I'll only mention the books that influenced me early in life. I read all of them in highschool at about the same time... around 11th grade.
- I read A Course In Miracles which is a revealed Christian text. It was written by a psychologist and so it has a lot of insight despite its use of some traditional Christian terminology. It was also my first introduction to a Gnostic perspective. It has some similarities to Valentinianism.
- I read several books by Krishnamurti, but I don't remember the title of the first one I read or which one was my favorite. His message was simple and it has had a powerful impact on me for that reason.
- I read Hesse's Siddhartha. This is the first fiction book that deeply caught my imagination. I still love this story. There was a spaghetti western based on this book that is amusing.
- I had to read Hardy's Jude the Obscure. This book also has become stuck in my craw. I sometimes get the sense that I might have been better off if the teacher had assigned a different book. Teachers need to be more careful because they're dealing with easily influenced developing psyches.
I've also read many of the books mentioned in this thread and they've all influenced me to varying degrees. |