10. A Treatise of Human Nature by David Hume, philosophy/psychology 9. Anathem by Neal Stephenson, sci-fi and metaphysics 8. The Confessions by St. Augustine, autobiography 7. The Intellectual Life by A.G. Sertillanges, self-help for intellectuals (efficacy v. efficiency) 6. After Virtue, by Alasdair MacIntyre, moral theory 5. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, by Frederick Douglass 4. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, violent Western novel 3. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin, sci-fi - scientist struggles with exploitation 2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, novel 1. The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle, moral theory
Was surprised to see the Nicomachean Ethics at #1 but I'm really happy. I took a seminar on Aristotle last year and that book has set a philosophical baseline that I think anyone interested in the subject should have. Aristotle's influence on thought, I think, is unparalleled. For instance, when I took a seminar on Kant, it was shocking to see how much of it seemed to be in response, if indirectly, to Aristotle. And to think that the Nicomachean Ethics are just lecture notes, it's amazing. Imagine the day we find lost works of his. Great video.
Thank you for this list Jared. I have sort of been using your guide on reading stoicism. So far I have read Letters From a Stoic, the Meditations, and now I’m reading the Epictetus collection from the Chicago press. These books have sparked such a love for reading and knowledge. I’m going to add all of these books you recommended to my list, if they aren’t already there. They all seem fantastic. A book that has been a yearly reread for me is How to Win Friends and Influence people. The title can seem a little devious and the business context may be slightly outdated, but I really appreciate the message this book tells. It is unlike the other “business” books out there. It goes beyond benefiting yourself, but also improving everyone else’s lives too. It is so genuine and is the ultimate communication book, which in my opinion is humanity’s greatest weakness. It is about understanding those around you and truly listening. I know it’s already super popular, but I could not recommend it enough. Thanks again for the great content.
Of these I've only read The Confessions, and Crime and Punishment (many years ago). I appreciate your thoughtful approach and analysis. I need to read Blood Meridian, I've read several other of McCarthy's books and each one was terrific. One of my favorite "westerns" is The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter van Tilburg Clark. It strikes me as a book you might enjoy.
Read Crime and Punishment based on another video of yours and it instantly became one of my all time favorites as well. Completely changed the trajectory of my reading life. Same thing with Left Hand of Darkness
@@franciscomorais7283 reading life, specifically. Without reading it, the trajectory would have likely just been to keep reading what I always had (Sanderson's stuff mostly). But now because of reading it it opened me up to trying many other books I otherwise would probably not have read. I also think it made me a much stronger reader so I'm finding enjoyment in books I otherwise would have thought were too long or boring.
The Dispossessed, Anathem and Blood Meridian are on my reading list for this year, largely from listening to you talk about them in past videos. Read Octavia Butler’s Dawn on your recommendation a few months back and I enjoyed it very much. Currently in the middle of Snow Crash and finished The Road last month, which is the most emotionally devastating book I’ve ever read. Being a new father it hit me pretty hard. The end left me weeping. 10/10 I look forward to trying some of the philosophy you mentioned, I’ve always been interested in philosophy but have never actually sit down and a read a philosophy text outside of Camus and a few papers on ethics.
Wow, thank you thank you! You are helping reinspire my love of learning. Your videos are so thoughtful and well crafted, your ideas are eloquent yet approachable. I’m so excited to begin diving deeper into my self-education. ❤
As a person who lives modestly and thinks a lot about "selling out" and "getting a real job" the themes in Orwell´s little known novel Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1997 film A Merry Way) have stuck with me since reading it. It´s the eternal battle of "following your bliss" versus being practical and working for a living at a job that you might not be passionate about. It´s very short and I would recommend the book over the movie because of the internal dialogue of the main character, his idealism vs. harsh reality, which you don´t get as much of in the film.
Fantastic video, Nichomachean ethics is also one of my favorite books and I just happened to read it because a teacher in Law school made us read it. I ended up loving it. It makes so much sense to me.
Crime and punishment is so good! I just read Brothers Karamazov, and I would have to agree that for some reason I like Crime and Punishment more. Idk we will see if I change my mind over time.
