Most influential Books you've read

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beforewisdom
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#46 Postby beforewisdom » Fri Dec 28, 2007 10:13 am

veggieprincess wrote:I've read lots of books that have influenced me. Two of them being Dale Carnegie "How To Win Friends and Influence People" and "How To Stop Worrying and Start Living" both read when I was 13 (I know, I was a weird kid).


I never heard of the second one. I will have to put that on a list too.

But the book that has influenced me the most was The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyzyn(sp?)

She planted the concept in my head to consume less and reuse things, which led to a chain of events that brought me here. No book ever changed my way of thinking so much as that one. I still refer to the Complete Tightwad Gazette (which has all three books in 1) almost daily.


Voluntary Simplicity did the same thing to me. Can you get the Tightwad Gazette in a book through Amazon. I heard that she stopped publishing it.

I saw a video on the web of a 20/20 segment about a family of about 6 that lives on about less than 30 K a year. They just published a book telling people how they do it.

"The plural of anecdote is not data." (Roger Brinner)

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#47 Postby DV » Mon Jan 21, 2008 11:13 am

I read a lot of books and am constantly being influenced by them. Rather than give a list, I'll just mention the most recent one:

www.worldwithoutus.com

The above link takes you to an interactive site for "The World Without Us" by Alan Weisman. What I found fascinating about the book was the use of past and present to project the possible outcome of a world without humans.

I wish this could be required reading for everyone.

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#48 Postby beforewisdom » Mon Jan 21, 2008 1:04 pm

I've read articles about and excerpts from that book.

I was impressed by his prediction that New York City would begin deteriorating in less than a week without human beings performing maintenance on it.

"The plural of anecdote is not data." (Roger Brinner)

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#49 Postby DV » Mon Jan 21, 2008 1:59 pm

I thought you might comment on this. You should really read the book. It's fascinating. He uses many different professionals in the book and covers things like the extinction of megafauna in the Americas and the decimation of the oceans. He also looks at areas in the world that have recently been abandoned by humans and how nature has taken over.

Just read it!

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#50 Postby beforewisdom » Mon Jan 21, 2008 4:02 pm

My "to read" list for 2008 is already above 20 books :) I'll put it on my list and give it a priority number so that I read it after I get through some 2-3 books I want to get done by sometime in March.

"The plural of anecdote is not data." (Roger Brinner)

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#51 Postby Lean and Green » Sun Feb 03, 2008 11:18 pm

"Healing With Whole Foods" Paul Pitchford (the book that made me turn vegan instantly) Stresses a vegan diet and for non-vegans if meat is a necessity than it should be used as a "condiment" in the entree, not the entire main course. It just made sense

"The Way of the Peaceful Warrior" Dan Millam a great book for some real motivation

"The Prophet" Khalil Gibran An extremely quick read which leaves you thinking every step of the way and wanting to read it over and over to interpret the work. Very philosophical.
Where do you get your protein?
http://www.VeganProteins.com

Joelk wrote:But as long as people stay away from our cooler bags with our meals and not ask silly questions, we're all pretty tame

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#52 Postby phillipeb » Wed Feb 06, 2008 7:20 pm

suprisingly enough it was a book about wizards that really hit home emotionally as to why i was a vegan and words i aspire to live by

diane duanes support your local wizard series

the oath:

"In Life's name and for Life's sake, I say that I will use the Art for nothing but the service of that Life. I will guard growth and ease pain. I will fight to preserve what grows and lives well in its own way; and I will change no object or creature unless its growth and life, or that of the system of which it is part, are threatened. To these ends, in the practice of my Art, I will put aside fear for courage, and death for life, when it is right to do so -- till Universe's end."


Something about it resonated deeply within me and i follow that path now.

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#53 Postby Amy » Sat Apr 12, 2008 7:07 am

The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss by John A. McDougall, M.D.

