Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner.

Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton about apartheid in South Africa.

Anonymous wrote:A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

How?

So many books have changed my life -- one of the reasons I love to read so much.

But one in particular was Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner.

I was engaged to marry someone and it wasn't a good fit, and a friend gave that book to me to read.

I eventually broke off the engagement and looking back 20 years later it was undoubtedly the right decision.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

+1

+2

More prosaic than some of the other suggestions here, but I'll add Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a younger person, "Alex the life of a child" by Frank Deford.

As a woman in my 20s, "The road to Coorain" and "Guns Germs and Steel."

As a now middle-aged person, "Caste."

I also loved "The road to Coorain."

For me personally, "Jane Eyre." I first read it in Chinese translation in 7th grade and Jane's my first feminist.

I read Jane Eyre in middle school and she remains one of the most adored heroines of my literary journeying. She is also the reason I set my expectations for marriage very high and chose to be a free human being with an independent will. As Jane said, “I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.”

Jane Eyre is one of the greatest feminists and most admirable characters in all literature, I believe.

Anonymous wrote:Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a younger person, "Alex the life of a child" by Frank Deford.

As a woman in my 20s, "The road to Coorain" and "Guns Germs and Steel."

As a now middle-aged person, "Caste."

I also loved "The road to Coorain."

For me personally, "Jane Eyre." I first read it in Chinese translation in 7th grade and Jane's my first feminist.

Fellow Smithie? The Road to Coorain was good but it didn’t change my life.

Anonymous wrote:As a younger person, "Alex the life of a child" by Frank Deford.

As a woman in my 20s, "The road to Coorain" and "Guns Germs and Steel."

As a now middle-aged person, "Caste."

I also loved "The road to Coorain."

For me personally, "Jane Eyre." I first read it in Chinese translation in 7th grade and Jane's my first feminist.

Guns, Germs and Steel - why the West’s economic fortunes are down to lucky draws in geography, pack animals (have you ever tried to get a llama to carry anything), and other factors

The Beak of the Finch - evolution in the Galapagos
The gospels

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche. Still not finished it, just do 20 pages or so at once, but it's a really amazing book.

Anonymous[b wrote:]Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. I can't unsee caste in American now. Great book, engaging to read, perspective-changing for sure.[/b]

I also loved Being Mortal. I haven't yet made my Advanced Directive but when I do it will incorporate valuing life and freedom over safety when I am elderly.

I need to get back to Man's Search for Meaning. Started it some time back and didn't finish it. Thanks for the nudge.

PP here. Ditto.

As a younger person, "Alex the life of a child" by Frank Deford.

As a woman in my 20s, "The road to Coorain" and "Guns Germs and Steel."

As a now middle-aged person, "Caste."

Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. I can't unsee caste in American now. Great book, engaging to read, perspective-changing for sure.

I also loved Being Mortal. I haven't yet made my Advanced Directive but when I do it will incorporate valuing life and freedom over safety when I am elderly.

I need to get back to Man's Search for Meaning. Started it some time back and didn't finish it. Thanks for the nudge.