Ask HN: Which books have made you introspect?

[deathWasp271]

Hi all, Nearly an year ago, I faced a life-shattering crisis that completely wrecked my world view. Since then I have rebuilt up from scratch, and I have found that a lot of the things that I used to believe were false. Books such as Man's Search for Meaning have been very pivotal in that regard. What books could you recommend for the same?

[zuzuleinen]

I highly recommend 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos.

This book gave me the courage to take responsibility in my life and start working towards things which are important for myself. As the author once said, you don't get not to pay a price, you only get what price to pay.

It actually gave me the courage to leave Berlin and go back to my country(Romania) which even though is more poor and low in quality of public services, my friends and family are there and they are a priority for me right now.

It also thought me to make small changes in my every day life even though is something as small as cleaning my room. And these small changes give me enough confidence to pursue bigger ones like quitting smoking for good.

[sarabande]

This book was not worth the hype for me; I read the whole thing, but regret purchasing it.

- It sorely needed an editor. Echoing other's sentiments, it could have been < 1/3 of its length. The writing style was rambling, overly emphatic, and arguments were often not coherent.

- It used a gratuitous amount of Bible quotes, which

  1. weren't necessary to make his point,

  2. were often referenced as if they were data, and how people actually behave, rather than anecdotes/fiction

I got suckered into to buying the book because the author is a compelling public speaker. I enjoy his lectures.

In retrospect, though, part of what makes him a compelling public speaker are his highly emotional arguments, which don't seem to be founded on great reasoning, and therefore make for a bad book, since we have more time to be critical about arguments when reading.

[pulkitsh1234]

For some reason I am repulsive towards 'self-help' books. I always have a feeling that you just cannot sum up all the things to be "happy" or "content" or whatever in one book. I have seen numerous people who read inspirational quotes/books but the act the opposite way. I feel it is very difficult to change how the internals of a person work, reading a book will definitely push you in the right direction, motivate you, elate you, change your mental models[0]. But to bring those changes in your actual life, seems quite difficult and time consuming. Can your "mental model" be modified just by reading 1-2 books ?

I am interested to know, how often when you face a situation, you stop and think, oh I read this and that in a book, I should act this way instead of my natural intuition to do the other way.

Given the limited experience with life I have and the fact that I haven't read any of the self-help books, I am willing to change my perspective regarding this. Will give a shot to '12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos.'

[0] => "It’s Okay to “Forget” What You Read" https://medium.com/the-polymath-project/its-okay-to-forget-w...

[philangist]

I loved the message of self-reliance and "bearing your burden" in the book personally, it really reminded me of Mark Manson's The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck. Could've done without all the religious metaphor but I understand the point of it being there.

[taeric]

I just finished the audible of this. The emotion in his voice for some of the more laden sections was tough. I confess I was almost in treats for the section of his daughter's health.

I have not reformulated my understanding of the rules. Definitely plan to.

Regardless, I second all you put here. Good luck on your decisions!

[sireat]

12 Rules for Life reads like a skilled astrologer would write: many vague clouded truisms, lots of exceptions, covers pretty much all bases.

No wonder people are getting insights out of the book. It is practically impossible not to!

[dfsegoat]

Life changing and powerful. Simply no other book will make you as introspective as this.

IMO The next closest thing - in terms of creating introspection - is a psychedelic / psychotropic experience with accompanying ego-death [1].

[1] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego_death

[gadders]

I like the principles in the book, but it could have been edited down to about a 1/3rd the length. It reads like transcriptions of his lectures, rather than something intended to be prose.

[pc2g4d]

I'll add a recommendation for the condensed audio version of "Maps of Meaning" available on his podcast. From Amazon's blurb on the book: "A cutting-edge work that brings together neuropsychology, cognitive science, and Freudian and Jungian approaches to mythology and narrative, Maps of Meaning presents a rich theory that makes the wisdom and meaning of myth accessible to the critical modern mind."

[moretai]

You remember how Ryan Holiday got pretty famous quite a while back? I like Jordan Peterson, but I fear that he's the same kind of phenomenon. He's just curating all these sources, and we view him as a genius and a pancea for our anxiety ridden young adults.

[bmpafa]

All of these are novels. In my 20s I felt guilty and frivolous for reading fiction, but eventually I realized I could learn a lot more walking in a protagonist's shoes than I could reading self help etc.

