any complex problems?

That is the goal and objective of General System Thinking.

KlangFool

ReadyOne · Post by **ReadyOne** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 7:38 pm

alexbogle wrote: ↑Sun Oct 29, 2023 9:29 am A Guide to the Good Life by William Irvine. Good summary of stoic principles and history.

+1

rockstar · Post by **rockstar** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 7:50 pm

Carlos Castaneda books rid me of self importance before I turned 19.

Normchad · Post by **Normchad** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 8:01 pm

For me…..

A random walk down wall street - Malkiel read this when I was 22, and it led me to become a boglehead before that term was even coined….

Die with zero - Perkins. Gives perspective of how to get the most lifetime joy from your money.

Parkinglotracer · Post by **Parkinglotracer** » Sun Oct 29, 2023 8:41 pm

Your money or your life by Robbins and Dominguez

Confirmed what I knew deep down … most of our Life we trade our life energy for money and what we buy. Gave me a new perspective on the role money plays in our lives.

hammockhiker · Post by **hammockhiker** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 4:43 am

liz24 wrote: ↑Sun Oct 29, 2023 5:31 am
...the titles of one (or more) books that really deeply helped you and changed your way of thinking/perspective.

"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert Pirsig: Read it first when I was probably 15 years old. I used to reread it once a year or so, but now it's more like once every four or five years.

And a more recent addition is "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*@K" by Mark Manson. Manson's book is not exactly life altering. Maybe 1/3 of it is boringly obvious truisms. Another 1/3 of it is "huh, that's kinda cool." And the other 1/3 of it is head slapping, "Why didn't I think of it that way before?" kind of things. I think the book could really be more like a longish magazine article, but his key point for me was the observation that we ought to choose our suffering rather than trying to choose our happiness. That dramatically informed my thinking about what I was doing for a living and whether it was worth doing at all.

doobiedoo · Post by **doobiedoo** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 5:01 am

Reposting from this thread Aug 25, 2021: viewtopic.php?t=356168&start=100

The 1st caveat is: “Your mileage may vary.” There is some overlap in these books, and I didn’t read them in the order listed. The order of reading, your life events and experiences (as compared to mine), and even other books you have read will certainly have an effect on the impact of any individual book.

Though I worked in a technical field, and some of these books may sound technical, they aren’t.
I think all of these books are beneficial to people in non-technical fields.

1. The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck (Simon and Schuster 1978). To get to the top of this list, a book has to be eye-opening, worth reading several times, and easy to read. It’s hard for a book to be all three, but this one qualifies. “The Road Less Traveled” was an epiphany the 1st time I read it. The friend who recommended this book to me said to re-read it every 5 years or so, because things that didn’t mean much the 1st time will become clear 5 or 10 years later. He was right.
The book is divided into sections on Discipline, Love, Religion, and Grace. Here are some quotes.
• “Life is difficult. … Most do not fully see this truth that life is difficult. Instead they moan more or less incessantly, noisily or subtly, about the enormity of their problems, their burdens, and their difficulties … as if life should be easy.”
• “The feeling of being valuable ... is essential to mental health and is a cornerstone of self-discipline. It is a direct product of parental love.”
• “The myth of romantic love is a dreadful lie.”
• “True listening, total concentration on the other, is always a manifestation of love.”

2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey (Simon and Schuster 1989). I re-read portions of this book more often than any other. You probably already know a few of these habits. The trick is to put all of them together in practical every day usage. The 7 habits are:
• Be Proactive
• Begin with the End in Mind
• Put First Things First
• Think Win/Win
• Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood (i.e. listen first)
• Synergize
• Sharpen the Saw

3. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman (Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2013). I read this book in the summer of 2020 during Covid-19. I had previously heard about loss aversion many times and thought I understood it. But ... not really. Loss aversion doesn't hit home until you do the problems in the book and understand why you (and everyone else) make the choices you make. It's an eye opener! Kahneman won the 2002 Nobel prize in economics for his work in behavioral economics. Captivating topics include:
• Loss aversion
• Reference points
• Anchoring bias
• Diminishing sensitivity
• Endowment effect
• Prospect theory
• Fourfold pattern

4. The Secrets of Consulting by Gerald M. Weinberg (Dorset House 1985). This book isn’t just for consultants. It’s really a guide for giving and getting advice successfully. Gerry Weinberg’s work is based on the psychological work of Virginia Satir. He also has 1 week workshops, which I hope to attend someday. Some of Gerry’s secrets:
• “No matter how it looks at first, it’s always a people problem.”
• “You’ll never accomplish anything if you care who gets the credit.”
• “The wider you spread it (influence), the thinner it gets.”

5. Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson (Putnum’s Sons 1998) This is a book about change and can be read in less than 2 hours. Everyone has time to read this one. Are you Sniff, Scurry, Haw, or Hem? Exceprts from the Handwriting on the Wall:
• Change Happens (They keep moving the cheese.)
• Monitor Change (Smell the cheese often so you know when it is getting old.) [My favorite.]
• Adapt to Change (The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can find and enjoy the new cheese.)

6. Money Dynamics for the 1990s by Venita VanCaspel (Simon and Schuster 1988). I read this book in 1989. It may be out of print now and is out-dated in some areas (e.g. It predicts the Dow going to 3000, 4000, and 5000), but most chapters are still relevant. I am sure there are many books just as good or better on today’s shelves. (Suze Orman’s “Road to Wealth” book comes to mind.) Rather than reading Venita VanCaspel’s book, my recommendation is to read any good personal finance book. However, reading a personal finance book is like taking a college course. It requires steady reading and even diligent homework, day after day, for weeks. It takes a long time and it’s not easy. But the payoff is worth it. These personal finance concepts are never taught in high school or college, but they are far more important than calculus, history, or economics. Some principles include:
• Power of compounding
• Rule of 72 (At 4% inflation, prices double in 18 years.)
• Owning vs loaning (i.e. stocks vs bonds)
• Dollar cost averaging
• Term insurance vs whole life

7. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (Pocket Books 1936). This book was on everybody’s recommended list (from Gerry Weinberg to Lee Iacocca). It didn’t disappoint me. Even though the book is 85 years old, it still works because people are still the same.

8. The Psychology of Everyday Things by Donald A. Norman (Basic Books 1988). If you ever design something, this book is a must. Even if you don’t design, this book will help you differentiate good and bad designs and the reasons why. If you can’t figure out how to program a VCR, it’s not your fault! It’s a bad design! Some of the User-Centered Design principles are:
• Make things visible (i.e. obvious, give feedback).
• Get the mappings right. Exploit natural mappings.
• Design for error.
• When all else fails, standardize.

9. Becoming a Technical Leader by Gerald M. Weinberg (Dorset House 1986). This book is about becoming a problem-solving leader.
• “Anyone can improve as a leader simply by building the strength of our weakest elements. Mr. Universe doesn’t have more muscles, just better developed ones.”
• “The inability to see ourselves as others see us is the number one obstacle to self-improvement.”
• “Most personal growth seems to come in leaps from one plateau to another. Although there is slow steady growth between the leaps, it accounts for only a minor part of the total growth pattern. The really big progress comes from just a few breakthroughs. … but you don’t really leap between plateaus. In order to climb, you must leave the sure footing, letting go of what you already do well and possibly slipping into a ravine. If you never let go of what you already do well, you may continue to make steady progress, but you’ll never get off the plateau.”

10. Sam Walton Made in America by Sam Walton (Doubleday 1992). I like to read autobiographies. Good ones include Colin Powell’s, Lee Iacocca’s, John Sculley’s, and Pat Riley’s. Sam Walton’s is one of the best. I find it incredible that Sam Walton didn’t start the 1st Wal-mart until he was 44 years old. Of course, by then he knew what he was doing. He had already made his mistakes and learned more about retailing than anyone else.

11. The Richest Man in Babylon by George S Clason (Signet 1926). This is the fast and easy-to-read version of the personal finance book, so read this one first. “The Richest Man in Babylon” is the 1-day, easy-to-read condensed course that tells stories about Arkad and how he becomes the richest man in Babylon.

nisiprius · Post by **nisiprius** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 6:05 am

The Misbehavior of Markets: a Fractal View of Financial Turbulence, by Benoit Mandelbrot and Richard Hudson.

Valuethinker · Post by **Valuethinker** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 6:18 am

nisiprius wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 6:05 am The Misbehavior of Markets: a Fractal View of Financial Turbulence, by Benoit Mandelbrot and Richard Hudson.

