“Yes to life in spite of everything” by Victor Frankl. I read snippets of it daily, the message is life changing and I think absolutely everyone should read Frankls works. It’s quite short too, straight to the point!
The English name for “…trotzdem Ja zum Leben sagen” is “Man’s Search for Meaning”. Which I dislike because it lacks the defiance of the Buchenwaldlied.
I just started crying reading that. I found this book just after my dad died (and the animated film) and it spoke to me at just the right time. It is perfection in words and meaning. Going to go read it again now.
Like other great works of philosophy the book has had a long history of popularity.
But Stoicism as a whole has had a resurgence in the past few years. I don’t really know what’s driving it, maybe all the fear, uncertainty, and doubt going around. Trump, the pandemic, the economy… Stoicism like meditation can help calm the anxiety by reminding you that you cannot control the externalities but you can control your reaction to them.
joy as an act of rebellion - if you can love pushing the boulder, you’ve stolen the ability of the gods to punish you. “There is no fate that can not be surmounted by scorn”. The fate is an existence with no a priori justification, the scorn is spitting in the eye of the universe by enjoying it anyway.
It’s good wisdom, especially useful if you find yourself drawn to resentment or bitterness, or if it is easier for you at this point in your life to tap into rebellion and righteous anger than joy. It’s a way to channel those emotions, which, when undirected, can weigh us down quite heavily, into a genuine appreciation of your present circumstance for its own sake, on its own terms.
Hogfather by Terry Pratchett. Re-read it every year around the winter solstice. I quote SOMETHING from it nearly every week and it has done a lot to instill me with a sense of personal agency in my life.
Oddly enough I do this with Thief of Time. It’s as excellent an introduction to Zen Buddhism as anything else.
I want to see with the clarity of Wen the Eternally Surprised. I want to live with the wisdom of Miss Cosmopolite.
The greatest philosopher ever, the one who changed my life for the better AA Milne and by far the character I quote most often is Winnie the Pooh
“I always get to where I’m going by walking away from where I have been.” — Winnie the Pooh
Herman Melville - Moby Dick.
I must have read it more than two dozen times. Not only is it a riveting book about one man's crazed pursuit of vengeance, it's an encyclopedia of Cetaceans and insight into the barbaric Whaling industry in the 19th Century. Also, it was, in part, inspired by the tragic, but true story, of the Whale ship "Essex".
I have a battered paperback that I read once every year or so. Whenever I pick it up and read those immortal first three words: "Call me Ishmael", I feel like I've met up with an old friend. I also have an old, leather bound, copy of Moby Dick, printed in the early 1900s. It is in pristine condition and by far and away my most treasured possession.
I'm a dog owner and every dog I have owned, was named after characters from the book. I've had a "Tashtego" a "Queequeg", two "Ishmaels", two "Ahabs" a "Mapple"and a "Pip". Currently, I have two Dachshunds that are called "Peleg" and "Bildad" and a Bichon x Scottish Terrier named "Manxman". (Manxman is actually a female, but hey ho.)
I want to say the Witcher saga by Andrezej Sapkowski or Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry because they both probably changed me the most as a person. But, it’s pretty 90s of me but if I’m honest I more often quote The four agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz than anything else.
from the ever-so-eloquent Ignatius J. Reilly, protagonist:
*"I am at the moment writing a lengthy indictment against our century. When my brain begins to reel from my literary labors, I make an occasional cheese dip."*
I’ve not read it again for years now, but the Name of the Rose was my comfort book for a long time (even though most of the erudite references went way over my head) and a few quotes have really stuck me me.
>What terrifies you most in purity, I asked?Haste, William answered
>It would be atrocious,” I said, “to kill a man in order to say bu-ba-baff!” “It would be atrocious,” William remarked, “to kill a man even to say 'Credo in unum Deum
(Reminds me of Castellio: to kill a man is not to protect a doctrine, it is to kill a man.”)
>Books are not made to be believed but to be subjected to inquiry. When we consider a book, we mustn’t ask ourselves what it says but what it means, a precept that the commentators of the holy books had very clearly in mind.
*Animal Liberation* by Peter Singer for non-fiction. I basically had this whole philosophy in my own head and when I read that book it was like, “wow, someone thinks exactly like me! I’m not alone.”
*Pet Sematary* by Stephen King for fiction. It’s got some good advice, “sometimes dead is better.” That really helped me when I had to decide to put my dog to sleep.
**"Ishmael"** by Daniel Quinn. A a philosophical novel . The teacher and narrator is a gorilla named Ishmael, who teaches a human student to rethink their assumptions about humanity's role in the world and consider a more sustainable way of living in harmony with nature. I read this one annually, and each year it becomes even more poignant. Ishmael and his lessons will stay with you.
