Non-Religious Literary Works Part 2

[naomi24]

The original question ….. has any non-religious literary work had a positive influence on your life?

The follow up question …. if so, in what way?

[naomi24]

Krom, //Is this thread just about literature or any non-religious work of culture? //

Please feel free.

[ludwig]

Pretty much everything I've read has had a positive influence on my life, because it's been educational, enjoyable, or both.

In all honesty though, there's been nothing I've read that's provided me with any life changing insight or inspiration.

// And 'Animal Farm' is rubbish, imho. If you like Orwell, read his journalism. It's much better than his fiction. //

It's an allegorical tale about post revolutionary russia Krom. As such, it's limited to a certain style and storyline. Calling it rubbish is a bit simplistic.

[beso]

I liked Kurt Vonnegut's "Sirens of Titan". The punchline made me reconsider the meaning of life. I won't say what it was because it would spoil it for those who have not read it.

His "Ice Nine" was an excellent portrayal of the madness of some human endeavours.

[beso]

Ice Nine was an artificial crystalline phase of water that was solid at room temperature. Any water that touched it would instantly freeze. Not hard to imagine where that went.

It was a central theme in Vonnegut's novel, "Cat's Cradle".

[naomi24]

Krom, I would say Animal Farm is a perceptive study of the diversity of human nature. Simply written, yes – but in attempting to communicate that’s never a bad thing. Certainly not rubbish.

beso, I don't know which specific quote you mean, but there's some food for thought there.

http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/905970-the-sirens-of-titan

[beso]

None of those quotes cover it. The punchline for me was when the origin of life on Earth was revealed. It put a perspective on the meaning of life that I never forgot.

[naomi24]

Now I'm curious. I'm going to have to read the book.

[Khandro]

Jupiter's Travels: 'Four Years Around the World on a Triumph by Ted Simon
Jupiter's Travel tells the story of Ted Simon's four-year journey around the world on a Triumph motorcycle. In four years he covered 78,000 miles through 45 countries, living with peasants and presidents, in prisons and palaces, through wars and revolutions.'
There was/is something special about this book which has inspired many to do things they had previously considered but thought beyond them.