Books give perspective. Books can change life.
In my darkest or idle hours, a book has changed my life. They have directed me towards new horizons. Books give a feeling of belonging, empathy, humility, confidence, self knowledge and joy. Reading a book brings insight into the human existence and experience.
If you’re looking for a life changing experience, read a book.
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Here’s my own recommended list.
1) Cyropaedia
Authored by Xenophon, a student of Socrates, the book contains teachings of life. If you have ever read The Prince by Machiavelli, know that the book received inspiration from Cyropaedia.
2) Meditations
Authored by Marcus Aurelius in 170 AD, this book is a personal remonstration. Aurelius wrote the book for himself, a kind of private book containing lessons so that he could become a better human being. The translation by Gregory Hays is recommended.
3) The Moral Sayings of Publius Syrus: A Roman Slave
Authored by Publius Syrus, who was one of the slaves in the Roman Empire, the book is contains the philosophy of life and truth be told, teachings of *philosophy* coming from a non-philosopher certainly makes more sense.
4) The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Authored by Jean-Dominique Bauby, the book will leave you teary eyed. Told from the perspective of a narcissistic editor suffering a paralytic stroke, the book will make you realise the importance of near and dear ones in your life.
5) Cat’s Cradle
Authored by Vonnegut, the book is told from the perspective of Jonah, interested to write a book on Dr. Frank Hoenikker, the inventor of atomic bomb. The book questions the true purpose of knowledge, explores religion and the perspective of reality around us.
6) The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects
Authored by Giorgio Vasari in 1550, the book is a biographical sketch of the popular Renaissance artists like Raphael and Da Vinci who had influenced Vasari. You will find great lessons of psychology and craft here.
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7) One Hundred Years of Solitude
Authored by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the book is not only a stellar representation of magic realism but acts as the allegory to the human condition, colonialism and political unrest in Latin America.
8) The Curious Incident of Dog in the Night-Time
Authored by Mark Haddon, the book is from the perspective of the 15-year old Christopher John Francis Boone, a brilliant mathematician but suffers from an ‘unidentified’ behavioral syndrome. The book makes you question preconceived notions and prejudices.
9) Invisible Monsters
Authored by Chuck Palahniuk, the book is a journey of self-exploration and reality of a model that gets shot in face and her ghost journeys to find the killer. Be warned, the gory details are disturbing.
10) Twelve Years a Slave
Authored by Solomon Northup, the book recounts the life of a born freedman brought out of state on certain pretences, kidnapped and sold as a slave. This is a poignant depiction of slavery in early America.
11) Forty Years a Gambler on the Mississippi
Authored by George Devol, it is a memoir of a fighter, gambler and criminal who travelled between Mississippi and Red Rivers for survival. The memoir holds true light to the American way of life in those days.
12) White Oleander
Authored by Janet Fitch, this is an inspirational story about Astrid when she is sent to foster care in Los Angeles after her mother goes to prison for killing her lover.
13) Middlesex
Authored by Jeffrey Euginides, the story revolves around Calliope Stephanides and shows the reader how biology and family shape individual personality. It is a must read for gender studies.
14) Ada, or Ardor
Authored by Vladimir Nabokov, the novel is a complicated romantic story of Van Veen and Ada and how time changes every relationship. If you loved Lolita, this will be more interesting.
15) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time India
Authored by Sherman Alexie, the book is a funny and heartbreaking at the same time. The story is about Junior and how destiny plays a prominent role in the life of every human being.
16) It
Authored by Stephen King, the horror genre novel is about a group of children who finds an anonymous entity in their small-town. The story explores power of memory, childhood trauma and the ugliness of small-town values.
17) Me Talk Pretty One Day
Authored by David Sedaris, the book is a humoristic portrayal of human communication. He shows how our communication levels are skewered and how we commit follies without knowing them consciously.
Grab them online or buy from a nearest store. Some of them are limited editions. Books can change your life. All you have to do is read them.
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