@@tomasbaker1912 I finished Crime and Punishment (and subsequently saw the TV miniseries with John Hurt), but The Brothers Karamazov and The Possessed defeated me. My problem with The Possessed was keeping track of all the friends of Stepan and Varvara, and all their respective temperaments and attitudes.
I agree with you. It's obvious to me that Brothers K is the superior novel, but there is no character you quite feel with quite as much as Raskolnikov. His undoing and unravelling felt like my own. Sonya not only gave him a way out. She offered redemption to me as a reader too. And I think that's why it has to be no.1 for me.
Great list, I want to thank you as you've successfully gotten me into Ursula K. Le Guin. I loved The Left Hand of Darkness and now have the Dispossessed on the shelf ready to be read!
Blood Meridian is INCREDIBLE. As someone who has read a couple classics and a lot of genre literature, Blood Meridian oozes brilliance and the style makes it incredibly unique, it almost makes every other book seem pedestrian and infantile by comparison. Truly a masterpiece. It's also very hard to describe why it's so good too.
Thanks for the list Jared. Ive read 4 out of these 10 and also hold each in high regard. I trust your opinion so thank you for the suggestions and brief overview of each.
I have to agree with you about David Hume... one of the most extraordinary thinkers to ever live. I haven't read the T of Human nature,only human understanding, so I guess this is now on my list.
Thumbs up for your appreciation of Hume's Treatise, probably the greatest work of philosophy in the English language. He covers so much ground and has so many original contributions to make, all in a captivating style. Something you did not mention is that Hume wrote the Treatise while in his 20s. A true prodigy.
Thank you Mr Henderson for your generosity to share with us all your excellent review of the 10 Books you consider the best. I agree with you that Nicomachean Ethics deserves to be on top of such a list. I am currently teaching this book to a group of friends, who gather in my home, and we reflect on ways to make our contribution for a better world. I feel that Aristotle shows us the way, emphasizing the unique importance of Virtue, and especially of Justice as the queen of all virtues. At the same time he acknowledges the need of external goods, as long as we do not strive for acquiring excessive wealth, because such a pursuit leads to violence. With his teaching Aristotle is still most relevant today as he points out the road of Happiness, Eudaimonia, which is also the way to Peace.
I am so grateful for your posts. You're a great communicator, I love your personable style. I think you're a terrific guy. God bless you and yours. You are in my day prayers.
I love the variety of the list. With Ursala and Dostoevsky, not to mention, Cormac McCarthy, you can't be wrong. I'm going to check out the entries that I'm less familiar with. Thank you!
I’ve read blood meridian five times and it gets better with repeated reading. You start to connect moments together and really flesh out in your mind the dialogue McCarthy is having around morality, Gnosticism, and the will of man. I also highly recommend suttree. It’s not for the feint hearted and it can be tough at time but when those beautiful moments come, such as his connecting conversations with the ragman, his relationship with the young girl, his fever dream and his conversation with the priest. Those moments are are hard earned works of beauty that have stayed with me for years and I read those passages often.
Crime and Punishment The Stranger As I Lay Dying Notes From Underground The Trial Underworld The Brothers Karamazov The Idiot Lord of the Flies 1984 Play: Macbeth
A good list. I am surprised to see Frederick Douglass' book on there. I have only read it once, but it beckons every time I go to my bookshelves. Definitely worth reading again. I have been reading McCarthy's "The Road." I know what you mean about his lack of punctuation, mostly a case of no quotation marks for dialogue.
I really appreciate how you talk about how reading can be a fundamentally transformative and engaging experience. I think this is something that non-readers just can't understand, but I feel like if they gave it a fair shot that it could become that for some of them, too. I don't know, maybe not. To get something out of reading, one really needs to already highly value curiosity.
Hey Jared, is it possible we could have a convo about how you made the switch from the humanities to tech? I’m a recent grad and I’m interested in changing careers
So nice to see you back and learn about philosophy and valuable books to read. I hope fatherhood is agreeing with you. It is a special and challenging time at the start!
