Your Most Influential/Favorite Book

[enisthemenace]

Boy, am I late to the party. A lot of good books here.

- I really liked "The People's History" by Zinn
- Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky
- Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut (I didn't really care for Breakfast of Champions)
- Why I am not a Christian by Bertrand Russell
- Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
- Genealogy of Morality by Nietzsche (Beyond Good and Evil too)
- 1984 by Orwell

 

[VeloClone]

Oh I enjoyed his book a whole lot, I actually wish that the sort of high school history type accounts were more honest.

Anyone who finds themselves in the Twin Cities and wants a history exhibit that presents some very uncomfortable views of our history should visit the Minnesota History Center and their exhibit on the US - Dakota war of 1862.

The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 | Minnesota History Center

 

[colbycheese]

I would say my most influential books include A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold, and Don't be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style by Randy Olson. Leopold's book helped shape my worldview in my career field (soil science/environmental science), and Olson's book helped me consider my personal approach to science and how to include the general public in the scientific process.

 

[Cyclonepride]

Boy, am I late to the party. A lot of good books here.

- I really liked "The People's History" by Zinn
- Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky
- Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut (I didn't really care for Breakfast of Champions)
- Why I am not a Christian by Bertrand Russell
- Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
- Genealogy of Morality by Nietzsche (Beyond Good and Evil too)
- 1984 by Orwell

I'd like to read Wealth of Nations- is it a slog, or is it fairly readable?

 

[enisthemenace]

I'd like to read Wealth of Nations- is it a slog, or is it fairly readable?

It's a slow read. Good one though. Adam Smith was way ahead of his time.

 

[mapnerd]

Huge Vonnegut fan here as well. Slaughterhouse 5, Breakfast of Champions, Cat's Cradle...can't think of a bad book by him. Those books were very influential for me, but I think Catcher in the Rye was the most influential for me because I must have read it at the perfect point in my life. So, not much new to add to the party.

Has anyone mentioned the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy yet? I've read that series a few times. Never get tired of it.

 

[Angie]

Huge Vonnegut fan here as well. Slaughterhouse 5, Breakfast of Champions, Cat's Cradle...can't think of a bad book by him. Those books were very influential for me, but I think Catcher in the Rye was the most influential for me because I must have read it at the perfect point in my life. So, not much new to add to the party.

Has anyone mentioned the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy yet? I've read that series a few times. Never get tired of it.

They don't need to be new when they're incredible books. :smile:

 

[oldman]

I would say my most influential books include A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold, and Don't be Such a Scientist: Talking Substance in an Age of Style by Randy Olson. Leopold's book helped shape my worldview in my career field (soil science/environmental science), and Olson's book helped me consider my personal approach to science and how to include the general public in the scientific process.

Loved "A Sand County Almanac!" It's sort of a modern day "On Waldens Pond."

 

[cyclones500]

Some nonfiction and “other†I’ve read the past few years that had impact:

• “Faking It: The Quest for Authenticity in Popular Music,†Hugh Barker and Yuval Taylor
• “Reality Hunger: A Manifesto,†David Shields
• “The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten,†Julian Baggini
• “The Sixties Unplugged,†Gerard DeGroot
• “Eating the Dinosaur,†Chuck Klosterman
• "Death to the BCS," Dan Wetzel
• “Freakonomics,†Levitt/Dubner

Currently reading: “The Mindset Lists of American History†and “Back to Our Future†(and sampling several others).

 

[Cyclonin]

Some nonfiction and “other†I’ve read the past few years that had impact:

• “Faking It: The Quest for Authenticity in Popular Music,†Hugh Barker and Yuval Taylor
• “Reality Hunger: A Manifesto,†David Shields
• “The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten,†Julian Baggini
• “The Sixties Unplugged,†Gerard DeGroot
• “Eating the Dinosaur,†Chuck Klosterman
• "Death to the BCS," Dan Wetzel
• “Freakonomics,†Levitt/Dubner

Currently reading: “The Mindset Lists of American History†and “Back to Our Future†(and sampling several others).

Really good book. Also, love this thread.

 

[ThatllDoCy]

For books that I have enjoyed, I would make the short list:

Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
Numerous Kurt Vonnegut Books
Harlot's Ghost - Norman Mailer
The Song of Fire and Ice Series - George RR Martin

For the most influential I would say:

The Way of Zen - Alan Watts

 

[kilgore_trout]

Freakonomics - How different would our society be if the hoi polloi understood the difference between causation and correlation?

Some nonfiction and “other” I’ve read the past few years that had impact:

• “Faking It: The Quest for Authenticity in Popular Music,” Hugh Barker and Yuval Taylor
• “Reality Hunger: A Manifesto,” David Shields
• “The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten,” Julian Baggini
• “The Sixties Unplugged,” Gerard DeGroot
• “Eating the Dinosaur,” Chuck Klosterman
• "Death to the BCS," Dan Wetzel
• “Freakonomics,” Levitt/Dubner

Currently reading: “The Mindset Lists of American History” and “Back to Our Future” (and sampling several others).

 

[Angie]

Freakonomics - How different would our society be if the hoi polloi understood the difference between causation and correlation?

I need you to discuss Vonnegut in this thread. Some sort of visceral need.

 

[Rabbuk]

I need you to discuss Vonnegut in this thread. Some sort of visceral need.

Written in the 2nd person.

 

[Angie]

Written in the 2nd person.

Exactly. You get my where I am going here.

 

[Rabbuk]

Exactly. You get my where I am going here.

I've read all those Vonnegut books but that's all I really remember about them, that Trout writes in the 2nd person.

 

[Angie]

I've read all those Vonnegut books but that's all I really remember about them, that Trout writes in the 2nd person.

He also knows a lot about Saabs.

 

[Cyclonepride]

I smell a nefarious plot.

 

[kilgore_trout]

Do you hear the sirens?

 

[cyclones500]

We may need a Vonnegut Discussion forum on CF, the way this is going.
:smile: