There's a set of books I picked right in freshman year that marked me:<p>"Pensées" - Blaise Pascal: It showed me the clarity of thought a human being could have with a brain that functions correctly. Reading this is humbling. It is often reduced to a "theological" book and this is what you often see it described as.<p>"The Prince" - Niccolo Machiavelli: Shrewd but so much more nuanced than what 99% of the people who quote him would let believe. Practically every famous quote was taken out of context in a pathetic way.<p>"The Wealth of Nation": I skimmed over a few chapters on a few volumes, haven't read it cover to cover, but the parts I've read were eye opening.<p>"Meditations", Marcus Aurelius: This was surprising. The writing style was so... fresh, for lack of a better word.<p>A few books from "La Comédie Humaine" collection: Honoré de Balzac. I haven't read the whole collection, but it's "Le Père Goriot" that got me into reading a few ones. The great thing about these is the fact they're intertwined (which I didn't know until I saw a character from one novel appear in the other. This was an <i>amazing</i> feeling..). Balzac also knows his humans and describes the human traits and the things you don't expect characters to do or say. All the little unflattering internal thoughts.. When a character gives you goose bumps, the author is doing something right.<p>"How the Steel Was Tempered", by Nikolaï Ostrovski: relates the adventures of Pavka Korchagin, a kid warrior during the Russian Revolution.<p>"On the Genealogy of Morality", Friedrich Nietzsche. I found it in a library and I had just enough money to buy it, so I did and walked 5 miles home. I was asked by a beggar for the equivalent of a dollar, and it made me laugh.<p>Except for Ostrovski, Balzac, and Pascal which we had at home, the others were from a Canadian university's website. You can't order just any book you want here, so finding this was like finding the door to a new galaxy.<p>[0]: <a href="http://classiques.uqac.ca/classiques/" rel="nofollow">http://classiques.uqac.ca/classiques/</a>
Fiction :<p>* Lolita by Vladmir Nabakov ; an absolute master class.<p>* The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling ; one for the memories!<p>Non Fiction :<p>* Letters of Note by Shawn Usher; a compendium of wonderful letters from the past. Highly recommended. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Note-Collection-Correspondence-Deserving/dp/1452134251/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1482110200&sr=8-1&keywords=Letters+of+note" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Note-Collection-Correspondenc...</a><p>* Deep work by Cal Newport ; very applicable to the modern day distracted soul.
<i>The Four Steps To The Epiphany</i> - Steve Blank<p><i>The Fountainhead</i> - Ayn Rand<p><i>The Art Of The Start</i> - Guy Kawasaki<p><i>The World Is Flat</i> - Thomas Friedman