Books that changed your life
 

Did you ever encountered books that improved your life, made it easier or helped you gain confidence in yourself?

I heard about Louise L. Hay and it seems to be a very good author telling helpful things.
Do you know other books, good authors or stories that are helping to find his own way in life
:idea:

I like to read adventure, death-defying type books. Accounts of mountaineering expeditions gone awry and the like.

They make me feel that my life is so easy by comparison, but also remind me of the awesomeness of human endurance. And to try to do things I think I cannot.

Some examples: Into Thin Air, Into the Void, The Perfect Storm.

The Perfect Storm scared the crap out of me!!! I haven't seen the movie and I don't want to!
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Vaporizer Information

The movie wasn't that good. The book was much scarier -- and better! :shock: [If you're into that kinda thing, which I obviously am!]

I don't know if this is quite what you are referring to, but a long time ago I was very depressed and the only thing that I was able to read was the James Herriott series ("All Creatures Great and Small", "All Things Bright and Beautiful" etc.). I picked up countless books, but just couldn't get past the first couple of pages. His books transported me away from my problems and sadness. They are lovely, gentle, engaging stories and were just what I needed at that time in my life.

The Bible
Roots and Queen by Alex Haley
Obasan by Joy Kogawa
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
Snow Falling on Cedars - forget the author, too lazy to look
Sula by Toni Morrisson
Daughters of Song by Paula Huston

ITA, I LOVE this book.

She's Come Undone - Wally Lamb
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison
Small Changes, Big Results : A 12-Week Action Plan to a Better Life - Ellie Krieger

The Bible

The Madeleine L'Engle books, particularly A Wrinkle in Time - It made me want to be a scientist.

Great books. I also loved W. Lamb's "I Know This Much is True."

The Gift of Fear by Gavin DeBecker

Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol

There Are No Children Here - Alex Kotlowitz

We have similar tastes in books, I'm currently reading this one!

Is it me, or does anyone else find Toni Morrison novels to be a hard read? :?: I have had other people agree with me, to include my 11th grade high school English teacher who suggested that I read Beloved back in 92', I might add. I am curious if anyone else feels the same. Its not that I cannot finish her novels, I just find myself re-reading in order to make sense of some things.

How To Make Love Like A Porn Star by Jenna Jameson

also, every Harlequin and Mills & Boon romance novel ever published. Ve-ry life-changing.

I agree. And I find them too eerie and depressing to be worth the effort.

I read the Gift of Fear and There Are no Children Here. Very interesting. What do you call the Gift of Fear? What genre would you say it is?

This was such a good book. I even considered mountain climbing...until I remembered that I hate being cold and I don't care for heights. :oops:

I hate self help books. Hate them. That said, there's a book called Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton. My last manager bought it for all of us on her team and told us to read it and do the strengths test online. We were then going to go offsite for a day and talk about it. I was so reluctant, but I read about 1/3 of the book and did the test. Then I put it away and didn't look at it for at least a couple months. In the middle of it, my department went through a re-org and I got a new manager so we never did the offsite.

Anyway, I was bored one day and picked up the book and my test results. I finished the book in just an hour or two. It was amazing! Anyone who is at a crossroads about their life (career, school, etc) would probably benefit from it. It showed me that my new-ish job was the perfect fit for me and made me realize why I was unhappy at my old job. It also gave me inspiration for talking to my new manager about where my current position is headed. (we're still re-orging and it's kind of up in the air whether we'll keep doing the same work.)

The Book of Mormon can change anyone's life. It has changed mine.

Corelli's Mandolin. That combined with Jane Austen (I've read Pride and Prejudice 7 times! :lol: ) has made me a hopeless romantic.

The Coldest Winter Ever
 

The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah
This book COMPLETELY changed my outlook on life. It showed me what can happen to you when you are addicted to materialism.

"The Grapes of Wrath" by Steinbeck.

I am, too!