I have read 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' three times. The first time was when I was seventeen, and I didn't fully grasp it. The second time was in my thirties, and it definitely started to make sense. The third time was two years ago (in my 50s), and it fully revealed itself, which was quite the enlightened awakening for me. Pirsig's meditative and thoughtful exploration of quality, the art of living, the creative process, and a teaching philosophy that prioritizes quality has always been my mantra. However, I finally felt empowered and validated, especially as I teach in public education, which values "standardization" over individualization and creativity. So, I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that 'Zen' has had the most profound impact on me.
I also read Hyemeyohsts Storm's 'Seven Arrows' at 18 or 19, and it also had a deep impact on me. I reread it during the 2020 lockdown, and it still resonates years later.
I would also have to add 'Pigs for the Ancestors: Ritual in the Ecology of a New Guinea People' by Roy Rappaport, 'The Forest People' by Colin Turnbull, and 'Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee' by Dee Brown, which also had a great influence on me. I read them in college while taking several classes on the art of Papua New Guinea, Africa, and Native America, and to this day, I have a deep interest and love for Indigenous art.
Lastly, John Berger's 'Ways of Seeing' and Kandinsky's 'Concerning the Spiritual in Art' are also books that were/are hugely influential.
I haven't read any of the books you list here, except for the last two, Berger's Ways of Seeing and Kandinsky's Concerning the spiritual in Art are both on my bookshelf. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is also on my shelf, another art classic.
I wonder if you read in that class on Papua New Guinea Peter Matthiessen's classic "Under the Mountain Wall: A Chronicle of Two Seasons in Stone Age New Guinea."? I haven't yet, but now I am interested in doing so. Matthiessen was into Zen too.
I haven't read Matthiessen's book, but I did recently read Kira Salak's 'Four Corners: A Journey into the Heart of Papua New Guinea,' which is excellent and was written in 2004 by a woman who traveled solo through PNG, giving it an entirely different perspective from Rappaport's book.
'Forest People' is about the Mbuti people in Central Africa, and 'Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee' is the painful history of American expansionism and the horrific crimes and unspeakable violence committed against Native Americans. The latter should be required reading in every American high school.
I've read Zen and the RT of MM twice. The first time was for a college class sometime mid 70's. I was 21 or so and tried to like it, tried to get it, but i remember feeling lost. I read it again as a mom of young kids in the early 1990's and it made more sense to me then . I suspect I would have a much better grasp on it the third time.....
LOTR (many times) and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (overrated).
I'm struggling to think of my Top Ten Desert Island Books at the moment. LOTR is on there, The Grapes of Wrath (sublime), and the Everyman's Library edition of Orwell's essays but the rest is up for grabs.
Thanks James. You know, I've never read Grapes of Wrath (my bad). Such a classic, you'd think I would have by now. Although I watched the movie, and visited Steinbeck's Library Museum recently. I even bought a few of his books, but not that one. As far as top ten deserted island books go, that's a hard one. LOTR would be a contender for sure, but mostly I'd probably go with the Zen and Tao ones, maybe Lewis's essays, but not much fiction. I'd rather have a whole ream of paper and pens and write my own stories, my own worlds to revel in, my own characters to converse with and tell me things I didn't know I knew. Other bodies and minds to live with me in my world while I lived in theirs.
I know I am the oddball here. I have been an avid reader my entire life (which exceeds 70 years) but I have never read LOTR. I've tried. I WANTED to get into it. SO many people are taken by it but I don't do well with fantasy. Watership Down? I could never get into that one either. I will also admit that I've never seen any of the Star Wars movies nor watched an episode of Star Trek. Is there a trend here?
I attended an academically rigorous high school and was honor tracked (I guess now it would be AP classes) all the way. I was lucky to be exposed to American and British Lit classics even at that age. Although I majored in something else in college, I took enough English classes "for fun" that I could have claimed the minor. Ha! I didn't want to take a couple of the requirements so it was a no go. I just wanted to take lit classes...
These days I read contemporary fiction primarily. I know there are classics that I have missed but I also want the new stuff. There's too much good stuff to read in this world. Not enough time!
No, not an oddball, but it appears you're not into fantasy or Sci-Fiction. Most of the classics I list here were read in college, although the Lord of TR series, including The Hobbit, I read aloud to my family in the cockpit of our sailboat on balmy evenings in the tropics. I'm trying to read more contemporary fiction these days. Any you can recommend?
I really enjoyed perusing your list , Deborah! I have not even read half of the titles that you referenced but that doesn't mean I won't. I just can't get to all the books I want to read. I ahve to think a bit about influential ones over the many years of reading. Yes, Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, those were pivotal. GWTW was right up there , in part b/c I read it for the first time when I was 14 and I got caught up in the characters. I read it every summer for at least five years. As a kid, I read Louisa May Alcott's books every summer. Why did Little Women, Little Men, Eight Cousins have such a hold on me? Let me think about other books that mattered...
I did read East of Eden and loved it, if love is the word, it was so sad. But I know what you mean. I often joke that I have more books on my shelves than I can read in a lifetime, yet I keep buying more, mostly on Kindle now. Except for books, I'm a very thrifty person. They are my one indulgence.
