Books & other forms of literature

[LelouchIsZero]

Hi ,

 

The point of this thread, is that I'd like to gather a list of books & any other form of literature that has inspired anyone, or helped them feel better about the situation they're in. I've already received a few, thanks to Graceful & PelicanPete, but I enjoy reading & want more .

 

I also feel that it could be helpful to other LS members, though I'm not too sure if anyone else enjoys reading, but even so, poems posted or short stories could be helpful to said people. Feel free to post quotes as well, as they're rather useful too.

 

The last book I read was; "The Perks of being a wallflower". I'm sure some people here might have already read it, but for those who haven't its a really nice book, though I think it might appeal more so to the younger people of LS. I do indeed recommend it to anyone though, as after reading it I felt a bit happier about things going on in my life, though note -- It isn't a " feel good book ", it was thought provoking though, well to me anyway.

 

If anyone's interested, here's a poem that's in the book, its called

A Person/A Paper/A Promise & it happens to be one of my favourite:

 

Once on a yellow peice of paper with green lines

he wrote a poem

and he called it "chops"

because that was the name of his dog

and thats what it was all about

his teacher gave him an A

and a gold star

and his mother hung it on the kitchen door

and read it to his aunts.

that was the year Father Tracy

took all the kids to the zoo

and he let them sing on the bus

and his little sister was born

with tiny nails and no hair

and his mother and father kissed alot

and the girl around the corner sent him a

Valentine signed with a row of X's

and he had to ask his father what the X's meant

and his father always tucked him in bed at night

and was always there to do it

 

once on a piece of white paper with blue lines

he wrote a poem

he called it "Autumn"

because that was the name of the season

and that's what it was all about

and his teacher gave him an A

and asked him to write more clearly

and his mother never hung it on the kithcen door

beause of the new paint

and the kids told him

that Father Tracy smoked cigars

and left butts on the pews

and sometime they would burn holes

that was the year his sister got glasses

with thick lenses and black frames

and the girl around the corner laughed

when he asked her to go see santa claus

and the kids told him why

his mother and father kissed alot

and his father never tucked him in bed at night

and his father got mad

when he cried for him to do it

 

once on a paper torn from his notebook

he wrote a poem

and he called it "Innocence: A Question"

because that was the question about his girl

and thats what it was all about

and his professor gave him an A

and a strange steady look

and his mother never hung it on the kitchen door

because he never showed her

that was the year Father Tracy died

and he forgot how the end

of the Apostles's Creed went

and he caught his sister

making out on the back porch

and his mother and father never kissed

or even talked

and the girl around the corner

wore too much make up

that made him cough when he kissed her

but he kissed her anyway

becuase it was the thing to do

and at 3 am he tucked himself into bed

his father snoring soundly

 

that's why on the back of a brown paper bag

he tried another poem

and he called it "Absolutely Nothing"

because that's what it was really all about

and he gave himself an A

and a slash on each damned wrist

and he hung it on the bathroom door

because this time he didnt think

he could reach the kitchen----

 

" The meaning of it; When you're a child, everything seems so good in the world, reality hasn't hit you yet. As you grow, not only do you learn more, but you realise more. Your perspective constantly changes & we arrive in a state of conscience, which we may like it or we may not. Its a matter of personal strength. Will you fall due to the problems you're facing or will you beat them, and in the end are you strong enough for the coming down. "

 

Thanks for your time & to those who give suggestions.

 

 

Lelouch.

Edited September 6, 2011 by LelouchIsZero

[Nohbody]

Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham

It's about how terrible love is.

[Duckduckgoose]

Wow... I'm not really sure how many books I read during the worst parts of dealing with my divorce. I clearly remember reading the Lord of the Rings series and The Hobbit though.

[radiodarcy]

i get so much great advice here on loveshack that i don't really feel the need or desire to read books about relationships and love.

 

reading for me is more of a escape than anything else and it's a much more effective way to get my mind off the ex and onto something else. i like reading books about film history. fiction books are good as long as they're not flowery or talking abt the good in relationships and love. i'm not really in a place when i want to read or hear about that now.

 

i still have my triggers. i remember i was reading a book about dating habits in the 1920s and it made me think about my ex and the fact that he's dating; to the point where that was all i could think about. i got so worked up i flung the book across the room and cried. good thing the only ones there to witness it were my sleeping cats and dog.