Hi Jared, You mentioned linking to something about the debate between nominalism and realism, but I don't see it in the description. I'm interested! Please post. Nice choice of books! Best, L.
If there is a more depressing book, suffocating on graphic brutal violence than "Blood Meridian" I can't imagine what it would be. I wanted to shower after I read it..
Try the Sven Hassel WW2 fiction books written in the '60s and '70s. Reading them as a teen is what somewhat inured me to the violence in Blood Meridian.
As always wonderful choices that I relate to, thanks for Sertillanges, whom I discovered thanks to you, a fantastic work. Would J.L. Borges maybe interesting, especially his essays, cimbined with the Name of the Rose from Eco. Thanks again for all the tips
I agree with the sci-fi series perspective. I think some get close (a couple of the Foundation books by Asimov get close to being best of on their own) but usually series are stronger because of the set, and not because of their parts alone.
Great list! I appreciate the analysis and personal reflections. I would highly recommend you read Democracy and Tradition by Jeffrey Stout. It’s deeply appreciative and critical of MacIntyre in truly exemplary ways.
An excellent choice here. If I could be so bold, I would recommend "Hadji Murat" by Leo Tolstoy, "Death and the Dervish" by Mesa Selimovic, "Sabres of Paradise" by Lesley Blanch, and "My Name is Red" by Orhan Pamuk.
6:38 Nice list and discussion. Sertillanges was actually a Dominican, not Jesuit. However, the forward to the edition you linked to was written by James Schall, a Jesuit thinker and educator who recently passed away.
I love that old joke about the Dominican, Franciscan, and Jesuit present at the nativity. The Dominican stands in awe. The Franciscan kneels and sings His praises. The Jesuit walks up to Joseph, puts his arm around Joseph’s shoulders and asks “ have you thought about how you’re going to educate the kid?”
@@pabloisusi6097 eso intentaré hacer. Una cosa que me sorprendió bastante es que tengo entendido que en la novela tenía cosas en castellano (estoy leyendo una traducción)
@@mikelpelaez Yo la leí traducida también. Puede ser que en original tenga partes en español, al situarse gran parte de la novela en México y California. No me sorprendería.
I’ve read everything but your #3 and agree for the most part. Blood meridian is my #1 but it holds more significance to me I read it before the first Iraq war then went to Iraqi. I was primed for war and was disappointed I’d read it several more times before Afghanistan ((I spent many years there) and finally got to experience what cormac described as war and loved it at that time in my life i was truly testing my will against that greater will and reveling in the violence. I’m older now and better read. The book means something different to me now, but it is truly in the same league as Warren peace at least at this stage in my life.
Nice list. Gonna check some of it out. Suttree is probably my favorite McCarthy, though I have not read Blood for so long it would probably be a different read. I enjoy Stephenson a lot (Snow Crash and Cryptonomicron are tons of fun), and I'm gonna read Anathem now. I've always loved LeGuin. Her two best short story collections - The Winds Twelve Quarters and Compass Rose - are near perfect. I'm with you on Crime and Punishment being better than Brothers, which drags. But if you're gonna go with the Russians, I prefer the Big Dog. And Gogol was way. way ahead of his time. I'm gonna check out the recommended Hume, too. I've probably read parts of it but was too young to appreciate it.
“Crime and Punishment” is a great book! 3:25 I read this months ago and I was quite disappointed. I had the impression I was reading a very long prayer. He talk a lot about the pears he stole but gives only a mention of his child. And on the philosophical part I was definitely expecting more. I was happy to find the two quotes I leant in high school (“what is time? If you don’t ask me, I know it but if you ask me, I don’t” and “what was doing God before he created the Universe? He was creating the Hell where to put those who ask too many questions”).
I strongly feel that the ‘Blood Meridian’ is one of the best books ever written. It has opened my mind to the dark history of America as an Irish person but in an artistic style, and coincidentally, just before the release of ‘Killers of the flower moon’ film - a book I also read after finishing Blood Meridian at the beginning of 2023. Love your picks
Were you reading McCarthy for the Catherine Project? I have read some other McCarthy but haven't gone through Blood Meridian yet but I look forward to after grad school.