'My Struggle' by knausgard. Lengthy but worth it, even if you only read book 1. On face it's just the angst of some middle class writer, but following him into the recesses of his own introspection is really something.

The borderlands trilogy, Cormac McCarthy. This guy tackles major existential questions in his fairly simple (but dark) stories. it'd help to have basic grasp of Spanish for these books

And maybe my favorite book, Lullabies for little criminals by Heather O'Neill. It's about a little girl who's being raised by a junky and is coerced into prostitution. Obviously a very dark premise, but the way the protagonist experiences it made me think a lot about resilience, relative hardship,etc.

[gajjanag]

Fiction is in general severely underrated among STEM people today, with many arguing for how it is a waste of time, etc. I was fortunate enough to grow up in an environment where I had good access to it, and a healthy level of support for my interest.

THe thing I find funny about this is that many of the "STEM legends" such as von Neumann, Ulam, Einstein and others had read a lot of classical literature. Einstein himself is quoted saying: "Dostoevsky gives me more than any scientist, more than Gauss." I just make sure I give this quote only when there are no number theorists in the room.

Sure, if one just confines oneself to the "popular" works on a standard YA list, it may be reasonable to conclude that some fiction is not worth reading for a STEM person. However, the classics are classics for a reason after all.

Moreover, it is also not implausible that a discerning eye can find plenty of great worth in modern authors as well, something the parent has done.

[billfruit]

Perhaps on a similar vein, I recommend Montaignes Essays, even though it is not fiction, he lets you peek into his deepest thoughts, is a masterful lesson in understanding one's own self and other people.

[fluxic]

Lullabies for little criminals is an INCREDIBLE book.

[spodek]

I'll answer your question first, then suggest something I consider more important, having survived several life-shattering crises.

- The Tao Te Ching, especially Ron Hogan's translation (freely downloadable here: http://beatrice.com/wordpress/tao-te-ching)

- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Jean-Dominique Bauby

- Getting Things Done, David Allen

- Gimp, Marc Zupan

- Thinking in Systems, Donella Meadows

- Leadership Step by Step, Joshua Spodek (full disclosure: me, https://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Step-Become-Person-Others/...)

The suggestion I consider more valuable is to focus more on active behavior than relatively passive reading. Of course, still read. But it's easy to read more and more, telling yourself you're getting more perspective. You are, but nothing changes your perspective like actually moving.

Even if you don't know what will work best -- meditation, fitness, art, music, travel, cooking, gardening, starting a business, etc -- starting with something, even if you soon abandon it, will lead you to things you love and that develop you faster than reading alone. Plus activity will make what you read more meaningful.

I include my book because it's specifically a book of exercises that lead to developing social and emotional skills designed to build on each other.

[Jun8]

> more valuable is to focus more on active behavior than relatively passive reading

This, I believe, is the true answer to the OPs question. I suffer from an illusion, very common I think, that in order to get better at something, be it C++, life, or interactions with your SO, one has to first collect information and experiences from other people. Not that this is the wrong thing to do, but it has to be interleaved with acting on the information.

Think of reading books (or, in general, information collection) as earning money. What are you going to do with all that money in the bank? It's a means, right? To what end?

A quote I repeat many times a year from to myself _why: "When you don't create things, you become defined by your tastes rather than ability."

[emodendroket]

If I'm being honest, I read a lot of books, but the only one I can think of really substantially changing my worldview was the Bible. Since you probably do not want to read the entire thing I am particularly a fan of Ecclesiastes, and maybe you could try some of the gospels if you still have steam after that.

[leksak]

Flowers for Algernon, without a shadow of a doubt, had a huge impact on how I regard intelligence in others and myself, and it also put the pursuit of success into a new context for me. Lastly, it made me evaluate the prospects one has going into life, with respect to what is (and isn't) under once's control.

