Books that have changed my life
   or the way I think

• It's Easier Than You Think: the buddhist way to happiness by Sylvia Boorstein.
  This books is what it says it is: ways to let go and still remain accessable to happiness. Sylvia presents Buddhist truths such as "Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional", the importance of managing gracefully, and other ways to navigate the balance of being able to let go and still take joy in the world.
• Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac.
  One of my top Greyhound reads. It's psychadelic. It's also about letting go and still taking joy, but in a much more visceral, ecstatic sort of way.
• Concious Loving by Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks.
  This is my bible of romantic relationships. All my heart-to-heart talks are peppered with recommendations of it. I refer back to it every couple months. It emphasizes taking responsiblity for your own emotions and feelings, and just how important honesty is.
• Generations and its sequels, by William Strauss and Neil Howe.
  Strauss and Howe look at history as a spiral, with certain amounts of predictable repition. Generations is fairly dry, but worth skimming through. Their other books are more readable. All of them have very interesting insights into the characteristics of each generation.
• The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
  Every time I read it I get something new out of it. The drawings are beautiful.
• Writing Down The Bones by Natalie Goldberg.
  Writing practice as living practice. Her excercises can lead you to places you've never been before inside yourself. It's an explosive book.
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig.
  As the author's note says, the book is neither about zen nor motorcycles. I once tried to write a book report on it and couldn't. The more I read it the less I understand what it's about. It makes me think about education, families, history, motorcycles, the mind as a physical landscape, rationality and insanity.
• My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn.
  The sequel to Ishmael. I don't think it's really necessary to read Ishmael first, but you'd probably get a deeper understanding of both books if you did. It's a revolutionary book, about changing the way our entire society lives. There's some great bits about education in there too.
• The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White.
  If you like writing, or would like to write better, or simply ever plan to ever write anything, read this book. Just do it.
• The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot
  This isn't a book by itself, but the poem certainly changed the way I think. I love how both the rhythm and content of the poem seem inevitable.

I also have another list of books I love but don't necessarily consider "bibles".