View Changing/Enlightening Book

[Tengu]

`Notes on the Ornamentation of the Early Christian Monuments of Wiltshire`

J Romilly Allen.

One of my areas of study....But I didn't realise that there was lots in my county!

(Its got good pictures too)

Hudd4444, that sounds fascinating; I, of course, have been exposed to a lot of Far Eastern Thought, (As well as The Western Classics; and the Greeks and Romans certainly knew a bit of Buddhism...) but its never really sunk in with me. My studies and adventures in Early Medieval Christianity must reflect a way of life that is similar.

Laurentius, I was interested in Morris too; many good practical ideas; dont know how he was going to reconcile medievalism and socialism....

(I like Thoreau but he could be a preachy unmentionable at times; I dont like that)

`Hero with a Thousand Faces` by Campbell (And of course, `The Power of Myth`)

 

[Paul_B]

Nothing outdoor related but at school in English GCSE we studied 1984 and before that we studied animal farm. They didn't enlighten me or make me more aware on their own but the teacher I had for English language GCSE did. The way she got us to look at the story and meaning within the books we read as a class and other class topics really challenged us to think for ourselves.

I ended up getting into Aldous Huxley and Joseph Heller (Catch 22) and political discussion programmes which at the time often had Tony Benn and Michael Heseltine as guests. Whether that's a good thing I can't be sure but thinking for oneself is a part of growing up and those books with the English teacher certainly helped with that IMHO.

 

[TeeDee]

Nothing outdoor related but at school in English GCSE we studied 1984 and before that we studied animal farm. They didn't enlighten me or make me more aware on their own but the teacher I had for English language GCSE did. The way she got us to look at the story and meaning within the books we read as a class and other class topics really challenged us to think for ourselves.

I ended up getting into Aldous Huxley and Joseph Heller (Catch 22) and political discussion programmes which at the time often had Tony Benn and Michael Heseltine as guests. Whether that's a good thing I can't be sure but thinking for oneself is a part of growing up and those books with the English teacher certainly helped with that IMHO.

A good teacher is priceless. Doesn't need to be from the education system either.
Think one of the biggest influencers on me was my old Scout master.

 

[Wander]

'How To Be Free' and 'How To Be Idle' both by Tom Hodgkinson.
Although written jokily and with flippancy, both still make many good points that echoed strongly with me and gave me relief that I Wasn't The Only One (tm).
Many good points and many good rebuttals in both, and they help you feel good about yourself and your choices.

 

[TeeDee]

'How To Be Free' and 'How To Be Idle' both by Tom Hodgkinson.
Although written jokily and with flippancy, both still make many good points that echoed strongly with me and gave me relief that I Wasn't The Only One (tm).
Many good points and many good rebuttals in both, and they help you feel good about yourself and your choices.

Thanks Wander.


Any of the Mods going to provide an offering?

 

[hudd4444]

Nothing outdoor related but at school in English GCSE we studied 1984

`Notes on the Ornamentation of the Early Christian Monuments of Wiltshire`

J Romilly Allen.

One of my areas of study....But I didn't realise that there was lots in my county!

(Its got good pictures too)

Hudd4444, that sounds fascinating; I, of course, have been exposed to a lot of Far Eastern Thought, (As well as The Western Classics; and the Greeks and Romans certainly knew a bit of Buddhism...) but its never really sunk in with me. My studies and adventures in Early Medieval Christianity must reflect a way of life that is similar.

Laurentius, I was interested in Morris too; many good practical ideas; dont know how he was going to reconcile medievalism and socialism....

(I like Thoreau but he could be a preachy unmentionable at times; I dont like that)

`Hero with a Thousand Faces` by Campbell (And of course, `The Power of Myth`)

Tengu. Where in Wiltshire are you? Anywhere near Devizes or Calne? Check out Splatts House in Heddington. Very good food.

 

[Tengu]

Near Swindon.

Just looked it up, -a meditational retreat; very useful these days.

