I've been reading a lot recently, and I'm always looking for book recommendations. I'm curious to hear which books you all have read that've had the greatest impact on how you think, what you think, how you live, etc. For me, some book that have done that are:
- Barkskins by Annie Proulx
- The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
- Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (I know the scientific merit of his work is somewhat up for debate, but it was still a thought-provoking book)
- At Home by Bill Bryson
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Those books are less on the philosophical end of things, and changed the context in which I think about the world more than they changed my thinking itself. I'm open to books of any kind, though -- hit me!

Back in the mid 80's many people in my broad circle were reading Illusions: Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah which heavily influenced my life without borders appetite. Then, the follow up book which was the best love story I have ever read; Bridge Across Forever and then the trippy final book titled One...a really fun series

BTW...I just finished a Kindle booked titled Bandwidth...it was a great fiction that ties into today's social media exploits

OMG, I've got a ton of them! Too many in every genre to even know where to start. So I guess I will just start with some fiction: A Prayer for Owen Meany and The Cider House Rules by John Irving. I found both to be incredibly powerful metaphors for the "meaning of life."

As a kid anything by Douglas Adams.
As a young adult it was Hunter S Thompson.
I was in the US on a visitor visa back in the 90's and rode my 70' suzuki GS450s up and over hwy 84 as I did almost everyday I lived here. Stopped at the san gergorio general store, and they had a propaganda table of various books pamphlets etc. I saw this amazing cover and picked it up. Guy behind the counter yelled over, "grab that, it will change you"
I read it cover to cover 3 times straight and never laugh so hard and was amazed at the style of writing. Some interesting lit for sure.

lord of the rings : found it in a library when I was 14. Mitched off school for a week and devoured it.

YES! I remember that back int he day as well. Could not stop reading it and it was so creative.

This is the book that had the most influence on my life: https://www.amazon.com/looks-like-this-point-view/dp/B0007E3L5A . It was read to me by my parents when I was a young child and it greatly influenced my world view ever since. Simply stated, mice in a barn report on what they see, each one influenced by their own particular perspective, making the argument that how we understand our world is influenced greatly by how we look at it, and the import of utilizing different perspectives.