Which Books Have Influenced You The Most?

[ancient]

Some of mine have been mentioned already, so I'll skip them.

I'm going to aim a little lower here and go for some of my childhood favs:

Dr. Seus books really sparked my sense of artistic looniness and imagination at a young age. Not to mention my favorite little kid book: Grover and the Everything in the Whole Wide World Museum. That is one funny book.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a great book. So twisted and insane.

I think I've read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde about a thousand times, it's so great. Mr. Hyde is such an asshole. I'm always a little pained to see bastardized versions of it, like in Alan Moore's public domain fest which is LOEG. It is also probably the most unfilmable book ever. (Despite the roughly 10,000 movies out there).

As an adult, there are a multitude of books on American history and physics theory I could mention, those are probably my favorite subjects to read about.

 

[USS Triumphant]

Sorry if I made you guys uncomfortable.

I'm calling "troll". No one said anything about being uncomfortable with the Bible. And I'm certainly not. OTOH, the idea that it is the only book that has borne any influence on you out of all of the wonderful literature that mankind has produced is pretty disturbing. And sad.

 

[JonathonWally]

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M. Pirsig


The book is amazing. It really did change the way I look at day-to-day life philosophically. From how I fix "problems" to how I start conversations.

 

[TheLonelySquire]

Sorry if I made you guys uncomfortable.

I'm calling "troll". No one said anything about being uncomfortable with the Bible. And I'm certainly not. OTOH, the idea that it is the only book that has borne any influence on you out of all of the wonderful literature that mankind has produced is pretty disturbing. And sad.

Play a sophmoric internet game and "call troll" if you must. I didn't mention a word to you until you attacked me out of the blue.

And while the Bible is most certainly not the only book that has influenced me, it certainly is by far the most important book in history. I know that doesn't sit well with some but that's the way it is.

If you don't like my opinion then simply employ the ignore feature that is at your disposal. Thank you.

 

[USS Triumphant]

I didn't mention a word to you until you attacked me out of the blue.

That wasn't an "attack". It was meant to be teasing. My wit is much sharper than that were I attacking.

And while the Bible is most certainly not the only book that has influenced me, it certainly is by far the most important book in history. I know that doesn't sit well with some but that's the way it is.

I would tend to agree. The Quran is coming on strong these days as a future contender for the title, but as of right now, I'd say you're definitely correct there.

If you don't like my opinion then simply employ the ignore feature that is at your disposal. Thank you.

It isn't as simple as me "not liking" your opinion. I called "troll" because you say, "Sorry if I made you guys uncomfortable," but it seems like you aren't really sorry. I'll allow it is possible that you didn't realize it, but the implication that any of us would be uncomfortable because you mentioned the Bible is pretty insulting - like we're heathens or demons to whom the Word would be painful to hear. As a point of fact, I, for one, have been a biblical scholar for the last 20 years, and I continue to study.

If you would like to start another thread about any matter of biblical scholarship, I would enjoy participating, and be quite comfortable doing so. We might not agree on our interpretations of the Scripture, but that's the history of the world, no?

I tried to explain that I feel that the OP excluded the Bible out of recognition of its obviously special status, and not to diminish it. (And also probably to avoid conversations like this one in the thread, now that I think about it. ) But that didn't work for you. So I'll try this, instead:

You've mentioned the Bible first and given it a whole post, alone. So consider it established that you consider the Bible of utmost influence on you. You later mentioned that there are other books that have influenced you to a lesser degree.

So I'll ask politely: what are they?

 

[Strider]

Sorry if I made you guys uncomfortable.

I'm calling "troll". No one said anything about being uncomfortable with the Bible. And I'm certainly not. OTOH, the idea that it is the only book that has borne any influence on you out of all of the wonderful literature that mankind has produced is pretty disturbing. And sad.

Play a sophmoric internet game and "call troll" if you must. I didn't mention a word to you until you attacked me out of the blue.

And while the Bible is most certainly not the only book that has influenced me, it certainly is by far the most important book in history. I know that doesn't sit well with some but that's the way it is.

If you don't like my opinion then simply employ the ignore feature that is at your disposal. Thank you.

The Bible tops my list too but that isn't the point of the thread so fly away.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I would have to say that two books I first read as a teenager had a great impact on me. They were

Alive by Piers Paul Read - the story about the Andes Survivors. I think this book showed me just how resilient humans can be when face with overwhelming hardships.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown. Before I read this book my opinions about Native Americans was based on what I had seen on TV or in movies. Generally they were represented in the media in a very negative way. This book lead me to also question what I had heard people say about Australian Aboriginals as well.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Sorry if I made you guys uncomfortable.

I'm calling "troll".

The Bible tops my list too but that isn't the point of the thread so fly away.

Take the political BS to TNZ if that's how you want to play. No more in this Thread.

 

[Dayton3]

I would like to explain a few of the books I mentioned?

"Star Spangled Men: America's Ten Worst Presidents" inspired me to reinvolve myself in politics and political advocacy. As the author himself says, it is amazing just how "ordinary" most American presidents have been.

"Plucked and Burned" does a great job of outlining the plight of the contract poultry growers in the American south. My parents were contract poultry growers for 30 years and the book is almost biographical regarding their (and many others) dealing with a huge corporation controlled by an egotistical maniac.

"The Case For Mars" by Robert Zubrin- the best book ever written outlining in great detail a near term manned space program beyond Earth orbit.

"Heaven" by Randy Alcorn-- cleverly uses Bible scriptures and common sense to suggest what heaven will really be like. Hint, it is certainly infinitely more exciting than the common idea of "sitting on a cloud playing a harp". Just imagine getting to explore any galaxy you want without worrying about time or engaging in extreme sports with no fear of death.

That is a summary of why those four are on my list.