Good one. Missed that one!

bhwabeck3533 · Post by **bhwabeck3533** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 7:13 am

"The Little Book of Common Sense Investing: The Only Way to Guarantee Your Fair Share of Stock Market Returns" by John C. Bogle.

Read it in 2015 a year after I retired. I immediately moved all my investments from my Edward Jones account and followed the Vanguard recommended portfolio formula of Equity and Bond Index Funds. Hands off from then on.

Not to much later I discovered this website, which I consult on a daily basis and contribute to with some regularity.

Target2019 · Post by **Target2019** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 7:39 am

Die with Zero by legendary energy trader, Bill Perkins, details a thought-provoking framework for maximizing net fulfillment, over net worth. https://www.diewithzerobook.com/welcome

This is a newer book I've read in the last couple of years. It provides an alternate view of investing that some have great difficulty with. The author is a high-roller (my words), but I see validity in some points he makes.

My interpretation is, "Why sit on "more than enough" when you can enjoy some very interesting experiences with those you love?" So, it has changed my/our perspective.

All throughout our lives we've been spendthrifts. Not talking about now taking part in drunken-sailor behavior, but truly spending on shared experiences with our close family.

blueberrypi · Post by **blueberrypi** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 8:00 am

Richard Dawkins - The God Delusion. This book helped clarify my beliefs at a difficult time and brought me a lot of peace.

I also like and recommend Seneca: Letters from a Stoic; on how to live a good life. Timeless wisdom from a long time ago.

forgeblast · Post by **forgeblast** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 8:00 am

David goggins Cant Hurt Me. For the first time I felt I was reading a book with truth on every page. I truly feel this is a guide book for introverts to get over trauma and leave the past behind. Life changing for me.

Anatham by Neil Stephenson vast sci fi world view a lot of thinking about thinking.

the first five days of school by harry k wong, vastly improved my teaching ability it went over everything that was not taught in college that you need to succeed in educaiton.

salems lot stephen king, first book that scared me, really scared me. made me realize that our minds can generate so much fear.

h82goslw · Post by **h82goslw** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 8:14 am

forgeblast wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 8:00 am David goggins Cant Hurt Me. For the first time I felt I was reading a book with truth on every page. I truly feel this is a guide book for introverts to get over trauma and leave the past behind. Life changing for me.

Been watching this thread since it started. Going to the library today to get this. Thank you.

Finot3 · Post by **Finot3** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 8:44 am

nisiprius wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 6:05 am The Misbehavior of Markets: a Fractal View of Financial Turbulence, by Benoit Mandelbrot and Richard Hudson.

Mandelbrot is a great thinker. It is unfortunate that his ideas didn't go mainstream.

nisiprius · Post by **nisiprius** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 9:23 am

Finot3 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 8:44 am
nisiprius wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 6:05 am The Misbehavior of Markets: a Fractal View of Financial Turbulence, by Benoit Mandelbrot and Richard Hudson.
Mandelbrot is a great thinker. It is unfortunate that his ideas didn't go mainstream.

It's obvious why not. It's the elephant in the room. And, unfortunately, the book is essentially nihilistic. It dynamites most of traditional financial economics, and, although it makes an attempt, does not succeed in setting up anything in its place.

It came out in 2004. Here's a portion of the index from Jeremy Siegel's Stocks for the Long Run 5/E, published in 2014, ten years later.

MacCauley, Frederick, 313
Magellan Fund, 362, 365
Magnitudes of cash flows, 144
Main Street vs. Wall Street, 258
Major Market Index, 292
Malkiel, Burton, 323, 365
Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial
Crises,24
Margins, 281
...
Mid-cap stocks, 179
Middle class, 66
Miller, G. William, 217
Miniversions, 276
Minsky, Hyman, 24
Mitchell, Wesley C., 231
Mohawk and Hudson Railroad,
92
Mohn, Robert, 362
Molodovsky, Nicholas, 158-159

And they don't come up in a text search, either. Do we believe Siegel never heard of Mandelbrot, or of The Misbehavior of Markets? But he does not mention it--not even to dismiss it.

strummer6969 · Post by **strummer6969** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 9:42 am

A recent one I read was The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene. I highly recommended it.

stoptothink · Post by **stoptothink** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 10:11 am

hammockhiker wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 4:43 am
And a more recent addition is "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*@K" by Mark Manson. Manson's book is not exactly life altering. Maybe 1/3 of it is boringly obvious truisms. Another 1/3 of it is "huh, that's kinda cool." And the other 1/3 of it is head slapping, "Why didn't I think of it that way before?" kind of things. I think the book could really be more like a longish magazine article, but his key point for me was the observation that we ought to choose our suffering rather than trying to choose our happiness. That dramatically informed my thinking about what I was doing for a living and whether it was worth doing at all.

I think I remember the 2nd half of the book being basically a rehashing of the first half, but the first half was AWESOME. Definitely recommend.

Mine would mostly be books around mindset, "Grit" by Angela Duckworth and "Resilience" by Eric Greitens are the first two that come to mind.

stoptothink · Post by **stoptothink** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 10:13 am

h82goslw wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 8:14 am
forgeblast wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 8:00 am David goggins Cant Hurt Me. For the first time I felt I was reading a book with truth on every page. I truly feel this is a guide book for introverts to get over trauma and leave the past behind. Life changing for me.

Been watching this thread since it started. Going to the library today to get this. Thank you.

His new book "Never Finished" is IMO better. FWIW, there is a lot of foul language and the man isn't a particularly talented writer, but he is definitely someone whose mindset I try to emulate.

srouen · Post by **srouen** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 10:29 am

The Book of Form and Emptiness, by Ruth Ozeki. It's a novel about grief and friendship and mental health and Zen Buddhism and books and magical realism, all tied up in the most hopeful and life-giving way, and absolutely delightful to read. It was the first novel that I've read in a long time that made me feel like a better, more compassionate, less judgmental person by the time I was done with it. Highly recommend.

Nevada, by Imogen Binnie. Another novel, by a trans author, about a trans protagonist. If you only ever read one narrative about a trans person, it should be this one.

Horologium · Post by **Horologium** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 11:44 am

Valuethinker wrote: ↑Sun Oct 29, 2023 7:24 am Man's Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankel. The universe is brutal, purposeless, Godless. We are redeemed by our capacity for human, and humane, action.

Agreed. This is a tremendous book.

"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms-to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

Taylor Larimore · Post by **Taylor Larimore** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 12:10 pm

Bogleheads:

Jack Bogle's first book "Bogle on Mutual Funds" with his "Twelve Pillars of Wisdom" changed our financial life from being heavily in debt to financial success.

Best wishes.
Taylor

"The Twelve Pillars of Wisdom":

1. Investing is not nearly as difficult as it looks.
2. When all else fails, fall back on simplicity.
3. Time marches on. (compound interest)
4. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. (take reasonable risk)
5. Diversify; diversify; diversify.
6. The eternal triangle. (risk, return, and cost)
7. The powerful magnetism of the mean.
8. Do not overestimate your ability to pick superior equity mutual funds, nor underestimate your ability to pick superior bond and money market funds.
9. You may have a stable principal value or a stable income stream, but you may not have both.
10. Beware of "fighting the last war." (past performance)
11. You rarely, if ever, know something the market does not.
12. Think long term."

Horologium · Post by **Horologium** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 12:35 pm

doobiedoo wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 5:01 am
2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

7. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

11. The Richest Man in Babylon by George S Clason

Wow. What a great post.

I heartily agree with many of your selections, particularly the three highlighted above.

I reread How to Win Friends every year to reinforce its lessons. I need to because I tend to forget them!

I read The Richest Man in Babylon when my kids were younger and still living at home. I got each of them a copy and required them to read it.

It's hard to add to some of the great selections already posted, but here's a few (in no particular order):

Stalin's War by Sean McMeekin. I'm a history buff and my son gave me this book. The author, by his own admission, is a historical revisionist. This book challenges the accepted history of WWII, but the author backs up his arguments with incredible sourcing. Easily one of the most fascinating books I've read in years.

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis. I've heard that this is the second most popular spiritual book next to the Bible. I don't know if that's true, but I love this little book and never stop reading it. Each time I finish, I just turn back to page one and start again. Each time, I find new meaning and inspiration in it.

Stop Reading the News by Rolf Dobelli. This is a short little book which has had a big impact on me. I used to be a news junkie. But, Dobelli makes a great case that we should disengage from the cycle of breathless "breaking news" flashes, screaming headlines, constant updates, etc.

