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Books that changed your life list.


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I need a list of books from the most well read people on the planet. Ummm that's you all, of course. What books changed your life? What books do you wish everyone on the planet would read because the books are enlightening and would help the world to be a better place? I asked this of my friends on FB and got a few like The Shack and The Bible. Those are of course, awesome, but there's more to it than that. I want more. My husband threw The Grapes of Wrath and Foxes Book of Martyrs in there. He says Steinbeck's work helped him understand compassion and the Book of Martyrs taught him never to blindly follow religion. We're not religious, obviously. So far, for myself I have:

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Hamid Actually, I enjoyed his Moth Smoke, too. A glimpse into the world as seen from Pakistan was wonderful and painful. I appreciate that.

The History of God by Karen Armstrong All of her books were awesome for me. I love every darn one of them.

Canterbury Tales - I don't have to explain to you all how that book is valuable.

Okay, I'm still thinking.

Your turn

My book club will thank you.

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The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. The Bible is the only other book that ever changed my understanding of "doing life" so completely.

 

I also loved Essential Spirituality by Roger Walsh. This book takes a non-religion-specific look at what spiritual practices elevate people.

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Mine include:

  • Becoming Orthodox by Fr. Peter Gillquist
  • Thirsting for God in a Land of Shallow Wells by Matthew Gallatin

These two books spurred us to attending an Orthodox Church, to which we eventually converted. This conversion changed our lives ever so much and ever so completely, so that's why I thought of them in relation to your question. Once converted, this book:

 

  • A Prayer Book for Orthodox Christians by Holy Transfiguration Monastery

is changing me because, as the introduction to another prayer book says, "Prayer is not a part of our life. It is our life."

Edited by milovaný
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I think every book changes you after reading it and speak different to each person.

 

Profoundly for me:

 

Till We Have Faces, by CS Lewis

Wow, just wow on that one. How we see things and then realize what we believed or assumed was not as it seemed.

 

The other one was Pagan Christianity. It's suppose to help Christians get away from the modern day idea of church, but it woke me up and helped me question everything about Christianity.

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Great question! I find that I take little bits and pieces of books all the time & glean little pearls of wisdom from them. However, that being said, I will list the following:

 

Circle of Children by Mary MacCracken - read in 6th grade and became convinced that teaching kids was one of the best, most important, most rewarding jobs around. It's about a woman who find herself teaching kids with autism, sensory issues, etc.

 

 

Surviving Auschwitz by Primo Levi - read a few years ago. It's not gruesome, but is a very interesting look at the psychological ramifications of being part of a concentration camp--from many perspectives.

 

 

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving - I'd never read a book like this before. It turned me on to John Irving and I think of the themes in it often.

 

The Well-Trained Mind by Jessise Wise and Susan Wise Bauer - this was the first book (out of dozens) that really spoke to me about homeschooling. I read this book and knew I could do it!

 

 

The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell - changed the way I approached parenting (for the better!)

 

 

There are lots of other books that I like, but these are the ones that *changed me.*

 

Looking forward to some more responses!

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some people dislike it, but "crazy love" by francis chan did change me. i purged half of our home after reading that, and i continue to rethink everything we do from a different perspective thanks to this book.

 

oh! and total money makeover by dave ramsey. i can't recommend it enough. it has changed everything about our finances in a great way! seriously, a must-read imho!!!

Edited by mytwomonkeys
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Hmm....

 

Books that have profoundly changed my life include:

 

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom- It changed me spiritually forever, and started me on my personal journey of forgiving those who had done me serious harm.

 

Simplify Your Life by Elaine St. James- It made me re-examine the structure and "stuff" of my life and how they aided or undermined my goals.

 

Homeschooling: Take a Deep Breath- You can Do This. by Terri Bittner- This was the first homeschooling book I read and it gave me the courage to press on and pursue this crazy idea of home education.

 

I am currently reading one that has totally changed my world already, and I am only half-way through. I keep having to walk away and let what I am reading marinate. Even if I find the rest of the book to be worthless, I am glad for the material I have already read.

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The Giver

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

The Book Of Mormon

Standing for Something by Gordon B Hinckley

Dr Sears books Pregnancy, Birth book, Baby Book & Breastfeeding...

Freckles

The Women of the old Testament by Orson Scott Card

 

 

And a thousand others...Elsie, Anne, Little Women....

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This will date me: The Christian Homeschool by Gregg Harris. It was lent to me by a friend and by the next year I was homeschooling. I've never read it again, but it is the only book I know of that actually changed my life, not just my thinking. I was already a bibliophile, but when I started homeschooling I got to read and read and read the best books written in the English language. I read more than I had ever read before and that's saying something.

 

The thing that changed the way I homeschool was the Greenleaf catalog. Anyone remember that? That was my first introduction to a history cycle, I was hooked.

 

There have been many books that changed the way I think, but very few that have an actual impact on my life for change, yet.

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Little House on the Prairie series (really...I am not sure why though)

 

Check out The Wilder Life: My adventures in the lost world of Little House on the Prairie. It's a fun read for anyone who grew up in love with Laura World. [Caution: there are some swear words.]

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The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence. It's written from the perspective of a confused senior citizen and it really made me rethink some of my previous assumptions.

 

The Tightwad Gazette helped me more than I can say when I was very young and very poor. I still use a lot of what I learned on a daily basis, but, more importantly, it shifted my thinking about buying.

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Different books at different times for different reasons...

 

Well Trained Mind - never would have considered homeschooling at all if this hadn't literally fallen off the shelf at the library. I had no choice but to pick it up and read it.

 

Till We Have Faces - so good on so many levels.

 

The Poisonwood Bible - interesting perspectives on family, God, and government. Fiction rooted in reality that makes you think.

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Hinds Feet on High Places

The Great Divorce (CS Lewis)

 

Those both would be top of my list. I can read them and re-read them and get something more each time. TGD is just an amazing book. I saw myself in so much of it, then I'd see people I knew as well and changed my perspective on how I handled them. I handed that book to a friend, just knowing she'd ooh and ahh over its depth and be changed as well. She read it and was :001_huh:. :lol: Some books are just personal.

 

Hinds Feet I read while I was depressed. That book accompanied by God's Word were the two hands that pulled me out of a pit I had sunk into.

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Hmm....

 

 

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom- It changed me spiritually forever, and started me on my personal journey of forgiving those who had done me serious harm.

 

 

That is one of my others that changed me. Mine wasn't for the same reasons you listed. I've read it about 4 times and am so moved by the story and what Christ can do in such a dark situation!!

 

I knew I'd read other people's choices and they would have ones that I loved.

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Hmmm...I feel like my list is rather odd...representing various degrees of life-changing--some in terms of how I see things, some in terms of a character and the lessons learned that has stuck with me and pops to mind when certain situations arise...

 

Little Women / Little Men / Jo's Boys (Alcott)

Paradise Lost (Milton)

The Stranger Beside Me (Rule)--it's about Ted Bundy

Mere Chrisitanity (Lewis)

Gone With the Wind (Mitchell)--told you it was an odd list;).

Breaking Free (Moore)

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I just showed a bunch of houses and got back to my office to check this, you all are the most interesting people. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate these books! I love posts that show how the books we read seem to touch us at different times in our lives. I am writing all of them down and passing them along. I had written The Well Trained Mind on my Facebook page list but neglected to write it here. It certainly changed my life and I can list a jillion different things I've done and accomplished because I read that book and it sort of started the domino effect of change.

Please keep posting your books as you think of them! I love them. Thank you all so much.

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The thing that changed the way I homeschool was the Greenleaf catalog. Anyone remember that? That was my first introduction to a history cycle, I was hooked.

 

I remember it well!

 

Your Money or Your Life - Joe Dominguez. Money, value, conscious spending and earning.

 

This is one of my husband's life changing books. The other is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.

 

A past thread on a similar topic -- Desperately seeking mind altering books

 

Regards,

Kareni

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Alfie Kohn's Punished by Rewards completely changed my relationship with my children. :001_smile:

 

Robert Heilen's Stranger in a Strange Land changed my concepts of culture and what is 'normal' as opposed to just 'usual'. :001_smile:

 

Reading the Bible through cover to cover as literature (as opposed to theological study of a passage or book) changed my understanding of God's relationship with mankind.

 

These were three powerful change moments in my life.

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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

Beyond Ourselves by Catherine Marshall

Persuasion by Jane Austen (really, all Jane Austen)

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Rome Sweet Home by Scott Hahn (and the rest of Scott Hahn too)

The Autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila

Life of Christ by Fulton Sheen

Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales

Divine Mercy by St. Faustina

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist by Brant Pitre

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This will date me: The Christian Homeschool by Gregg Harris. It was lent to me by a friend and by the next year I was homeschooling. I've never read it again, but it is the only book I know of that actually changed my life, not just my thinking. I was already a bibliophile, but when I started homeschooling I got to read and read and read the best books written in the English language. I read more than I had ever read before and that's saying something.

 

The thing that changed the way I homeschool was the Greenleaf catalog. Anyone remember that? That was my first introduction to a history cycle, I was hooked.

 

There have been many books that changed the way I think, but very few that have an actual impact on my life for change, yet.

 

:iagree::iagree: YES! Greg came to our church when our twins were about 3/4 yrs old- 1985....his presentation rocked our world. His book did, as well.

I do remember the Greenleaf catalog, that led me to the Elijah company and Rainbow Resource, Lifetime books and eventually to WTM and CC. Thank God for great books.

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It's funny how many of these books are on multiple lists.

 

My two favorite books of all times are The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver and A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. I don't know if they changed my life, but they did impact me in a big way.

 

Potatoes, Not Prozac by Kathleen DesMaisons literally changed my life. This book got me thinking about how I've been addicted to sugar my whole life and got me reading and learning more about diet, nutrition, and health. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver got me trying to eat more locally.

 

Other books that have had a significant impact on me are To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, and The House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III.

 

The Harry Potter books have certainly made my adult life much more fun. And sharing them with my kids has been a true joy.

 

And, of course, The Well Trained Mind, has definitely been a life changing force. I'm sure there are others, but I can't think of them at this moment.

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Mine:

 

Little Women: I profoundly identified with Jo as a child.

Pride and Prejudice: helped me decide that I was looking for equality/respect in relationship.

Travels with Charley: was one of the first books to shake me out of a "comfortable lie"

Harry Potter: reintroduced me to children's fantasy

'Til We Have Faces: changed the way I think about everything...

Lord of the Rings: "The road goes ever on and on..."

 

and more...

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Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

 

Childbirth by Sheila Kitzinger

 

Hearts & Hands: A midwife's Guide to Pregnancy by Elizabeth Davis

 

The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears

 

The original Vaccine Safety Manual by Neil Miller

 

How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Dr. by Robert Mendelson

 

The Well Trained Mind by SWB

 

How Children Learn by John Holt

 

Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto

 

The Sex-Starved Marriage by Michele Davis

 

Screaming to be Heard by Elizabeth VLiet

 

Heath and Nutrition Screts by Blaylock

 

Don't Go To the Cosmetic Counter Without Me by Paula Beroun

 

Do What you Are by Tieger & Barron-Tieger

 

What it Means to be a Libertarian by Charles Murray

 

Lost Disoveries by Dick Teresi

 

Lies my Teacher Told Me by James Loewen

 

The Book of Hiram by Christopher Knight

 

The Hidden History of The Human Race by Michael Cremo & Richard Thompson

 

Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Hancock

 

The Making of the Messiah by Robert Sheaffer

 

Challenging the Verdict: A Cross-Examination of Lee Strobel's "The Case for Christ" by Earl Doherty

 

The Case Against The Case For Christ: A New Testament Scholar Refutes the Reverend Lee Strobel by Robert Price

 

The Descent of Woman by Elaince Morgan

 

Ooops, forgot the Harry Potter series. I don't usually read fiction but this was one adventure that was worth all of the time invested.

Edited by KidsHappen
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The Harry Potter books have certainly made my adult life much more fun. And sharing them with my kids has been a true joy.

 

:iagree: HP is just such a great story! I've read them all multiple times and I love that I'm always finding things I didn't see before. I'm reading Book 2 with ds6 now and I just stumbled on talk about the broken vanishing cabinet. It's just amazing to me that she slipped that in, long before it became important.

 

Another book that was surprisingly influential was Because of Winn Dixie. I read the book with my dd. It was not very long after I had lost my baby girl. The "take away" theme for me was that everyone has pain. In the story, each character has something painful in the background of their life. The girl, India, gets to see that, though she is sad about her parents' divorce and not seeing her mom, everybody has pain. It was just very comforting for me at the time. It made me feel less like I was the only person walking around with these horrors in my story. Lots of people have horrors in their stories; we're just not always aware of it.

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I'll start with books I read in childhood. Some are rather silly, but they did very much matter to me. Before i could read, my mother read to me. She read all sorts of books to us, and some I remember well. They probably helped me to see the world in a way I might not have otherwise. So: Winnie the Pooh (all of them, including poems), All- of -a- Kind Family, the Peter Rabbit stories, and all of the Mary Poppins books. I can't even remember all that she read to us, but there are many poems swirling about in my head-- poems I can't ever remember not knowing. It seems I have a line for most occassions. lol Thanks, Mummy!

 

When I could read on my own easily, these are some books which helped me to get 'outside my own head':

 

Heidi

Robinson Crusoe

Charlotte's Web

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Helen Keller: The Story of My Life

The Diary of Anne Frank

The Hobbit

The Secret Garden

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

The Chosen

 

My later teen/adult years list is a different list.

Edited by LibraryLover
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