/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.15603826]

What book changed your life?

What book had single biggest impact on how you thought of and approached life.

[Anonymous No.15603829]

The very hungry caterpillar taught me greed bad

[Anonymous No.15603836]

The Egyptian by Waltari

[Anonymous No.15603837]

>>15603826
I'm so fucking autistic that is probably a book that taught me how to write or that 'how to read a book' by Adler.

[Anonymous No.15603862]

Schopenhauer.

[Anonymous No.15603929]

The Sound and the Fury. I related to Jason a lot, which helped me identify some serious problems with how I act and see the world.

[Anonymous No.15603935]

Storm of Steel taught me to stop being a whiny coward.

[Anonymous No.15603936]

>>15603826
Comeuse was my entry point in philosophy of the meaning of life, then Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus and >>15603862
they've all been changing my life for the better and I wish everyone struggling with their thoughts would give them a read

[Anonymous No.15604218]

>>15603826
Dostoevsky, can't pin it down to a single work of his.

[Anonymous No.15604221]

>>15603826
Recently speaking Moby dick. Actually helped me thru an existential crisis i had had for quite a while

[Anonymous No.15604235]

For Whom the Bell Tolls.

[Anonymous No.15604260]

>>15604221
Currently mid way through it, it's such a brilliant fucking novel.

[Anonymous No.15604264]

>>15604260
Aye. It's become the yard stick I measure other novels against in a way, even tho many are great in different ways

[Anonymous No.15604272]

>>15603826
memes aside, myth of Sisyphus helped me cope a lot when I was a teenager

[Anonymous No.15604483]

The Brothers Karamazov helped shape my faith

Steppenwolf helped lift me out of deep depression

Stoner helped me realise my vocation (at 23, a little late)

Diary of a Country Priest helped me come to terms with my own nature

I'm a big believer that all good books change or influence in some way no matter how small, but those are the big four for me that spring to mind

[Anonymous No.15604726]

>>15604272
This. Me too. Great start for a teen.

[Frater Asemlen !XS8vrClKs2 No.15604740]

Truly? The Bible.

[Anonymous No.15604744]

Brion Gysin- The Process
Jung- The Red Book
PKD- Valis

[Anonymous No.15604765]

>>15603826
Stranger by A. Camus was the book that changed my understanding of the world in a significant way for the first time. I think it is still my favourite book of all time.
F. Kafka's Metamorphosis is another important one. H. Murakami's Wild Sheep Chase and H. P. Lovecraft's The Call of Cthulhu and Other Stories.

[Anonymous No.15604882]

>>15604483
never too late my guy, you're not wasting time, you only gain it

[Anonymous No.15604951]

>>15603826
>dude a drop of sweat made me kill a dude
>clap clap clap bravo! absolute genius!

[Anonymous No.15605287]

>>15604951
1. it was an arab
2. it was hot
3. the sun was blinding

[Anonymous No.15605825]

>>15604951
Honestly when it’s really hot and I’m driving I feel the need to run someone over. Camus had great insight into how minor inconveniences apparently spark homicidal feelings.

[Anonymous No.15605956]

tlp by witty

[Anonymous No.15605970]

"The Gender Doctrine" a swedish book.
Mostly about the gender studies crowd and their influence in society. Tickles most of the issues I have with the left, I realized I can't really support any mainstream leftist movements anymore with a clean conscience. Intersectionality coupled with absolutist social constructivism is the most dangerous influence on western society right now.

[Anonymous No.15606318]

>>15603826
The Harry Potter series thaught me how to be strong and resilient in the face of adversity

[Anonymous No.15606386]

>>15603826
Crime and Punishment, saved me from destruction and set me on the right path. Wouldn't be where I am now if it weren't for that book.

[Anonymous No.15606453]

>>15603826
Being and Time by Martin Heidegger

[Anonymous No.15606479]

Stoner was important to me on a personal level.

[Anonymous No.15606480]

>>15606453
I want to read BT, how would I approach it?

[Anonymous No.15606513]

>>15603826
I and thou by buber. Triggered a manic episode in me and transformed me from a bug eyed robot. I never see anyone mention this book on lit though

[Anonymous No.15606515]

>>15606480
Just be yourself

[Anonymous No.15606518]

The Bible

[Anonymous No.15606525]

>>15606513
You are the only one posting about it it seems, but your resilience intrigues me
Tell me more about the book

[Anonymous No.15606534]

>>15606480
You should first be familiar with Aristotle, Kant, Nietzsche, German idealism, existentialism, and phenomenology. Then, I would recommend reading Heidegger's "Introduction to Metaphysics" before moving onto Being and Time. Dreyfus and Large both have good companion books to help you with what Heidegger is saying (if you can only get one, I'd go with Dreyfus). There's also lots of good lectures online that cover Being and Time.