[aytekin]

“A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy” by William Irvine has taught me appreciate what I have and take it easy on myself when things don’t go as planned.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0040JHNQG/

[jm__87]

A lot of people here are offering up books with life advice (though I saw a recommendation for Sapiens which I can also highly recommend) which may or may not help depending on what your problem is. Why not just practice introspection daily through meditation instead? For some motivation and evidence on what it can do for you, I'd recommend "Why Buddhism is True". In spite of its title, the book aims to give some logic behind mindfulness meditation. If specifically you have been dealing with chronic low mood as a result of your life shattering crisis, I'd also recommend "The Mindful Way Through Depression". If that isn't an issue for you, I personally enjoy Jon Kabat Zinn's writing in general so I'd research and pick up one of his books. Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg and Jack Kornfield are some others in this field who have a lot of experience teaching mindfulness meditation in a Western context and have a lot of very useful advice when it comes to practicing mindfulness meditation. There is another popular "how to meditate" book out there called The Mind Illuminated which I see recommended on HN every now and then, though I personally feel it is a bit overkill (it is more of a textbook). With regard to Alan Watts, I've only read "The Wisdom of Insecurity" and personally found it to be a waste of time and money, though I guess you can read it online for free so that saves you the money at least :).

[db1]

1. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

Mostly the bits about how our society is mostly built on collective fictions.

2. Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse

I remember being very moved reading this, but I can't quite remember why.

Looks like it's time to re-read it.

[libertine]

> I remember being very moved reading this, but I can't quite remember why.

I think it's the unfolding of someone who sought knowledge and enlightenment throughout his life and the feeling of impotence he felt when sharing knowledge that can only be transmitted/obtained through life experiences.

You have to live life in order to be enlighted. He always "knew it" in reality, but he didn't have the life experience to really know it.

Elders knowledge won't do it - you can't live/experience life through others experiences/knowledge.

After some age, I think we tend to relate to this because we recall people trying to pass knowledge to us and it never clicked until we lived such events. After that, everything gets a new dimension.

[acrodrig]

I second Siddhartha, I think it's the closest I have come to understanding "enlightenment" (whatever it may mean for each person). Give it a try.

[ramblerman]

> Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

I couldn't follow him in all his conclusions, namely the hunter gatherer worship, that things were in a sense better for them.

But it's probably in the top 3 books I've ever read, best in the last 5 years.

[grumdan]

Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse is also a great read, dealing with feelings of meaninglessness and how they relate to one's identity.

[barrkel]

Glass Bead Game by Hesse put academia, and system building of the mind in general, in perspective for me.

[zuzuleinen]

Siddhartha is such a great book. I actually read it slower just to enjoy it for a longer time :)

[kyoob]

"Finite and Infinite Games" by James Carse. Makes me think a lot about the rat race versus a life lived for a higher purpose. My copy is pretty worn out from my carrying it around a rereading it.

If you like graphic novels, the ending of "Asterios Polyp" made me gasp and put the book down and walk outside to mull it all over.

[bottled_poe]

Goedel, Escher, Bach - an eternal golden braid. This book is so rich with philosophical content it will change you.

[phaedrus]

When I first encountered this book, I was working as an outside hand at a small town hardware store trying to save up enough money at $5.85 / hour to afford to move to go to college. It cost me $10 in gas every day just to get to work, and I am deathly allergic to almost every outside plant in Oklahoma, so it was a miserable few months. At lunch time I would go to the local library because it had air conditioning, and I happened to check out this book. For the next 8 weeks, reading this book on breaks was the taste of escape into the life of the mind.

[chrisvalleybay]

I really struggled to read this. It's so dense, in an almost impenetrable way. Am I the only one? I did some skimming, but never seemed to catch on.

[otakucode]

I personally think Hofstadtler is one of the few people around currently who actually is on the right track to understanding the fundamental nature of consciousness. Although I would recommend 'I Am A Strange Loop' for a more direct dive into that specifically, GEB is great for an introduction to some of the twists and turns of self-reference, feedback loops, etc.

[Applejinx]

Seconded. Parts of it are kind of impenetrable, or seem like it, but you can feel the love in it and it's so personal while also being so astonishingly wide-ranging… it's like taking your brain on a world tour to see things it never imagined were possible.

[tgb]

I loved this book and it made me think a lot but in what way did it make you introspect?

[dlwdlw]

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance as well as Godel, Escher, Bach.

Helped me see the limitations of rationality, rigor, and measurement.

[sesteel]

Godel, Escher, Bach changed my entire world view.

[urda]

This has been my number one book for pretty much my entire adult life.

It's worth the read, 100%.

[daveslash]

I second this - on both books.

[levthedev]

Two great books.

