People Share Which Books Forever Changed Their Outlook On Life

Mortal Thoughts...

Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky. Jeez, it's such a weird-but-in-a-good-way book that really makes you reflect on morality.

oteudeuss_

All is Possible.....

I read The Phantom Tollbooth at a young age & it changed the way I viewed the world.

One of my favorite quotes from the book: "So many things are possible just as long as you don't know they're impossible."

KitsuneGao

Yessss, I love that book so much! I remember the cookies shaped like letters when the seller explained how vowels taste the best which is why people use them the most, and letters like Z and Q are kinda bitter so people don't like saying them.

The boy who floated with his head at his adult height and his feet got closer to the ground as he got taller The worlds tallest dwarf (not to be confused with the worlds shortest giant, the worlds fattest thin man, or the worlds thinnest fat man). So much excellent wordplay and Alice-In-Wonderland type logic. It absolutely shaped the way I see the world today.

Threspian

The Count

The Count of Monte Cristo. I have no idea what it did to me but after I finished it I knew I was no longer the same person.

Courbet1Shakes0

I don't know about those guys, but I became wiser at the end of it. Like the book taught me the art of patience and planning and seeing it through. It's like I became a century old monk having that final epiphany. And I don't even mean using this skill in a malicious way. It just literally taught me to be patient and that has freed me from a lot of aggravation.

BreakingGaia

Jacked....

The Shining made me realize I need to do something about my alcoholism. The self sabotaging; the crappy marriage; the excuses....

Jack Torrence is a massive piece of crap and I was identifying with him.

OttoManSatire

Finding Myself...

Night by Elie Wiesel.

7thtrydgafanymore

Came here to say this one. It is my favorite book and it is so haunting. It really pushed me at a very young age to learn more about the Holocaust and what people went through. I went so far as to travel to Auschwitz myself two years ago. Powerful and painful but so important for all to educate themselves on what really happened.

competitivebunny

Leaving a Mark

Of Mice and Men... seriously scarring but effective.

cloutiaaa

I'm a freshman and for virtual classes we got assigned to read it this week. I still haven't but i guess now i know what i have to look forward to.

BRTD_Double0Donut

I'd never read it before, but by random chance i read it on Monday. It's very short, probably only took 2 or 3 hours. I was amazed at how good it was for such a short book, and how much i cared about Lenny. I guessed the ending about 2 pages early which made it really sad to read. 10/10 would recommend. I'm reading catcher in the rye now. So far, not nearly as good.

shhbedtime

All that is Fleeting....

Man's Search for Meaning....

"...everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." -Viktor E. Frankl

In my opinion, it is a must read.

EverGreatestxX

Great book.

For those looking for "meaning" during all of this. Every man (and woman) has a meaning in their life. It may change from time to time but you find what your supposed to do and work towards it.

E_Anonymous

By the Numbers....

Introduction to Linear Algebra.

After the first chapter, I decided I was going to law school.

Edit: While I have my 15 minutes of Reddit fame, it'd be dope if you could check out my band, Rawls Royce.

callyjohnwell

The Ender....

Ender's game. Summed up, it's not about winning, it's the way we win.

KarrostheDecapitator

I was going to comment this book.

What affected me the most about it was Ender's incredible empathy. The connection between understanding and love. The cost of winning - destroying a part of yourself each time you destroy your enemies.

There's a quote that just stuck with me for all these years:

"In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them.... I destroy them."

It just spoke to my heart. I think about it a lot.

ElsaKit

Like a Knife....

Dune. The pragmatism is real. It cuts through politics and religion like a hot knife through butter. It's like reading The Prince but applied to a very cool and original sci-fi world.

SatanTheTranquil