War and Peace

I read close to 40 books this year which I assume is up from the previous year, and way more than I used to read prior to starting to do the Rochester Library reading challenge (which I've done for the past two years). I won't get into a lot of it, but after reading Middlemarch three years ago, Napoleon: A Life two years ago, and The Power Broker last year I decided to read two "big" books. In the first half of the year War and Peace, which obviously was excellent, although I liked Middlemarch more. In the second half of the year David Copperfield which was very excellent. Just beautifully written. I still think I probably like Middlemarch more... but it might now require a re-read to know for sure. This year is going to be Tom's Crossing to start as I just got that for Christmas.

I didn't expect this, but I'm really enjoying War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.

It's really good. A story that still pops into my mind occasionally today. As a Brit I'd never really thought about Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The retreat in the book is evocative and really left an impression. But I read it when I had far more free time than now.

War and peace - third attempt

> Arthur Schopenhauer - The World as Will and Representation. Actually just ordered this about a week ago. Read a couple articles about him and got the impression that he shares a lot with early Christianity (and also Buddhism) > Marcel Proust - In Search of Lost Time. Exceptionally rich and a beautiful study of love. Reading it is like living another life. Haven't read the Proust but I'd say the same for War and Peace

I read all the time—fiction and nonfiction. Currently reading nonfiction: Stewart Brand’s Whole Earth Catalog. Currently reading fiction: The Lord of the Rings trilogy by JRR Tolkien. Finished Tolstoy’s War and Peace in 2020 (pandemic silver lining). Life changing book.

He is, perhaps, my favorite contemporary author. I have a fairly predictable "best novels ever written" list which includes _War and Peace_, _Anna Karinina_, _Brothers Karamazov_ and _Dune_ ... but I would also place _SevenEves_ on that list. I found _Fall Or: Dodge in Hell_ to be terrible, however.

War and Peace will help you better understand and deal with the constant change in your requirements and why you are right that management has no fucking clue. Also, great value for your audible credit.

I second the votes for War and Peace, Anna Karenina and Brothers Karamazov ... but I think I can add a unique (and very special to me) entry with: Chesterfield's Letters to His Son: "Begun in the 1737 and continued until the death of his son in 1768, Chesterfield wrote mostly instructive communications about geography, history, and classical literature, – with later letters focusing on politics and diplomacy – and the letters themselves were written in French, English, and Latin, in order to refine his son's grasp of the languages."[1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Stanhope,_4th_Earl_of_C... (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Stanhope,_4th_Earl_of_Chesterfield#Letters_to_His_Son)

War and Peace from Leo Tolstoij is a book that you will have to read once in your lifetime.

War and peace by Tolstoi. It made me aware that someone as successful and powerful as Napoleon himself was by a large extent only a product of the people and the mood at the time. What I mean is that it wasn't him who inspired the people; it rather was just the Zeitgeist he was the perfect person for. I'm not a native speaker and can't really put it into words, but it completely changed my view of the amount of influence we really can have in this world, and how much we are a product of our time. Narziß und Goldmund by Hesse. Again a lack of words from my side. Whoever is looking for meaning in life should read this book. The last sentence of this book is (at least in German) the literary most perfect and awakening phrase I've ever read. I couldn't sleep for days afterwards.

War and Peace by Tolstoy. it is far from 'recent' but i read it only this year. it is particularly interesting because it is not overly intellectual in nature yet still written around the time it portrays. Robin Hobbs latest Fitz and the Fool trilogy are also great books i read this year. as are all her works really.

Don't know about changing my life, but these books changed the way i look at things: The Tao of Pooh: Benjamin Hoff Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade by Kurt Vonnegut TI 99/4a basic reference manual Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, by Abelson, Sussman Object Oriented Analysis and Design by Grady Booch Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler Thieves in the Night by Arthur Koestler All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. War and Peace by L.N.Tolstoy Chapaev and the void by Pelevin

War and Peace, Tolstoy. There are some tedious passages where Tolstoy develops a theory of history, but the realness of the characters, and their struggles to find themselves, is described better than any other book I've read. It's a beautiful story. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. Don't need to be an alcoholic to see that our efforts to run and order our lives often can end up making us more miserable. Read the first 164 pages.

Fiction War and Peace Crime and Punishment Count of Monte Christo 1984 God of Small Things Paradise lost Divine comedy Non fiction Selfish gene Meditations Madness explained (the best book I've encountered for explaining how the mind works) The Red Queen Tao te Ching

I just finished Tolstoy's War and Peace. I think it deserves both the hype as a masterpiece and the jokes as a sprawling verbose epic. He's like Jane Goodall observing and deconstructing human beings at all social levels from the serfs and peasants to the Russian aristocracy and Napoleon himself. His characters are so real and their motives so transparent in the way he describes them, and they are this microcosm living individual lives inside the macrocosm of the French invasion of Russia. Throughout all of it are the rambling philosophical speculations of the author that are filled with brilliant insights but always seem fuzzy on making any strong points. What I loved most about the book was how it conveys the complexity of life and the absurdity of historical analysis and the focus on "Great Men" against such complexity, which he compares to physicists trying to understand macro-phenomenon without taking into account the micro-phenomenon that add up to the macro effect. The whole books is an illustration of this through the many lives it follows in the major historical events taking place around them.

The first scene in Tolstoy's War and Peace should be required reading for engineering graduates, particularly the hyper-rational Sheldon types. I'm referring specifically to the impact Pierre has on the people at the party, the importance of manners, why small talk, etc. War and Peace is generally a great book because of how much it captures about human nature and power plays and it is still relevant today. It has a reputation for length but I found it much more readable than, say, Lord of the Rings. Delta Force by Col. Charlie Beckwith. Think your company has red tape? Try the US Army post-Vietnam. It's a great example of someone moving through bureaucracy to achieve great things and taught me to stop making excuses based on organisational behaviour. The Phantom Major by Virginia Cowles is in the same vein with some phenomenal hustling lessons. I still think of both men whenever I think whatever I'm doing is hard.…

Crime and Punishment, Les Miserables, War and Peace

I'm on a David Foster Wallace kick right now: Working through The Pale King, his collected essays and his short stories. Already read Infinite Jest. It's hard to say what qualifies as "essential reading" when it's impossible for a human being to read even one tenth of the great, all-time classic books. There just isn't enough time. My advice would be to read at least a few books that have reputations for being difficult. War and Peace, Gravity's Rainbow, In Search of Lost Time, Ulysses, etc. (The reason I'm only listing near-undisputed classics here is because these books are difficult, and in some cases very, very long [looking at you, Proust], and the assurance that it is all worth it helps you keep going when your brain hurts.) These books survived despite their difficulty because reading them is a mind-expanding, sometimes life-changing experience. Reading shouldn't be essentially passive.

"Blood Meridian" by Cormac McCarthy "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy "What to Listen For in Music" by Aaron Copland

"War and Peace" Tolstoy "Wind< Sand and Stars" Saint Exupery