Self Discovery Books: A Decent Collection
A collection of self discovery books helping to understand yourself and perhaps even to understand what happiness means for you personally.
“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”
― Marcus Tullius Cicero
I want to present a selection of books that can be used both for independent practice, meditation or to practice with someone you love.
So, for those who are just embarking on the path of spiritual awakening, self-fulfillment, soul-searching and search for happiness, I recommend (as of today) reading listed below Self Discover books, perhaps, they will be of good help on your journey to life’s happiness.
And to be fair, if you decide to buy one of these books I recommend, I may receive a commission. However, I will assure you if I do not need this money for the basics of living, I will allocate it to people who genuinely need it.
Why Reading Books on Self Discovery is Important
Most of my insights and writing about self discovery, spiritual awakening, soul-searching, life’s meaning, and happiness came from nowhere but reading someone else’s content, mostly from reading Self Discovery books. As I believe that “Standing on the shoulders of giants” is paramount. And is a metaphor emphasizing the use and the understanding of knowledge gained by significant thinkers of humanity who have put a tremendous amount of energy into making intellectual progress of us (yet be frank, some are for better, some are for worse.)
Books can be a powerful instrument in our self-discovery path because they can convey many difficult life situations in a compact piece of reading. They allow you to get familiar with the complex problems of our existence and self-concept. When you remember books’ maxims conveying the depth of human knowledge, they can function as anchoring points from where more profound research can be done. I addition, of course, you are always welcome to visit my blog for more.
So, here we go. Enjoy!
Psychology of Personal Growth
Books for self discovery that are of a great help to understand psychology of the self.
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
The Undiscovered Self by C.G. Jung – More about Jung
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
The God Delusion
by Richard Dawkins
The Will to Believe by William James
Philosophy of Self
Books for self discovery that are of a great help who is interest in philosophy of the self.
Fragments by Heraclitus
Heraclitus might seem a bit poetic. His work is often ephemeral, yet also his practical philosophy is bent towards hard, practical advice. But the beautiful lines of his work are really the same direct advice and timeless, offering perspective-changing observations of life as a whole. More about Heraclitus.
The Open Society And Its Enemies by Karl Popper
The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus
The Stranger by Albert Camus
The Fall by Albert Camus
The Plague by Albert Camus
Existentialism is a Humanism by Jean-Paul Sartre
Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre
The Age of Reason by Jean-Paul Sartre
A Treatise of Human Nature, David Hume
Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
Critique of Pure Reason, Immanuel Kant
Meditations on First Philosophy. by René Descartes
Discourse on Method By René Descartes
Ethics, Benedict de Spinoza
The Social Contract Jean-Jacques Rousseau
The Critique of Pure Reason Immanuel Kant
Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
The Phenomenology of Spirit, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche
On the Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche
On the Genealogy of Morals by Friedrich Nietzsche
Fear and Trembling by Søren Kierkegaard
Utilitarianism, For and Against by J.J.C Smart and Bernard Williams Mary Margaret McCabe
Republic By Plato
The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
Euthydemus by Plato
Symposium by Plato
Politics by Aristotle
Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle
Confessions of Saint Augustine of Hippo
About Human Nature
Books for self discovery that are of a great help
The Art of Always Being Right by Arthur Schopenhauer
The Wisdom of Life by Arthur Schopenhauer
Essays and Aphorisms by Arthur Schopenhauer
If I were forced to pick up one philosopher to read, it would be Schopenhauer. More about him is here.
The Complete Essays of Michel de Montaigne
The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels
The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli
Stoics and Epicureanism
Books for self discovery that are of a great help
The Essential Epicurus by Epicurus
Epicurus’ philosophy has nothing to do with our definition of “Epicurean,” which modern people understand.
Epicurus was a thinker, educator and philosopher. Very little of his work survived. However, whatever was preserved is very humble, noble and mostly about avoiding needless fear, unnecessary suffering and soul-eating anxiety in life.
Epicurus has also been a scientist. He wrote much about “atoms.” Of course, my personal admiration of his work is related to understanding self, life and the world around us. More about Epicurus is here.
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Presumably, he was the only Roman emperor who was also a philosopher. He mainly wrote for himself, filling the time between battles he led. The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius is a work of his spiritual reflections as he struggled to understand himself and his inner self to understand the universe. His work is somewhat personal consolation and even perhaps an encouragement in difficult times. However, it made its way into philosophy, one of the greatest works. His timeless collection of life wisdom has been admired by philosophers, rulers and ordinary people. More about Marcus Aurelius.
Discourses and Selected Writings, Epictetus
The Art of Living: The Classical Manual on Virtue, Happiness and Effectiveness by Epictetus
On the Shortness of Life by Seneca
Letters from a Stoic by Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Meditations By Marcus Aurelius
Ancient Wisdom
Books for self discovery
Zhuangzi by Zhuangzi
Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu
The Art Of War, Sun Tzu
Analects – Confuscious
The Book of Healing – Avicenna
Interpretation of Dreams of Omar Khayyam
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Philosophical and Psychological Fiction
Books for self discovery that are of a great help
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
Candide by Voltaire
The Iliad by Homer
The Stranger by Albert Camus
The Age of Reason by Jean-Paul Sartre
Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre
Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
White Nights by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Plague by Albert Camus
The Fall by Albert Camus
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
The Trial by Franz Kafka
The Castle by Franz Kafka
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
This list of self discovery books is far from comprehensive, but it is a start.
Enjoy,
Regards, Val
