[INFJ] - Best Books for INFjs? | Page 4 | INFJ Forum

[INFJ] Best Books for INFjs?

invisible said:
we should read books that dont appeal to us very much and figure out what it is of value that those books offer in order to open our minds and recognise that there are other perspectives out there and we arent always right.
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In my writing class we had to read Cloud Atlas exactly to explore this idea of reading genres that don't appeal to us and thinking about why they don't. Everybody seemed to find this book difficult to read and many downright disliked it. I found it interesting to figure out which sections I enjoyed more because they are closer to the genres that I like to read.

I also read Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie because it had won the Booker of Bookers. I figured it had to be good. I hated it, but I made sure to read right to the end so that I could make sure that there wasn't something at some point to make me understand why it won that award. I'm glad I read it but it was a chore to read. I found Salman Rushdie to be a terrible writer. Funny enough one of my very favourite books 'A Fine Balance' by Rohinton Mistry follows the modern history of India in a similar way but in my opinion is so much better written.

I guess I don't really like magic realism, although I did like the Life of Pi, but then again it was short. I may not have liked it if it was as long as Midnight's Children.
 
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La Sagna said:
In my writing class we had to read Cloud Atlas exactly to explore this idea of reading genres that don't appeal to us and thinking about why they don't. Everybody seemed to find this book difficult to read and many downright disliked it. I found it interesting to figure out which sections I enjoyed more because they are closer to the genres that I like to read.

I also read Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie because it had won the Booker of Bookers. I figured it had to be good. I hated it, but I made sure to read right to the end so that I could make sure that there wasn't something at some point to make me understand why it won that award. I'm glad I read it but it was a chore to read. I found Salman Rushdie to be a terrible writer. Funny enough one of my very favourite books 'A Fine Balance' by Rohinton Mistry follows the modern history of India in a similar way but in my opinion is so much better written.

I guess I don't really like magic realism, although I did like the Life of Pi, but then again it was short. I may not have liked it if it was as long as Midnight's Children.
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i wonder why your colleagues did not like Cloud Atlas. i think maybe it was a bit deliberately vague, as to how the different stories were supposed to fit together, and what they were supposed to mean together. which was your favourite story? mine was "An Orison of Sonmi 451". i loved Sonmi, i became very absorbed in her adventure, and i was intrigued by the idea of her sacrifice, and the extent to which it was "engineered".

i enjoyed Midnight's Children greatly. i got so interested in the minor stories and tragedies of all of the special children. the aspect that made it so worthwhile for me was that at the end it seemed that the important part had been the story, not what was really happening, but the ways that the characters defined what was happening, and described themselves as special. the narrative of what happened was the defining aspect of what happened. and at the end i remember it made fun of all this as well, with the appearance of a man with a very laughable "special ability". what makes us special, and able to achieve things, is the stories we tell. it has been a long time since i read it though, and i dont remember it very well, i think this is just what i sort of remember thinking at the time. i think the key to enjoying magical realism is taking delight in all the strange ideas, and just going with them and seeing where they take you, it can be a wild ride.

"A Fine Balance" had something different to say, it was not as much about the act of storytelling as Rushdie's book was. i found it valid and interesting, harrowing and pessimistic. i can understand why you like it so much. it isnt shy about the truth.

interestingly i gave up on reading the Booker after Life of Pi came out. people were describing it as magical realism, but i had difficulty categorising it in this genre, because at the end of the book there is a long section where the central character explains away all of the magic. i could not make sense of this properly, or work out why it was included in the book. it seemed redundant and self defeating, i could not understand it.

xoxox
 
the most thorough and deep description of an infj personality that i have read in a book is Richardson's "Clarissa". actually next to this one, i dont think i have even encountered another infj character in a book, apart from maybe Holden Caulfield, and Catcher it is such a short novel. i read Clarissa a few years ago and it took me a year to read, but since them i sometimes wished i had read it when i was much younger, because i might have understood myself a lot better, and as a result treated myself a lot better, and not expected inappropriate things from myself, or put myself through experiences that were not really right for me. it taught me how to value myself much more accurately. i also enjoyed it because it really caused 18th century literature to click into place for me, i suddenly obtained a much more thorough understanding of the position of women in society at that time, and a lot of the other things that i had been reading made much better sense. and i learned what words like "generous" and "violence" really mean, and so much more. but its a very long book and i dont think many people have time to read it. also, i havent met anyone who felt the same identification with Clarissa that i did, so my enjoyment of this book could just come down to my own idiosyncrasies. although i cant really imagine what it would be like, because i found it so fascinating and good, i think a lot of people actually find this book very dry and boring.
 
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invisible said:
i wonder why your colleagues did not like Cloud Atlas. i think maybe it was a bit deliberately vague, as to how the different stories were supposed to fit together, and what they were supposed to mean together. which was your favourite story? mine was "An Orison of Sonmi 451". i loved Sonmi, i became very absorbed in her adventure, and i was intrigued by the idea of her sacrifice, and the extent to which it was "engineered".

i enjoyed Midnight's Children greatly. i got so interested in the minor stories and tragedies of all of the special children. the aspect that made it so worthwhile for me was that at the end it seemed that the important part had been the story, not what was really happening, but the ways that the characters defined what was happening, and described themselves as special. the narrative of what happened was the defining aspect of what happened. and at the end i remember it made fun of all this as well, with the appearance of a man with a very laughable "special ability". what makes us special, and able to achieve things, is the stories we tell. it has been a long time since i read it though, and i dont remember it very well, i think this is just what i sort of remember thinking at the time. i think the key to enjoying magical realism is taking delight in all the strange ideas, and just going with them and seeing where they take you, it can be a wild ride.

"A Fine Balance" had something different to say, it was not as much about the act of storytelling as Rushdie's book was. i found it valid and interesting, harrowing and pessimistic. i can understand why you like it so much. it isnt shy about the truth.

interestingly i gave up on reading the Booker after Life of Pi came out. people were describing it as magical realism, but i had difficulty categorising it in this genre, because at the end of the book there is a long section where the central character explains away all of the magic. i could not make sense of this properly, or work out why it was included in the book. it seemed redundant and self defeating, i could not understand it.

xoxox
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My favourite section was Letters from Zedelghem. I found it very witty and a good personality study. I somewhat enjoyed all of them but I'm not a fan of science fiction or fantasy genres so they don't resonate as much with me. I think the human experience represented in books is the most rewarding part of reading for me, so even though in science fiction and fantasy there can be an element of that I often find all the fantasy stuff distracting and meaningless to me. I much prefer reading historical stories than futuristic ones. The past is my fantasy I guess. Two of my favourite authors are Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy. They have great character studies and tales of human failings and redemption. The part I enjoyed most about Cloud Atlas was just comparing the different genres and voices that can be created by one author.

It wasn't even the story that really bothered me most about Midnight's children, it was more that I did not enjoy the writing. When I read books that I really enjoy they either impress me with the quality of the writing or the story really touches me in some way. This book was so far from doing either of those for me. A Fine Balance actually gave me a whole new perspective and I appreciate that. It had a real impact on me. It changed my view of human nature a little bit.

I don't think that Life of Pi is quite as good as some people have made it out to be but it wasn't bad. As I stated, luckily it was short.

Have you ever read Joseph Boyden's books? I read Three Day Road and Through Black Spruce and loved both of them.
 
The Bird Artist, by Howard Norman
Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
 
La Sagna said:
My favourite section was Letters from Zedelghem. I found it very witty and a good personality study. I somewhat enjoyed all of them but I'm not a fan of science fiction or fantasy genres so they don't resonate as much with me. I think the human experience represented in books is the most rewarding part of reading for me, so even though in science fiction and fantasy there can be an element of that I often find all the fantasy stuff distracting and meaningless to me. I much prefer reading historical stories than futuristic ones. The past is my fantasy I guess. Two of my favourite authors are Charles Dickens and Thomas Hardy. They have great character studies and tales of human failings and redemption. The part I enjoyed most about Cloud Atlas was just comparing the different genres and voices that can be created by one author.

It wasn't even the story that really bothered me most about Midnight's children, it was more that I did not enjoy the writing. When I read books that I really enjoy they either impress me with the quality of the writing or the story really touches me in some way. This book was so far from doing either of those for me. A Fine Balance actually gave me a whole new perspective and I appreciate that. It had a real impact on me. It changed my view of human nature a little bit.

I don't think that Life of Pi is quite as good as some people have made it out to be but it wasn't bad. As I stated, luckily it was short.

Have you ever read Joseph Boyden's books? I read Three Day Road and Through Black Spruce and loved both of them.
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i think the style that is practiced by Mistry is a more mannered style, "this is what good writing is". but, this style is more appropriate for this novel, because it is written from omniscient narrator perspective. but the style of Midnight's Children is a lot more vernacular, because it is described from the point of view of a narrator who is also a character in the narrative. so it is messy, because it is intended to portray how a real person would be in that circumstance. one of the reasons i like Rushdie is that he is such a master of style that he can so convincingly write "badly", and it is such a natural, integrated part of the voice of the speaker.