 

 

reading De Profundis had a very soothing effect. it's a letter that Oscar Wilde wrote his ex lover and has some very insightful thoughts about rejection and how an experience that is so intensely painful can give us the strength to build ourselves up again.

 

it also reminded me of how much of myself - - my interests, my strengths i had cut away in an effort to appease my ex as he made me feel as though my interest in old movies and books and writing were boring. he even told me to tone down my vocabulary because some people might find it intimidating.

[ScienceGal]

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_New_Earth)

 

Honestly, for me it makes me feel better but then I am back to my old ways of thinking a day or two later. Still, it's worth the momentary mood boost and if you can make lasting changes, good for you!

 

I have The Art of Happiness by The Dalai Lama, but will have to get back to you on my opinion because I haven't started reading it yet.

Edited September 7, 2011 by ScienceGal

[Spices]

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_New_Earth)

 

Yes, A New Earth is a great one.

 

Some more...

 

The Sedona Method - Amazing! Helped me to both let go & improve my life.

 

The Healing Code - Also amazing.

[esteem-jam]

Books sometimes dont help, in fact, some of them make things worse.

I have read "The Tunnel" by Ernesto Sabato, and it was absolute nightmare. It is nicely written, all emotions in tact, but when youre dealing with broken heart (like I am) some books are best to be avoided, and this was one of them. It was like reading about me, everything surfacing.

Like before movies they say- you need a strong psyche to view it, same applies to books.

Another bad one was "The Winner Stands Alone" by Paolo Coelho.

 

PS

Both were passed on to me by my sister, seems fishy...

[LelouchIsZero]

Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham

It's about how terrible love is.

 

I read the plot of it & it sounds interesting, though I have a feeling the main character is going to frustrate me.

 

Wow... I'm not really sure how many books I read during the worst parts of dealing with my divorce. I clearly remember reading the Lord of the Rings series and The Hobbit though.

 

Whats the wow for ?

Oddly enough I've never read the LOTR books, even though I did enjoy the movies. Judging by the fact that you said "during the worst parts", I'm assuming you're feeling a bit better now, though obviously not over the whole ordeal yet. But anyway, I wish you all the best -- in regards to your healing .

 

Books that put things in perspective:

A Hope in the Unseen

Child of the Dark: The Diary of Carolina Maria De Jesus

Gangleader for a Day

The Boy Who Harvested the Wind

 

Books that help the coper cope:

Plato, Not Prozac!

Obsessive Love: When It Hurts Too Much To Let Go

The Joy of Living

 

Thanks for that, I haven't read the plot for any of them yet, though I'll check them out soon.

 

i get so much great advice here on loveshack that i don't really feel the need or desire to read books about relationships and love.

 

reading for me is more of a escape than anything else and it's a much more effective way to get my mind off the ex and onto something else. i like reading books about film history. fiction books are good as long as they're not flowery or talking abt the good in relationships and love. i'm not really in a place when i want to read or hear about that now.

 

i still have my triggers. i remember i was reading a book about dating habits in the 1920s and it made me think about my ex and the fact that he's dating; to the point where that was all i could think about. i got so worked up i flung the book across the room and cried. good thing the only ones there to witness it were my sleeping cats and dog.

 

reading De Profundis had a very soothing effect. it's a letter that Oscar Wilde wrote his ex lover and has some very insightful thoughts about rejection and how an experience that is so intensely painful can give us the strength to build ourselves up again.

 

it also reminded me of how much of myself - - my interests, my strengths i had cut away in an effort to appease my ex as he made me feel as though my interest in old movies and books and writing were boring. he even told me to tone down my vocabulary because some people might find it intimidating.

 

I don't particularly like reading relationship/love related books either haha, its not what I'm after. After being on LS for around a month now, I feel like I've absorbed all the information that's necessary for me, so all I want to do now is keep myself preoccupied when I have nothing to do.

 

I just started reading De Profundis & since you said that it was a letter, I thought that it wasn't going to be long -- I was wrong .

 

 

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_New_Earth)

 

Honestly, for me it makes me feel better but then I am back to my old ways of thinking a day or two later. Still, it's worth the momentary mood boost and if you can make lasting changes, good for you!

