H.P. Lovecraft

Its generally lauded as being great and while it is great, the hikikomori side is never really explored realistically. Despite his isolation he seems to have a lot of "deus ex-machina" type of encounter that throw romance, love, toxicity, friendship, and yearning in his lap.

It's a good story but not a good Hikikomori story. If you want a Hikikomori story where the MC slowly builds himself by himself, I've found "The NPCs in this village sim must be real" by Hirakumi to be way more sympathetic.

One of the few books that continually provides me with peace in the darkest times of my life and more often than not manages to rid my mind of most of its whirling thoughts that cause great suffering to it.

One of the rare books that changes on subsequent reads - not because you know the plot better or anything - but because you yourself are now changed. I don't know how to explain it, really.

This is also the best translation of this text as far as I'm concerned. There's a passage that roughly reads - "Enmity aren't quenched by enmity. Enmity are quenched by lack of enmity.". Other translators have often substituted it as "Enmity aren't quenched by enmity. Enmity are quenched by love." - which is totally different. Mr. Carter, however, successfully manages to retain the neutrality of The Buddha's teachings while maintaining the poetry The Buddha was so clearly fond of.

Its a book I can truly say has taken the attention of my mind through its words and has slowly, carefully, moulded it in a way that it now is permanently changed - for the better.

How many books, can you say, have the capacity to do that?