[Anonymous No.15606612]

>>15606525
It talks about confronting other people, nature and god. When you read psychology and there is a mention of someone looking at the therapist and seeing him as 'thou' the idea stems from buber. I think.

Basically it made me realize that other people exist and they are real thinking beings that are just as infinite as I regard my own ego to be. Before reading it I was aware intelectually that others exist but not really. I followed morals because social laws dictated them, not because I truly cares. I could not relate to anything - music, shows, books, beyond a surface aesthetic level. Then I read buber in my service and I woke up.

I only read one chapter out of 3. I lost the book. I'm sure my unconscious is hiding it from me. When I'll be ready I'll find it or get a new copy.

In a nutshell, the book is about how man is made of his relationships, and that there is a division between 'it', where you experience something - see a person, measure his height, his beauty, and 'thou', where you meet him fully. Only when you meet in a 'thou' mode are you truly human and infinite.

It's very dense, and the language is mystical and esoteric, hiding his ideas. I'm not sure I even got his ideas or my own interpretation. It's also very Jewish - being a Jew helped me get a grasp on some of his metaphors. Not a long read, so you can pick it up just for the flowery language. Here's an excerpt:

As long as the firmament of the You is spread over me, the tempests of causality cower at my heels, and the whirl of doom congeals

[Anonymous No.15606671]

>>15606612
That's just based bro, I enjoyed reading your thoughts and appreciate how much the book touched you
I wish I could be your IRL friend even though you'd probably hate to know my answer to the J*wish question

[Anonymous No.15606837]

>>15606671
Thanks, I guess.

What's the answer?

[Anonymous No.15606857]

>>15606837
cont. What's the question as well?

[Anonymous No.15606865]

Demian by Hesse. I read it every time I feel lost and confused. It’s even better than Siddhartha imo.

[Anonymous No.15606868]

>>15606865
>It’s even better than Siddhartha
Let's not get too carried away.

[Anonymous No.15606971]

>>15606868
Don’t get me wrong, I love Siddhartha, but personally Demian had a bigger impact on me and I enjoyed the story more. But I would agree that Siddhartha touches bigger concepts than Demian, however does this make one more important than the other? Why do you think Siddhartha is the better work?

[Anonymous No.15607054]

>>15605825
seek help

[Anonymous No.15607160]

>>15605970
where can i find this?

[Anonymous No.15607247]

>>15606671
>>15606837
Is it alright if I also become a part of this blossoming friendship?

[Anonymous No.15607262]

>>15607247
>Phoneposter
No.

[Anonymous No.15607715]

>>15603826
Daodejing and Zhuangzi.

[Anonymous No.15607795]

>>15607054
It’s a joke, you dork. Driving in the heat is unpleasant, but I’m not going to kill someone because I’m sweaty.

[Anonymous No.15607839]

>>15603929
That book was dogshit

And the first 70 pages were almost impossible to read

But idk if how Jason acted was that bad desu

[Anonymous No.15607848]

>>15604483
23 isn’t late at all anon. Lots of people are still living their life from one pubcrawl to another at that age.

[Anonymous No.15607883]

beyond good and evil by N

[Anonymous No.15608034]

>>15603826
The Unique And Its Property

[Anonymous No.15608043]

>>15604483
>>15607848
Is Stoner a meme or is it actually worth my time?

[Anonymous No.15608047]

>>15608034
It taught me to remember not to take all the baggage that comes with existence too seriously

[Anonymous No.15608080]

>>15608043
you're posting here, your time is worthless

[Anonymous No.15608089]

>>15603826
Houellebecq's Map and the Territory.
Made me realize how utterly disconnected one has to be from the common human experience in order to produce true art. Very depressing desu, but a necessary wake-up call for me when I began to write and slowly drifted away from my social life.

[Anonymous No.15608098]

>>15608080
I like to pretend otherwise, though.

[Anonymous No.15608244]

>>15608098
Good lad

[Anonymous No.15608526]

>>15603826
I like Camus c:

[Anonymous No.15608644]

[Anonymous No.15608738]

Recently, Plato's Republic. This is the first actual work of philosophy/politics that I've ever read and it has really opened up my mind to new ways of thinking and it has also shown me that philosophy can be fun and enjoyable to read.

[Anonymous No.15609072]

>>15606534
>read these 10000 pages first, then you'll get it
Why does philosophy have to be like that

[Anonymous No.15609112]

>>15603826
the te of piglet unfortunately

[Anonymous No.15609139]

>>15609072
Because philosophy is an ongoing dialogue. If you want to read Heidegger, but don't want to go through all the pre-reqs, you can try The Question Concerning Technology by him. It's pretty accessible and is a very good assessment on technology through an existentialist lens.