What are the best 5 books that have helped you in your life ?

The God Delusion, Law 101, The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution, this book explaining the brain and various research on it which I forgot the name of, and that’s all I can remember now.

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

As a man thinketh by James Allen

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

The Diamond in your pocket by Gangaji

Choosing Simplicity by Linda Breen Pierce

This is an interesting one to answer, as it depends how I read your question. For example, without any jest, I can say that the Oxford English Dictionary has helped me so much in life for expanding my knowledge of meanings of words, and for enabling me to write articulately and well.

As a teacher, I have found Torey Hayden’s non-fiction books really interesting and helpful in developing an approach for children that are more reticent about coming forward.

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is a book that has impacted on me greatly, and haunts me to this day, but whether I could say it has helped me? I guess it has helped shaped the way in which I look at the world.

I guess you could say Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights has shaped my desire for passion and connection in my romantic life…

Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own (officially an essay compiled from a talk she gave, but I read it as a book) helped me to realise (or at least put into words the feeling I had inside me) that I need a space in this world to call my own, and that it is worth fiercly defending (if required).

Toxic Parents: Overcoming Their Hurtful Legacy and Reclaiming Your Life by Dr. Susan Forward

Self-Parenting: The Complete Guide to Your Inner Conversations Dr. John K Pollard III

Getting the Love You Want Harville Hendrix PhD

Demian, Steppenwolf, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, and 1984

I am still pretty jazzed over reading Blink
“The author describes the main subject of his book as “thin-slicing”: our ability to gauge what is really important from a very narrow period of experience. In other words, this is an idea that spontaneous decisions are often as good as—or even better than—carefully planned and considered ones”

Another was a book I read after my divorce called Getting the Love You Want which brought much insight to the often confusing elements of relationships and why we make the choices in our love lives.

The best book I have ever read though is One Man’s Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey which can make you think very hard over living a controlled comfortable life versus one of complete freedom in the wild of Alaska’s wilderness. Mind blowing book.

The Way of the Sufi – Idries Shah
This book heavily influenced my spiritual outlook on life and relationships. I learned that I “only truly possess what cannot be lost at sea.”

Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky
Like just about everyone else who is my age, I read this book at that perfect time in highschool, and despite its cliche’s, it has stuck with me ever since.

The Lovely Bones – Alice Sebold
This is the book that inspired me to start writing novels.

The Screwtape Letters – C. S. Lewis
I’m not a Christian, but this book, like The Way of the Sufi, had an impact on my spiritual side, mostly from a moral perspective.

The Fountainhead – Ayn Rand
This book encouraged me to embrace my talents and skills and to not let people exploit me for them, which was a big issue I dealt with when I was younger.

Religion in the Making (runner up) – Alfred North Whitehead
“There is no shortcut to truth.”

Think on These Things by Krishnamurti

Tao te Ching by Lao Tzu

Some logic textbook, Hurley was the author.

Euclid’s Window by Mlodinow

I just started a book called Science Friction my Michael Shermer and I love his view.

Acres of Diamonds
The Kingship of Self-Control
As Man Thinketh
The Exact Science of Getting Rich
Think and Grow Rich

The first three you can get in one compilation called motivational classics on amazon.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story
Yesterday Was Better
Are You There God? It’s me, Margret.
Uglies Series
Let It Be

Trainspotting, The Book of Shadows, Watership Down and a Stephen King book of short stories which I don’t remember the title of right now. Bram Stoker’s Dracula as well, while living in some shitty rooming house. (I had read it before, but found it extremely boring…but the second time around, a whole new doorway was opened. Was prolly just too young when I first read it)

I’d like to say these books have helped me in discovering and learning things, and while this may be true, it’s easily thwarted by how said specific books have kept me distracted and occupied in certain bad points of my life.

I still say that The Bible should be replaced by Trainspotting though.

Also in response to myself (haha) The fourth book I mentioned: “The Exact Science of Getting Rich” is more of a philosophical work on how you can benefit essentially from positive thinking, though I suppose it can make you rich (I have yet to see!). If you are interested in reading it send me your email and I will send you the PDF I have. It is a sample copy with watermarks on it, but you can still read it just fine as it is complete.

The Road Less Travelled by M. Scott Peck
The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm