AIBU?
To ask you for your all-time favourite life-changing books?
frogsoup · 18/06/2018 11:59
Now my kids are getting older I'm finally getting the chance to start reading again. I'm at a bit of a crossroads in life and career terms and I'm feeling the need for books that are so amazing that they make you rethink life, the universe and everything. Any suggestions?
My starter for 10: Primo Levi's 'The truce', about his journey home from Auschwitz. One of the most astonishingly life-affirming books I've ever read.
bevelino · 19/06/2018 07:02
A Suitable Boy
Wild Swan
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropist
Yesiamhappy · 19/06/2018 07:13
Love the Jon Ronson books & Sapiens. Have totally forgotten all the other ones I likes as have been on amazon looking at all the recommendations
Just now bought The Truce and will be adding more from this list
Sherwil16 · 19/06/2018 07:18
I've always loved Woman on the edge of time by Marge Piercy.
Nakedavenger74 · 19/06/2018 08:28
- The single most impactful and life changing book I have ever read.
DasPepe · 19/06/2018 08:41
The first book I connected with after motherhood was Sara Maitland’s “the book of silence”, where she explores her new found appreciation for solitude through experiences and research. It’s one of few books which I’ve re- read and recommended.
I also recommend “The Wall” by Marlen Haushofer.
Both have been great for crossroads - not necessarily for direction more to get your feet firmly down before moving on
throwcushions · 19/06/2018 08:47
Brave New World
The Heart of the Matter
The End of the Affair
If you want literature that is well written, paints an image perfectly and has well drawn characters I really don't think you can do better than Graham Greene.
pasturesgreen · 19/06/2018 08:48
Not your run-of-the-mill life-changing book, but my own life was well and truly changed when I read Liar Moon by Ben Pastor when I was recovering from a serious illness.
hesmyworld · 19/06/2018 08:53
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thepondstakemanhatten · 19/06/2018 08:58
I second The Book Thief, it's the most beautiful book I've ever read. Also yes to whoever said The Catcher in the Rye.
I'd recommend All the Bright Places, it's technically Young Adult Literature but it's gorgeous
prunemerealgood · 19/06/2018 09:04
Life-changing and not absolute favourite:
Freakonomics (one fo their insights has saved me a load of money)
Not Buying It, Judith Levine - a woman stops buying anything except ingredients for meals/fuel for a year. Yes she is super middle class but it has regularly had an effect on me
Wilful Blindness, Margaret Heffernan - you just stop trying to explain the behaviour of white men, you realise they are all suffering from wilful blindness at all times. It's not exclusively about white men but that was my take-away 
Quiet by Susan Cain, someone mentioned it before and it's specifically made parenting an introvert easier for me
And fiction I don't want to get into as my choices would really out me! I give a lot of books as gifts.
SpoilsburyToastGirl · 19/06/2018 09:14
Another vote for The Woman who Walked into Doors and the sequel Paula. As a child of an alcoholic it really helped me to understand that alcoholic parents are just people and that everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
These are the first books I've read that were simultaneously heart breaking, life affirming, tragic and hilarious in equal measure. A definite 'must read' for anyone who hasn't already.
thatmustbenigelwiththebrie · 19/06/2018 09:31
Hanif Kureishi - Intimacy. So beautifully written. And very short if you're pressed for time!
thatmustbenigelwiththebrie · 19/06/2018 09:32
I hated Quiet. I thought I would like it but just found it a bit...anecdotal.
Ansumpasty · 19/06/2018 10:11
Great thread, op 
I’m another to recommend Wild Swans, it’s such an amazing book.
I’ll add The Art of Hearing Heartbeats. Absolutely beautiful.
Sorry to hijack but I’m partial to a great love story, anyone have any recommendations that aren’t beach/‘chick lit’?
My favourite is Aphrodite’s War
tactum · 19/06/2018 10:23
Burial Rites by Hannah Kent. Have read 4 times and just find it heart breaking and uplifting in equal measure. Phenominal
TammySwansonTwo · 19/06/2018 10:27
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon - I can’t stop re-reading it
UtterlyDesperate · 19/06/2018 10:30
An Absent Mind
Fiction, but changed the whole way I look at/think about/understand dementia and Alzheimers.
user1471556443 · 19/06/2018 10:33
Definitely, a fine balance. Such an amazing book that will stay with you for a long time
Tallyhooo · 19/06/2018 10:37
I love this thread - I really thought I was 'well read' but haven't heard of half of these books! Have googled most now and my amazon is well and truly smashed!
Thank you for covering my next three years literally!!
G5000 · 19/06/2018 10:52
Totally different vein but "Convince Them in 90 Seconds or Less: Make Instant Connections That Pay Off in Business and in Life". Very simple, actually plain obvious tips how to make connections and be likeable. But I am still amazed what difference this book has made to my career.
Tallyhooo · 19/06/2018 10:56
G5000 - Have you read 'The 48 laws of Power' Robert Greene? A bit more brutal in its thinking...
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