# What are some books you've read that have changed your outlook

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-books-youve-read-that-have-changed-your-outlook/253283>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [July 2, 2004, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-books-youve-read-that-have-changed-your-outlook/253283 "2004-07-02T22:52:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-books-youve-read-that-have-changed-your-outlook/253283/41 "2004-07-11T15:12:26Z")

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Also, **Flowers in the Attic** by V.C. Andrews. It taught me that if I have a hot sister, it’s okay to have sex with her.

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**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-books-youve-read-that-have-changed-your-outlook/253283/42 "2004-07-11T15:35:19Z")

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_Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady_ was not only hilarious, but an inspiring example of a woman doing exactly what she wanted with her life. Having grown up with a mother who urged me to be a Southern lady the way Florence’s grandmother did, it was just what I needed to be able to grin and bear the endless “Are you going out dressed like that? Put on some lipstick” bullshit.

_The Cloister Walk_ changed my outlook on Christianity. It didn’t make me a Christian, but it made me appreciate the way that faith can improve people’s lives.

I really hate to include this, but _Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood_ made me appreciate my mom’s efforts more. Rebecca Wells makes dressing well, being polite and having fun at parties seem significant.

Jack Keroauc’s _The Dharma Bums_ was my introduction to Buddhism.

Huston Smith’s _The World’s Religions_ was my introduction to Taoism, as well as being incredibly informative about the world’s major religions.

The _Tao Te Ching_ itself was the most profound book I’ve ever read solely because someone cute recommended it.

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**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-books-youve-read-that-have-changed-your-outlook/253283/43 "2004-07-11T16:28:41Z")

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Seconding “Guns Germs and Steel” by Jared Diamond.

I’ll add “The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat” by Oliver Sacks. An amazing book about the neurological basis of psychology, a compendium of brain damage case studies.

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