[NT] What book should every NT read?

[Halla74]

"I'm OK, You're OK."

 

[thisGuy]

Kind of like in Hancock with Will Smith when he learns to say 'Good Job.'

huh...*grunt*

 

[chasingAJ]

LMAO

I knew it was a joke but I never pass up an opportunity to point out the inadequacies of UNT. It's very amusing to see how it plays out in this town. The schools aren't technically rivals but there is a thing that happens "You go to UNT? Ohhhh I'm at TWU." The TWU stereotype is lesbian feminazi's of course while UNT is two steps from Liberty University. (See the pun? Texas. Two steps?)

The few guys at our school are considered gay but most of them aren't. Their odds of getting laid aren't any higher than UNT (because we don't have as many women who sleep with everyone) but they do have better odds of finding a LTR. I think they're brilliant for being willing to accept the stigma in exchange for being surrounded by hot women all day.

There was only 1 guy in my Women's Roles class and I felt sorry for him. He rarely spoke up. Then something ticked him off and he went on a rant about how his father was Muslim and his mother Christian and they've been married for 35 years without either religion telling them to kill the other. It was passionate and quite beautiful. After that, the women wouldn't leave him alone. He's a fairly attractive guy but it took him saying something intelligent to get any attention and that made me quite proud.

This has been so drifted and tangented away from the thread but I started it so I guess I'm not going to get into too much trouble. *smirk*

 

[ChocolateMoose123]

The INTP I know LOVES LOVES LOVES Lolita.

Intense emotions wrapped in an intellectual package.

One of my favorite books!! But more for the fact that Humbert, Humbert is such a despicable character and yet Nabokov writes so well that you can't help but sympathize with him. Nabokov really does put you through a roller coaster.

Edit: I was just reading over a lot of suggestions. I'm surprised that a lot of the books are so....well, NTish. lol. (I'm an avid reader but I've only read a couple of the suggested readings - most of the others I've been like "Oh, yeah. I saw that one. Didn't interest me". I can only speak for myself but I read things that affect or appeal to my Fe. Because I can safely feel those emotions while reading - it makes reading exciting! Without a book that has a lot of emotional intensity I get bored - fast. For instance, I couldn't get through Catch-22. It was tedious. (Which was sort of Heller's point, I get that - but ugh!). I think reading is my escape from my NTness.

 

[Eiddy]

Ok, so how many have read The Phantom Tollbooth?

 

[FlamingMask]

The only other one that's coming to mind is "Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

Seconded.

I love the Tao Te Ching because it's so simplistic yet powerful and you can go as far down the rabbit hole as you want.

Agreed.

Freakonomics - Dubner/Levitt

This is the only one you've mentioned that I've read. It seemed short to me and not comprehensive but it did a great job of illustrating how you can view things from a certain angle and produce surprising revelations.

My additions:

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert M. Pirsig

Great book which does a good job of stretching the average NT past their comfort zone in an accessible manner. If you enjoy it read the sequel, Lila.

Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer

A book which I think appeals to the romantic idea of escaping technology or industrial society and returning to the basics (Zen is also a bit about that) - and it's non-fiction about a guy who actually did it. Really fascinating and if I remember correctly, full of comparisons to others who tried the same thing throughout history.

Party of One - Anneli Rufus

This is a great book which I especially have to recommend to everyone on this forum. It's about people who the author refers to as "loners." This translates roughly into introverts and the book is really a defense of the commonly misunderstood introspective (which as I'm sure most of us know are less common in the general population than extroverts). A fun read.

Also try anything by Kurt Vonnegut, who I assume is not even close to unheard of here. He's usually identified as a cynic but he's highly entertaining and has a way of viewing things from an alien perspective. Ni perhaps?

If I feel like it I'll recommend some other stuff. But that's enough from me for now.

 

[chasingAJ]

I had to read this book for a class and it can get a little flowery and tedious (for me) but I loved how she made oil futures and American/Iranian politics so emotional.

Oil on the Brain by Lisa Margonelli

 

[Strawberrylover]

One of my favorite books!! But more for the fact that Humbert, Humbert is such a despicable character and yet Nabokov writes so well that you can't help but sympathize with him. Nabokov really does put you through a roller coaster.

I can only speak for myself but I read things that affect or appeal to my Fe. Because I can safely feel those emotions while reading - it makes reading exciting! Without a book that has a lot of emotional intensity I get bored - fast.

It's interesting how the Fe works in INTPs. I'm actually fine with very dry books like Catch-22 that don't have intense emotions but don't do very well with the Lolita type of books.

My kind of "emotional" fiction is Bronte sisters stuff, where emotions are presented as the ultimate truth, for lack of a better phrase, like emotions are true and they don't need to be judged. I've never read Lolita because a part of me always felt that Nabokov was being manipulative and I hated the idea of being lulled into feeling of beauty or love. I read the first page of Lolita once. Nabokov's words were so beautiful that I just couldn't read any more. I couldn't bear the thought of that beauty and those feelings being used to present such monstrous acts.

In general, I don't read much fiction anymore. Maybe it's the Fi? I can't help but take on the feelings and attitudes of the characters. They follow me around for days. I'm getting ready to pick up Lolita again tho!! I really want to get through it this time and hope that my reaction will be more and less

 

[Qre:us]

Did they make a movie from this book?

Yup, Choke


My fave book of all time, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson aka Lewis Caroll.

 

[Lurker]

Oh, oh, I know! The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.

*puke*

 

[wastrd]

Sun Tzu The Art of War
Machievelli The Prince

Meh.

 

[Skyward]

Oh, oh, I know! The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.

*puke*

My INTP friend loves these books.

I think Darwin's Children by Greg Bear would be a good book for this list. It has a couple of theories about evolution that could appeal to NTs.

 

[forzen]

The Bible

Fiction aside, i loved Stephen Hawking's "A brief history of time" and "The Universe in Nutshell".

 

[Lithium Onyx]

The INTP I know LOVES LOVES LOVES Lolita.

Intense emotions wrapped in an intellectual package.

Yeah, I love Lolita, although I haven't read it in a while.

I second The Guide, and also suggest To Kill a Mockingbird, though you've probably read it before. Fahrenheit 451 and Shakespeare's The Tempest are great reads. I can't seem to think of anything that an NT specifically would enjoy though.

 

[Tallulah]

My favorite book is probably To Kill a Mockingbird. I just think it's every bit as good as people say it is. Just expertly written. If I was going to write one book and one book only, ala Harper Lee, that would be a heck of a book to write.

I somehow didn't ever have to read 1984 before grad school, but I really, really liked it once I read it.

 

[statuesquechica]

The Unbearable Lightness of Being--fantastic book that looks at intimate relationships from a T and F aspect. One of my favorites books.

1984--brilliant

 

[TSDesigner]

How to Win Friends and Influence People
Psycho Cybernetics
Six Pillars of Self Esteem
Maximum Achievement
The 4 Hour Work Week
Think and Grow Rich
Your Right to be Rich

 

[mhina]

How to solve it by George Pólya was a brilliant read. It was almost like a manual on Ti but I imagine NTs in general will like it.

 

[wolfy]

How to solve it by George Pólya was a brilliant read. It was almost like a manual on Ti but I imagine NTs in general will like it.

Yeah, that is a good book.

 

[The Decline]

I just read "Fabric of the Cosmos" by Brian Greene, if you're feeling science-y.
I'm also a big fan of HP Lovecraft for fiction. I can't think of any book that is quintessentially NT though.

This is curious... my INTJ friend loves Lovecraft as well.