Reading a "good" book definitely has lasting personality changes for me. I can safely say that at-least 15 of the 22 books I have read so far this year, had lasting effect on my personality.
Changes in these traits ... were larger in magnitude than changes typically observed in healthy adults over decades of life experiences, the scientists say.
Clearly most people don't read good books, or scientists would have seen evidence of their radical personality-changing effect.
I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic, but I would say it is certainly true that most people don't read good books. Most people don't read books, in general. Of those who do, most read for entertainment (like me), rather than seeking out great books to have read.
No sarcasm. I have read good books (I think), but am pretty sure that they didn't modify my personality. Normally they result in a couple of days of thinking "wow, that was a good book".
I think that a "good book" in the sense used above is a book where you spend the next coupla days thinking about the new ideas from the book, or the new vantage on a subject you thought you understood, or examining your life in light of what you just read.
"Feeling Good" by David Burns. Sounds like a pop-psych title, but it is not. At 28 years of age, I am fairly certain this is the most important book I have ever and will ever read in my entire life (but then I desperately needed it - it is the user's manual to my brain that has allowed me to debug so much of my problematic thought processes).
I will second this. I read it over 20 years ago, when I was 17, and it changed my life. It is basically a friendly introduction to how to apply cognitive therapy to yourself.
I've read a lot of books in my life that I said "Wow" about, but not many that I still say "Wow" about 20 years later.
I was about to say I envy you for having 10 extra years to apply clearer thinking, but the funny thing is I discovered the book years ago and wasn't interested in getting past the first chapter. It was only when I crashed hard due to some messy circumstances that I realised I needed to go back to it and read it properly (and to perform the exercises!).
I agree with the 'analytically oriented' part, although I've been wondering recently if that description is not just a indication of somebody who's willing to work systematically through something and apply it consistently over a course of time.
People who don't realise that change is difficult will seek out books that promise merely reading something that hadn't known about before and simple attitude shifts will bring about change (hence the market for "The Secret" and its ilk).
I understand this because that was my default thinking too. In time, experience led me to identifying this hidden belief and challenging it. Then I stumbled on my #2 book which describes the model for change that I use: "Changing for Good" by Prochaska et al. Just as with "Feeling Good", there are so many pages I'd read and think "Ahh I know exactly when I fall into THAT trap".
I read "Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives" back in high school, and it made a profound positive difference in the way that I view the world.
I recommended it to my roommate a few years ago though, and I read it again after he was done and found it to be super cheesy and slightly pretentious. My roommate seemed to like it, but I don't know if I would really recommend it to a grown adult anymore.
I'm sure there are a number of books that could make you very angry/bitter/cynical towards your government depending on the country (and depending on whether or not you already feel this way).
Perhaps something about the economics of the drug trade, how the War on Drugs affects it, and some statistics on how effective the War on Drugs has been thus far (for starters).
I do believe there is some positive wisdom to be found in the bible - especially in the teachings of Jesus, and I tell you that as an agnostic atheist. Pity only a tiny fraction of the people who call themselves Christians actually act on those teachings.
Very true. Both offer the user an extreme vision, far outside their normal realm of experience. Of course, reading a book on psilocybin can be rather difficult.