The Dispossessed????? Quite curious and unexpected choice (good!!). Charles Joseph McCarthy is highly expected to a typical American. I will check MacKinnon (I read the own Aristotle). Brasil.
Arturo Perez-Reverte, The Club Dumas Mark Munn, The School of History: Athens in the Age of Socrates Stephen Donaldson, The Chronicle of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever (series)
It'd be nice to add a spoiler alert before spoiling the end of a book. Are classics not worth not spoiling? The amount of times I've learned the ending of a book from the first sentence of the blurb or by someone mentioning it on a video...
Great list! Can I ask, if I read Alasdair MacIntyre's "Dependent Rational Animals", should I still read "After Virtue"? I got the impression that he was updating and even revising some AV in DRA, but my current project is trying to make sense of moral claims, and I don't want to miss out on any important insights from MacIntyre.....
You should read The Karamazov Brothers. It is deeper than Crime and Panishment. It is a very popular book with theologians, philosophers and psychologists.
Crime & Punishment, also a book about dealing with our demons and whether we succumb to them or not. It is quite an achievement, an almost freudian examination of the 'soul' written long before Freud wrote a single word. The Dispossessed, another great book, almost like 1984 in its examination of what we are told is the 'truth' and how we can best live together.
I tried reading a Cormac MCarthy book. I think it was the Road. It had no punctuation!! It was unreadable at least for me. Probably for other people as well.
I recently read Blood Meridian as well to see how it influenced Bakker and the Second Apocalypse which I really did like. His prose kept drawing me in and then kicked me right back out and a few other issues. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien off the banned book list. Incredibly intense. Also just finished Dispossessed. A lot of interesting thought experiments but did enjoy it. Lathe of Heaven might rate a little higher for me. Non fiction is tough as it is most often history. Found the Liberation Trilogy by Atkinson very readable, and can check another Pulitzer Prize winner off the list. Would add just about anythijg by Elaine Pagels. Erasmus and Luther the Battle for Freewill was very interesting and quite entertaining.
If you haven't already, I recommend Vonda N McIntyre. Ursula K LeGuin was a big fan of hers and quotes from LeGuin often appear in front of McIntyre's books. Her novels are also Sci-fi with strong leanings towards feminism, largely focused on characters as well as the what and why of their actions and reactions. Dreamsnake is easily her most famous, winning the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards, but somehow was out of print for nearly 13 years. It's also a pretty easy read with very fluid prose that explains very little of the technology, allowing for the story to just flow
What are your thoughts on What We Owe To Each Other by T. M. Scanlon? I bought it because it was what The Good Place was "based" on. Haven't gotten a chance to read it yet (currently reading A Canticle For Leibowitz) but wondering if it should be next?
I've read five of the books on your list and can't take issue with any of them. I especially agree that Anathem is Stephenson's best. After Virtue will probably be my sixth. Takes for the video.
Ignoring outside sources when reading Aristotle sounds like a great idea but unless you read the greek version you only read the book through the lens of the translator.
Please make videos on fantasy books and ideas on where to begin. Ive always read non fiction and lately ive been grtting into fiction but feel so overwhelmed with options. Ive read dan brown so far and dont have any ideas where to go from here
10. A Treatise of Human Nature by David Hume, philosophy/psychology
9. Anathem by Neal Stephenson, sci-fi and metaphysics
8. The Confessions by St. Augustine, autobiography
7. The Intellectual Life by A.G. Sertillanges, self-help for intellectuals (efficacy v. efficiency)
6. After Virtue, by Alasdair MacIntyre, moral theory
5. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, by Frederick Douglass
4. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, violent Western novel
3. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin, sci-fi - scientist struggles with exploitation
2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, novel
1. The Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle, moral theory
Thank you so much, MyMy. I wanted to get the list of books, but the transcription software wasn't up to the task.
He has this in the description with Amazon links to each. Although he may not have when you originally posted this.
Many thanks,cheers.
Grazie mille. You saved me eighteen minutes and eleven seconds of my life. I can now use that time to go read.
thsnks
I so appreciate how you discuss books concisely while providing enough information for us to have something to go on. Thank you.