 

[CLEM]

I have long and short periods where I am struck by a cursed affliction and I just cannot read, it can last weeks or even a few years where no matter how I try I just can’t get in to a book at all. This is most frustrating to me being a voracious reader pretty much all my life. Fiction/ non fiction I just like to read. Then just like that the malady recedes and I can read book after book after book, before it strikes again down the line. View changing, inspiring I dunno. Maybe it could and would be to some strongly recommend
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyns Gulag Archipelago to everyone. A must read.

One of my all time favourites is BB’s Brendon Chase, again I always recommend that one. Huckleberry Finn another.

Giles Miltons White Gold is another worthwhile read. Another on the same subject worth reading is The Forgotten Slave Trade by Simon Webb.

​

 

[dwardo]

Alan Carr "The easy way to stop smoking"

Truly changed my life. Its not brain washing or "self help" just reason, logic and understanding.

 

[Tony]

'I am David' when I was a kid and Lord of the Rings, 'War and Peace', 'Book of Mormon' in my teens, Lately I've found 'Personality isn't Permanent' by Ben Hardy was good, BJ Fogg's 'Tiny Habits', 'The Obesity Code' by Jason Fung, currently reading 'Greenlights' by Matthew McConaughey and I've started listening to podcasts more, I like Chatterdee's podcast, it was his one with Peter Crone last year that my wife said I should listen to that got me into them. I quite enjoy BBC Radio 'Don't Tell Me The Score'

I've read a lot of books, most fo the classics etc as well as modern stuff but to be honest most of it seems to have just fluttered away from my memory, my son is reading a lot of heavy books lately and i've read some of them but he seems to be getting far more out of them than I did After my mid teens most of my reading turned to Fantasy, Bio's and the like, much more escapism...

 

[kard133]

The ones that have helped me the most are, and perhaps not the most family friendly titled, "the subtle art of not giving a @£$%, A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life" by Mark Manson, and "The complete guide to Aspergers Syndrome" by Tony Attwood. Both have helped me understand myself and deal with life.

 

[demographic]

Alan Carr "The easy way to stop smoking"

Truly changed my life. Its not brain washing or "self help" just reason, logic and understanding.

My wife got that book and yes, it was absolutely transformational.
After smoking since she was a kid she read that book and just stopped.

As for me I would say the book that caused the most changes to my opinion about a subject would have been this one.

 

[TeeDee]

Some really great suggestions and insights so far. Very much appreciated.

 

[Marcus aurelius]

The subtle art of not giving a F
By Mark manson.
Read it twice and listened to it twice a easy to get you head around read funny too best £15 I've ever spent.
It's based on buddhism and stoicism a guide to a wonderful life.

Highly recommended.

 

[TeeDee]

Any more updated suggestions?

 

[stevec]

Not sure they count as life changing etc, but very good reads all the same.

The cruellest miles, it's about the Nome diphtheria outbreak

Stalingrad by Anthony beevor
Stalin in the court of the red tzar


Our hidden lives by Simon Garfield, it's a collection of diaries from post war Britain for the social collection thing.

 

[BumblingAlong]

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance taught me that there are two views, one classical and one romantic.

Stable, 9-5, regular income, family, house, car, risk aversion might be considered to be a classical view

Drifter, itinerant, irregular income, casual relationships, rented housing, public transport, focus on experiences might be considered to be a romantic view

Neither view is wrong or right..but the classical will never understand the romantic and conversley the romantic will never understand the classical.


Which in time led me to Vipasssna...more of that later.

 

[Early P]

The Conquest of Bread​

by Peter Kropotkin

 

[Billy-o]

"News from Nowhere"

One of a handful of books that I have regularly re-read.

Fanon's 'A Dying Colonialism' is another.

 

[Kadushu]

Yuval Noah Harari's Sapiens and the sequel Homo Deus are good brain stretchers. I also enjoyed Animal, Vegetable, Junk by Mark Bittman, although it didn't necessarily change my mind but added further information to what I already knew.