Life Changing Books

Describe LifeChangingBooks here.

• Daughters of the Moon, Sisters of the Sun by K Wind Hughs & Linda Wolf. One of my favorite book. ~Jadzia

• The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh makes me glad to be alive. It's very useful and incredibly inspirational.

• Notes to Myself by Hugh Prather, likewise. I'm all about this book. Or this book is all about me, whichever.

-Mitchell

"Sara and the foreverness of friends of a feather" and "Sara and Seth Solomon's fine featherless friends" by Jerry and Esther Hicks are two of the best books I have ever read. If you grok it, it can have the effect on you of freeing your mind, letting your spirit soar, and giving you insights on how to have a more joyous life expirience then you have ever thought possible. ~erin (if you can't find them anywhere, and you want to read them, they're probably order only...just visit www.abraham-hicks.com

• Brave New World. Everyone should read it, deep scary and small.
• The Universe Is A Green Dragon. Its worth the hunt to find this obscure 80s philisphical book on the universe.
• How Then Shall We Live? on death and living.
• TLH of course

-Dawn

"The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How To Quit School and get a Real Life and Education"...but, we all know this is a life changing book!

Aiee...fresh, empty page. How intimidating! Anyway, the most life-changing book for me is "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. When I first read it when I was seven, I loved the story, but didn't really understand it. "The Little Prince" is a book that has a lot going on under the surface; so much, in fact, that every time I read it I come away with another really good message.

The book itself is about a pilot who crashes in the middle of the Sahara, and finds a little boy (from Asteroid B-612, incidentally) who is on a journey of his own. The Little Prince tells the Pilot of his recent encounters with various creatures/people/plants, and ends up teaching the Pilot a lot about life. I just now realize that when put into words, this sounds really simplistic and unimpressive. It's kind of like trying to explain the synopsis of "Ishmael"...it just doesn't work!

At any rate, this is an amazing book, and I recommend it to everyone. This little book has had profound impact on my life for 11 years, and is the source of my favorite quote of all time: "It is only with the heart that one may see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." Kei te pai...~*krista*~

• I second that notion. I recently re-read it after camp and I took more from it this time than I did before (which I didn't think was possible.) The coolest teacher I ever had (who encouraged me to leave school when no one else did) introduced me to it English class in 9^th grade. At first we all thought it was a silly children's story, but it is so much more than that. I have atleast a third of the book in highlights. Read it.

"It is such a secret place, the land of tears" - Kim W.

On the Road was by far the most amazing book I read since I started UNschooling back in 97. The book is a narative of Jack Kerouac's adventures with Neal Cassidy (who was later the driver for the Merry Pranksters' bus Further) in the late 1940s. The first time I read it it was hard for me to grasp the shear enormity of what Kerouac was saying. The second time I read it, it began to sink in. Now I am reading it for what is to be my 6^th or 7^th time and I can not believe how much I missed the last time I read it. Kerouac (Sal Paradise)goes into such beautiful detail on the excentric behavior of Cassidy (Dean Moriarty)and their adventures. He describes the thrill of watching a tenor player blowing mournful blues into the smoke filled room while the drummer gives out a steady beat that is joined together in bonds of sweet musical bliss by the crazy blind piano player who bangs out the music of his heart on the ivory keys. This book while a little abstract in some parts is in my opinion one of the best books of the 20^th century. I highly recomend that you all read it.

Stuart

P.S. Anything by Daniel Quinn is also good. Ishmael was such an important tool in the development of my frame of thinking about things in my life and in what I saw in our culture.

The entire list I added to GoodBooks were all LifeChangingBooks for me, but in particular the C.S. Lewis Space Trilogy really marked a large turning point in my life. The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco)was yet another large step, kind of opened me up to a new level of life that I hadn't seen before. And I'm reading another book by umberto eco at this time that is and will be affecting me, titled Foucault's Pendulum. And The Bible will forever be the book that has most changed my life. Others were 1984, Tathea, and the Mars Trilogy (see GoodBooks for authors, etc).

• Dan Frampton, Cynical Madman.

• Generations, by William Strauss and Neil Howe This is about cyclical sociohistory, or how the history of people moves in spirals. About four types of people based on generation, and four periods of history that keep repeating. It's a little dry, but worth the read. Also the sequal, The Fourth Turning.

• Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn Written in novel form. About Mother Culture and the message she feeds us.

• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert Pirsig A novel. It's... intense. It's hard to explain. I need to read it again. It's really a must read, a life changer, and all that good stuff. If you're that kind of person, you might want to take notes of ideas you have as you read it.

• Factoring Humanity, by ? A novel. After I read it, I made a list of what it's about: quantum computing, false and/or repressed memories, the fourth dimention, the collective unconcious, empathy, 'good' and 'bad', ET life forms. A book that combines mathimatical concepts and human issues very well.

• Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury A science fiction novel, set in a future where books, and a lot else, are banned. Good unschooling character in there too.

• Finite and Infinite Games, by James P. Carse I've only read the first 20 pages, and already it's life changing. :) It's beautifully succinct. I don't think I've ever seen a book that's as good as saying what it needs to say, and then stopping. The title describes what it's about pretty well. Examples of finite games: football, the olympics, the 9-5 rat race. Examples of infinite games: Calvinball, role playing games, life as it should be lived. A quote: "Rules are not valid because the Senate passed them, or because heros once played by them, or because God pronounced them through Moses or Muhammed. They are valid only if and when players freely play by them. There are no rules that require us to obey rules."

-marina

I second Ishmael, for sure... Also...

Hamlet, after you've seen a movie version or a play of it at least once, read with care. I don't neccesarilly recommend it any other way, but if you can understand the plot it's a beautifully written play that will make you think and help you understand why Shakespeare is such a big deal to literature-types.

The Journey Is The Destination: The Journals of Dan Eldon, which will open up your eyes to the possibilities that life holds, as short or long as it may be, and the creative ways you can record it.

Writing Down The Bones by Natalie Goldberg, with the exception of the TLH, this book has changed the life of more people I know than any other. You will love it, almost guaranteed.

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud, ever roll your eyes at someone who loves comics? Read this book, mofo! Understand a new art form! Start drawin! Then read Reinventing Comics by the same fellow.

No More Prisons by Billy Wimsatt, I wish everyone would read this book and take it in. If everyone let it change their lives, the world would be vastly improved.

    (~summs)

Writing Down the Bones, ooh yes. Also Goldberg's memoir, Long Quiet Highway, about life and writing and Buddhism and awareness and learning and teaching and listening to your heart.

more as I think of 'em...

(witch baby)

Part of Julieclipse's list:

• The Teenage Liberation Handbook, by Grace Llewellyn - You know it!
• Spiritual Ecology, by Jim Nollman - very influential for me, even though there's a lot I don't necessarily agree with. Anything by Nollman will work...check your library.
• Next of Kin, by Roger Fouts
• Suburban Nation, by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck - A fantastic readable book on 'the new urbanism.' If you've ever seen a suburb, you should read it.
• The Continuum Concept
• Laurel's Kitchen
• Lucid Dreaming

FWIW, I was very unimpressed by Ishmael, but I've been told I should read Quinn's other books...

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

 *the most amazing book I've read in a really long time.

Oh, The Places You'll go by Doctor Seuss

 *It'll always be close to my heart.

Pink Slip by Rita Ciresi

 *it's one of those books that make you think after you read it. really
good.

The Lust Lizard in Melancholy Cove by Christopher Moore

 *I know it's sounds odd. But it was really good. it made me realize that
Lizards do enjoy sex. and no one should make them not have sex! it just
wouldn't be right.

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

 *I love this book. it's wonderfully written, and a great story.

The Hot Zone by Richard Preston

 *Everyone should read this. The most amazing book I've ever read. scary but
totally real. it'll make you think differtly.

Influenza 1918 by ??

 *what you don't know about world war 2. absolutely amazing. a real kick to
the head. 

well, that's my list. all of those books were really good. some life changing, some just fun to read. pick them up at your local library! -Lydia ®

Im kinda surprised that no one has suggested this book:

"Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives" By Dan Millman

as a life-changing book.

JesseBorges

Ishmael. But most of you already knew that.

I equally agree about Ishmael, and I continually appreciate Daniel Quinn's book Beyond Civilization as an example to us all the possibilities that Ishamael and tribalism present to us. Still, if you are already making your way beyond the ideas that Ishamael presents by yourself, then it doesn't seem as interesting. However, Quinn's later books go much more in depth. After all, Ishamel was written more for your typical adult person than an unschooler or child. I feel that most unschoolers would prefer My Ishmael to Ishmael, in a comparison test.

I also agree that The Little Prince is another wonderful book (every time I read it, it seems to get better).

I would like to add Carlos Casteneda's books about his apprenticeship with a Yaqui indian shaman to the Life Changing list. I can't really suggest a particular book at this moment (I read four of his books, and I'm still not nearly through) but I feel starting from the beginning is the best but not required. Although each book feels fast paced, the books build on each other slowly, as if each time he wrote a new book, he realized something altogether new about himself and shamanism. The first book is The Teachings of Don Juan, but I like the second book, A Seperate Reality, better. Has anyone here read any of his books?

Also, I'd like to add Mary Crow Dog's Lakota Woman, which basically made me realize that there are still Native Americans around that are continuing the struggle to be indians. Despite how depressing the book was, I thought it was also very beautiful at the same time.

Finally, I found Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest life changing in its way. I haven't actually read the book yet, which is kind of funny, but I worked on the theatrical version of it a few months ago and I read the script about 15 times.

-Luke