My condolences to Cormac McCarthy's family and friends. He's one of the greatest writers to have ever lived. May his legacy continue to live on.
amen
Amen amen. Amen.
Do they watch these? 🤔
@@tmerk4292 😂😂😂
Amen
Was surprised to see the Nicomachean Ethics at #1 but I'm really happy. I took a seminar on Aristotle last year and that book has set a philosophical baseline that I think anyone interested in the subject should have. Aristotle's influence on thought, I think, is unparalleled. For instance, when I took a seminar on Kant, it was shocking to see how much of it seemed to be in response, if indirectly, to Aristotle. And to think that the Nicomachean Ethics are just lecture notes, it's amazing. Imagine the day we find lost works of his. Great video.
It's surprising how few people know about the books on Nixorus. If you're curious, they're definitely worth checking out.
🤫
Thank you for this list Jared. I have sort of been using your guide on reading stoicism. So far I have read Letters From a Stoic, the Meditations, and now I’m reading the Epictetus collection from the Chicago press. These books have sparked such a love for reading and knowledge. I’m going to add all of these books you recommended to my list, if they aren’t already there. They all seem fantastic. A book that has been a yearly reread for me is How to Win Friends and Influence people. The title can seem a little devious and the business context may be slightly outdated, but I really appreciate the message this book tells. It is unlike the other “business” books out there. It goes beyond benefiting yourself, but also improving everyone else’s lives too. It is so genuine and is the ultimate communication book, which in my opinion is humanity’s greatest weakness. It is about understanding those around you and truly listening. I know it’s already super popular, but I could not recommend it enough. Thanks again for the great content.
I was happily surprised to see how much philosophical literature is on your list. This was the first video of yours that I have seen great job
You won’t be surprised the more you watch and learn about him 😂
Was glad to see the confessions on your list ! One of my favorites as well!
Of these I've only read The Confessions, and Crime and Punishment (many years ago). I appreciate your thoughtful approach and analysis. I need to read Blood Meridian, I've read several other of McCarthy's books and each one was terrific. One of my favorite "westerns" is The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter van Tilburg Clark. It strikes me as a book you might enjoy.
Read Crime and Punishment based on another video of yours and it instantly became one of my all time favorites as well. Completely changed the trajectory of my reading life. Same thing with Left Hand of Darkness
How did the trajectory of your life change by reading Crime and Punishment?
@@franciscomorais7283 reading life, specifically. Without reading it, the trajectory would have likely just been to keep reading what I always had (Sanderson's stuff mostly). But now because of reading it it opened me up to trying many other books I otherwise would probably not have read. I also think it made me a much stronger reader so I'm finding enjoyment in books I otherwise would have thought were too long or boring.
@@joereeve2569 Interesting! Thank you for taking the time to answer.
The Dispossessed, Anathem and Blood Meridian are on my reading list for this year, largely from listening to you talk about them in past videos. Read Octavia Butler’s Dawn on your recommendation a few months back and I enjoyed it very much.
Currently in the middle of Snow Crash and finished The Road last month, which is the most emotionally devastating book I’ve ever read. Being a new father it hit me pretty hard. The end left me weeping. 10/10
I look forward to trying some of the philosophy you mentioned, I’ve always been interested in philosophy but have never actually sit down and a read a philosophy text outside of Camus and a few papers on ethics.
Blood meridian is a masterpiece. Take your time with it, pour a whiskey and enjoy.
What did you think of Snow Crash? It's the only Stephenson I've finished. I liked it but remember having to muscle through the last 15% or so
Wow, thank you thank you! You are helping reinspire my love of learning. Your videos are so thoughtful and well crafted, your ideas are eloquent yet approachable. I’m so excited to begin diving deeper into my self-education. ❤
As a person who lives modestly and thinks a lot about "selling out" and "getting a real job" the themes in Orwell´s little known novel Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1997 film A Merry Way) have stuck with me since reading it. It´s the eternal battle of "following your bliss" versus being practical and working for a living at a job that you might not be passionate about. It´s very short and I would recommend the book over the movie because of the internal dialogue of the main character, his idealism vs. harsh reality, which you don´t get as much of in the film.
