Week 3: Books

The three books that have most influenced me are:

Plato's "Apology"
I read and reread this book constantly, its like a bible to me. Plato is my idol and I look to him for inspiration and advice in times of need. Sometimes I find myself being attacked or my values being questioned, all I have to do is quote Plato somehow the argument ceases to exist.

"I met a man who has spent a world of money on the Sophists, Callias the son of Hipponicus, and knowing that he had sons, I asked him: "Callias," I said, "if your two sons were foals or calves, there would be no difficulty in finding someone to put over them; we should hire a trainer of horses or a farmer probably who would improve and perfect them in their own proper virtue and excellence; but as they are human beings, whom are you thinking of placing over them? Is there anyone who understands human and political virtue? You must have thought about this as you have sons; is there anyone?" "There is," he said. "Who is he?" said I, "and of what country? and what does he charge?" "Evenus the Parian," he replied; "he is the man, and his charge is five minae." Happy is Evenus, I said to myself, if he really has this wisdom, and teaches at such a modest charge. Had I the same, I should have been very proud and conceited; but the truth is that I have no knowledge of the kind."

Bukowski's "Love is a Dog from Hell"
This is the first book by Bukowski that I ever read. It is a book of poems in which the style of writing is so simple, anybody could fall in love with it. However, he uses great symbolism, imagery, and allusions to other works of art, music, and literature that only a cultured reader would be able to understand and relate to.

Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby"
I am guilty of being a student who used to only read what was assigned. This book was the first to break me out of that stereotype. I read it in sophomore year of high school, I will never forget learning about all of its wonderful imagery and harsh criticism of 1920's lavishness. Our class even had a "Gatsby" theme party in which we all tried caviar, learned the Charleston, and dressed like flappers, it was so much fun to pretend to be from that era for a class period. After reading this book I picked up all of my grandfather old Fitzgerald books (complete with dogeared pages and personal notes and observations) and read every single one.