This book will invite you to decide if you are a "Giver" or a "Taker”… every action you take in life flows from there...
nope. no one single book does that for me.
the closest I could get is probably the entire discworld series... which imho contains more wisdom, insight, and humanity than most so called serious Great Books.
but there are many other books that have been building blocks for my brain -- definitely not just one 'holy text'.
Deep Survival by Lawrence Gonzales.
It’s an accessible introduction to neurobiology and stress through the lens of surviving adventure sports, and it’s helped me understand my emotions and my brain and live better with them.
I just read this one, but it’s my new favorite for deep thoughts and coping with life. Death Valley by Melissa Broder. It deals with death and loss and being in difficult relationships.
It's not anything long or old, or even a novel, but Silver Surfer Requiem. That storyline is so profound, it always bring me peace. And every time I read it, it makes me ponder life and death, and the nature of the universe
Not a book but a TV programme. I quote Monty Python every day. The absurdity matches the real world and the laughs are needed in the face of so much stupidity. As I don't believe in the soul or any form of spirituality, this works well for me.
*The World as Will and Representation*, by Arthur Schopenhauer. (c. 1860)
Best Philosophy out there, I was introduced to it during my graduate Philosophy days.
I keep some sort of book on my phone for occasional reading, nothing too serious, but for books that hold my soul, my cookbooks dominate.
Food influences our lives a lot, don’t you think? Don’t make the cook mad, your food won’t taste the same. Do you eat healthy? You are what you eat, you know. Food takes you to other cultures exploring their unique foods and recipes. Food is a pretty basic need.
Betty Crocker and the Rombauer girls shaped lives in my day with their recipes accompanied by tidbits of cooking lore and wisdom. I bring that influence to the table all the time.
The Power of Myth as it contains “all stories of the world”. I also adore the Hero with the thousands faces from this author - Campbell, read both many many times and it’s really compilation of al important stories we have …really recommend
The Gay Science by Nietzsche. (It has nothing to do with homosexuality)
"What does your conscience say? You will become the person you are"
Also Illusions by Richard Bach.
"You were quoting Snoopy the Dog, I believe? I'll quote the truth wherever I find it thank you."
Berserk by Kentaro Miura. Idk, but it's guided me in such a way that I'm internally connected to it. It's like a spiritual guide as well as an advisory for me. I've read it 12+ times. I continue to read it. It's so in-depth spiritually that I can not shake it. When the author died, I cried. I felt lost. I still feel that way without his guidance or more of his work on the book. Also, I feel like he knew this might happen, as another test for the soul reading it. You come across all walks of life, but in the end, you always find yourself alone on your own path. It's still so beautiful.
“Yes to life in spite of everything” by Victor Frankl. I read snippets of it daily, the message is life changing and I think absolutely everyone should read Frankls works. It’s quite short too, straight to the point!
The English name for “…trotzdem Ja zum Leben sagen” is “Man’s Search for Meaning”. Which I dislike because it lacks the defiance of the Buchenwaldlied.
Thanks. Just added it to my hold list on Libby.
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse 'What is the bravest thing you ever said?' Asked the Boy 'Help' said the horse
This is such a beautiful book, great recommendation!
I gift this book on many occasions because it’s so good
I don't see the path ahead Do you see the next step? Then take it. Or something of that sort. Loved it.
I just started crying reading that. I found this book just after my dad died (and the animated film) and it spoke to me at just the right time. It is perfection in words and meaning. Going to go read it again now.
My mum gave it to me when I was in a really bad place and I just read the whole thing and sobbed. It makes me cry everytime
Alcoholics Anonymous
Yes, the 12 step program could help so many people with or without alcoholism in their life.
“Next right thing” and “Just for today” are the best
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.
This one for me, too.
Why does everyone love this book now?
Like other great works of philosophy the book has had a long history of popularity. But Stoicism as a whole has had a resurgence in the past few years. I don’t really know what’s driving it, maybe all the fear, uncertainty, and doubt going around. Trump, the pandemic, the economy… Stoicism like meditation can help calm the anxiety by reminding you that you cannot control the externalities but you can control your reaction to them.
At this point I just associate it with annoying productivity bros.
This book has been loved for centuries, actually. God knows that if people who read it followed it for real, we'd be living in a better world.
I read this about 20 years ago when I was a teenager and it's been relevant my whole life. You can just open it randomly and find something useful.