Fantastic video, Nichomachean ethics is also one of my favorite books and I just happened to read it because a teacher in Law school made us read it. I ended up loving it. It makes so much sense to me.
Crime and punishment is so good! I just read Brothers Karamazov, and I would have to agree that for some reason I like Crime and Punishment more. Idk we will see if I change my mind over time.
Crime and Punishment was the only full-length Dostoyevsky novel I ever finished.
Try The Brothers Karamozov and The Idiot
You might like them even more than Crime and Punishment
@@tomasbaker1912 I finished Crime and Punishment (and subsequently saw the TV miniseries with John Hurt), but The Brothers Karamazov and The Possessed defeated me. My problem with The Possessed was keeping track of all the friends of Stepan and Varvara, and all their respective temperaments and attitudes.
I finally bought Brothers K. I was always so intimidated but after finishing War and Peace I felt like no book was too challenging.
I agree with you. It's obvious to me that Brothers K is the superior novel, but there is no character you quite feel with quite as much as Raskolnikov. His undoing and unravelling felt like my own. Sonya not only gave him a way out. She offered redemption to me as a reader too. And I think that's why it has to be no.1 for me.
Amazing video! Thanks for sharing!
Cheers from Brazil!
The reason why moderns dismiss Augustine’s Confessions is simply because they want to blame others and Augustine’s blames himself .
Great list, I want to thank you as you've successfully gotten me into Ursula K. Le Guin. I loved The Left Hand of Darkness and now have the Dispossessed on the shelf ready to be read!
Blood Meridian is INCREDIBLE. As someone who has read a couple classics and a lot of genre literature, Blood Meridian oozes brilliance and the style makes it incredibly unique, it almost makes every other book seem pedestrian and infantile by comparison. Truly a masterpiece. It's also very hard to describe why it's so good too.
The Judge is in the running for being one of the greatest characters ever created.
I was insanely bored the entire way through. 2/5 stars for me.
It was rubbish. Very badly written with far too much unrealistic violence.
Blood Meridian=transcendent, brilliantly written, but bleak.
@@KevinSmith-wp9qs if you think cormac mccarthy ever wrote anything poorly, you're delusional
After Virtue 🙌👏 nice to see that on the list.
Thanks for the list Jared. Ive read 4 out of these 10 and also hold each in high regard. I trust your opinion so thank you for the suggestions and brief overview of each.
Great list mr. Henderson! I have only read crime and punishment which i finished last week. I loved it. Underrated channel
I have to agree with you about David Hume... one of the most extraordinary thinkers to ever live. I haven't read the T of Human nature,only human understanding, so I guess this is now on my list.
Thumbs up for your appreciation of Hume's Treatise, probably the greatest work of philosophy in the English language. He covers so much ground and has so many original contributions to make, all in a captivating style. Something you did not mention is that Hume wrote the Treatise while in his 20s. A true prodigy.
appreciate the no nonsense at beginning and end of vid :)
I've struggled with Neal Stephenson. I tend to love his beginnings then I trail off... but you've inspired me to put Anathem on my TBR pile.
Thank you Mr Henderson for your generosity to share with us all your excellent review of the 10 Books you consider the best. I agree with you that Nicomachean Ethics deserves to be on top of such a list. I am currently teaching this book to a group of friends, who gather in my home, and we reflect on ways to make our contribution for a better world. I feel that Aristotle shows us the way, emphasizing the unique importance of Virtue, and especially of Justice as the queen of all virtues. At the same time he acknowledges the need of external goods, as long as we do not strive for acquiring excessive wealth, because such a pursuit leads to violence. With his teaching Aristotle is still most relevant today as he points out the road of Happiness, Eudaimonia, which is also the way to Peace.
Thank you for sharing your list ❤
I am so grateful for your posts. You're a great communicator, I love your personable style. I think you're a terrific guy. God bless you and yours. You are in my day prayers.
I read Blood Meridian twice, directly back to back in the summer of 2022. it is one of the best novels of all time.