as i have made a whole thread about a particular thread about a particular genre, it is probably obvious that i have my own tastes and genre preferences. my genre preference is for mass market romance, literary magic realist, and literary gothic. i also love 18th century texts by and about women. im not really interested in other genres. as a similar example, i have always despised hip hop music. i have always thought it is just people talking about how good they are. but over the past few weeks i have been listening to the album "Arular" by M.I.A. tonight i was listening to it on the train, and i became completely lost in it, and afterwards i was kind of like felt like my mind had been blown to smithereens, things that i had believed were ruined by my experience with getting lost in the music, and discovering part of what it is about. so, although my preference is not for Sci Fi, i have read some amazing science fiction books that have completely blown my mind. sometimes i think although the genre is not my preference, it is the best way for the artist to describe the insights that they are trying to share. for very modernist literature, the generic conventions are the only most sensible way to approach total moral chaos. for magic realist writers, the genre is the most reasonable way to deal with the destructive nature of pain and violence that is inherent to this world. if they tried to deal with those messages through more conventional generic forms, it wouldnt work properly. so although nothing can stop me from enjoying my favourites, keeping an open mind is key for me, because otherwise i would not be enjoying hip hop.

but i can never argue with what touches another person, as you say, resonates with us to just the right extent, to change perspectives. i think youre right and thats what anyone has to follow. maybe i should have made my advice be, that we should read more, and more, and more of what appeals to us.

i have read a little bit of Dickens, i do see the great appeal, but have not read much, i think that i have only read Great Expectations and Christmas Carol. (i have purchased, and kept in my cupboard, much more than i have read.) i have not read Hardy, but he was my grandmother's favourite. i havent read Joseph Boyden, thank you for the recommendation, and will check his writing out.
 
The Celestine Prophecy
A Hero with a Thousand Faces
Pride and Prejudice ( especially for infjs young girls)
Short stories by Anton Chekov
Conversations with God
The Power of Now
Way of the Peaceful Warrior
Wuthering Heights
 
I'm going to bring down the intelligence level for a brief second and recommend the Brian Abrams book "And Now: An Oral History of Late Night with David Letterman 1982-1992". Hear me out, I know it's just a talk-show host, but I feel like he is a great example of an introvert who made it big.

David Letterman has often admitted that he's uncomfortable around people, rarely hangs out with friends, and is buried in work. He still made it in comedy and became a talk show host. The book is a look into how people perceive his workings, and anecdotes from the people who were the closest to him in his formative period. It's been inspirational to me. It's not The Art of War, but I liked it.
 
Books by Wally Lamb (She's Come Undone, The Hour I First Believed)
Gabriel Garcia Marquez if you like fantastical stories and fantastic writing
 
The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Also agree with Tao te ching and Hamlet... my favorites.
 
ezra said:
I'm going to bring down the intelligence level for a brief second and recommend the Brian Abrams book "And Now: An Oral History of Late Night with David Letterman 1982-1992". Hear me out, I know it's just a talk-show host, but I feel like he is a great example of an introvert who made it big.

David Letterman has often admitted that he's uncomfortable around people, rarely hangs out with friends, and is buried in work. He still made it in comedy and became a talk show host. The book is a look into how people perceive his workings, and anecdotes from the people who were the closest to him in his formative period. It's been inspirational to me. It's not The Art of War, but I liked it.
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That's interesting, hadn't thought of Letterman in that light before. I think he actually doesn't like people in addition to being uncomfortable around them. He kind of turns his misanthropy into snarky humor I think. He always came across as slightly mean to me.
 
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Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
 
Currently reading A Smaller Hell by A.J. Reid, which is dripping with INFJ: fugitive takes job at local department store and becomes entwined in the perversions of the store's owner. When he tries to extricate himself and the sales assistant he has fallen for, he uncovers a secret which just takes him deeper down the rabbit-hole. So far, lots of magical realism set against gritty backgrounds, the right feels and some tasty symbolism.

Apart from this, I would recommend The Dead Zone by Stephen King or Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard.
 
Mirrorcrackd said:
Currently reading A Smaller Hell by A.J. Reid, which is dripping with INFJ: fugitive takes job at local department store and becomes entwined in the perversions of the store's owner. When he tries to extricate himself and the sales assistant he has fallen for, he uncovers a secret which just takes him deeper down the rabbit-hole. So far, lots of magical realism set against gritty backgrounds, the right feels and some tasty symbolism.

Apart from this, I would recommend The Dead Zone by Stephen King or Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard.
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The Dead Zone by King is a good one. He does have a tendency to write lengthily and with a "flourish," so to speak, but I like his tone and use of language. He was one of my favorite authors when I was a kid. :)

Isn't your avatar a Bryan Saunders painting, on an unrelated note?

http://bryanlewissaunders.org/drugs/
 
Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet

It's available online free: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jrcole/gibran/prophet/prophet.htm

Teaser:

" Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that hold your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight. "

If that is not INFJ then I don't know what is.
 
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