Books that changed your life!!

[JaeJones]

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.

+1 and then also The Biology of Belief by Bruce H. Lipton!! Everyone should read both, a couple of times as they are that good!

[AlohaBill]

One of the after affects of my CABG surgery is I haven’t read any books except for the Night Circus. I read on my iPad , but books are a different story . It is sad.
Yesterday, my granddaughter set me up on Dreamlight Valley on my new Nintendo Switch game system (bought last Xmas). I did well yesterday as long as she was around. However, today, I got lost. I was able to turn the system on and played the game ( I caught a fish, finally; set up Goofy’s stall). Oh-oh I didn’t know I had to eat! I gave up! (My wife came home too) I couldn’t shut down the program so I just pushed the off button w/o saving the game. Really, really frustrating.

[MrNarwhal]

As a child:

The Number Devil by Hans Magnus Enzensberger - Sparked an interest in mathematics. (Age 9)

Programming Perl by Larry Wall, Tom Christiansen, Jon Orwant - Sparked an interest in programming. (Age 16ish)

As an adult:

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - "Because when you are imagining, you might as well imagine something worth while."

Silence by Shūsaku Endō - A difficult and painful read, but perspective-changing on Christian faith and morality.

Elements of Power System Analysis by William D. Stevenson - Professional education and inspiration.

[BogleRocksDB]

In no particular order:

1. A Bogle book in my 20s when I started out trying to educate on Finance. Perhaps Bogle on Mutual Funds or the Little Red Book of Common Sense Investing (?).

2. Die With Zero in my 40s.

3. Stoic works in my 30s and 40s. If I had to point to one thing, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. The least useful because it is not organized (it was his personal journal) but the simplest to jump into. I would also recommend Letters to Lucilius by Seneca and Discourses by Epictetus. For me, stoic philosophy is best summarized in the Serenity Prayer.

[oldcomputerguy]

A couple of posts delving into discussion of religious history and culture were removed. As a reminder, see: Politics and Religion

In order to avoid the inevitable frictions that arise from these topics, political or religious posts and comments are prohibited.

Please don't use a book review as a pretext to discuss topics which are outside the forum policy.

[NYHawkeye]

1. The Holy Bible - most influential overall

2. A Wrinkle In Time - started my love for science fiction and ultimately a career in engineering

3. The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People - read this early in my career and gave me great direction and focus

4. The Machine That Changed The World and The Goal - gave me an interest in manufacturing operations and had a huge impact on my career

[yankees60]

1. The Holy Bible - most influential overall

2. A Wrinkle In Time - started my love for science fiction and ultimately a career in engineering

3. The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People - read this early in my career and gave me great direction and focus

4. The Machine That Changed The World and The Goal- gave me the interest in manufacturing operations and had a huge impact on my career

Seems like you have, indeed. read some that had powerful influences on your life.

[Horologium]

Glad to see this older thread revivied because I would not have seen it otherwise.

There are lots of great books mentioned. I especially liked seeing how many people recommended Dale Carnegie's 'How to Win Friends and Influence People'. I read it while I was still working. I had difficulty in dealing with people and that book probably saved me from getting fired.

I think my list is slightly off point, but may still be of interest. Earlier this summer, I went to a party where I caught up with some old friends I had not seen in years. Although we are all in our 60s, most of them are still working. So, I got asked (several times) "What do you with your time since you retired?"

I read a lot, not was much as some, but average about 50 books a year. After that party, I came home and put together a list of the "best" books I've read since retiring (in 2018).

Here, in no particular order, is my list:
 
·      A Tale of Two Cities / Charles Dickens
·      Stalin’s War / Sean McMeekin
·      Death Comes for the Archbishop / Willa Cather
·      The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck / Mark Mason
·      Stop Reading the News / Rolf Dobelli
·      On the Shortness of Life / Seneca
·      Don Quixote / Cervantes
·      Pride and Prejudice / Jane Austen
·      About Face / David Hackworth
·      With the Old Breed / E.B. Sledge
·      Permanent Record / Edward Snowden
·      The Simple Path to Wealth / JL Collins
·      Darkness at Noon / Arthur Koestler
·      Atomic Habits / James Clear
·      Outliers / Malcolm Gladwell
·      Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors / James Hornfischer
·      Essentialism / Greg McKeown

[yankees60]

Glad to see this older thread revivied because I would not have seen it otherwise.

