Archetecture=Philosophy

[Diamond Vision]

Recently I picked up a new translation of one of my favorite books, Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo. As I have been enjoying this modern translation and re-exposing myself to the romanticism of the late 19th c. I realized that my two favorite books relate their author's philosophical standpoint through archetectural symbolism (the other being The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand).

This has set me thinking.. are there other authors who have exposed their philosphies through a fictional work based around archetecture?

Also, what are your favorite, life changing books?

[slam]

hmmm, life changing books. i'd have to say that 'a brief history of time' was one of them. i read it in junior high, and i think it had more of a profound effect on my outlook on the universe and life in general than any philosophy or religious texts i've read.

also, 'the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy', which i read in fourth grade. most books geared towards boys that age always involved sports, which i didn't care much about. h2g2 was the first book i ever remember enjoying, and really got me started with reading for fun.

can't think of any other architectural books right now...

[larryhead]

For me it's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". My senior year in high school I had a literature class where we spent an entire semester reading and talking about this book. If it wasn't for that class, I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten so much out of it. Since then, I've read it about four times and always find something new that I had missed before.

Also, "The Fountainhead" is up there for sure. :thumbsup:

[False Alarm]

This has set me thinking.. are there other authors who have exposed their philosphies through a fictional work based around archetecture?

Also, what are your favorite, life changing books?
i'm'a skip books like the bible and koran, which inarguably have an effect on my life and, i'd argue, everyone's whether they've read em or give a shit about em or not.

and i'm gonna skip books that changed the way i think about lit. lit's a central thing in my life, so it's reasonable to say that anything that significantly affected the way i think about lit can probably be considered to've changed my life. but, first, the list would be longer than is really appropriate for the question. second, i think you were looking for something a little more concrete, something that maybe had a more noticeable effect on our exterior lives.

i can think of two books, given the above. there might be more, but nothing i can think of at the moment.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (2nd edition) Player's Handbook, by zeb cook
City of God, by EL doctorow

i probably wouldn't know half my friends without the PHB that led me to start my high-school d&d group. the friends i made thru that introduced me to other friends and so on. my life would be profoundly different without that book. (and i might've had a girlfriend before i was 18. maybe.)

the doctorow book is just the kind of story of faith and its related struggles that i needed at the point in life i read it. it ain't the best book ever written--it got somewhat mixed reviews, by doctorow's standards--but it struck a chord with me. and to be honest i did find it to be a first-rate book aesthetically, with a kinda cozy, engaging mystery and language that gave me a boner. i'd probably list it somewhere in my 20 favorite books.

regarding the first question, i can't think of any books where architecture's used that way. i mean, i've seen plenty where a house or castle or building and its features serve metaphorical functions, but not, i think, to the extent you're describing (i ain't read hugo or the fountainhead). and i'm not sure any examples i can think of have a superphilisophical bent, either.

[slam]

i probably wouldn't know half my friends without the PHB that led me to start my high-school d&d group. the friends i made thru that introduced me to other friends and so on. my life would be profoundly different without that book. (and i might've had a girlfriend before i was 18. maybe.)

hmmm, i hadn't considered that one, but it probably counts as a life changing book for me, as well. soul queen, 007, duckplucker, matty, zero2056 and i (others on b2p?) used to play on a weekly basis.

good call!

[hotfoot]

This Side of Paradise, by Fitzgerald was inspiring (particularly the last thirty pages or so) but I think I read it at the right time (ie. during college) and I'm not sure it would resonate the same way w/ other people.

Also, The People, Yes, by Carl Sandburg and Where The Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls

[False Alarm]

hmmm, i hadn't considered that one, but it probably counts as a life changing book for me, as well. soul queen, 007, duckplucker, matty, zero2056 and i (others on b2p?) used to play on a weekly basis.

good call!
nice. i still play once a month (most months--not always easy for peeps to get together these days). hard to get anything done playing so rarely though. we usually set aside an entire saturday and do like a 12- to 15-hour marathon.

withoutcanseco/mrjohnchimpo is a sometimes member of my current group. i know hasslehound played when he was younger as well. not sure if anyone else in this mofucka be lovin a d12.

[Soul Queen]

Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser changed my eating habits.

It confirmed my beliefs for being vegetarian and I don't eat at fast food restaurants anymore.

[shining_path]

I got through about 20 pages of a brief history of time before I realized that I was too stupid to go on further. I read a few of my sister's Danielle Steele novels one summer, try reading em sometime, sickeningly addictive and I'm ashamed to admit I read more than one.

hmmm, life changing books. i'd have to say that 'a brief history of time' was one of them. i read it in junior high, and i think it had more of a profound effect on my outlook on the universe and life in general than any philosophy or religious texts i've read.

also, 'the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy', which i read in fourth grade. most books geared towards boys that age always involved sports, which i didn't care much about. h2g2 was the first book i ever remember enjoying, and really got me started with reading for fun.

can't think of any other architectural books right now...