HN Explorer

Ask HN: What books have changed your mind?

19 points by xhrpost ↗ HN
I’ve just in the past year discovered the power of reading and how it can change my mind about how I behave, and in turn, alter my character. This effect varies from book to book and person to person. I’ve come across some great book recommendations on HN in the past and I want more. What books have specifically changed your mind, behavior, attitude, etc?

Some examples for myself:

Daring Greatly by Brene Brown - Shame is not a good motivator, it does more damage than good in the long run. It’s currently my goal to never use shame on people again.

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg - One of the most empowering books I’ve ever read. We are creatures of habit and any habit can be altered. We don’t have to put up with bad behaviors and routines, they can be changed. I now constantly think about the habits behind my actions and how I can alter the ones I want to change.

Mindset by Carol Dweck - Any skill can be learned and we are not limited to what we’re born with. When facing difficulty with a new task, rather than shrinking away and saying “I guess I just can’t figure this out”, I instead know that I can learn it, but it may require more effort on my part.

15 comments

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blueflow
"Solaris" by Stanislav Lem - we aren't the center of anything and just because we can't see or understand it doesn't mean its not there.
jrdnmadrid
Any of the Foundation Books by Isaac Asimov.
[dead] florin5255
You Are Not Your Brain: The 4-Step Solution for Changing Bad Habits, Ending Unhealthy Thinking, and Taki ng Control of Your Life
strick
A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by Irvine. Pay attention and you will see this book come up time and time again on HN. I have reread multiple times.
galfarragem
IMHO to really change your whole life perspective, you must experience a traumatic event, not reading a book.

Anyway I would say that a book can trigger a change of perspective on a particular aspect of your life:

'4-hour workweek' - Tim Ferriss (on lifestyle)

'Get Things Done' - David Allen (on organization and productivity)

'The Way of the Superior Man' - David Deida (on relationships)

'The prince' - Machiavelli' (on business and strategy)

'The little prince' - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (on meaning of life)

'The Feynman Lectures on Physics' - Richard Feynman' (to make you remember that you are just average)

A lot of other books had broaden my perspective of life even if they weren't enough to trigger a change. That list would be immense.

throw00000
The Game by Neil Strauss. I've not turned into a PUA after reading it (it was not the goal) but just after reading the first chapter, I just stood up from my desk and went straight to speak to a girl I was attracted to (but to which I was afraid to speak). I guess that can count as "altering my character".

I also second A Guide to the Good Life by William B. Irvine. Applying some of the stoic principles (negative visualization, dichotomy/trichotomy of control, fatalism, ...) helped me a lot to be peaceful with myself.

Rainymood
> I just stood up from my desk and went straight to speak to a girl I was attracted to (but to which I was afraid to speak)

You can't leave us hanging like that man... what happened afterwards?

charleshmorse
I would say the 'changed your mind' value of a book comes from how analogous it is to your current life situation and the number of habits it imbues on you thereafter. Two of those for me are: 1. Marcus Aurelius's Meditations 2. Isaacson's Benjamin Franklin
MrRoberts
"The Better Angels of our Nature: The decline of violence" by Pinker "Stumbling on Happiness" by Gilbert "What makes Olga Run" Grierson "A fighting Chance" Warren
sciencesama
one interesting thing i observed is each book you readh changes the way you look at world rather than books, speak with people who read a lot of books and you will appreciate the perspective of the world.
noso
Let It Go by Dame Stephanie Shirley

After leaving school Shirley decided not to go to university but instead to go straight into the world of work.

In the 1950s she worked at the Post Office Research Station at Dollis Hill building computers from scratch and writing code.

She studied at evening classes for six years to obtain a Mathematics degree. In 1959 she moved to CDL Ltd, manufacturers of the ICT 1301 computer.

In 1962, Shirley founded, with a capital of £6, the software company F.I. Group (Freelance Programmers), (later Xansa, since acquired by Steria and now part of the Sogat Group). She was concerned with creating work opportunities for women with dependants, and predominantly employed women, with only 3 out of 300-odd programmers being male, until the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 made that practice illegal. She adopted the name "Steve" to help her in the male-dominated business world. Her team's projects included programming Concorde's black box flight recorder

jordanjustice
"The Art of Commonplace" by Wendell Berry. It's a collection of his essays on just about everything. Usually read one, and set the book down to gather the pieces of my blown mind.
iblz
The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck

You can heal your life by Louise Hay

PerfectElement
Eat Like You Care: An Examination of the Morality of Eating Animals by Prof. Gary Francione