Topic

Books on philosophy and how to live, as recommended by thoughtful readers

Old and new answers to the question of how to live well — Stoics and Montaigne, Frankl and Alan Watts, and contemporary books on attention, mortality and parenting.

371 books · 497 recommendations from 97 people

Where to start

  1. Man's Search for Meaning

    Viktor E. Frankl

    Shane Parrish's number one life-changing book, and on Maria Popova's list of books on how to live.

  2. Meditations

    Marcus Aurelius

    Chosen by both Stewart Brand and Shane Parrish.

  3. The Waste Books

    Georg Christoph Lichtenberg

    A 10/10 for Derek Sivers and 'the best of the best' for Austin Kleon in 2024.

Every philosophy & how to live book in the directory

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