[lostmsu]

Harry Potter and Methods of Rationality of course. It quickly led me to the list of cognitive biases on Wikipedia, which are, basically, the answer to introspection question by definition.

The book is here for free: http://www.hpmor.com/

[kdbg]

As a religious person reading Orson Scott Card's Xenocide (Part of the Enders game universe, but not at all like Enders Game) really impacted me.

In it you have a father who is a religious leader and transitions out of the religion to a more atheistic view and his daughter who becomes holds true to their faith in spite of the evidence and her father.

I saw a lot of myself in that girl and it really brought to light the folly of religion when you step outside of the religious framework. I'm still religious but the book made me think.

[gringoDan]

+1 to whoever mentioned Seneca's On the Shortness of Life, or any of the Stoic writings.

The Old Man and the Sea. People either love or hate this book, but it had a profound impact on me.

The Moral Animal, by Robert Wright. Made me consider how much of human behavior can be explained through evolutionary biology.

The Truth, by Neil Strauss. Incredibly vulnerable memoir that will make you reflect on your own relationships and what you want out of them.

In general, I think that you can learn much more from classic fiction than any new business book. Books that have been read & discussed for the past 50+ years have much more staying power and timelessness than a TED talk that led to a publishing deal.

[edanm]

> The Old Man and the Sea.

Could you share how this impacted you? I'm one of the people on whom this book fell flat.

[nathas]

Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work by Matthew Crawford.

I've often questioned if spending 8+ hours a day writing software was the right thing for me to do, when I get so much more gratification from physically manipulating something. It was a welcomed read.

[Majestic121]

The Enchiridion of Epictetus is one of the main books of stoicism.

It has really changed the way I see life and face adversity.

It is very short and easy to read, despite being quite old, and contains actual down to earth wisdom about life

It somehow goes quite well with the teachings of Frankl, if you replace "God" by meaning.

[indescions_2018]

Wonderful thread! There is most certainly a canon of "introspection" literature. Required for any one who pays heed to the wisdom of "knowing thyself". Gandhi's Experiments With Truth and St. Augustine's Confessions are perfect examples. Absolute honesty. With the single goal of providing future readers many years hence with some guide points in navigating the seas of life.

List of 100 Best Spiritual Books of the Century

https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/enter/books/book372.htm

And just a heads up. This June brings the arrival of another biography I am very much looking forward to. Matt Polly's definitive Bruce Lee: A Life. Perfect summer beach reading to provide the inspiration for a commitment to discipline!

https://www.amazon.com/Bruce-Lee-Life-Matthew-Polly/dp/15011...

[koonsolo]

Welcome to the club! The same happened to me 3 years ago. At that time I also started reading "Man's search for meaning".

The following book had the biggest impact on my world view:

The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation, by Thich Nhat Hanh

I personally don't believe in any religious things, and I still don't. But now I look at the world differently.

Buddhism is know for reincarnation, which looks a bit silly to me. But as this book points out, it is not reincarnation, but rebirth in (Zen) Buddhism. Both are completely different. There is nothing silly about rebirth, and it's actually more accurate that how we, as individualistic westerners, view the world.

As someone who loves science, after reading this book, I have a more realistic view on the world than I had before, and than most of my rational friends right now.

The (Zen) Buddhism in this book is not so much a religion with believes, but more a philosophy on how to look at life and the world.

[cocktailpeanuts]

"Economics in One Lesson: The Shortest and Surest Way to Understand Basic Economics" by Henry Stuart Hazlitt.

The title doesn't do it justice because it sounds so cliche, but once you read it, you'll actually agree that this DOES cover everything you need to know about economics (although heavily biased towards austrian economics than keynesian)

Also an important side effect: You'll realize how economics is not just some boring, esoteric, and impractical stuff that you'll never need to deal with in your life, but actually essential in designing complex systems.

[Kevin_S]

I could've written this exact comment after I read this book, but I actually wouldn't recommend this. I read it right before I did my economics degree, and it really warped my view of the "right way" to think about econ.

It does give you a starting point, but the Austrian view isn't in the mainstream for a reason. It introduces just a bit too much bias into novice readers for my taste.

[davidgould]

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, translated by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English. This book is wonderfully calming, don't worry about what it means, just soak in it.

I'll also add another vote for The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus and for Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig.

On a darker note, if you had any illusions left, Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon.