Dominion: The Power of Man The Suffering of Animals and the Call to Mercy by Matthew Scully is by far one of the most powerful books I've ever read.

I recently read "Outliers" and the whole section on birth dates and how that correlate to succes in sports and school was so fascinating and thought provoking. Also the section on the 10000 rule. That one really made me think in a different way about succes and so called "luck".

Jennifer wrote: "Christina wrote: "A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry - I don't think I've been quite the same ever since finishing this book."

I read that book years ago and still think about it pretty often. It..."

I agree absolutely... an extremely thought provoking book. Heartbreakingly beautiful; wonderful writing. It stays with you a long, long time.

I'm kind of surprised that no one has mentioned any Jodi Picoult books b/c Nineteen Minutes made me think A LOT. I have a 10 year old daughter and just seeing all the different perspectives really made me more aware of my own parenting. I think all parents and teachers should read this book just because it makes you think so much (IMHO). Most of her books are like this (the ones I have read anyway), they're not always the nicest topics, but they really make you see all sides of the story and that's what makes her books so great.

I agree with some of you who mentioned Freakonomics as well, the one that stuck with me in that one is the correlation b/t the legalization of abortion and the drop in the crime rate...certainly food for thought, even if it's not nice to think that way.

East of Eden and Reading Lolita in Tehran A Memoir in Books I found to be very thought provoking and quite enjoyable.

Christina wrote: "A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry - I don't think I've been quite the same ever since finishing this book."

I think the characters were Ishmar and Ohm, is that right? i loved that book

Queen wrote: "The Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison is a book that gave me a lot to think about. During a time when it was assumed that prestige is closely associated with race (and still is), it gave me a look back i..."

I am sorry. I like her. I want to read Sula and A Mercy.

The Bluest Eye By Toni Morrison is a book that gave me a lot to think about. During a time when it was assumed that prestige is closely associated with race (and still is), it gave me a look back into time through the eyes of a little girl. It is also the only book written by Toni Morrison that I can follow. Most of Ms. Morrison's books I have a difficult time following. :(

No - but my son's girlfriend is blind, so they just had to go see/hear it since it had "blind" in the title. They both liked it, but I did not know it was based on a book. It looks really good. I have added it my TBR list.

hee hee... Dont call yourself stupid...I can totally see how you could get those two confused :)

I stupid me . Whiteout........Whiteout, white blindness.brain freeze, idiot ME

Kate Beckinsale was in a movie called Blindness? That would be confusing, wouldnt it?

Lyn, did you see the movie Blindness?

Lori wrote: "Carol, and Lyn, YES! Blindness was based on the Saramago book of the same title."

I thought it was different. The one with Kate Beckinsale. Sorry for the mis-information.

Carol, and Lyn, YES! Blindness was based on the Saramago book of the same title.

In answer to first question, no and the second no,portuguese.

Me too. Does anyone know if the movie Blindness that came out last year was based on his story? Also - do you know if his books were originally written in Spanish? The book I am currently reading for the foreign language task in the Seasonal Challenge is going way too slow and I am looking for something better.

OK, you made me do it. I've added this author and his books to by TBR. I have too many books that I want to read NOW!

I would count him as in my top ten all time favorites

I did too, way back when, and have read quite a few books by him. He can take such mundane things, such as a misplace identity card (All The Names) or a look-a-like tv actor (The Double) and write about them in such a way that you will never, ever forget.

By far, my favorite author!

Lori wrote: "I love to see Blindness on here.
It's one of the few books that have haunted me years after Ive read it......

Saramago is an amazing writer, and story teller."

Yes he is. I discovered him quite by accident.

I love to see Blindness on here.
It's one of the few books that have haunted me years after Ive read it......

Saramago is an amazing writer, and story teller.

Michelle wrote: "Blindness...I still find myself thinking about this book at the oddest times..."

I know I read it and was entralled and haunted at the same time. I think some times we are blinded by our own aura's, and don't feel others needs around us.

Blindness...I still find myself thinking about this book at the oddest times...

Christina wrote: "A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry - I don't think I've been quite the same ever since finishing this book."

I read that book years ago and still think about it pretty often. It changed my perspective about a lot of things.

Mari Anne wrote: "I have never been able to get "The Gift of Fear" by Gavin De Becker out of my head and I read that book decades ago.

More recently I just finished "The Help" and can't stop thinking about it. ..."

oooo, I just bought "The Help" a week ago...I'll be reading it soon!

As much as I disliked it, The Road made me think.

FICTION
Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk

NON-FICTION
Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell

Mosca wrote: "Thomma wrote:

"Another book that made me think: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. This is an amazing book, rich and deep and finely wrought. By the end, I was a sobbing mess, an..."