There are lots of great books mentioned. I especially liked seeing how many people recommended Dale Carnegie's 'How to Win Friends and Influence People'. I read it while I was still working. I had difficulty in dealing with people and that book probably saved me from getting fired.

I think my list is slightly off point, but may still be of interest. Earlier this summer, I went to a party where I caught up with some old friends I had not seen in years. Although we are all in our 60s, most of them are still working. So, I got asked (several times) "What do you with your time since you retired?"

I read a lot, not was much as some, but average about 50 books a year. After that party, I came home and put together a list of the "best" books I've read since retiring (in 2018).

Here, in no particular order, is my list:
 
·      A Tale of Two Cities / Charles Dickens
·      Stalin’s War / Sean McMeekin
·      Death Comes for the Archbishop / Willa Cather
·      The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck / Mark Mason
·      Stop Reading the News / Rolf Dobelli
·      On the Shortness of Life / Seneca
·      Don Quixote / Cervantes
·      Pride and Prejudice / Jane Austen
·      About Face / David Hackworth
·      With the Old Breed / E.B. Sledge
·      Permanent Record / Edward Snowden
·      The Simple Path to Wealth / JL Collins
·      Darkness at Noon / Arthur Koestler
·      Atomic Habits / James Clear
·      Outliers / Malcolm Gladwell
·      Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors / James Hornfischer
·      Essentialism / Greg McKeown

An excellent list. Thanks for taking the time to provide it.

[yankees60]

1. The Holy Bible - most influential overall

2. A Wrinkle In Time - started my love for science fiction and ultimately a career in engineering

3. The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People - read this early in my career and gave me great direction and focus

4. The Machine That Changed The World and The Goal - gave me an interest in manufacturing operations and had a huge impact on my career

Always gratifying to read about books that did have Such an impact on a person's life.

[yankees60]

The four pillars of investing, the first edition

[TalktiveTiger]

Emotions Revealed
Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life
by Paul Ekman

[valleyrock]

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.

Sage advice about, among other things, how to deal with other people in an effective manner.

[snic]

Why I Don't Invest in Real Estate

This was an essential step on the way to becoming a Boglehead.

[shmidds]

The four pillars of investing, the first edition

For personal investing, this was the most influential book I've ever read.

Another book that has had a great impact is Marilu Henner's, Total Memory Makeover.

Henner is one of the few people worldwide who have HASM, Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory. The book explains the different types of memory and how to improve your memory through anticipation, participation, and recollection. She explains the importance of adrenaline and memory (think about that close call with death you've had and how you remember every detail).

I tried the concept of building a memory palace but it never clicked with me until I read this book. Now I build multiple memory palaces set in different places. For example, I finally memorized Gerald Manley Hopkin's poem, The Windhover.

In today's world where we rely less and less on our memory, this is a great book to read.

[yankees60]

Emotions Revealed
Recognizing Faces and Feelings to Improve Communication and Emotional Life
by Paul Ekman

Thanks!

Just bought a good used copy for $6.26 delivered.

[yankees60]

The four pillars of investing, the first edition

For personal investing, this was the most influential book I've ever read.

Another book that has had a great impact is Marilu Henner's, Total Memory Makeover.

Henner is one of the few people worldwide who have HASM, Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory. The book explains the different types of memory and how to improve your memory through anticipation, participation, and recollection. She explains the importance of adrenaline and memory (think about that close call with death you've had and how you remember every detail).

I tried the concept of building a memory palace but it never clicked with me until I read this book. Now I build multiple memory palaces set in different places. For example, I finally memorized Gerald Manley Hopkin's poem, The Windhover.

In today's world where we rely less and less on our memory, this is a great book to read.

Thanks!

Based upon what you wrote just bought a good used copy for $5.86 delivered.

[gerntz]

Don't remember the title, but my high school junior year chemistry text book. I read it over & over. I had generally thought for several years that I'd become an engineer of some kind, but this book made chemical engineering my college major & career choice. No regrets.

[yankees60]

Don't remember the title, but my high school junior year chemistry text book. I read it over & over. I had generally thought for several years that I'd become an engineer of some kind, but this book made chemical engineering my college major & career choice. No regrets.

I nominate that one unique to all other books I've read here?

[GoldStar]

Don't remember the title, but my high school junior year chemistry text book. I read it over & over. I had generally thought for several years that I'd become an engineer of some kind, but this book made chemical engineering my college major & career choice. No regrets.