Iliad & Odyssey by Homer

Considered one if not the oldest texts from an author. Meaning, before the concept of authorship was not known and texts were written by a group over time. This showed me what heroes are. This stylistic choice allows diving deep into psychological phenomenons without having a scientific discipline. Odysseus is the smart guy. Achilles is the proud and honorable warrior. Agamemnon is the great king. The book displays beautifully the conflicts of such characters. The king feels entitled to take everything and also slave of Achilles. However, the honorable warrior is not willing to fight for such a king. Therefore, they lose until the king gives back the slave and they finally work together and defy troy.

These are not the only two characters, but it is the main conflict in the story. In addition to this, Homer depicts the divine intervention very palpable, such that a god sends a muse in the wind influencing the dreams of a character. It was eye-opening for me to realize that the gods are not really depicted, but they influence their heroes in these subtle ways. These gods are a valuable illustration of different values crashing.

It reminded me of the bible. The text wants to connect the present with the mythical by an extensive genealogy. The view we have a divine spark inside of us is crucial for arguing for human rights or any other basis for universal judgment.

In addition, the Odyssey inspires until today as this story gets told again and again. The success of Marvel and DC proves our need for stories that are bigger than reality.

Brothers Karamazov by Fjodor Dostoevsky

This book is far excruciatinglong. The names are complicated. There are chapters that don’t fit. There is so much wrong with it. And still, it might be called the greatest book ever written. How can this be?

It is the story of the three brothers of a despicable man. And similar to Homer, the characters depict extremes. An atheist, a Christian, and an impulsive sensualist. They obviously get into conflicts. But instead of solving the conflict in a fight or a debate, they remain alive. You get the chance to look deep into the heads of these men. And if you are brave enough, you will find all of them (maybe even the father) inside yourself.

If you allow this to happen, you are eager to read the unnecessary chapters. You don’t mind the unresolved tension. You just hope the atheist will not lose the hope for the world. The sensualist does not destroy himself, and the Christian does not lose touch with reality.

20’000 Leagues under the Seas by Jules Verne

This story is neither captivating, not interesting. But still a revelation. It showed me you could invent a story as an excuse to explore a technical hallucination about a future technology. A true science fiction book with a great emphasis on science. And instead of building the submarine he invented in his head in the real world, what would have cost him millions of Francs, he just wrote about it and inspired a generation of writers, engineers, and scientists. It shows that with a creative idea, you can break out of the box you thought you were in as an author, but also in general.

“Anything” by C.G. Jung

There is no author like Jung. Although he is not scientific, or at least not by modern standards, he is the most literate person, I ever came across. I cannot pinpoint the thing that makes him worth reading. I could say he showed me the reality of the unconscious or what it means to be an introvert or the value of intuition. But this scratches only the surface. He shows you places you have never realized before. You will think about yourself, religion, society, psychology, dreams, the future in a novel way. It is an adventure to read Jung and if you look for one you are guaranteed to get it.

It will not be easy. The arguments and associations should raise the eyebrows of every scientist. He states his interpretations of dreams as facts, and proves the argument by some wacky similarity he has seen to another dream. Be undeterred by this. If you do so, you will find a great treasure.

History of Religious Ideas by Mircea Eliade

What a project. Showing the whole history of religious ideas. Where they came from, how they evolved. I have seen patterns since repeating everywhere. I recognized the differences. As a lifelong Christian, I loved the comparison of the different flood stories. The different trees of life. The different gods that became man. And much more. If you are religious, this is a rich book. And if you want to understand from where many ideas, we claim to be obvious, came from, this is THE resource.

The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli

Game theory before it was invented. The harsh reality of existence. The unapologetic defense of all means are legitimate as long as they work. If you have a heart you have to detest it, if you have a brain you have to love it. There is no book like this, and it confronts you with the question of what is the value of your ethics if it does not prevail?

You can dismiss it as the guy did that he has written it for. But if you do so, you distance yourself from the reality of existence. My book is strongly inspired by the prince and I believe a society no being able to discuss the power and problems about this book is weak, not deserving of existence.

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

How much time do you want to invest in the creation of your fantasized world? Yes! Is the answer of J.R.R. Tolkien. Wasteful with your time. Showing you the history and science of Hobbits. The story of the books is important, although not central to them. A world wastefully rich in history. It shows you, as every great story does, humanity from a new and profound perspective.

Aljosha from the Brothers Karamazov are here the Hobbits. Good people with a pure heart, but not strong in the conventional way. But they cannot be tempted to evil, at least significantly less easily. They strive for harmony but take on the necessary adventure life burdens them with. Courageously going into hell to rescue the old world.

If you want to get inspired about what is possible regarding world building, then this is a must-read.

Werther by Göthe

A touching and deep story of a man finding the value of experience. What is the value of things? Why can’t you understand that I rather die in love than have a long live with a good woman?

A romantic view of the world. Close to the heart of a teenager. Devouring the world with his self-indulgence. Bringing chaos and suffering to his surrounding. But also values so strong, deep and true you cannot deny them. It was a revolutionary story in his time. Toady love is probably the most important value in a romantic relationship. We don’t even have a word for partners that live and sleep together except romantic. However, during this time, love was a nice to have in a marriage. Therefore, romantics like Göthe swallowed the world, as it was hungry for this message. However, the book is not revolutionary anymore. There is an infinite supply of stories where a woman leaves her husband for the one true love. Today, the revolutionary story would be the opposite again. Where the mind champions the soul. Where true happiness comes from embracing your destiny. Take on responsibility. The world is always starving from the lack of certain aspects in life. The author and artists are here to profit from this thirst.

Bible

It will probably be the only book to stay with me until the end of my life. I am not saying this lightly, as such things are hard to predict. But there is no book coming even close to this one. The richness is incomparable. The depth of every story. The layers to analyze. How it resonates on different personal levels. The strong language. The genres included. It is the basis of our culture. A lot of it is boring to read. Hard to understand, and it forces you to distance yourself from god because of his detestable actions. Then in other parts it purifies you and looks right through you. You will grow on it, and it will grow on you. As your world view evolves, it remains relevant, and the same text that proved your unapologetic action driven pursues in your twenties will show you tolerance in your thirties. And I can only imagine what it will tell me in some years.

The content is so diverse, it is hard to find common ground in them. It describes the lives of revolutionary spiritual thinkers. Abraham was the first one to have the personal relationship with this thing he called god. Moses then claims that this god is an advocate of the slaves and not the masters. He derives universal laws that even the king has to oblige. The judges realize that you need to act, and sometimes drastically, to defend the values you believe in. David discovered a deep personal religious experience in arts and music, which is from there on an integral part of the Abrahamic religious worship. Solomon showed the power of wisdom and introduced it as a part of god with its distinguished characteristics. He describes it as a separate god or spirit that supports YHWH in his actions. The prophets showed the importance of criticizing the king. This was there to stay, and we consider until today a government righteous if it can be criticized publicly. Then Jesus introduced god as a father who is not only concerned by politics but loves you. He additionally raised the value of self-sacrificial love to the most high. He is considered to be the man coming closest to how God really is. And Paul showed us the revolutionary power of personal spirituality. That one can speak with God and get an answer and change the world when listening to him.

These are just some main characters. I excluded so much. The great women. The archetypal forefathers. The disciples of Jesus. The visions of the prophets and John. The shift of worldview during the Diaspora in Babylon.

It is, therefore, rightfully so called “The book” by many.