The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter is a book that I re-read evey few years. I have a select few that over the years I enjoy so much I re-read them. It is hard to believe this was her first novel .I wish it was on reading lists for 8th and 9th grade literature class.

She was a young woman plagued by many devils which she could not expunge, except by alcohol and drugs. I wonder if she were alive today if she could cope better in this world. People today are more accepting of her life style and her right to make that choice. I just wonder if it would have made any difference in her writing.

Follow My Leader by James Garfield - I read this in grade 4 - about a boy who is blinded by an accident when playing with firecrackers. How he learns to cope after the tragedy, his depression, learning braille, all the things he goes through - even his forgiving the boy who threw the firecracker at him. Really made a 4th grader think and allowed me to be able to appreciate people's differences, even at such a young age.

God, where to start........

The first book that ever made me really think was 'Is anybody listening?' by Larry O'Loughlin. I read it when I was 11, it was like being kicked in the stomach.

What else..Media Control The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda by Noam Chomsky turned me off voting. Anything by Chomsky makes me think.

Heidi did too. Read it when I was 7, it had a big effect on me. It's one of my all-time favourite books.

Theres so many....Evasion is also fantastic and made me think a lot.

Also...The Cosmic Code Quantum Physics As the Language of Nature by Heinz R. Pagels made me think a lot, its mind- blowing!

I just finished Siddartha by Hermann Hess. I won't say it was life changing, but it was an ephiphamy as to the way I think about my life journey.

I have never been able to get "The Gift of Fear" by Gavin De Becker out of my head and I read that book decades ago.

More recently I just finished "The Help" and can't stop thinking about it.

I learned a lot and was amazed by "The Flamboya Tree" and the "Guernsey" book.

This past winter I readThe Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. And I continue to be effected by it.

Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle really made me think. I loved it!

This is going to sound weird...But The Sisters of the Moon series made me think long and hard about whether or not I should continue reading fluff. And why when one author writes a book that gets really popular a bunch of others jump on the theme bandwagon.

The most recent book that made me think was The Giver by Lois Lowry. Although she apparently wrote the book around her mother's onset of Alzheimers, the lack of utopia in a Utopian society was very thought provoking and spurred many discussions between my husband and I.

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance An Inquiry Into Values and The Unbearable Lightness of Being A Novel both had me in a contemplative frame of mind when I read them.

Hayes wrote: "Grace wrote: "The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin... It also has the unfortunate side-effect of making you a wee bit suspicious of your spouse for a few days afterwards. ......"

Oh, definitely!

A Thousand Splendid Suns was simply amazing...i had to just sit there for about an hour after i finished it. another one is The Road

Earth Abides made me think. Its all about a group of people who survived an apocalyptic event and how they reconnect, and refine society.

Something I would have been useless at.

Others along the same line (books that made me realise how limited my knowledge and survival skills are):

Blindness
The Road
The Mysterious Island
Lord of the Flies
On the Beach

The Reader, it was full of ethical questions.

Grace wrote: "The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin... It also has the unfortunate side-effect of making you a wee bit suspicious of your spouse for a few days afterwards. ..."

Haven't read the book, but both of the movies are good. The first was better than the re-make, and realllllly creepy!

The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin. I know it seems like a strange one to add but it always gets me thinking about how far women have come but how far we still have left to go. It also has the unfortunate side-effect of making you a wee bit suspicious of your spouse for a few days afterwards.

The Help by Stockett (5 stars)

I and Thou

A Theory of Everything

The Supreme Court and the American Elite, 1789-2008

The Shakespeare Wars Clashing Scholars, Public Fiascoes, Palace Coups

The Handmaid's Tale

Native Tongue

The Left Hand of Darkness

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami is the last book I read and definitely left me thinking.

Yes, definitely The Handmaid's Tale.

Lolita and The Handmaid's Tale

I read them too close to each other as well. Had a very strange effect on me.

All Quiet on the Western Front wow, thats a deep book. and one of my favorites.


The Giver very strange, such a plain world. another favorite.


The State vs. Nelson Mandela The Trial That Changed South Africa what happened during that trial is appalling! and how little it is talked about in school is pathetic. and its sad that the only thing that is said is that nelson mandela is a great man. but, why is he great? this book explains, at least in part, why.

Thomma wrote:

"Another book that made me think: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. This is an amazing book, rich and deep and finely wrought. By the end, I was a sobbing mess, and I thought about the story and its characters for weeks. Heck, it's still with me."

Boy, Thomma, I couldn't agree more.

I read that this past winter--5 star book for me. But the issues that the author deals with are so hard to take. She looks at life squarely in the face. I, also, still think about that book, almost daily.

What a masterpiece!