Books can be different: entertaining, educational, enchanting. And there are those who mercilessly destroy stereotypes and make you doubt the impeccability of your own beliefs. These books remain in your head for a long time after reading. In this article we will talk about literary masterpieces that can trigger deep processes of change in your inner world.
"The diving suit and the butterfly." Jean-Dominique Bauby
Jean-Dominique Bauby, or Jean-Do as his loved ones called him, was the handsome and charismatic editor-in-chief of the French fashion magazine Elle. He loved fast cars, good humor, gourmet food and social life, until one day he was completely paralyzed as a result of a stroke.
Jean-Do could not eat or breathe on his own, his body did not move, but his mind remained bright. He could communicate with the world only by blinking his left eye. But Bobi did not give up, but decided to write an autobiographical book, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” about what it was like to be a prisoner of his own body. To do this, he needed 200,000 blinks and the help of a nurse who recorded eye movements.
In the title of his autobiography, Bauby compares his body to a heavy diving suit, inside of which pure consciousness flutters like a fragile butterfly. The book demonstrates the enormous power of the mind, its triumph over unbearable circumstances, and is written so beautifully that everyone should read it.
Selfish gene
Who wrote
Richard Dawkins is a British biologist and popularizer, a fierce fighter for scientific knowledge. Perhaps even too furious, it is not without reason that he is sometimes called “Darwin’s pit bull.”
Who should read it and why?
The book is for those who suspected and want to make sure that biology is an integral system with its own laws, and not just a list of animals, organs or tissues. Dawkins' idea is this: the main unit of evolution is not the organism or population, but genes. Our bodies are nothing more than temporary homes for DNA-based replicators.
The first edition of The Selfish Gene was published in 1976, and a revised and expanded version was published in 1989. Since then, more than a dozen books by Dawkins have been published in Russian. But it is “The Selfish Gene” that is an unfading classic of popular science literature. I would advise including it in the mandatory minimum of an educated person, along with “The Odyssey” or “War and Peace.”
Also, it was in this book that the word “meme” was used for the first time, which can now be heard even from a kindergartener. With this word, Dawkins wanted to show that in society there are certain analogues of genes, based not on biochemistry, but on culture.
Selected Quotes
“If the title of my book emphasizes the word “selfish,” you might think that this is a book about selfishness, although in fact it focuses more on altruism. In fact, the special emphasis here is on the word “gene.”
“The gene is a good candidate for being the basic unit of natural selection due to its potential for immortality.”
“They've come a long way, these replicators. Now they exist under the name of genes, and we serve as survival machines for them.”
“We need a name for the new replicator—a noun that reflects the idea of a unit of cultural transmission or a unit of imitation. The appropriate Greek root makes the word mimeme, but I want the word to be monosyllabic, like gene. I hope that my classically trained friends will forgive me if I shorten the word "mimeme" to "meme."
"Nausea". Jean-Paul Sartre
“Nausea” is written in the form of a diary kept by a young man. He is aware of the banality and emptiness of existence, ruthlessly cataloging all his thoughts about the world and the people around him.
The issue of human freedom is central to the book. Sartre believed that freedom is two-faced: on the one hand, it provides unlimited opportunities, on the other, it implies enormous responsibility, which is often perceived as a burden, and forces a person to avoid it, and therefore to give up freedom. “Nausea” is depressing, but at the same time it encourages us to give meaning to our own existence.
Jean-Paul Sartre is a French philosopher and writer, a representative of existentialism. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1964, but declined it for personal reasons.
Tender is the Night, Francis Scott Fitzgerald
The main idea of this novel is the loss of oneself, the transformation of one’s life into a boring and extraordinary existence. Its main characters, the gifted surgeon Dick and the wealthy patient Nicole, even with sufficient funds, position in society, and constant travel, do not represent anything truly worthwhile. They simply spend their lives in inactivity, laziness and relaxation. At the same time, the book also contains those heroes who are trying to change their lives. However, is it possible to do this, and most importantly, is it worth it if a person does not want it at all? This is exactly what Francis Scott is talking about.
“The Core Doesn’t Hold: Notes on My Schizophrenia.” Elin Sachs
Elin Sachs has doctorates in law, psychology, psychiatry and behavioral sciences, is the director of her own Institute for Mental Health Law, Policy and Ethics, and has schizophrenia. Already as a teenager, she heard voices urging her to harm herself and others. Throughout his life, Sachs struggled with psychotic episodes and fantasies of suicide.