I have read 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance' three times. The first time was when I was seventeen, and I didn't fully grasp it. The second time was in my thirties, and it definitely started to make sense. The third time was two years ago (in my 50s), and it fully revealed itself, which was quite the enlightened awakening for me. Pirsig's meditative and thoughtful exploration of quality, the art of living, the creative process, and a teaching philosophy that prioritizes quality has always been my mantra. However, I finally felt empowered and validated, especially as I teach in public education, which values "standardization" over individualization and creativity. So, I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that 'Zen' has had the most profound impact on me.
I also read Hyemeyohsts Storm's 'Seven Arrows' at 18 or 19, and it also had a deep impact on me. I reread it during the 2020 lockdown, and it still resonates years later.
I would also have to add 'Pigs for the Ancestors: Ritual in the Ecology of a New Guinea People' by Roy Rappaport, 'The Forest People' by Colin Turnbull, and 'Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee' by Dee Brown, which also had a great influence on me. I read them in college while taking several classes on the art of Papua New Guinea, Africa, and Native America, and to this day, I have a deep interest and love for Indigenous art.
Lastly, John Berger's 'Ways of Seeing' and Kandinsky's 'Concerning the Spiritual in Art' are also books that were/are hugely influential.
I haven't read any of the books you list here, except for the last two, Berger's Ways of Seeing and Kandinsky's Concerning the spiritual in Art are both on my bookshelf. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is also on my shelf, another art classic.
I wonder if you read in that class on Papua New Guinea Peter Matthiessen's classic "Under the Mountain Wall: A Chronicle of Two Seasons in Stone Age New Guinea."? I haven't yet, but now I am interested in doing so. Matthiessen was into Zen too.
I haven't read Matthiessen's book, but I did recently read Kira Salak's 'Four Corners: A Journey into the Heart of Papua New Guinea,' which is excellent and was written in 2004 by a woman who traveled solo through PNG, giving it an entirely different perspective from Rappaport's book.
'Forest People' is about the Mbuti people in Central Africa, and 'Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee' is the painful history of American expansionism and the horrific crimes and unspeakable violence committed against Native Americans. The latter should be required reading in every American high school.
I've read Zen and the RT of MM twice. The first time was for a college class sometime mid 70's. I was 21 or so and tried to like it, tried to get it, but i remember feeling lost. I read it again as a mom of young kids in the early 1990's and it made more sense to me then . I suspect I would have a much better grasp on it the third time.....
It probably would now. It's been a long time since I read it. May be time to reread.
LOTR (many times) and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (overrated).
I'm struggling to think of my Top Ten Desert Island Books at the moment. LOTR is on there, The Grapes of Wrath (sublime), and the Everyman's Library edition of Orwell's essays but the rest is up for grabs.
Thanks James. You know, I've never read Grapes of Wrath (my bad). Such a classic, you'd think I would have by now. Although I watched the movie, and visited Steinbeck's Library Museum recently. I even bought a few of his books, but not that one. As far as top ten deserted island books go, that's a hard one. LOTR would be a contender for sure, but mostly I'd probably go with the Zen and Tao ones, maybe Lewis's essays, but not much fiction. I'd rather have a whole ream of paper and pens and write my own stories, my own worlds to revel in, my own characters to converse with and tell me things I didn't know I knew. Other bodies and minds to live with me in my world while I lived in theirs.
I know I am the oddball here. I have been an avid reader my entire life (which exceeds 70 years) but I have never read LOTR. I've tried. I WANTED to get into it. SO many people are taken by it but I don't do well with fantasy. Watership Down? I could never get into that one either. I will also admit that I've never seen any of the Star Wars movies nor watched an episode of Star Trek. Is there a trend here?
I attended an academically rigorous high school and was honor tracked (I guess now it would be AP classes) all the way. I was lucky to be exposed to American and British Lit classics even at that age. Although I majored in something else in college, I took enough English classes "for fun" that I could have claimed the minor. Ha! I didn't want to take a couple of the requirements so it was a no go. I just wanted to take lit classes...
These days I read contemporary fiction primarily. I know there are classics that I have missed but I also want the new stuff. There's too much good stuff to read in this world. Not enough time!
No, not an oddball, but it appears you're not into fantasy or Sci-Fiction. Most of the classics I list here were read in college, although the Lord of TR series, including The Hobbit, I read aloud to my family in the cockpit of our sailboat on balmy evenings in the tropics. I'm trying to read more contemporary fiction these days. Any you can recommend?
Have loved The Snow Leopard, but his other book you mentioned I wasn’t aware of, sounds fascinating!
I think you'd like it, Valerie. Much different than The Snow Leopard. I'd love to peek at your favorite book list too someday.
Love this. I’ve read a few of these but our influential books lists are very different so this is fascinating to me.
Hi Valerie! So nice to see you here on Substack. Thank you for the restack.
I really enjoyed perusing your list , Deborah! I have not even read half of the titles that you referenced but that doesn't mean I won't. I just can't get to all the books I want to read. I ahve to think a bit about influential ones over the many years of reading. Yes, Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, those were pivotal. GWTW was right up there , in part b/c I read it for the first time when I was 14 and I got caught up in the characters. I read it every summer for at least five years. As a kid, I read Louisa May Alcott's books every summer. Why did Little Women, Little Men, Eight Cousins have such a hold on me? Let me think about other books that mattered...
I did read East of Eden and loved it, if love is the word, it was so sad. But I know what you mean. I often joke that I have more books on my shelves than I can read in a lifetime, yet I keep buying more, mostly on Kindle now. Except for books, I'm a very thrifty person. They are my one indulgence.