Books That Changed Your Life

[TheMemoirist]

I know it's a bit cliche and cheesy, but I read Walden in high school, and it really changed the way I looked at the world and thought about things. (I've read it again since then, though, and I'll admit to being a little bit embarrassed by my former self.)

It's a great book, and it would definitely make my shortlist for required reading--but it's definitely the kind of book that will strongly feed into youthful idealism--something that I've now lost a bit of, I suppose.

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[Bacchus]

"My Sister's Keeper" By: Jodi Picoult

One of my high school students actually left it in my classroom and I am so glad they did. I am not completely done, but it is truly an amazing book thus far.

We're using that at our University for the Orientation Summer Reading program. I read a synopsis online and it sounds awesome.

 

[dizzyorange]

Richard Garfinkle - All of an Instant (I'll never forget the concept of the "drummer")

Richard Bachman - The Long Walk (The best piece of fiction Stephen King ever wrote.)

Ayn Rand - The Romantic Manifesto (I don't agree with her ideas on virtue of selfishness, but her answer to the question "What is Art?" is fantastic, and surprisingly diverging from her other works)

Wachter and Shojania - Internal Bleeding (Must read for any medical student, period.)



I love this thread!

 

[Drogba]

I see this often. What is so compelling about this book?

It's compelling if you read it when you are very young. I think it's pretty trite reading later on in life though. Even when I read it (early highschool) I was left unimpressed.

 

[seraph524]

The Jungle by Sinclair

Never will look at meat the same again...despite federal regulations. I heard theres a law that allows up to 5% rat meat due to accidental grinding...and that in wheat, theres an allotment of % of bugs during processing....

 

[Contentablue]

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman

Ooo, I agree. That was a great book! Not life-changing, per se, but definitely made me aware of so many issues.

 

[Jolie South]

The Jungle by Sinclair

Never will look at meat the same again...despite federal regulations. I heard theres a law that allows up to 5% rat meat due to accidental grinding...and that in wheat, theres an allotment of % of bugs during processing....

you read fast food nation? a lot of the same issues are brought up in a modern non literary way. i do like the jungle though too.

what bothered me most was the exploitation of illegal aliens and how the animals are treated prior to their death. i mean seriously cows are herbivores, but cattle produced for meat are fed remains of other cows along with antibiotics and growth hormones. can someone say mad cow disease outbreak?

 

[tdsbird2]

"blue like jazz" forget who it is by

worth the 14 dollars