"The Core Can't Hold: Notes from My Schizophrenia" is a gripping and moving story about what it's like to live in an alternate universe while achieving success, recognition and love in the real world.
"Pollyanna." Elinor Porter
A bestseller about the power of positive thinking. The main character, the girl Pollyanna, is forced to live with her stern aunt after the death of her parents. A fun game helps the baby cope with difficulties: in every situation, even the most dreary, she looks for positive moments. Thanks to her easy-going nature and optimistic outlook, Pollyanna begins to change the lives of people around her for the better. The book teaches you to accept difficult trials and see reasons for joy in any circumstances.
Pollyanna author Elinor Porter wrote primarily children's adventure stories and novels. Despite this, her works will be useful to people of all ages, as they raise themes of rejection, deprivation, and also inspire never to give up on life.
Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451
Burning was a pleasure. And it was a special pleasure to watch how fire eats things, to watch how they turn black and change. A copper tip is clenched in his fists, a giant python spits poisonous kerosene on the world, blood is pounding in his temples, and his hands seem like the hands of an amazing conductor, directing all the symphonies of ignition and incineration at once in order to overthrow history and leave behind charred ruins. The helmet with the symbolic number 451 sits firmly on the steep forehead; anticipation of what is about to happen blazes in his eyes with an orange flame, he flicks the igniter, and the whole house jumps up, consumed by fire that scorches the evening sky and colors it red, yellow, and black.
“Fahrenheit 451” is a dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury, in which reading and possession of books is prohibited at the state level. So the authorities do not allow people to “smarten up” and look at the world beyond the established framework. Instead, citizens are asked to simply enjoy continuous consumption from television screens.
Guy Montag, like his grandfather and father in his time, works as a “fireman”. His task is to burn the books he finds. But over time, he begins to doubt the correctness of what he is doing; he hides and takes books with him from the fire sites. And meeting an unusual girl radically changes Montag's views.
In the first lines we see with what pleasure Montag does his work and how pleasant the sight of blazing books and the whole house is to him. But even such embitterment and “brainwashing” will not prevent him from looking at the world differently in the future, thanks to books.
“Brain and soul. How nervous activity shapes our inner world." Chris Frith
According to the author of the book, our mental world is an illusion created by the brain. Man believes that he lives according to free will and logical thinking, but Frith argues that the images of the world that we see are formed by the brain. If nervous activity is disrupted for any reason, a person receives false knowledge about physical reality.
Despite the fact that Chris Frith is a professor of neurobiology and is based on serious scientific research, the book is written in a witty and accessible language, and contains examples of fascinating experiments that prove how cleverly the brain can deceive us.
Dennis Taylor We are legion. We are Bob
- So you will cut off my head. — I looked questioningly at the salesman. It was a provocation. I knew it, he knew it, I knew he knew it.
Programmer Bob Johanson signs an agreement to freeze his head - in the hope that after some time humanity will learn to revive people and he will get a chance at a new life. The hero has to use the “services” of the company very soon - he is hit by a car. More than a century later, Bob's consciousness is digitized, and he is now an artificial intelligence. One of those who will have to fight for the right to become the intelligence of a spaceship that will explore the universe.
It is noteworthy that the original novel “We are Legion. We Are Bob" by Canadian programmer Dennis Taylor first of all gained wide popularity in audio format on the Audible service - for which it received the award "Best Science Fiction Audiobook of the Year", and only then the paper version of the book gained success.
"One Hundred Years of Solitude." Gabriel Garcia Marquez
In his best work, Gabriel García Márquez tells through the history of a fictional Colombian city the rise and fall of its founders, the irreconcilable conflict between the desire for solitude and the need for love, political and social violence, the cyclical nature of fate and the impossibility of escape from it.
The supernatural and surreal fill every page of the book: a trickle of blood from a son’s wound, which crossed the entire city to inform the mother about the death of her child; yellow butterflies appearing out of nowhere; a child with a pig's tail; plague of insomnia; girl who eats soil. The work is replete with hidden meanings, and every reader is sure to find something for himself.
Gabriel García Márquez is a Colombian writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982, primarily due to the masterpiece mentioned above.
Frances Mayes "Italy. Under the Tuscan sun"
A teacher from San Francisco bought an abandoned house in Tuscany, surrounded by a landscape of incredible beauty: picturesque hills and valleys, olive trees and vineyards, flowers and herbs conducive to thinking about the beauty of life and eternity.
