Definitely an "N" Word

I believe that books have power. For every person who goes around impotently spouting that the pen is mightier than the sword, there is a text out there that has altered lives, inspired greatness, and changed the course of nations. There are people who have completely retooled their personalities in order to adapt to what they've read in The Bible, and we could belabor the significance of Mein Kampf in creating the modern world to the tune of at least a handful of graduate degrees. Books convey thoughts, and no, the pen is not mightier than the sword. It's just that the pen, in the right hands, can compel others to swing that sword in any direction you please.

Scientia est potentia. Books are the meter by which this is measured. They're the intellectual equivalent of energon cubes, and I feel that no book is more powerful than The Necronomicon.

The Necronomicon has a few contradicting histories, but it is generally agreed upon that it is a powerful book filled with information that mankind was simply not meant to have. Some say the book is written in blood and bound with skin. Some say it contains historical information on elder gods, some say it's a book of spells. There are plenty of stories that detail the fates of those who come across this book, and how it warps them as they tamper with forces they could not begin to comprehend.

I mention all of this because last night I started reading Cialdini's Influence, and I literally — literally — had to put it down after page four. It was late but I wasn't tired. I put the book away and tossed and turned fitfully until late into the next morning because Influence is clearly the same kind of book as The Necronomicon, and it possesses an incredible aura of power. This book gives its readers powers. Great powers.

These are powers that mankind simply should not have. I'm kind of curious what page five is like, though.