Or your favorite books
Here are mine:
1. The Millionaire Next Door
2. 7 Habits of Highly effective people - covey
3. 48 Laws of Power
4. Fight Club
5. Economic Analysis of Law
6. The ABC's of STD's
Or your favorite books
Here are mine:
1. The Millionaire Next Door
2. 7 Habits of Highly effective people - covey
3. 48 Laws of Power
4. Fight Club
5. Economic Analysis of Law
6. The ABC's of STD's
chill out junior....or at least I hope you're young enough to reform. As it is now, it appears you're on the slippery slope to assholedom. There are many more valuable and fulfilling things in life to aspire to be than becoming a rich and powerful attorney w/ STD's.
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Mein Kampf or anything by Anne Coulter. Oh and I love Bill O'Reilly's book for kids...
joking
Probably the "D'oh of Homer" and the "Tao of Pooh" would be two top choices. "Steal this Book" by Hoffman was a good one. As a kid I loved those Matt Christopher books about sports. Once a Runer. The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire...you will never look at the United States the same again after reading that book.
all the OZ BOOKS.
The Bible
I had forgotten about Matt Christopher...
His books were the only way my mom could get me to read...
I ended up being an English Major...
I owe it all to him....
The Ragamuffin Gospel-by Brennan Manning
Compassion-Henri Nowen
Blue Like Jazz-Donald Miller
Longing for Home-Fredrick Buechner
The Curate's Awakening-George McDonald
True-Faced-Bill Thrall
The Dust of Death-Os Guinness
The Complete Book of Running-Jim Fixx
The Book of Guys-Garrison Keillor
Cannary Row-John Steinbeck
Slapstick-Kurt Vonnegut
I Sing the Body Electric-Ray Bradbury
siddhartha and steppenwolfe - both herman hesse
On The Road
it was great the first time and continues to remain relevant as I get older.
The ghost of Peter Snell wrote:
I Sing the Body Electric-Ray Bradbury
fantastic book.
Deterring Democracy, or just about anything else by Noam Chomsky
A People's History of the United States, by Howard Zinn
and yes, The Bible.
But people and events influence me far more than books.
It's not a book but it has touched my life in a very tingley way, Hustler Magazine.
if i had to rank the top 5
1)desert solitare - ed abbey, changed my life
2)walden - thoreau, also shaped my life
3)once a runner changed my attitude toward running
4)the boy scout handbook (i am an eagle scout, very big influence on me)
5)the monkey wrench gang - abbey again
That's about the most depressing life-influencing reading list I think i've ever seen. If you're serious, I'd recommend skipping the self-help books no one will remember in 10 years (or less) and start reading some literature.
i don't know if i could come up with a definitive list, but The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky would be on it. This, incidentally, was the book that turned Arthur miller to playwriting. Now that's life-influencing.
(Not necessarily in this order):
Aerobics, Kenneth Cooper
Controlling Cholesterol, Kenneth Cooper
The Virtue of Selfishness, Ayn Rand
The Demon-Haunted World, Carl Sagan
The Population Bomb, Erlich
The Pritikin Plan, Nathan Pritikin
Not sure of the top 5, but "Fit For Life" has been a significant influence since I read it 15 years ago.
A Gift of Inner Peace
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
1984 by George Orwell
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
I know those are all very cliche, but they're incredible. Read them if you haven't. They are also entertaining. As for the self-help books, some of them are legit, some aren't. I haven't read it but I believe that the Millionaire Next Door is probably a good book.
The Greatest Salesman in the World - Og Mandino
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand