What book helped you find peace with yourself and the apparent meaningless of life? I feel as if I am on a constant search for books that give me the answers to life, the universe, and everything on a silver platter but of course my high expectations always leave me feeling unsatisfied. Perhaps there are no answers to be found really. Maybe all we can do is make peace with it. In the book The Brothers Karamazov, Ivan is going through a similar crisis but says “Though I do not believe in the order of things, still the sticky little leaves that come out in the spring are dear to me, the blue sky is dear to me, some people are dear to me, whom one loves sometimes, would you believe it, without even knowing why; some human deeds are dear to me, which one has perhaps long ceased believing in, but still honors with one's heart, out of old habit.” Those little moments are things I now also cling to and give me some meaning. Regardless, just throwing this question out there in case anyone has any book suggestions that may be helpful. I prefer fiction but am open to any genre.
by Rare_Square48
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Ecclesiastes
Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy. Douglas Adams.
It specifically answers this question.
This is just my personal experience and not a specific book recommendation, but I find that different aspects of a book will reach out and poke me depending on my state of mind at the moment. So I get what I need from a book at the the time of the reading and if I read it again another time, I’ll take away something new. And by paying attention to what I’m drawn to in my reading, I gain more insight and increase my connections. I’ve never been dedicated enough to keep a reading journal, but do keep a blank bookmark for each book and scribble on that.
which is a lot of words to say I haven’t found a book with meaning, but have found meaning in all books
East of Eden is my all time favorite for just this reason. Much like Dostoevsky, Steinbeck creates a world that pulls you in with simple premise and then slaps you with the essence of humanity. East of Eden dives into the conflict of self determination vs predestination, what is the true force behind the decisions we make in life. I read this in my early 20s and think about it all the time.
It’s still Terry Pratchett for me, not for the lofty kind of meaning of life, but the nitty gritty kind of it (possibly starting with Tiffany Aching series, the first book is Wee Free Men)
Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut gave me that light bulb moment when I read it in college. I personally remember it as being a good existentialist novel