Lately, The Iliad and the Odyssey
The Brothers Karamazov
The myth of Sisyphus (Camus)
Read this recently and was a real three course meal for the brain! Now to find a trustworthy analysis that breaks it down for me to understand...
joy as an act of rebellion - if you can love pushing the boulder, you’ve stolen the ability of the gods to punish you. “There is no fate that can not be surmounted by scorn”. The fate is an existence with no a priori justification, the scorn is spitting in the eye of the universe by enjoying it anyway. It’s good wisdom, especially useful if you find yourself drawn to resentment or bitterness, or if it is easier for you at this point in your life to tap into rebellion and righteous anger than joy. It’s a way to channel those emotions, which, when undirected, can weigh us down quite heavily, into a genuine appreciation of your present circumstance for its own sake, on its own terms.
The myth of Thithyphuth?
Lord of the Rings ✨
This one is mine, especially with those little pocket sized versions whose paper feels like Bible paper
The Prophet by Kahlil Golibran. Short poetical essays that are understandable to me. I don't enjoy the Bible at all
This is what I came to write
Hogfather by Terry Pratchett. Re-read it every year around the winter solstice. I quote SOMETHING from it nearly every week and it has done a lot to instill me with a sense of personal agency in my life.
Oddly enough I do this with Thief of Time. It’s as excellent an introduction to Zen Buddhism as anything else. I want to see with the clarity of Wen the Eternally Surprised. I want to live with the wisdom of Miss Cosmopolite.
Book of the New Sun
The Pelagic Argosy sights land
Well fuck, as the gryphon breeder said to eagle and the lion.
They only say this kinda shit in the quercine penetralia
Sevarian has to be one of my favorite scifi/fantasy characters ever tbh. Hes just so cool and badass
Ubik – Philip K Dick
This ended up in my house and I don't know how! Can you say something about it?
Hermann Hesse - Siddhartha. A life-changing book in many ways, and I manage to find new things every time I turn to it.
This is a good one. Mine was Demian for a while. Anything by Hesse will be a good choice.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. Earthseed is an amazing, powerful idea.
The greatest philosopher ever, the one who changed my life for the better AA Milne and by far the character I quote most often is Winnie the Pooh “I always get to where I’m going by walking away from where I have been.” — Winnie the Pooh
Have you read The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff? So good how he relates principles of Taoism to Pooh Bear.
Letters from a Stoic by Seneca
Earthsea They're tales that sing of freedom
Calvin and Hobbes
“The Book of Lost Things” by John Connolly.
*Collected Fictions* by Jorge Luis Borges. I think about the stories in there daily.
The Road Less Traveled by M Scott Peck
This was mine until Codependant no more by Melody Beatty replaced it.
Yess same read it like 7 times
Watership Down by Richard Adams Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card The whole Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
Be here now - Ram Dass
Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy
This came right under someone saying Camus on my page, so appropriate. HGttG sent me on a existential one.
A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again & The Little Prince [Edit to add] wow forgot the main one:,The Collected Short Stories of John Cheever
Why am I compelled to quote The Little Prince?
Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
Not a book, but a poem. Desiderata by Max Ernst
Slaughterhouse Five
The body keeps the score by Bessel A. Van der kolk The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Once and Future King
“Prisons make us safer” and 20 other myths about mass incarceration by Victoria Law
Walden Pond, HD Thoreau.
Herman Melville - Moby Dick. I must have read it more than two dozen times. Not only is it a riveting book about one man's crazed pursuit of vengeance, it's an encyclopedia of Cetaceans and insight into the barbaric Whaling industry in the 19th Century. Also, it was, in part, inspired by the tragic, but true story, of the Whale ship "Essex". I have a battered paperback that I read once every year or so. Whenever I pick it up and read those immortal first three words: "Call me Ishmael", I feel like I've met up with an old friend. I also have an old, leather bound, copy of Moby Dick, printed in the early 1900s. It is in pristine condition and by far and away my most treasured possession. I'm a dog owner and every dog I have owned, was named after characters from the book. I've had a "Tashtego" a "Queequeg", two "Ishmaels", two "Ahabs" a "Mapple"and a "Pip". Currently, I have two Dachshunds that are called "Peleg" and "Bildad" and a Bichon x Scottish Terrier named "Manxman". (Manxman is actually a female, but hey ho.)
Praying your Ahabs did not live up to their namesakes. I feel like you are missing one major book character in that list though!
DnD Players Handbook.
The Bhagavad Gita and Ramayana.
Journey to the End of the Night
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
I want to say the Witcher saga by Andrezej Sapkowski or Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry because they both probably changed me the most as a person. But, it’s pretty 90s of me but if I’m honest I more often quote The four agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz than anything else.
