Most influential Books you've read

[Rob PMFF]

"Lullaby" by Chuck Palahniuk - It's a fiction book, but the character, Oyster, was the straw that broke the camel's back in my decision to give up meat.

"The Engine 2 Diet" by Rip Esselstyn - A study by a Firefighter Captain in San Antonio, TX, who is a vegan, and convinced me that I should be as well.

[Mufflon]

Eat to Live, Eat for Health and Thrive.

[xzebrasx]

- Gary L. Francione - "Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog" - best book on veganism I've ever read (instead of listing dubious advantages of a plant-based diet to the environment, health, etc. it presents a very strong ethical case)
- Ray Bradbury - "Dandelion Wine" - probably my favorite book of teenage years
- George Orwell - "1984", "Animal Farm", "Down and Out in Paris and London"
- Aldous Huxley - "Brave New World", "The Doors of Perception"

Currently reading: Francoise Sagan - "Sunlight on Cold Water"

Many more to come.

[beforewisdom]

[quote="xzebrasx
- Ray Bradbury - "Dandelion Wine" - probably my favorite book of teenage years
- George Orwell - "1984", "Animal Farm", "Down and Out in Paris and London"
- Aldous Huxley - "Brave New World", "The Doors of Perception"
[/quote]

As a child who was voracious reader and a sci-fi fan I poo-pooed those books when I read them as not being hard sci-fi. Years later I remember what a great writer Bradbury was. I saw him speak when I was in college and he is a hell of a guy. I still remember and enjoy thinking about many of his stories.

1984 and Brave New World are also forever burned in my brain. I often find myself, even decades after reading them, seeing what those authors had to say in daily reality.

[Rob PMFF]

"Meditations on Violence" by Rory Miller (Who is/was a prison guard/sergeant on the CERT team, Martial Artist, etc for 20+ years)

I haven't finished this yet, but all I can say is "Holy Shit!"

This book came highly recommended by my Wing Chun Sifu, who is also very much a realist when it comes to violent encounters.

I know I lose credibility because I don't threaten to crush people on here, but I also highly recommend this book to ANY of you who are into martial arts. It's a total reality check! It really puts you back in your place, and reinforces lessons such as "Don't judge a book by its cover" and reminds you that literally anything can happen if someone wants to hurt you bad enough. It doesn't matter how much you know or how hard you train. I think all of us who practice martial arts really need to be humbled once in a while, and this book definitely does that.

[MikayP]

I'd say "Ultramarathon Man". proof that the mind can do some powerful things

[vegan_bohemian]

fear and loathing in las vegas --RIP Hunter S.Thompson

Today Im Alice

[Ted Trendy]

the jungle
Ishmael
the story of B
my Ishmael
fast food nation
a language older than words
1984
rant
ultra marathon man


Daniel Quinn, Chuck Palahniuk, Upton Sinclair, Jack Kerouac, George Orwell, Edgar Allen Poe, David Wellington, Ray Bradbury, Ann Rice, James Patterson, H. G. Wells, Chomsky, graphic novels....The Sandman Series, Maus, Y: The Last Man, The Walking Dead. Daniel Quinn.

[julia]

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger -> the first time I felt understood during my high-school time
John Robbins - The Food Revolution

[lobsteriffic]

I know in some vegan circles I might be shunned for this, but I really liked the Omnivore's Dilemma. I recommend it to everyone that's interested in where our food comes from, even though it's not vegan.

[BlueRose]

fear and loathing in las vegas --RIP Hunter S.Thompson

+1

[BlueRose]

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony by Robert Calasso
Skinny Bitch - say what you will about it, it drove me from dietary to lifestyle vegan
The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
A Wrinkle in Time series by Madeleine L'Engle

[julia]

I've just bought Skinny Bitch yesterday at a VegFest in Vienna, I'll read it today.
The recipes I've seen so far seem great [A bit too much vegan cheese in my opinion, but I make a great "cheese" sauce that I use for most recipes that call for vegan cheese...]

[BlueRose]

I've just bought Skinny Bitch yesterday at a VegFest in Vienna, I'll read it today.
The recipes I've seen so far seem great [A bit too much vegan cheese in my opinion, but I make a great "cheese" sauce that I use for most recipes that call for vegan cheese...]

Given how often cheese is cited as a reason for not being able to go vegan, I don't blame them for including it. I know that I personally was lost without substitutes and once I was weaned from my addiction to cheese I did okay.

But reading that book convinced me giving up dairy voluntarily was the right thing to do. My original reason wasn't--I can't digest casein. Awful GI issues I won't even go into but in any event, once I read that book, I no longer had any qualms about being vegan.

[julia]

Oh I just realized, that I bought the cookbook. It sounds great, though!

Well I loved cheese as a kid, but stopped eating cheese as a vegetarian because of the rennet and never missed it. In 1 1/2 years of veganism I've bought vegan cheese only once. It's just too expensive, artificial and fatty in my opinion.