Books that have changed your life

red_harrington said:
No he didn't, but what he did have was a sense of justice and empathy for the working man - this despite an education at Eton.
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Article from Prospect Magazine was none too complimentary about Orwell’s tales of the north
;The landscape of the north of England as Orwell painted it was defined by industrial squalor and an arresting ugliness. According to Orwell Sheffield was “the ugliest town in the Old World.” He made this implausible claim (he’d never gone to Middlesbrough!) for a specific purpose: to oblige his chiefly southern middle-class audience to acknowledge that this industrial dereliction was qualitatively different from the down-at-heel inner;
 
If we're talking about Orwell, I was as much influenced by The Road to Wigan Pier as his novels.
 
I remember reading One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn when trying to understand the era of Stalinist repression, someone recommended it and it stuck - a brutal insight into the post war labour camps. It was the first time I'd voluntarily looked at foreign literature.

The Soul of a New Machine - an insight into the enormous pressure and competition in the early days of computing - in particular those in the 'mini-computer' segement of the market. It follows Data Generals attempt to build a machine to compete with the pack leader DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation)
Opened my eyes to the depths of manipulation used by corporations against their own employees

There's loads more but they just popped in to my head...so have at 'em
 
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Counselling For Toads..... A Psychological Adventure, by Robert de Board

It is all about transactional analysis and emotional intelligence. It really is a positive read
 
Orwell finished 1984 on a Scottish Island (Jura?). He had TB and wanted to escape smoke pollution and literary London scene.

Room at the Top affected me - about a bright working class young man trying to step up socially in a Northern City in the 1950s - he had relationship with 2 different women and had to decide which route to go, one for love and one for ambition.
 
r00fie1 said:
Down and Out in Paris and London is one which taught me about the drudgery and bullying in catering [I was training to be a Chef at the time!]
I like the Russian Character "Boris" who was bitter and twisted - the whole narrative is really negative, but it somehow inspired me.
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Interestingly that book is one that stands out for myself as well. I picked it up by chance one day, and it led to a refound interest in reading which has stayed with me to this day. I always have a book on the go nowadays. I'll have to revisit Down and Out in Paris and London.
 
'Spot the Dog' - Literally brought my first words. :D

'The Art of Resilience' - Ross Edgley - Admittedly I'm only halfway through it but it really has helped with managing loads, stresses and pressures. An incredible story to go alongside it as well!
 
Bruce Chatwin 'The Songlines' - human origins, nomadism, outback Australia
Umberto Eco 'Foucault's Pendulum' - one of those bricky books you can lose yourself in. Part thriller, part mystery, clever satire on the human search for meaning.
Primo Levi 'If this is a man' - if you're going to read one book about the holocaust, read this. Chilling but gentle and humane at the same time.
 
Things The Grandchildren Should Know by Mark Oliver Everett (lead singer of Eels)

A desperately sad but also hilariously funny book. I read it the first time and it gave me an attitude of try to find a positive in every situation, no matter how dark or bad. Even if that positive is only that one day things might be better, cling to that hope.


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Like many others the biggest impact on me were from Orwell's Animal Farm and, even more so, 1984.
Dicken's A Christmas Carol
The myth of creation in Tolkien's Silmarillion had an affect on me.
Most of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels make me stop and think at some point, when I'm not laughing.
Spike Milligan's war books.
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
The Saga of The Exiles - Julian May
Patrick O' Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels - The musings of Maturin in particular.
 
atypical_boro said:
Neil Warnock’s autobiography. After reading it years ago I started to lead the charge on social media for his appointment at Boro. Then it happened this year and I’m basically saying that it was all because of me.
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Ahh but did Neil put out his autobiography because he wanted the Boro Job and therefore without realising, got you to do his bidding. Has NW played you?
 
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