I think that a book can shape your view about the world only in combination with your other experience and conclusions. Most books I 've read were important at their time, until I was finding the counter-argument and they were becoming graphic. Most of the books I 've read are not an important part of my personality but an important part of my history.
Let me introduce you to what I consider life-changing staff:
It was only when I had met some particularly religious muslims, some really committed spiritualists and vegeterians and it was when I had doubts about the morality of my stick-to-the-tradition grandma, when I read
"Letter to a Christian Nation" by
Sam Harris. I don't know the extent of the discussion of that book in the US, but I do recommend this book to anyone who ever questioned the global phenomenon of different religions and if anyone can find a rational argument against his owns please do send me an e-mail.
Another very important book for me is
"Fields of wheat, Hills of Blood: passages to nationhood in Greek Macedonia" by
Anastasia Karakasidou. This book is not a great novel or has changed peoples' life, but this book is the end of my (non professional) research in Balkan History. Although this book is quite academic and it does not result in an obvious way to my conclusions, while I was reading it I created doubts about states, institutions, parties and personal choices in creating what we call a "nation". I am eventually able to say that because of that book I stopped thinking in "national" terms and I wrote at the end of it "I am not proud for where I come from but for who I am".
A book that affected me in a negative way is "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coehlo. This guy really got me into believing that if I want something too much it will happen. I was believing into the battle between good and evil, randomness and signs for several years. I had to study a lot to overcome these perceptions. Until I found
"The road less traveled" by
Scott Peck. This was what I needed in my life, a method for self-awareness.
Another psychiatrist whom I consider charismatic is
Viktor Frankl. In his book
"Man's Search for Meaning" he did not give me any new ideas but he wrote down what it took me years of hard experiences to realise. Not only life has a meaning but we have the responsibility of not letting it unnoticed.
Lastly, I cannot not mention some classic books: "Thus spoke Zaratustra"by Fr.
Nietze, I did not really read it, it was too tiring to follow but it was quite good help to realise that there are more ways of thinking, maybe better than the ones I knew.
I did read "Crime and Punishment" and "The idiot" by
Dostoyevski and I was shocked by the description of vivid characters and the depiction of the depth of the human soul. It opened my eyes. Everyone should read a Russian writer at least once in their lifetime.
And there is only one book that made me say "I found my favorite book": "The Saviors of God: Spiritual Exercises", translated by Kimon Friar, an essay on humanity by N.
Kazantzakis, but there is no particular reason for that. Maybe it was because I was young and it was the first book that spoke aloud what I was feeling, or because it is well-written.
I hope I did not get anyone as tired as I am now that I mentioned all the above, but it was an enjoyable exercise.
