[galephico]

Altruism - Mathieu Ricard

Search Inside Yourself - Chade-Meng Tan

Bible - several authors

Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse

Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk

Eléments de Philosophie Angélique - Denis Marquet (french)

Au coeur de l'instant - Jean Bouchart d'Orval (french)

[epsylon]

The one book that I first thought of when I read the OP's original question was Mathieu Ricard's L'Art de la Méditation (an English translation aptly named The Art of Meditation is available).

At some point in my life, while I was going through severe depression, I got interested (by the folks on HN) into looking more into Buddhist philosophy and meditation. This little book, quick to read, made me realize that our selves are not what we think they are, and that our emotions are impermanent, that we can deal with them by simply acknowledging them instead of letting them overthrow us. It's a brilliant simple idea, though it is harder to put into practice. (I am still not quite managing to be a regular meditator to this day)

This little book changed my life, and I've now bought it or lent it to several people from my friends or family in the hope that it may have the same impact on them as it had on me.

[galephico]

I forgot to list this book but it is changing at the moment my way of managing thoughts and feelings, especially strong ones. Thanks !