 

I have The Art of Happiness by The Dalai Lama, but will have to get back to you on my opinion because I haven't started reading it yet.

 

I'm actually like that too & yes, the momentary mood boost is definitely worth it.

 

I'll read over "A New Earths" plot a bit later, good luck with your book .

 

Yes, A New Earth is a great one.

 

Some more...

 

The Sedona Method - Amazing! Helped me to both let go & improve my life.

 

The Healing Code - Also amazing.

 

Thanks , will give the plots a read over.

 

Books sometimes dont help, in fact, some of them make things worse.

I have read "The Tunnel" by Ernesto Sabato, and it was absolute nightmare. It is nicely written, all emotions in tact, but when youre dealing with broken heart (like I am) some books are best to be avoided, and this was one of them. It was like reading about me, everything surfacing.

Like before movies they say- you need a strong psyche to view it, same applies to books.

Another bad one was "The Winner Stands Alone" by Paolo Coelho.

 

PS

Both were passed on to me by my sister, seems fishy...

Ah, that's a bit unfortunate. Did you read the entire book? if so, how come you didn't stop?

As i've said to everyone else, I shall give the plot a read when I have the time .

[radiodarcy]

 

I just started reading De Profundis & since you said that it was a letter, I thought that it wasn't going to be long -- I was wrong .

 

lol. sorry about that - - i should have given you a heads up. it is pretty lengthy (and long winded in some parts). he wrote it while in prison so that left him with quite a bit of time

[visualbasicide]

I think reading in general helps out a lot, instead of sitting around staring at the walls it keeps the mind focused on something else and I find it especially helpful to read in bed before I sleep just to unwind without focusing on anything particularly negative.

 

As stated above though, make sure the book isn't full of triggers that will upset you, seems counter productive.

 

and yes, tolkien is the man, then again I also like douglas adams and robert ludlum for fairly neutral material. Depends on your genre though I suppose.

[LelouchIsZero]

lol. sorry about that - - i should have given you a heads up. it is pretty lengthy (and long winded in some parts). he wrote it while in prison so that left him with quite a bit of time

Its fine haha & oh, I see; he would have indeed had a rather large amount of free time.

 

I think reading in general helps out a lot, instead of sitting around staring at the walls it keeps the mind focused on something else and I find it especially helpful to read in bed before I sleep just to unwind without focusing on anything particularly negative.

 

As stated above though, make sure the book isn't full of triggers that will upset you, seems counter productive.

 

and yes, tolkien is the man, then again I also like douglas adams and robert ludlum for fairly neutral material. Depends on your genre though I suppose.

Fair enough.

 

As no-one has really posted anything other then books, I shall do so, even though I don't think anyone's all that interested .

 

The Victor

by C. W. Longenecker

 

If you think you are beaten, you are.

If you think you dare not, you don't.

If you like to win but think you can't,

It's almost a cinch you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you're lost.

For out in the world we find

Success begins with a fellow's will.

It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are out classed, you are.

You've got to think high to rise.

You've got to be sure of your-self before

You can ever win the prize.

Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger or faster man.

But sooner or later, the man who wins

Is the man who thinks he can.

 

 

Start Where You Stand

By Berton Braley

 

Start where you stand and never mind the past,

The past won't help you in beginning new,

If you have left it all behind at last

Why, that's enough, you're done with it, you're through;

This is another chapter in the book,

This is another race that you have planned,

Don't give the vanished days a backward look,

Start where you stand.

 

The world won't care about your old defeats

If you can start anew and win success;

The future is your time, and time is fleet

And there is much of work and strain and stress;

Forget the buried woes and dead despairs,

Here is a brand-new trial right at hand,

The future is for him who does and dares,

Start where you stand.

 

 

"The greatest men in history are not the men who did the greatest things… They’re the ones that did all that they could in support of their beliefs. Be their deeds big or small in comparison to the deeds of the former, their deeds are greater simply because they did them not for fame, nor glory, nor any gain for themselves…but for an idea. A belief. Be that belief right or wrong, it takes a brave, strong, and willed individual to fight for that belief in the face of overwhelming opposition."

 

“We are all here for some special reason. Stop being a prisoner of your past. Become the architect of your future.” – Robin Sharma