1. edamame

    edamame Contributor Contributor

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    Recommendations for Inspiring Reads?

    Discussion in 'Discussion of Published Works' started by edamame, Aug 3, 2013.

    We all have those days where we just want to crawl into bed and not move, and I've been having a string of them. So I wanted to ask if anyone could share their inspiring reads regardless of genre?

    I guess, I'll start with a birthday gift a friend once bought me:
    Paulo Coelho's "The Alchemist"
     
  2. EdFromNY

    EdFromNY Hope to improve with age Supporter Contributor

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    If you are talking about reads to inspire you to crawl back out of bed and accomplish something, then I would suggest:

    Roots - Alex Haley
    Have a Little Faith - Mitch Albom
    The Old Man and the Sea - Earnest Hemingway (you knew I would)
    Inherit the Wind - Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee
    33 Variations - Moises Kaufman
    The Open Man - Dave DeBusschere
    To Serve Them All My Days - R.F. Delderfield
     
  3. TWErvin2

    TWErvin2 Contributor Contributor

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    The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.

    It's about a maintenance man at a seaside amusement park who dies trying to save a little girl from a ride accident. Then, as you might guess, he meets five people that reveal why things happened in his life as they did. Some good lessons about how we are all connected and our choices impact others, the value of self-sacrifice, forgiveness, lost love is still love, and every life has value.

    It's not a long book, abut 50,000 words and well worth the read.
     
  4. Hollowly

    Hollowly Member

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    A couple I like to read every now and then are, "The Little Prince" and "Jonathan Livingston Seagull". Short but sweet.
     
  5. Anthony Martin

    Anthony Martin Active Member

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    Tortilla Flat by John Steinbeck is at least uplifting and funny (it was inspiring to me, for what it's worth).
     
  6. Petrichor

    Petrichor New Member

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    House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski is an adventure
     
  7. Voltaire

    Voltaire Member

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    The Trial & Death Of Socrates - Plato
    The Memorable Thoughts Of Socrates - Xenophon
    The Women Of Troy - Seneca
    God & Human Beings - Voltaire
    Zadig - Voltaire
     
  8. thirdwind

    thirdwind Member Contest Administrator Reviewer Contributor

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    Haha. I wasn't at all inspired by this. All I learned is that if you go against the government in any way, you die (or get exiled). It was actually a depressing read for me.
     
  9. Voltaire

    Voltaire Member

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    I found the part about Socrates letting himself die inspiring, when he talks about how he hopes to carry on his discussions and ideas with other great thinkers in the afterlife. That inspired me quite a lot.
     
  10. Pooker

    Pooker New Member

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    The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
    Inspirational writing from a professor dying of cancer. writes about making your dreams come true. very good so far
     
  11. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    I'm wondering whether reading an electronic version of this book would ruin it. Thoughts?

    Oh and I'd recommend The Hunger Games trilogy, Perfume by Patrick Suskind, I Am Legend (don't remember the author though), anything by Brandon Sanderson is usually enjoyable (I read Elantris, his debut, and The Rithmatist).
     
    Last edited: Aug 19, 2013
  12. Petrichor

    Petrichor New Member

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    Reading it electronically would definitely ruin the experience, though my opinion is somewhat biased since I'm an advocate for physical text rather than e-books.
    There's just something about having an actual copy as opposed to owning it on a screen!
     
  13. Mckk

    Mckk Member Supporter Contributor

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    Lol, yeah I get the sentiment. I like ebooks because I travel a lot, so it's good to just have a kindle. It's light and you can read it one-handed. But as for House of Leaves, it sounds like the formatting is part of the reading experience (what with colours and spiralling texts and reading things upside down, or so I've heard from people's reviews), and this stuff would certainly lose its impact in the e-version. One review said you even ask whether the book you're reading exists - now if I were holding a Kindle, such a question would never occur to me because it'd be obvious. You get me?
     

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