I loved GEB, I read it twice and found it mind-blowing.
That said, I don't think it was life-changing in the sense that it gave me any interesting perspective on life in any way. I didn't find any of the philosophies to be useful in that sense.
However, what the book does do, is manage to explain an incredibly complex, deep mathematical theorem while using almost no mathematical notation. It does it all mostly through similes and wordplay and art, which is quite brilliant.
One of the great things about the book is that even if you give up on the math, you can still appreciate each chapter as clever writing in its own right.
"The Dice Man" by Luke Reinhart. In my teens it didn't hurt that it had some pretty intense pornographic sex scenes, but the real takeaway - the idea that there is no "singular you", just a swirling multitudes who bob to the surface for attention depending on the context ... yeah, that changed my perspective on life.
Too bad about the misogyny. Might even have been racist, but I don't remember that.
> there is no "singular you", just a swirling multitudes who bob to the surface for attention depending on the context
Sounds a little like “One, No One and One Hundred Thousand” have you read that one?
Also,
> In my teens it didn't hurt that it had some pretty intense pornographic sex scenes
For me, that book is Lockpick Pornography - it’s a fairy horny story, but the main character struggling to figure out what to do about gender and sexuality, and the way that struggle starts out seeming like it’s about systemic oppression and heteronormativity but quickly spirals into the character just having a series of self destructive meltdowns is so so compelling. It even manages to have a bit of a happy non-ending.
That said, I don't think it was life-changing in the sense that it gave me any interesting perspective on life in any way. I didn't find any of the philosophies to be useful in that sense.
However, what the book does do, is manage to explain an incredibly complex, deep mathematical theorem while using almost no mathematical notation. It does it all mostly through similes and wordplay and art, which is quite brilliant.
One of the great things about the book is that even if you give up on the math, you can still appreciate each chapter as clever writing in its own right.