But the main character didn’t come here to dream: she wants to learn to live differently than she lived before. Repairing and equipping a house with a plot, tidying up neglected trees and a vineyard, exploring the surrounding area, cooking Italian cuisine unfamiliar to her and finding a connection between food and culture brings her sincere joy and pleasure. “Burying a shoot of a vine and thereby giving it a new birth is a clear metaphor for how you need to change your life from time to time if you want to advance in your development,” writes Francis Mayes.
Recommended reading for those who want to escape from the gray routine, who miss the sun, air, and open space.
"White Oleander" Janet Fitch
The novel is about self-discovery through hard lessons, blossoming sexuality and the deep bond between mother and daughter, love that can be suffocating, and the redemptive power of art. This is a story about growth and self-acceptance. Throughout the novel, the main character goes through many trials, struggling to find her true identity and place in this world.
American writer Janet Fitch's prose is filled with sensual details and vivid imagery. Before becoming a world-famous author with White Oleander, Fitch was repeatedly rejected by publishers to publish her novels.
"The Burden of Human Passion", Somerset Maugham
This book is one of the most popular among the writer’s works. It is a combination of the author's autobiography and fictional fragments. There is a lame orphan who during his life had to endure a large number of all kinds of difficulties. He goes through many tests before finding his true “I” and understanding his personal meaning in life. In the book, Somerset Maugham reveals all the features of human essence, its light and dark sides. At the same time, he does not hesitate to bare his own soul to the reader.
"The Fault in Our Stars" John Green
A breathtaking story about lovers with cancer. The author shows the reader that it is quite possible to enjoy a happy life while being in difficult circumstances. This is a rare book that is filled with light. It touches the heartstrings and makes you think about how valuable love is and how short life is. The Fault in Our Stars is a starting point for exploring important philosophical questions. In 2014, a film of the same name was made based on the book.
American writer John Green is the author of many bestsellers and winner of literary awards. In 2011, together with his brother, he launched an educational channel on YouTube, where training courses in the humanities and natural sciences are held.
"The Glass Bead Game" by Hermann Hesse
“The Glass Bead Game” is the very book that became the starting point in the development of postmodernism. It is thoroughly permeated with various symbols and philosophical entries. Even the purpose of the main character is understood in two ways - as “game master” and “school teacher”. Hermann Hesse created a rather difficult, but at the same time very significant and important work. Its plot and characters are reminiscent of many famous literary characters. And in the main character, many readers see themselves. This book will help you understand why it is so important to develop correctly and find that ideal middle ground between the thirst for life and stability.
"Animal Kingdom" Jean-Baptiste Del Hamo
Sickening, heartbreaking, disgusting. The book “The Animal Kingdom” is about war, violence, disease and cruelty, as well as the relationship between man and woman, man and nature. Almost every scene in the work is dirty, ruined and unpleasant. This book is not for entertainment reading, it gives an opportunity to think about our own dirty desires and monstrous callousness.
The young French writer Jean-Baptiste Del Hameau is the winner of many literary awards, all of his works are positively assessed by critics.
The king of all diseases. Biography of cancer. Siddhartha Mukherjee
For this book, Indian oncologist Mukherjee received the Pulitzer Prize, the highest award in the field of journalism.
In addition, “The Biography of Cancer” was included in all imaginable and inconceivable lists and ratings: the best books of the top 10 of the decade, the twentieth anniversary, and even the top 100 non-fiction works since 1923, according to Time magazine
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There was a good story behind the creation of this book. As the author himself said, one patient told him, his doctor, that he was ready to continue the fight against oncology, but it was important for him to understand who his enemy was.
And oncologist Mukherjee wrote a book about the biography of the most serious illness of all times.
What is this book about?
The work has two storylines: the first is the story of cancer (in one translation - “emperor of illnesses”), the second is a narration from the perspective of the doctor himself.
The oncologist organically weaves true stories of patients and memories of doctors into the context of the biography of cancer.
The book is of interest not only to a wide range of readers, but also to specialists.
The history of humanity's struggle against cancer is described here in detail, starting from lead tinctures and ending with the latest achievements in the field of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
"Star Eaters" Romain Gary
Romain Gary is called the most mysterious of all the literary “bad guys” of the 20th century. The French writer of Jewish origin spoke six languages fluently and made a career as a diplomat. This experience inspired him to write Star Eaters.
In the novel, the author talks about the madness of dictators and the devil, the dangerous combination of power and ignorance, religious obsessions and idealism. The book is written with humor, albeit dark, and offers reflection on a life filled with disappointment and hope.
"Ulysses", James Joyce
Critics rightly call the novel by the Irish writer James Joyce the pinnacle of modernist literature. The author describes one day in the life of Leopold Bloom, an ordinary city dweller, in bustling Dublin. However, the author managed to fit a huge number of philosophical, historical, literary and cultural allusions into the narrative.
The composition of the novel has a clear analogy with Homer's Odyssey. If you look closely, you can find many similar characters surrounded by the main character Ulysses (the Latin form of the name Odysseus): Telemachus, Penelope and others. One time may not be enough to fully understand everything, but the result is worth reading again.
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"Don't growl at the dog." Karen Pryor
The book will tell you how to understand and change the behavior of people around you, animals, and your own. This is not about insidious manipulation, but about the most reliable and effective way of influence - positive reinforcement.
Pryor explains why punishment and violent attempts to get people to change fail, introduces the basic principles of behavioral training, and shows how to apply this art in any life situation. The book outlines specific methods that work.
“Don't Growl at the Dog” will help you cope with your own addictions and improve relationships with a capricious spouse, a difficult teenager or an elderly parent. In addition, the book contains useful information about dog training, how to explain to a cat that you can’t walk on the kitchen table, how to encourage your boss to regularly increase your salary, and much more.
Karen Pryor is a behavioral biologist, a pioneer in the development of non-force learning methods and one of the leading proponents of operant conditioning.
"The Name of the Rose", Umberto Eco
A puzzle novel, a novel with a secret - these and other similar epithets come to mind after you finally finish reading the book and take it all in your mind's eye. The medieval version of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, which begins with a simple, if creepy, intrigue, which the main characters investigate, gradually develops into a truly magnificent hoax with elements of philosophy, theology and a twisted thriller.
The novel, the debut of Umberto Eco, a professor at the University of Bologna, was published in 1980. The author managed to convey in words the atmosphere of the Middle Ages in an amazingly realistic way. You, like other readers, will not let go of the sense of reality of what is happening in the book.
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“One day a horse walks into a bar.” David Grossman
A novel about the life of an Israeli stand-up comedian. Let us warn you right away: “Somehow a horse walks into a bar” is not funny or easy. The author tells a tragic and fascinating story about loss and survival, about art and the connection between suffering and art, making you think about the fact that we live in an era of insults that are easily accepted and endlessly committed.
Writer and outspoken peace activist David Grossman is the recipient of numerous literary and journalism awards.
Marcin Guzek Outpost on the outskirts of the empire. Commandoria 54
Scum was the first word that came to Valerian's mind to describe his companions. Dirty, smelly, in rags that had never been washed. We sat by the fire, and something was boiling in the pot, and the brew smelled even worse. I stayed away - I was afraid to become saturated with the smell.
The novel “Outpost on the Outskirts of the Empire” by Polish writer Marcin Guzek tells about a dark and cruel world that has just experienced a plague epidemic. The central characters are the recruits of the Order of Gray Cloaks created to fight black magic and monsters. The plot of the story can be easily understood from the title of the book - recruits find themselves on the outskirts of the empire, where they confront many threats.
A team of nine young recruits is led by an elderly and service-weary veteran, and relationships within the squad are not the easiest. A love triangle, rivalry, intrigue and conflicts, but all this recedes into the background when real problems begin in the remote Commandery, and savages and the shamans leading them approach the borders.
"Do not let me go". Kazuo Ishiguro
It may seem that in the novel the author is only fantasizing about the topic of cloning and growing people for organs. But this is not just a futuristic work, but a gripping mystery, a beautiful love story, a critique of human arrogance and a moral analysis of how society treats its vulnerable members.
The main question that Kazuo Ishiguro asks the reader to ponder can be formulated as follows: “What really matters if you know that you are going to die?”
Kazuo Ishiguro is a Japanese-born British writer, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature and other high awards, known for his lyrical works about regret mixed with subtle optimism.
Shunryu Suzuki "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind"
Anyone who was interested in the biography of the famous Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, knows that Steve Jobs was a Buddhist and visited India to know himself and find the truth. The ideas of Zen Buddhism captured Jobs after he read the book “Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind,” which is a collection of conversations between Shunryu Suzuki and his American students.
Shunryu Suzuki headed the Soto school, the most popular and influential branch of Japanese Buddhism. The book “Zen Consciousness” can be called a practical guide to Zen meditation. But this does not mean that it will be of interest only to those who intend to master this practice.
Every person sooner or later wonders why he came into this world. But obsessive thoughts, the internal dialogue that he conducts with himself, do not allow him to concentrate. Finding the answer is possible only by achieving a special state - insight, the best way to which is Zen meditation.
The book allows you to look at the world, at yourself, at your life in a new way.
"Alien Mind: Octopuses, the Sea and the Deep Origins of Consciousness." Peter Godfrey-Smith
The book, written by history and philosophy professor Peter Godfrey-Smith, was shortlisted for the 2021 Royal Society of London Prize. The author suggests rethinking how we conceptualize the minds of other living beings, in particular the octopus.
This amazing inhabitant of the deep sea has evolved independently of humans, but has the same number of neurons and demonstrates intelligent behavior patterns, for example, the ability to open jars with a screw top. But unlike humans, more than half of all its neurons are in the tentacles, which suggests that in the search for intelligent life we should pay attention to those living creatures whose structure is very different from our own.
Origin of language
Who wrote
Svetlana Burlak - Doctor of Philology, Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences. She is also a teacher, author of linguistic problems and an avid player of “What? Where? When?".
Who should read it and why?
Perhaps someone hopes to read: they say that language appeared XXXXX years BC in the town of YYYY at the moment when the Cro-Magnon man came out of the cave and loudly said: “Glottogenesis!” Such expectations are not destined to be met.
There is no clear answer to the question of where, when and why language appeared in the book. But there is a hypothesis: language was evolutionarily inevitable as the logical conclusion of the path that primates—group animals that relied on intelligence—took. The tiger has a specialization in nature - fangs and claws, the antelope has the ability to run fast and digest grass, and our distant ancestors have the ability to understand causes and effects, as well as the ability to communicate this to their fellows.
Selected Quotes
“I try to rely only on what is firmly established, so you will not find many of the sensational discoveries often mentioned in connection with the problem of the origin of language on the pages of this book.”
“The development of the communication system, making the future more predictable, made it possible to foresee it so much that it became possible to produce increasingly more advanced (and more expensive to manufacture) tools. This, in turn, contributed to a further increase in the diversity of behavioral strategies and further increased the need for the development of a communication system.”
"Heritage". Jean-Paul Dubois
Family heritage can be compared to an invisible leash that strangles us if we try to escape from it. The book tells a harrowing story about generational conflict and ignorance towards loved ones. Possessing great writing skills, Du Bois skillfully mixes melancholy and dark humor in this novel. The author convinces that there is an explanation for any oddities and misfortunes that occur in families. The hero of the novel is looking for them in order to stop being burdened by his family heritage.
Jean-Paul Dubois is a French journalist and writer, winner of several prestigious literary awards. Interesting fact: Du Bois never re-read his novels before sending them to the editor; writing two hundred and thirty pages took him about a month.
The great writer Franz Kafka said: “If the book we are reading does not wake us up with a blow to the head, then why read it? A book should be an ax with which to cut the frozen sea within us.” We truly believe that the bestselling literary books featured in this article will engage you in a state of self-reflection and ultimately improve your life.
Friends, be sure to find time for daily reading, so you will learn more about the world and yourself. Good luck!
We also recommend reading:
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- 5 books that will make you a professional mnemonist
- How to understand a complex book? Analytical reading from Mortimer Adler
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- Nine good books about business
- Reading: a challenge for yourself for the coming year
- How to Improve Your Reading Experience
- Top 10 motivating films for self-development
- Existential psychology: ideas, stages of development, representatives
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- Napoleon Hill "Think and Grow Rich" - summary
Key words: 1LLL, 1Self-knowledge
Universe
Who wrote
Sergey Popov - Doctor of Science, Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences, leading researcher at the State Astronomical Institute named after. PC. Sternberg Moscow State University. Sergei is one of the most active popularizers of science and the initiator of a petition against amendments to the Education Law, which collected more than two hundred thousand signatures in a couple of months.
Who should read it and why?
This dish is for those who do not like seasonings and side dishes, but want to eat only meat. The style of the book can be described as popular science minimalism. Even the jokes that popularizers like to add to their narrative are practically absent here (although, I assure you, the author has an excellent sense of humor).
Sergei Popov sorted the Universe into sections: our Sun, other stars, galaxies, exoplanets, extraterrestrial life, neutron stars, black holes, dark matter, dark energy, etc. This was done with skill, the author is an astrophysicist.
Selected Quotes
“This book is definitely not a textbook. However, it provides a holistic, orderly description of our ideas about the Universe and the methods of its research.”
“If you want to understand the physics of celestial bodies a little deeper than is usually presented in popular popular literature, but are not ready to immediately deal with many complex formulas, then this book is for you.”
“The book is not that simple. But the world is complicated.”
