There is an unparalleled thrill and a certain overwhelming feeling that only comes upon finishing a great book. Once you read a good book from cover to cover, you instantly know that you’re never gonna be the same. So from wisecracking to wistful, these 9 books are going to shift your entire life perspective on the world.
1- Cosmos
Cosmos will restore your dead passion in science and give you answers to questions you never even thought about asking. It will beautifully explain to you the immensity of all that space and dust and gas and light and fire and immeasurable time.
2- The Psychopath Test
Provocative and interesting, the book will make you look twice at the world around you and start noticing things you never would have on your own. Jon Ronson takes us on a journey through the public effects of madness and shows us a glimpse of the “madness industry” with particular attention to the impact of the psychopath on society as well as how to spot one.
3- The Diving Bell & The Butterfly
This heartbreaking memoir of Jean-Dominique Bauby follows his life after a stroke that left him paralyzed and unable to communicate. It’s a great book that will make you realize the importance of people in your life and how necessary it is to surround yourself with people you can count on.
4- White Oleander
After Astrid’s mother is sent to prison for murder, Astrid is put into foster care and the book follows how she managed to survive and adapt to her surroundings. Throughout the course of the book, she relies on her inner strength and changes into a million different people in her journey to self discovery.
5- 1984
1984 takes place in a fiction dystopian world called Oceania where everyone is being watched. The book taps into some serious issues we still live with today such as personal privacy, government issues, media’s involvement and twisting in the news and many others. The book will definitely change the way you view society and will make you ask why more often.
6- A Short History of Nearly Everything
Bill Bryson covers nearly everything about the world in this book. From the Big Bang to the rise of civilization, this masterpiece explains every complicated science topic you had to learn in school in an easy and fun way. You will finally understand and be able to explain to someone else what string theory and quantum physics are!
7- Catch-22
The novel follows the exploits of the fictional 256th fighter squadron, stationed on the fictional island of Pianosa, during the height of WWII. It highlights the insanity of war in a funny way and you won’t be able to put it down.
8- Conversations with God
Imagine if on one bad day, you were super angry, super depressed and were demanding an answer to your million unanswered questions and so began to write them all down and to your surprise found God answering back? Well, this book is about just that. It’s a conversation between a frustrated guy called Walsch and God. It explains where modern religions have gone wrong and paints a beautiful and logical picture of reality!
9- On Death & Dying
This book about death and the dying will teach you how to appreciate life and will make you want to live better. The history of death and how society’s view of it have evolved and transformed throughout the years are explained thoroughly in it! But even if you’re not big on reading about death, this book will give you a massive amount of food for thought.
These books will challenge your understanding of basic things in life from family and friendship to the universe and death.
