Posted on 05/01/2018 3:18:41 PM PDT by Simon Green
Here's one that definitely influenced me: "Red Planet" by Robert A. Heinlein.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Planet_(novel)
It's the first novel I can recall reading, around age 8 or so. It was the start of a lifelong love of speculative fiction, and Heinlein's Libertarian(ish) philosophy certainly put its imprint on me.
(The main chsracter's father discusses getting a pistol permit for his daughter. The grandfather chimes in:)
"That a free citizen should have to go before a committee, hat in hand, and pray for permission to bear arms - fantastic! Arm your daughter, sir, and pay no attention to petty bureaucrats."
My 2nd pick as well after the bible.
The checkbook
It seems odd that a sports book would have such a profound effect on someone's life, but Dryden was more than just a Hall of Fame hockey player. He writes about hockey, sports in general, the life of a professional athlete, and the culture surrounding the life of an English-speaking star playing in the French Canadian mecca of hockey.
Canada suddenly made a lot more sense to me after reading this book. And then I started playing hockey in my late 20s, too.
Loved the Happy Hollisters!
The Art of War ~ Sun Tzu
Changing Planes, Ursula K LeGuin. I got my copy signed when I met her.
Great writing !
I recommend this short book be read by every high school student in the USA. It might open their eyes to their good fortune living in America.
Ditto Bingo!
Many will say the Bible which is appropriate. This influences my speech, actions and thoughts, daily.
But as for books NOT written by God I’ll say the Screwtape Letters by c s Lewis has been very influential in my day to day life, surprisingly. Sophie’s Choice (Saroyan) taught me what a novel is.
The Narnia Series
Animal Farm
1984
Brave New World
The Earth Abides
Hunt for Red October (and the Tom Clancy series)
Because, it got me back into the habit of reading, which was critical to delving deeper into the Bible and Church History.
“it was like my brain sucked it in like a vacuum cleaner- and I immediately started college and ended up with 3 degrees in physics, computer science, and accounting.”
that’s an awesome and inspiring epiphany.
something similar happened to me: while taking the first two years of general engineering courses towards a four year engineering degree, Fortran 101 was one of the required courses. Engineering didn’t inspire me, but bells and light bulbs went off in my brain with the Fortran 101 course, and i switched majors to Computer Science and earned a BS degree in CS and then went on to earn an MS in CS, then went on to be employed first as a programmer, then a computer and network systems analyst, and then as a network engineer. I’m semi-retired, but still dabble with programming.
As a programming instructor while getting my MS, I recognized a few (very few) kids that instantly got it and were super-excited by the beginning programming courses. I realized that certain people have what i call the “programmer gene”.
Two of my best friends in the world were thrashing about early on, one as a long-haul truck diver, and the other as a dope-smoker and pizza maker; they both saw how excited i was a programmer, and it inspired both to go to junior colleges and get Associate degrees in IT. Turns out both of them had the programmer gene, and both went on to make excellent livings doing things they really loved until they finally reached retirement age.
Childhood’s End.
The universe is a big and powerful place with big and powerful things going on in it.
“The Young Trailers” by Joseph Altsheler. Got me reading the Henry Ware series at an early age.
Time Enough for Love
Robert Heinlein
Viktor Frankl--MAN'S SEARCH FOR MEANING
On different days with different recollections--alternates might be:
--Walden Pond
--John Lock OF CIVIL GOVERNMENT
--ANIMAL FARM
--LORD OF THE FLIES
--Montaigne's essays
--ATTACHMENTS: Why you love, feel and act the way you do by Drs Sibcy and Clinton
--BRAVE NEW WORLD
--BEYOND FREEDOM & DIGNITY
etc.
Could you sum it up in about five sentences?
Amen to that.
Bible, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Foundation, Starship Troopers, and Atlas Shrugged.
made a huge amount of money after reading it
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