There are some great financial books posted already, but I'll add The Simple Path to Wealth by J.L. Collins. This book was very helpful to me in "simplifying" my financial planning.

Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler. As a history buff, I've done some reading of Russian history. This book, along with Animal Farm, does a powerful job illustrating the Communist mentality that devastated that country.

Blue Zones by Dan Buettner. My wife is the health nut in our family. I don't even know why I picked this book up, but I found it fascinating. The author examines groups of centenarians to see how they were able to live such long and fruitful lives. The answers seem obvious in hindsight, but difficult for us at the same time.

Even though I'm retired, I also like to read books on personal development. There are several that I've read over the last couple of years that have changed my thinking in one way or another:
Quiet by Susan Cain
Essentialism by Greg McKeown
Deep Work by Cal Newport
Atomic Habits by James Clear

and, last but not least, my favorite: Disciple Equals Freedom by Jocko Willink.

Horologium · Post by **Horologium** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 12:57 pm

hammockhiker wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 4:43 am And a more recent addition is "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*@K" by Mark Manson. Manson's book is not exactly life altering.

I have to disagree a little. I didn't think I would like this book because of the coarse language, but I read it and found some of his advice really worthwhile.

Manson says: "[T]he problem is that giving too many f*@ks is bad for your mental health. It causes you to become overly attached to the superficial and fake, to dedicate your life to chasing a mirage of happiness and satisfaction. The key to a good life is not giving a f*@k about more; it’s giving a f*@k about less, giving a f*@k about only what is true and immediate and important.

I was really struck by the anecdote early in the book when he observed a woman have a meltdown in a store when they would not honor her expired coupon. Manson says something to the effect: "Do you really want to use one of your f*@ks" on a 30-cent coupon?"

Since reading the book, I've been surprised how often I've taken his advice. That guy who cut in front of me on the interstate? Nope, not important enough to get worked up about. My wife's brother who used to make my blood boil? Nope, I just tune out his mindless blather now. AmEx hit me with an interest charge because I fat fingered the wrong number on my bill pay service and underpaid them by $9. Errr, this I do care about and they will be hearing from me!

AnnetteLouisan · Post by **AnnetteLouisan** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 1:13 pm

For time saving / efficiency / streamlining tips - Simplify Your Life by Elaine St. James.

RJC · Post by **RJC** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 1:20 pm

Horologium wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 12:57 pm
hammockhiker wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 4:43 am And a more recent addition is "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*@K" by Mark Manson. Manson's book is not exactly life altering.
I have to disagree a little. I didn't think I would like this book because of the coarse language, but I read it and found some of his advice really worthwhile.

Manson says: "[T]he problem is that giving too many f*@ks is bad for your mental health. It causes you to become overly attached to the superficial and fake, to dedicate your life to chasing a mirage of happiness and satisfaction. The key to a good life is not giving a f*@k about more; it’s giving a f*@k about less, giving a f*@k about only what is true and immediate and important.

I was really struck by the anecdote early in the book when he observed a woman have a meltdown in a store when they would not honor her expired coupon. Manson says something to the effect: "Do you really want to use one of your f*@ks" on a 30-cent coupon?"

Since reading the book, I've been surprised how often I've taken his advice. That guy who cut in front of me on the interstate? Nope, not important enough to get worked up about. My wife's brother who used to make my blood boil? Nope, I just tune out his mindless blather now. AmEx hit me with an interest charge because I fat fingered the wrong number on my bill pay service and underpaid them by $9. Errr, this I do care about and they will be hearing from me!

I think this blog post would be enough for most folks. I can't imagine reading a whole book about it.

https://markmanson.net/not-giving-a-fuck

Beensabu · Post by **Beensabu** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 2:28 pm

City by Clifford D. Simak

You'll just have to read it to see.

Chv396 · Post by **Chv396** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 6:17 pm

“The Four Pillars of Investing”
“The Elements of Investmg: Easy Lessons for Every Investor”
”Winning The Losers Game”
“The Most Important Thing: Uncommon Sense for the Thoughtful Investor”
“How to Win Friends and Influence People”
“Bogleheads Guide to Investing”
“The Little Book of Common Sense Investing”
“The Bogle Effect”
“Tuesdays with Morrie”
“Simple Path to Wealth”

somekevinguy · Post by **somekevinguy** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 7:08 pm

My faith really underlies my values and goals and so my list reflects that with the first 3 titles though the last 2 are secular.