 

[Goliath]

Take the political BS to TNZ if that's how you want to play. No more in this Thread.

I'm not sure everyone involved can follow those directions.

In any case, I think the problem here lies in Dayton3's assumption that the Bible has necessarily influenced everyone, that its influence goes without saying, and can simply be assumed. His question was, which books have influenced us, "aside from the Bible, of course."

This might have been a reasonable assumption a hundred years ago, and perhaps even fifty years ago, but not today.

I've read a substantial portion of the Bible, and I know it and its message well enough to recognize Biblical allusions that escape many people. Indeed, I'm often disappointed by just how few people recognize references to my favourite chapter, Isaiah 14, which I like to quote every time some rich and powerful douchebag gets his comeuppance.

But I wouldn't say that the Bible has been one of the most influential books I've ever read--and what influence it has had, I see as mostly negative.

In my mind, it's just another ancient book, like the Iliad, or the Analects of Confucius, or the Tao Te Ching, which I have also read. And I'm just as likely to allude to Achilles sulking in his tent as I am to how "the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned."

So, if people want to say that the Bible has been a big influence on their lives, I would consider that noteworthy, and I would say: let them, and let's move on.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

*Apart* from the Bible? It would have to be this.

 

[Dayton3]

Take the political BS to TNZ if that's how you want to play. No more in this Thread.

I'm not sure everyone involved can follow those directions.

In any case, I think the problem here lies in Dayton3's assumption that the Bible has necessarily influenced everyone, quote]

I did not assume that.

I assumed a substantial number of people would mention the Bible and a discussion of "how has the Bible influenced your life" was not the point of the thread.

I was interested in a wide variety of answers which is generally what we've received.

 

[JoeZhang]

Since we are discussing the bible and it's influences - The bible has influenced me in that I think it's a sick vile book for a sick diseased death cult - reading me convinced me that there are a lot of suckers out there.

 

[J.T.B.]

I'm not a religious person, so the Bible's only value to me is as literature, but it is very valuable that way and I'm glad I was exposed to it as a kid. Teaching the Bible as literature in public schools, as an elective class, does not bother me, as long as there is no advocacy of a particular faith.

But is it just me, or is the King James the only version that really matters, literary-wise? The power and resonance of the language in the KJV just seems to leave other versions wanting, IMO.

--Justin

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

But is it just me, or is the King James the only version that really matters, literary-wise? The power and resonance of the language in the KJV just seems to leave other versions wanting, IMO.

Agreed, the sheer might and 'oomph' of the KJV's phrasing is second to none. But it's not always the version I read. I have both KJV and TEV versions in actual printed form, but the version I usually prefer to read is the NIV, online here. That site actually has almost every translation that's known to exist.

 

[Goliath]

I did not assume that.

Well, I don't want to start yet another argument, but your exact words were:

"Which books have influenced you the most? Aside from the Bible of course which is more accurately a collection of books and letters."

That certainly makes it sound like you assumed that.

Those two sentences can really only be interpreted in two ways:

Either

A: ""Which books have influenced you the most? I mean, which books besides the Bible--which, when you think about it, is more accurately a collection of books and letters."

Or

B: "Which books have influenced you the most? I mean, which books besides the Bible, which is not really a "book"--more a collection of books and letters."

In both cases, you're asserting something that is just not true. The Bible is obviously a book, even strictly speaking. Its very name comes from Late Latin biblia, fem. sing., meaning "book".

The Christian and Jewish scriptures are commonly published as one volume, which is the widely-understood popular definition of "a book". And the fact that the Bible is a compilation of many different documents, some of which are called "Books," is neither here nor there. Many books are compilations of this kind. As a professor, I often consult edited collections of articles, or of historical documents--and nobody cavils at calling these collections "books".

(If anyone's interested, "to cavil" means "to raise captious and frivolous objections". It's a good word that deserves wider usage.)

So: either your captious and frivolous objections to calling the Bible "a book" were the main point of your second sentence (Option B); or they were merely a throw-away observation which came after your main point--which was that, obviously, the Bible would be most people's first choice for "most influential book" (Option A)

Deny it all you want--even three times before the cock crows--but I think just about everyone will agree that Option A is the most likely and reasonable interpretation. If that's not what you meant to say, then you should make a greater effort to say what you mean.

 

[Goliath]

But is it just me, or is the King James the only version that really matters, literary-wise? The power and resonance of the language in the KJV just seems to leave other versions wanting, IMO.

I prefer the Douay-Rheims-Challoner, myself, but Challoner was himself heavily influenced by the KJV.

So, yes: it's not just you; it's the only version that really matters, literary-wise.

 

[TheLonelySquire]

Sorry if I made you guys uncomfortable.

I'm calling "troll".

The Bible tops my list too but that isn't the point of the thread so fly away.

Take the political BS to TNZ if that's how you want to play. No more in this Thread.

No problem here.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Take the political BS to TNZ if that's how you want to play. No more in this Thread.

I'm not sure everyone involved can follow those directions.

Evidently not. But they better try real hard, or they'll find themselves with a Warning. For example:

Since we are discussing the bible and it's influences - The bible has influenced me in that I think it's a sick vile book for a sick diseased death cult - reading me convinced me that there are a lot of suckers out there.

If I see anything else like this, from anybody, there will be a Warning for Trolling. This is the last Friendly there will be.

Everybody here is aware of Bonz's moratorium on controversial Topics. If the books from a certain religion or philosophy or ideology have influenced you, feel free to list them. But without the proselytizing, or condescension, or bickering or baiting; that all goes to TNZ.

Now let's get back to the books, please.

 

[Roshi]

I Shall Spit On Your Graves by Boris Vian,
The Stranger by Albert Camus,
The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger.