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Old 01-14-2011, 06:59 AM   #15 (permalink)
fresnelly
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If I'm honest with myself, I'd say that Television has been a much stronger influence on me than books. Stupid The Wonder Years.

But I digress. Here are three books that stand out for me:

Einstein's Dreams: Alan Lightman Einstein's Dreams: Alan Lightman
. Each chapter is a fable about a world where time runs differently (backwards, slower at higher altitudes, fits and starts, etc...) and how people live their lives because of it. I began to question my own patterns and how passive I was in following them. I also began to recognize them in others.


Things Fall Apart: Chinua Achebe Things Fall Apart: Chinua Achebe
I read this in University and it's a pretty damning story about the clumsy colonization of an Igbo tribe in Nigeria. But it's not a one sided telling of the evil white man against the noble savage at all. Instead the conflict reveals the common frailties of self-interest and close mindedness in us all. I look at all world disputes with this in mind.

Manifold Space Manifold Space
. Ok, three books here but the way he paints the vastness of the Universe both in Space and Time makes me humble. I can't read schlock Sci-fi any more.

I suppose I should mention the Bible as well despite how little of it I've read. I don't believe in God in the sense that he's a human-minded judger out there but I can't shake the idea that there's an ideal we're working towards or failing at.

---------- Post added at 09:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:55 AM ----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by Willravel View Post

Christmas Sweater If you're still with me at this point, you've caught on to the fact that I've listed 5 absolutely terrible books that I'd not wish on Hitler. My actual bookprint or whatever is probably going to be something like For Whom the Bell Tolls, Crime and Punishment, Slaughterhouse Five, Dune, and Ulysses. The thing is, these are on my list for the same reason they're on everyone's lists: they're fucking amazing books and most anyone who can read well can instantly recognize this fact. These books, among other great works, have helped to challenge the assumptions and bring new ideas to thoughtful people for a long time and will continue to do so for hundreds of years. The Christmas Sweater, on the other hand, is the ranting of a lunatic obsessed with his own media cult. As someone who actually owns a sweater I joyfully associate with Christmas, I'm offended even at the title of this book, let alone its empty sentimentality and outright dishonesty. Glenn Beck should be banned from Christmas.
Holy Shit! I've never heard of that book but he completely ripped of
The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier The Hockey Sweater by Roch Carrier
.
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Last edited by fresnelly; 01-14-2011 at 07:01 AM..
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