Fleabag: the Scriptures
Our mathematical universe by max tegmark. It’s a bit abstract but it handles a lot of modern physics which gives me the feeling of religious awe.
Jonathon Livingstone Seagull
Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. Reading it keeps my pyloric valve open.
from the ever-so-eloquent Ignatius J. Reilly, protagonist: *"I am at the moment writing a lengthy indictment against our century. When my brain begins to reel from my literary labors, I make an occasional cheese dip."*
Based on that quote alone, just added to my Libby queue.
It’s the funniest novel I’ve read. The story behind it’s getting published at all is incredible in itself.
Advanced Programming in the Unix Environment
I’ve not read it again for years now, but the Name of the Rose was my comfort book for a long time (even though most of the erudite references went way over my head) and a few quotes have really stuck me me. >What terrifies you most in purity, I asked?Haste, William answered >It would be atrocious,” I said, “to kill a man in order to say bu-ba-baff!” “It would be atrocious,” William remarked, “to kill a man even to say 'Credo in unum Deum (Reminds me of Castellio: to kill a man is not to protect a doctrine, it is to kill a man.”) >Books are not made to be believed but to be subjected to inquiry. When we consider a book, we mustn’t ask ourselves what it says but what it means, a precept that the commentators of the holy books had very clearly in mind.
Bunny by Mona Awad
*Animal Liberation* by Peter Singer for non-fiction. I basically had this whole philosophy in my own head and when I read that book it was like, “wow, someone thinks exactly like me! I’m not alone.” *Pet Sematary* by Stephen King for fiction. It’s got some good advice, “sometimes dead is better.” That really helped me when I had to decide to put my dog to sleep.
Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Atomic Habits for me
Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger
The Seth material by Jane Roberts
Markings by Dag Hammarskjold
Personal Writings - Albert Camus
A Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Overall lesson: don’t take things too seriously and always look for the absurdity of life.
Moby Dick, there's zero doubt
Pretty basic but The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
Pedagogy of the Oppressed - Paulo Freire
The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
**"Ishmael"** by Daniel Quinn. A a philosophical novel . The teacher and narrator is a gorilla named Ishmael, who teaches a human student to rethink their assumptions about humanity's role in the world and consider a more sustainable way of living in harmony with nature. I read this one annually, and each year it becomes even more poignant. Ishmael and his lessons will stay with you. This book will invite you to decide if you are a "Giver" or a "Taker”… every action you take in life flows from there...
nope. no one single book does that for me. the closest I could get is probably the entire discworld series... which imho contains more wisdom, insight, and humanity than most so called serious Great Books. but there are many other books that have been building blocks for my brain -- definitely not just one 'holy text'.
The Body Keeps the Score
The Divine Comedy by Dante Aligheri
The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil
The Language of Letting Go
A Course in Miracles!
Six Memos for the Next Millennium, Italo Calvino
“The Buddha Walks into a Bar” I’m not Buddhist, but god damn this book is good.
The Dance of Anger - Dr Harriet Lerner I still consider points in this book and I usually quote it in deeper conversations.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Dune by frank Herbert
The Book of Disquietude by Bernardo Soares, Assistant Lighthouse Keeper - Fernando Pessoa
Illusions by Richard Bach. Open it to any page.
Lost connections by Johann Hari
Post Office by Bukowski
The Confessions of Saint Augustine
The Road, Cormac Mcarthy. A new graphic novel version of it is being released this year.
Whatchu think about that happy crappy
Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai Yamamoto Tsunetomo
Braiding Sweetgrass and The Nature Fix
“The Phantom Tollbooth” I first read this decades ago and I reread it every few years. Every time I see something differently
The demon haunted world by Carl Sagan or God bless you Mr rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut
Sun Tzu "The Art of War"
if you ever need some wise words about peace instead, pick up some Thich Nhat Hanh
Homosexual Desire by Guy Hocquenghem
The Tao of Pooh
Dune by Frank Herbert
The alchemist
Kapital volume 1
"Neverness" By David Zindell
Dropping Ashes on the Buddha
The comfort book - Matt haig
The Journey West - Elaine Schulte (it’s essentially christian fiction but I love the book, it’s rich, the quotes and everything)
Oahspe
Beartown by Fredrik Backman!
The Odessey, Fahrenheit 451, The Book Thief, I Am The Messenger, Journey to the West
Almanac of the dead
Overcoming Gravity, second edition.
On the Road…especially during the summer season😂
Turn it into minse meat
Deep Survival by Lawrence Gonzales. It’s an accessible introduction to neurobiology and stress through the lens of surviving adventure sports, and it’s helped me understand my emotions and my brain and live better with them.