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#54 Postby alison » Sat Apr 19, 2008 12:52 am

Most influential books so far:

The China Study - T Colin Campbell
Eat to Live - Joel Fuhrman
Fasting and Eating for Health - Joel Fuhrman
Maximum Weight Loss - John D McDougall
The Easy Way to Stop Smoking - Allen Carr
The Easy Way to Control Alcohol - Allen Carr
Skinny Bitch - Kim Kardouin and Rory Freedman

You Can Heal Your Life - Louise Hay
The Complete ACOA Sourcebook - Adult Children of Alcoholics at Home, at Work and in Love - Janet Geringer Woititz
How To Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie

The Lives of Animals - JM Coetzee

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#55 Postby Astrocat » Thu May 15, 2008 8:39 am

I've recently read this book, and think it's very good.

I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the way in which people use the modern concepts of sanity & inanity , for example to evoke a certain social reaction, or portray certain priorities as the correct ones to have.

The author agrees with many of my concepts and philosophies about sanity and human psychology, so I also found reading this book to be surprisingly empowering , in addition to being uplifting.

As an honest look at the paradox between superficial sanity and profound sanity, and the tenuous grasp people tend to have on only one or the other, if either at all, I think that many people would find it to be very insightful.

Image

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Going-Sane-Adam ... 0241142091


There's a nice synopsis in one of the Amazon reviews by someone called ' Fitzcarraldo "eco worrier" ' -


In Going Sane, Adam Phillips skilfully marshals a wide cast from literature and the literature of psychology in order to examine the many headed and currently vague notion of sanity.

How is the term used? Why is the term used? Does sanity encompass madness or exclude it?

Opening with a sceptical voice, he considers ideas such as the misuse of the word by The Party in Orwell's 1984 and Laing's consideration of madness as a rational response to circumstances.

Further on, we're challenged to regard the difficulties of an idea of sane sex and the programmed madness of adolescence.

As the book progresses, Phillips asserts his own voice more strongly, finishing with his idea of a sane life; perhaps how a life might be sane, but at least in how the thing might be recognised.

Even while arguing forcefully and eloquently, Phillips still manages to avoid being over prescriptive; his voice is too secular for that. In any case, he insists (in the introduction) that his ideas are there as a challenge.
If you're up for such a challenge and especially if you're interested in where psychology meets philosophy, then this book is for you.




I think anyone who has ever been labelled insane, or treated as such by others, or who doubts their sanity because of feeling traumatised, isolated, unsupported, terrorised etc.... and thus being unable to maintain a false and acceptable social facade of the sort many others constantly expect socially, would find this to be a very meaningful book which could give them valuable support through showing them a more expansive and meaningful approach to sanity (or the lack of it) than they are likely to be accustomed to encountering in daily life.
ImageImage

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#56 Postby Fallen_Horse » Thu May 15, 2008 10:27 am

I don't know if these have been mentioned but....


Ishmael - Daniel Quinn
Animal Liberation - Peter Singer
The Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan
The Red Queen - Matt Ridley
Learning how to be compassionate, gain wisdom, and love life.

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#57 Postby hilary wright » Thu May 15, 2008 2:17 pm

The Spiritual Journey of Joseph L. Greenstein: The Mighty Atom, World's Strongest Man
by Ed Spielman
http://www.alibris.com/search/books/isbn/1885440308

Autobiography of a Yogi

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#58 Postby 9nines » Fri May 16, 2008 10:05 pm

DV wrote:I read a lot of books and am constantly being influenced by them. Rather than give a list, I'll just mention the most recent one:

www.worldwithoutus.com

The above link takes you to an interactive site for "The World Without Us" by Alan Weisman. What I found fascinating about the book was the use of past and present to project the possible outcome of a world without humans.

I wish this could be required reading for everyone.


That book made me do home-repairs like regrout my bath tub etc.

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#59 Postby Astrocat » Mon May 19, 2008 12:39 am

Image

More Than a Label: Why what you wear or who you're With doesn't define who You are

While aimed at teens, it is not uncommon for adult social groups to be based on clique mentalities, prejudices, exclusions, etc..... so perhaps the book could be of interest to many more people than just it's primary target audience of adolescents.

I think this could be especially supportive for people who have been bullied or suffered exclusion and isolation during their time at school, or who feel dismayed/confused by this sort of behaviour for other reasons.... I found the writing style to be refreshing and never stagnant.
ImageImage

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The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini

#60 Postby nobbi » Mon May 19, 2008 10:43 am

It's not a book about vegan and I am not inspired by it, but the Kite Runner from Khaled Hosseini has really touched me.


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