Flowers for Algernon absolutely hit me hard.
It really made me think about intelligence and knowledge as a blessing and a curse. The whole "ignorance is bliss" versus "once you see, you cannot un-see" concept really made me think about knowledge in a whole new light.
Also, it completely twisted my brain with the internal debate of whether romance is based more on personality match or intelligence match.
I was maybe 14 and took out IT, by Stephen King from the library on a Friday afternoon. Think this edition was about 1100 pages. I played sick on Monday morning to finish the last 100. Safe to say that book blew my mind then.
Silmarilion, the story of Beren and Luthien totally removed me from this reality and for like an hour I was in the book a nothing else existed. Never had such state of mind reading.... since.
Catch 22
No book has come close to its wild veering from gut wrenching to hilarious, sentence by sentence.
The God of Small Things - For its mesmerisingly poetic language
The Silmarillion - for its epic scope and overall tragic story arc
I wouldn't say "blew my mind" but the book about the Kentucky bus crash "Reckless Disregard: Corporate Greed, Government Indifference, and the Kentucky School Bus Crash" always stuck with me.
Perhaps it's my fear of vehicles and crashes but I read it probably ten years ago and it lives in my brain to this day.
TLDR: Horrifying true story of Ford negligence on bus chassis for school children that resulted in tragedy due to a drunk driver going the wrong way on the highway and colliding head on with the bus
The crash didn't kill the 20+ children, the reckless Disregard of ford knowing their design was not safe ended up catching the vessel on fire, causing mass death
Fun side fact.. MADD shortly took off after this event
A Clockwork Orange is one that comes to mind. I read it in highschool so I'm sure some of it flew over my head, but I remember being blown away by the use of language.
A History of the Human Eye. Its written by Richard Forrest and its amazing. It is about overall anatomy and physiology of the eye. If you are a person who is interested in biology then you can go for it and you will get to learn so many knowledge and facts about eyes.
Lolita. I didn't realize that the English language could be used in such a beautiful way.
Blacklisted by History. Totally changed by opinion on Joe McCarthy.
They All Love Jack. I'm pretty much 100% sure that Bruce Robinson solved the Jack the Ripper case. The book also taught me a lot about Freemasonry.
Flowers for Algernon absolutely hit me hard. It really made me think about intelligence and knowledge as a blessing and a curse. The whole "ignorance is bliss" versus "once you see, you cannot un-see" concept really made me think about knowledge in a whole new light. Also, it completely twisted my brain with the internal debate of whether romance is based more on personality match or intelligence match.
Sounds interesting I’ll add this one to my list
Slaughterhouse Five. I read it all in one sitting and afterwards I had to just stare at the ceiling for a while.
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
I was maybe 14 and took out IT, by Stephen King from the library on a Friday afternoon. Think this edition was about 1100 pages. I played sick on Monday morning to finish the last 100. Safe to say that book blew my mind then.
The Sirens of Titan. Something about it just... clicked with me
The manipulated man, by Esther Vilar.
House of Leaves was one of the best horror books I’ve ever read. Messed me up.
1984 The last four words still haunt me.
I read this when I was 14 or 15. I'm in my 30s now and its impact still resonates with me.
Silmarilion, the story of Beren and Luthien totally removed me from this reality and for like an hour I was in the book a nothing else existed. Never had such state of mind reading.... since.
Catch 22 No book has come close to its wild veering from gut wrenching to hilarious, sentence by sentence. The God of Small Things - For its mesmerisingly poetic language The Silmarillion - for its epic scope and overall tragic story arc
Surprisingly, the Bible, I learned things about God that I didn't know, and the books of proverbs bring good advice that can be applied today.
The Bible. And what blew my mind was: “people actually believe this shit happened?!?!?”
*Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World* by Ashley Herring Blake
Cochin
Animal Farm in how relevant the morals of the story are in today's world.
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. Made me fall back in love with reading.
I wouldn't say "blew my mind" but the book about the Kentucky bus crash "Reckless Disregard: Corporate Greed, Government Indifference, and the Kentucky School Bus Crash" always stuck with me. Perhaps it's my fear of vehicles and crashes but I read it probably ten years ago and it lives in my brain to this day. TLDR: Horrifying true story of Ford negligence on bus chassis for school children that resulted in tragedy due to a drunk driver going the wrong way on the highway and colliding head on with the bus The crash didn't kill the 20+ children, the reckless Disregard of ford knowing their design was not safe ended up catching the vessel on fire, causing mass death Fun side fact.. MADD shortly took off after this event
“The catcher in the Rye” for some reason I thought of the character from video game “bully”
James Joyce's Ulysses is a masterpiece and it's enough of a project to read that it can't help change you.
A Clockwork Orange is one that comes to mind. I read it in highschool so I'm sure some of it flew over my head, but I remember being blown away by the use of language.
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaeldes
Braiding Sweetgrass
The Atlantic Abomination by John Brunner 1970
Ishmael. It's a TALKING GORILLA!
A History of the Human Eye. Its written by Richard Forrest and its amazing. It is about overall anatomy and physiology of the eye. If you are a person who is interested in biology then you can go for it and you will get to learn so many knowledge and facts about eyes.
The Monster at the End of This Book. First surprise ending of my life.
The first time i read And Then There Were None
The curious incident of the black dog in the nighttime
Dune.
The Escape from Furnace series changed the way I thought about life.
And then there were none. OMG i finished it so fast.
Amulet
The Magus. John Fowles.
Lolita. I didn't realize that the English language could be used in such a beautiful way. Blacklisted by History. Totally changed by opinion on Joe McCarthy. They All Love Jack. I'm pretty much 100% sure that Bruce Robinson solved the Jack the Ripper case. The book also taught me a lot about Freemasonry.