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Thread: A good inspirational book?

  1. #1
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    Lightbulb A good inspirational book?

    Can anyone please advise on a good inspirational uplifting book? Either fiction or non-fiction. Something I can leaf through in the subway and feel better about going to work (just kidding)...

    The more suggestions I get the better - I want to spice up my reading list! Thanks

  2. #2
    Registered User Emil Miller's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SunnyReading View Post
    Something I can leaf through in the subway and feel better about going to work (just kidding)
    That book has never been written and probably never will be.
    "L'art de la statistique est de tirer des conclusions erronèes a partir de chiffres exacts." Napoléon Bonaparte.

    "Je crois que beaucoup de gens sont dans cet état d’esprit: au fond, ils ne sentent pas concernés par l’Histoire. Mais pourtant, de temps à autre, l’Histoire pose sa main sur eux." Michel Houellebecq.

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    Lord of Dunsinane Lord Macbeth's Avatar
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    While I love many other philosophers and probably do harp on his works a bit to much...

    Something by Friedrich Nietzsche, that always gets me ready to go and strive to overcome tha abyss that is human life...

    Really--no job, stuck at community college even though I should be at a university, and my Mets, 49ers, and Anaheim Ducks all bomb, life IS an abyss!
    Last edited by Lord Macbeth; 10-11-2010 at 11:48 PM.
    Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow...

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    Registered User iamnobody's Avatar
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    Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

    Anthem by Ayn Rand

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    May be a book of quotes or affirmations?

    I thought about Friedrich Nietzsche too -- somehow it was the first thing that came to mind. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and Anthem by Ayn Rand also seem like good&classical philosophy book choices. But I'm really not that awake in the morning

    How about something more modern. May be a book of quotes or affirmations? Really appreciate all the input!

  6. #6
    Registered User iamnobody's Avatar
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    something along the line of 'Chicken Soup for the Soul'?

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    Pièce de Résistance Scheherazade's Avatar
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    Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.
    ~
    "It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
    ~


  8. #8
    How about:

    How to be Idle and How to be Free by Tom Hodgkinson, great stuff, learn how to be happy!

    The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler, you don't have to be interested in Buddhism to like this one, an interesting read.

    Anything by my friend Alain De Botton (probably not the novels though), light hearted and fun approach to philosophy, cuts out all of the hard work!

    Quotes? Has to be one of those collections by Wilde, there's thousands on the market, I have about seven.

    Jeeves and Wooster? Super, dashing stuff (which reminds me I think I have one knocking around the house which I haven't read, might find it and read it now...)

    Poems. Poems are great for snatching quick reads on the go.

    Enjoy!

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    Quote Originally Posted by iamnobody View Post
    something along the line of 'Chicken Soup for the Soul'?
    something like that, yes. May be a little more sophisticated...

    Quote Originally Posted by Scheherazade View Post
    Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.
    I've heard great things about this book, thanks for reminding! Definitely going up on my reading list!

    Quote Originally Posted by Neely View Post
    How about:

    How to be Idle and How to be Free by Tom Hodgkinson, great stuff, learn how to be happy!

    The Art of Happiness by the Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler, you don't have to be interested in Buddhism to like this one, an interesting read.

    Anything by my friend Alain De Botton (probably not the novels though), light hearted and fun approach to philosophy, cuts out all of the hard work!

    Quotes? Has to be one of those collections by Wilde, there's thousands on the market, I have about seven.

    Jeeves and Wooster? Super, dashing stuff (which reminds me I think I have one knocking around the house which I haven't read, might find it and read it now...)

    Poems. Poems are great for snatching quick reads on the go.

    Enjoy!
    Thank you sooo much for great titles and suggestions! They all sound awesome - I'm going to look them up on Amazon. That's exactly what I wanted --- "snatching quick reads on the go"

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    Gifts from the Sea - Anne Morrow Lindberg
    Acting, The First Six Lessons - Boleslavski (pleasant reading)
    or, Stanislavski's An Actor Prepares is delightful as well.
    any running book by George Sheehan

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    Here are some books you might like

    The Joy of Living: Unlocking the Secret and Science of Happiness by: Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche

    How to Practice : The Way to a Meaningful Life by Dalai Lama and Jeffrey Hopkins

    The Never Ending Story by: The Neverending Story by Michael Ende (I find that exciting adventure books always inspire me and put me in a good mood.)

    Russian Folk Tales by: Aleksandr Afanasev

  12. #12
    Artist and Bibliophile stlukesguild's Avatar
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    Italo Calvino- Invisible Cities, Italian Folktales or The Baron in the Trees

    Wang Wei- Laughing Lost in the Mountains; Poems of Wang Wei

    One Thousand and One Nights/The Arabian Nights
    Beware of the man with just one book. -Ovid
    The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them.- Mark Twain
    My Blog: Of Delicious Recoil
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    I can recommend all books by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche (even if you are not into Buddhism).

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    So many great titles to choose from! I looked up many of them on Amazon. Thanks! I even stumbled upon a couple of new ones myself: "Enlightenment" by David Baird and "Power of Plentiful Wisdom" by Julia Shpak. The free preview looks promising for most of them. I like books that strike that golden middle of philosophy/wisdom - not overly high, neither too shallow-it gives you space for your own conclusions&opinions.

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