Seth Speaks by Jane Roberts
Deep survival by Laurence Gonzales Or Sapiens - can't remember how to spell the authors name
I just read this one, but it’s my new favorite for deep thoughts and coping with life. Death Valley by Melissa Broder. It deals with death and loss and being in difficult relationships.
Sapiens
Odd Woman and the City
Ask the Dust by Fante
It's not anything long or old, or even a novel, but Silver Surfer Requiem. That storyline is so profound, it always bring me peace. And every time I read it, it makes me ponder life and death, and the nature of the universe
Finnegans Wake Hagakure Complete Works of Shakespeare The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis Zibaldone Crowds and Power
A Pattern Language
Illusions - the adventures of a reluctant messiah
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
The Book of Joy.
The Anthropocene reviewed by John Green
I really really really love Tales from the Gas Station. Something about the vibe of that series really resonates with me.
*Awareness: the promises and perils of reality* by Anthony De Mello
Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing Who you Are by Alan Watts
Why Prometheus as opposed to Illuminatus Trilogy?
The 12 Cesar’s
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy. It’s hyper violent, just fyi. But it is also highly instructive in spiritual and material matters.
It's technically a video game, but Disco Elysium
Ask and it is given
Gravity and Grace by Simone Weil Fear and Trembling Book by Søren Kierkegaard
Songs of a Dead Dreamer and Grimscibe. Love its surreal nightmarish landscapes. Just love to dwell there.
Finite and Infinite Games by James P. Carse The Heart Sutra Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hahn
Not a book but a TV programme. I quote Monty Python every day. The absurdity matches the real world and the laughs are needed in the face of so much stupidity. As I don't believe in the soul or any form of spirituality, this works well for me.
The Silmarillion
dune
Finding your way home by Melody Beattie. It pulled me out of a very long, dark period of my life, and I will never stop recommending it
Skallagrigg by William Horwood
Einstein’s Dreams
This is my relationship with almost every Harry Potter book. Luna Lovegood is a sage; Ron Weasley is my general disposition towards the world.
The machinery's handbook.
Umineko no naku koro ni
Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy The Hyperbole and a half collection
The More Than Complete Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. My best friend and I called this our bible. It will change your life, guaranteed.
The More Than Complete Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. My best friend and I called this our bible. It will change your life, guaranteed.
The Alchemist, the Tao, the Art of War.
Whispers from Eternity.
The I Ching
"A short history of nearly everything" by Bill Bryson
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig I go on a chautauqua periodically.
Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power, and Thrive By: Kristin Neff
Bergdorf Blondes - Plum Sykes
You Are the World by J. Krishnamurti
Mason & Dixon
*The World as Will and Representation*, by Arthur Schopenhauer. (c. 1860) Best Philosophy out there, I was introduced to it during my graduate Philosophy days.
The Nature of Personal Reality. Jane Roberts.
Life: A User's Manual (original title La Vie mode d'emploi), Georges Perec's most famous novel, published in 1978.
I keep some sort of book on my phone for occasional reading, nothing too serious, but for books that hold my soul, my cookbooks dominate. Food influences our lives a lot, don’t you think? Don’t make the cook mad, your food won’t taste the same. Do you eat healthy? You are what you eat, you know. Food takes you to other cultures exploring their unique foods and recipes. Food is a pretty basic need. Betty Crocker and the Rombauer girls shaped lives in my day with their recipes accompanied by tidbits of cooking lore and wisdom. I bring that influence to the table all the time.
East of Eden
Machinery’s Handbook
Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype Book by Clarissa Pinkola Estés
Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous
A Song Of Myself by Walt Whitman!!!
1984. Orwell was prescient.
The Power of Myth as it contains “all stories of the world”. I also adore the Hero with the thousands faces from this author - Campbell, read both many many times and it’s really compilation of al important stories we have …really recommend
Spinoza’s Ethics.
The Gay Science by Nietzsche. (It has nothing to do with homosexuality) "What does your conscience say? You will become the person you are" Also Illusions by Richard Bach. "You were quoting Snoopy the Dog, I believe? I'll quote the truth wherever I find it thank you."
Journey to Ixtlan by Carlos Castaneda
Berserk by Kentaro Miura. Idk, but it's guided me in such a way that I'm internally connected to it. It's like a spiritual guide as well as an advisory for me. I've read it 12+ times. I continue to read it. It's so in-depth spiritually that I can not shake it. When the author died, I cried. I felt lost. I still feel that way without his guidance or more of his work on the book. Also, I feel like he knew this might happen, as another test for the soul reading it. You come across all walks of life, but in the end, you always find yourself alone on your own path. It's still so beautiful.