Can you name five books which changed your life?

[WhiteCrowNZ]

And why ...

I've been thinking about this partly cos of something on Facebook which asks you to rattle off 25 books you've read, partly from Si Harts comment on another thread of "books being lovely", and partly from my experience this week of unpacking.

There are some books you get out and put on your shelf and they're not just collections of paper. Somehow between the covers following the words, you grew up a little, and the ideas you were exposed to changed your life.

Books are unusual - they can be fiction, and you identify with something in the book. It can be factual and it expands your knowledge in some way.

[Lord President]

In no particular order...

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett - One of the most 'Epic' books I have ever read. Suggested by an Ex-Girlfriend and I have been grateful to her ever since!

Mort by Terry Pratchett - Picked up in WHSmiths after I was dumped (by a different girlfriend) because I thought it might cheer me up. I read it cover to cover sat in the park, and have now read everything that Pratchett has written.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - This taught me that SF books weren't all stuffy distopia or glitzy utopia tales, they could be real, funny, thought provoking and extremely intelligent all at the same time. Douglas Adams should get a posthumous knighthood. It is a very 'personal' read, I agree with Stephen Fry when he says that 'no-one else quite gets Douglas Adams the way that you do'.

The Bachman Books by Stephen King - I had read a few King novels and always loved them, but this showed me how versatile a writer he really is. I really resent people who see him as a 'Horror' writer. They should be forced to read 'The Long Walk'

The Bible by Various - It is badly written, badly structured and very very dull, but it is probably the greatest work of fiction ever! (and yes I have read it cover to cover)

[WhiteCrowNZ]

Kind of a bit unfair I've not answered my own question really. But I've really wanted to give it some thought. In fact I've had a couple of books drop in and out of the list, but this is the final version. Ish.

1 The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr

Probably not just one, but the most inspiring book I've ever read. It's a copy of some of his private diary/papers/thoughts. A man who took on bigotry and prejudice and overcame some awful treatment through his spirituality and compassion.

All he wanted was a fair deal, and yet people wanted him dead for it. There are events covered inside which break your heart (the murder of 3 black schoolchildren in a bombing comes to mind), numerous people are killed for siding with the civil rights movement, and yet no-one is ever brought to trial. Yet his call is not one of anger and retribution, but a call for compassion.

I read it from August 2001 - October 2001. Obviously a lot happened in those months. Following the September 11th attacks, I read a passage of his speech about how the 3 girls above had been killed in a bomb blast, and it seemed vividly like a call to not rush into hasty, rash vengence.

2 The Watchmen - Alan Moore

An amazing comic - I read it every couple of years. As mentioned before there is so much crammed in there, on each read I get a new perspective. I've found myself identifying with a number of characters as I get older and more world weary

3 The Road Less Travelled - M Scott Peck

Yeah a lot of people say they like this - it's kind of a trendy "self help" book. But it was the first popular psychology book I read, and it was a springboard from where I did a lot more research.

We're all fascinated about what other people think and how they think compared to us. Probably some of us would give good money to read some minds. To me it was fascinating to be able to view these snapshots of other peoples minds he provides.

The author who was a psychologist, asks some big questions of it's reader, and it was an educational journey to take.

4 Between Silk and Cyanide - Leo Marks

A fascinating autobiography of SOE's code maker Leo Marks. He had a unique war which I think many an engineer/scientist can appreciate. His war wasn't so much against the Germans, but entrenched management ignorance in his department.

Certainly it's a problem I've had in my career where you encounter a problem, and try to communicate it, and higher levels just simply refuse to believe that what you're telling them could happen. Until it does ...

5 Software Engineering - Michael J. Pont

I know an odd one. I work in software development/testing, but I wasn't trained as such.

Back in 1997 I was just really a research scientist on an Electronic Optoelectronic Sensors for Nuclear Environments project.

Up to that point I was working as an applied physicist, and had no real computing knowledge. I read this book to try and help me develop a data processing piece of software.

The book was incredibly well written, and I got through it in a couple of weeks, but it opened whole new doorways, allowing me to start a career in software engineering from what I'd learnt.

I find it kind of amusing I spent 3 years getting an astronomy degree, and not used it for work once. Yet I've built a 12 year career off a subject I was self-taught from reading a couple of books (I did read more than just the one).