Ask Lemmy

All quiet on the western front. It’s short. It’s good. The OG Nazis hated it. Read it.

(The title alone is „Baby-shoes-never-worn“ level of sad)

The Dispossessed. No question. No other work of fiction has made me question more about my beliefs and worldview than that book. It makes you question everything you believe about society and your role in it. It's both an engaging science fiction work and an incredible work of philosophy. The author's worldview very clearly bleeds through into every page, and she does an excellent job of creating characters that actually feel like real people. The heroes are deeply flawed yet morally engaging, the villains are sophisticated and well-spoken. The Dispossessed made me rethink how I see my purpose in my life, my relations to the society around me, the ways we perform gender, and whether or not it's actually possible for equality to exist. Whether or not you agree with Le Guin's politics, she is easily one of the best authors of the 20th century.

Autopilot, for reasons that are spoilers

Stormlight Archive/Oathbringer.

Journey Before Destination.

Anything Monty Python. Also, Gravity's Rainbow.

People have already mentioned Foundation, Stranger in a Strange Land, Discworld, Gurren Lagann, and Hitchhiker's Guide, so I'll add The Illuminatus Trilogy. It taught me a lot about how organizations tend to shake out, among other things.

The two fictional courtroom dramas that changed the course of my life (eventually persuading me I wanted to become a lawyer and make sure the system works towards justice) were A Few Good Men and To Kill a Mockingbird.

And even though recently things have seemed kinda bleak on the justice front in the big seats of power in the US (in the three branches of government), there's still a million tiny ways to improve things locally, including in day to day interactions with others. So I still draw some inspiration from those ideals.

Masters of the Universe.

Fisto really gave me a lot to think about when it comes to cultivating useful skills.

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn.

It's not so much the critique of anthropocentrism or infinite growth that changed my thinking; I was already on board with those. It was the idea that we behave like this because of the myth, the story we believe about ourselves, rather than some inherent quality.

Still not sure if I believe it fully, but it's a thinker.

the truth machine made me realize that i never have to lie again

tales of symphonia taught me that trusting everyone you meet is not as stupid a decision as it looks

and simulacra and simulation taught me that no one needs to lie in order to fool you

lots of learning about what it means to tell the truth

The matrix for obvious reasons.

American beauty. Gummo.

There's a great book called the road less travelled, that had a big impact too. Northern lights series.

But I can't remember specifics on what changed, just that they had a big impact on me.

I think it comes down to being able to appreciate the world in new ways.

It didn't change my thoughts on the whole world, but the way demons are depicted in the anime Frieren changed the way I think about entities that use language for manipulation rather than communication: Their words are weapons. And assuming sincereness in any of them is dangerous. Immediate blocking is more appropriate than wasting time with them.

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. The ending is just chefs kiss and made me think about my Dark Tower

Realm of the elderlings, fitz is always in his head, assuming how other people feel about sht and it always fucks him over because he damn near always misunderstands. Made me communciate more and make less assumptions.

He's like a tragic hero that causes his own trajedies by being depressed and anxious.

D-D-D-Dark Souls 3. A great resource for the depressed.

You wanna know more? Go play the game. It's very good. :3

Doesn't quite fit your specification, but George Carlin's Class Clown (via Piped) album opened up my mind to the idea that it was okay to question religious teachings.