1) The Bible
2) Mere Christianity- (CS Lewis)- to me, an accessible, intellectually sound approach to understanding some of the basic tenets of Christianity
3) The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (John Mark Comer)- helped me think about time in one's life and intentionally building in buffer and slowing one's pace to align how I spend my time with my stated priorities
4) Thinking Fast and Slow (D Kahneman)- really compelling look at how we think and how it impacts behavior etc.
5) A Short History of Nearly Everything (Bill Bryson)- I don't remember the details but I remember being very entertained and at the same time, amazed at how small (in a good way) it made me feel

catdoctor · Post by **catdoctor** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 7:18 pm

Horologium wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 12:35 pm
doobiedoo wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 5:01 am
2. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

7. How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

11. The Richest Man in Babylon by George S Clason
Wow. What a great post.

I heartily agree with many of your selections, particularly the three highlighted above.
+1

MsPickles · Post by **MsPickles** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 7:43 pm

“On Desire: Why We Want What We Want”, by William B. Irvine.

Prior to reading this book, I’m not sure I really ever put much thought into why I wanted what I wanted. After reading this book, I now put a lot more consideration into the source of my desires, and whether those desires will really bring me happiness by trying to fulfill them.

Drew31 · Post by **Drew31** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 8:24 pm

nisiprius wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 9:23 am
Finot3 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 8:44 am
nisiprius wrote: ↑Mon Oct 30, 2023 6:05 am The Misbehavior of Markets: a Fractal View of Financial Turbulence, by Benoit Mandelbrot and Richard Hudson.
Mandelbrot is a great thinker. It is unfortunate that his ideas didn't go mainstream.
It's obvious why not. It's the elephant in the room. And, unfortunately, the book is essentially nihilistic. It dynamites most of traditional financial economics, and, although it makes an attempt, does not succeed in setting up anything in its place.

It came out in 2004. Here's a portion of the index from Jeremy Siegel's Stocks for the Long Run 5/E, published in 2014, ten years later.

MacCauley, Frederick, 313
Magellan Fund, 362, 365
Magnitudes of cash flows, 144
Main Street vs. Wall Street, 258
Major Market Index, 292
Malkiel, Burton, 323, 365
Manias, Panics, and Crashes: A History of Financial
Crises,24
Margins, 281
...
Mid-cap stocks, 179
Middle class, 66
Miller, G. William, 217
Miniversions, 276
Minsky, Hyman, 24
Mitchell, Wesley C., 231
Mohawk and Hudson Railroad,
92
Mohn, Robert, 362
Molodovsky, Nicholas, 158-159

And they don't come up in a text search, either. Do we believe Siegel never heard of Mandelbrot, or of The Misbehavior of Markets? But he does not mention it--not even to dismiss it.

I remember after finishing the book I was both fascinated and at the same time confused and had (still have) no idea what to make of it and do with it. You are right that is pretty just ignored but all and just never mentioned.

I need to go back and give it a 2nd read sometime.

ETK517 · Post by **ETK517** » Mon Oct 30, 2023 8:53 pm

Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach. Teaches how to approach life with the Buddhist principle of mindfulness by leaning into and accepting difficult, frustrating, and painful experiences rather than fighting, avoiding, or obsessing over them. Read twice and will read many more times, I can tell, to really absorb it.

Agree with those who think Manson’s book is at most an article. In some ways, it is a simplified and vulgarized, occasionally humorous but often cringey take on Radical Acceptance.

raveon · Post by **raveon** » Tue Oct 31, 2023 2:05 pm

1. The Art of Happiness

2.

Angel of Empire · Post by **Angel of Empire** » Tue Oct 31, 2023 3:30 pm

Exhibit CAA: Beyond Counting by James Grosjean

Very expensive book. I think I paid $1,300 - $1,500 for it.

Quahog Guy · Post by **Quahog Guy** » Tue Oct 31, 2023 3:40 pm

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan.

We became vegetarians after reading this book. Not instantly, but reduced meat consumption over time and learned there are so many fabulous vegetarian options. It was relatively easy to give up meat. Going on about 15 yrs now.