The Illuminatus! Trilogy

Illuminatus trilogy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Illuminatus!_Trilogy Knuth's TAoCP.

A good pairing is Atlas Shrugged and The Illuminatus! Trilogy. I just happened to read at the same time but would recommend it.

100% true for me as well -- I found the Illuminatus Trilogy via reading the Jargon File when I was an embryonic techie oh so long ago and that whole scene has been super-influential on me ever since.

Books that have changed my life: Masters of Deception: The Gang That Ruled Cyberspace Illuminatus Trilogy Neuromancer

I used to read The Illuminatus! Trilogy [0] once every year or two, though that's slowed down; I feel like I've gotten something new out of it every time. I'm now taking a second pass through Unsong [1], simply because I enjoyed the first read so much. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Illuminatus!_Trilogy [1] http://unsongbook.com/

The Illuminatus Trilogy is my favorite book of all time. A lot of people have a hard time with it, considering it nonsense and giving up a fifth of the way through. I'd strongly suggest sticking with it. There is a reason is seems like nonsense and the reason is given at the end of the book - the whole purpose of all of it is to reprogram your brain. It's a journey worth taking.

I second this. I did my first reading in high school and it changed me for the better (and weirder).

Robert Shea & Robert Anton Wilson, Illuminatus! Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World. Daniel Dennett, Consciousness Explained. T.H. White, The Once and Future King. George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia.

Hmm... Favorite is hard. Maybe Cryptonomicon Because it was funny, meditative, and the research into WWII crypto was interesting. Or Maybe Stranger in a Strange Land, for the insights into correct action, the nature of humor, love, and understanding, and for giving us 'grok'. Or Maybe the Illuminatus Trilogy, for crazy awesomeness insight into the 1970's. I've loaned out all three, and I couldn't consider a book a favorite unless I'd tried to get people to read it.

The Ego and its Own, by Max Stirner. The Open Society and its Enemies, by Karl Popper. The Illuminatus! trilogy. Robin Hobb books (with special mention of the farseer trilogy), Neal Stephenson, Alan Moore, Terry Pratchett.