Have you ever read a book that just blew your mind? (novels, cover)
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Have you ever read a book that blew your mind? It doesn't have to be the best book you've ever read, or your most favorite, just a book that really made you say "wow" or maybe made you look at things in a new way.
For example, I've read two in the last six months that really blew me away: Brave New World and All Quiet on the Western Front. They got me for different reasons, Brave New World because I felt that Huxley was on to something, and All Quiet on the Western Front because it really made the emotions of the fight come to me. Wow. And thanks!
I remember reading those books in high school. Loved Brave New World but didn't care for All Quiet on the Western Front. I wonder if my opinion would change if I were to read it again, though.
Some books that blew me away were The Metamorphosis and the His Dark Materials trilogy (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass). I haven't been reading much in the past couple of years so I don't have anymore to add.
I'll be following this thread to get some new ideas though
Typically it's the non-fiction books that will hit me, not so much novels. One that comes to mind is, First They Killed My Father, by Loung Ung. Very difficult book to get through, tragic and heartbreaking, but it gives you a perspective on how good we have it here and just how bad it can be. It also takes you into the lives of these people, so the reader can see they are not just nameless, faceless villagers who were risidual casualties of war. The author takes you into her tragic losses at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, and you can picture your own family being torn apart and murdered in this way, and it's heartwrenching.
Typically it's the non-fiction books that will hit me, not so much novels. One that comes to mind is, First They Killed My Father, by Loung Ung. Very difficult book to get through, tragic and heartbreaking, but it gives you a perspective on how good we have it here and just how bad it can be. It also takes you into the lives of these people, so the reader can see they are not just nameless, faceless villagers who were risidual casualties of war. The author takes you into her tragic losses at the hands of the Khmer Rouge, and you can picture your own family being torn apart and murdered in this way, and it's heartwrenching.
I am going to have to read that, thanks!
Yeah, that is how I felt when I discovered Solzhenitsen...I called my mother up & said "how come I didn't know this??"...I mean, I knew Stallin was a bad guy, but I had no idea.
Yes, usually it is nonficiton that catches me like this...because I didn't know of a situation or event that (now that I know) can change my perspective from now on.
Khitty, I've had A Fine Balance on my shelf for a long time, waiting to be read.
Have you ever read a book that blew your mind? It doesn't have to be the best book you've ever read, or your most favorite, just a book that really made you say "wow" or maybe made you look at things in a new way.
Not quite, but I'd say that Michener's Centennial at least licked it pretty hard.
I read mostly nonfiction, so after you mentioned it, I realized my two examples are fiction...odd for me. My two favorite nonfiction books are All The Presidents Men and The Final Days by Woodward and Bernstein, but I can't say they really blew my mind (although that Nixon...whoa!) Nonfiction-wise, I would say the book that blew my mind the most was Night by Elie Wiesel. I don't know how someone could write about their experiences in a concentration camp, much less something experienced as a teenager. In fact, I don't know how someone could survive their time there, period. Amazing.
Little Bee was the first book that I have read in a long time, that when I finished it I said WOW! Had me thinking about it for days. The other book that blew my mind and I have read a couple times since is Into Thin Air. Into Thin Air really gripped me and sparked my interest in books about Everest. You could feel every bit of cold and wind in Into Thin Air.
Very good reads, one fiction and the other non-fiction.
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I remember reading those books in high school. Loved Brave New World but didn't care for All Quiet on the Western Front. I wonder if my opinion would change if I were to read it again, though. 
so I don't have anymore to add.