Confessions by Augustine is an absolutely incredible profound book. So glad to see it on this list. I'd also recommend City of God.
Thank you, lots of greetings from Belgium..
This surprising list was different from most of those you see on TH-cam. Makes me think about what books I should be reading.
God bless you! More books to read. More bookshelves to buy,
I love the variety of the list. With Ursala and Dostoevsky, not to mention, Cormac McCarthy, you can't be wrong. I'm going to check out the entries that I'm less familiar with. Thank you!
A good definition of a classic: Any book that would not be hurt by a spoiler. (No matter how many times you’ve read it, it always gets better.)
I’ve read blood meridian five times and it gets better with repeated reading. You start to connect moments together and really flesh out in your mind the dialogue McCarthy is having around morality, Gnosticism, and the will of man. I also highly recommend suttree. It’s not for the feint hearted and it can be tough at time but when those beautiful moments come, such as his connecting conversations with the ragman, his relationship with the young girl, his fever dream and his conversation with the priest. Those moments are are hard earned works of beauty that have stayed with me for years and I read those passages often.
Crime and Punishment
The Stranger
As I Lay Dying
Notes From Underground
The Trial
Underworld
The Brothers Karamazov
The Idiot
Lord of the Flies
1984
Play:
Macbeth
Oh boy that is not a cheerful list. Great books still though.
A good list. I am surprised to see Frederick Douglass' book on there. I have only read it once, but it beckons every time I go to my bookshelves. Definitely worth reading again.
I have been reading McCarthy's "The Road." I know what you mean about his lack of punctuation, mostly a case of no quotation marks for dialogue.
Wonderful video! Please give us a book list about language and logic.
I'm currently focused on exploring the philosophy of sci-fic thanks to your video, thanks for the book recommendations
Blood Meridian is my very favorite book! 📖
On my list is Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier. An incredible story and wrote so the reader is right along side the characters.
Great book.
Great fucking book cold mountain. Prose as poetry.
I really appreciate how you talk about how reading can be a fundamentally transformative and engaging experience. I think this is something that non-readers just can't understand, but I feel like if they gave it a fair shot that it could become that for some of them, too. I don't know, maybe not. To get something out of reading, one really needs to already highly value curiosity.
I guess it is high time I tell you I have enjoyed watching a number of your videos. Keep up the good work.
Hey Jared, is it possible we could have a convo about how you made the switch from the humanities to tech? I’m a recent grad and I’m interested in changing careers
So nice to see you back and learn about philosophy and valuable books to read. I hope fatherhood is agreeing with you. It is a special and challenging time at the start!
Glad to see Sertillanges on your list.
What an amazing channel to stumble upon! Amazing reviews ! Got two books already!
Hi Jared, You mentioned linking to something about the debate between nominalism and realism, but I don't see it in the description. I'm interested! Please post.
Nice choice of books! Best, L.
If there is a more depressing book, suffocating on graphic brutal violence than "Blood Meridian" I can't imagine what it would be. I wanted to shower after I read it..
Try the Sven Hassel WW2 fiction books written in the '60s and '70s. Reading them as a teen is what somewhat inured me to the violence in Blood Meridian.
@EmadAli-gn1ed I always appreciate anyone taking the trouble to offer advice, kindly and thoughtfully given!
I like the immediate start; no fluff!
Mine would be (in no specific order):
The Oath, The Grapes of Wrath, The Wind in the Willows, The Pilgrim’s Progress, Hamlet, & Beowulf.
Blood Meridian is one of the last great novels of 20th Century, along with Underworld by Don De Lillo.
The Confessions is quite the stroke of inspired genius. It helped change my perspective on almost everything. God bless St. Augustine.
Stunning channel. Books/Movies...
1. THE BLUELITE CHRONICLES *
2. DAMIEN (Herman Hesse)
3. SERPICO (Peter Maas)
4. THE FOUNDATION TRILOGY (Asimov)
5. 9TH CONFIGURATION (William Peter Blatty)
6. THE GREAT GATSBY
7. PROFILES IN COURAGE (JFK)
As always wonderful choices that I relate to, thanks for Sertillanges, whom I discovered thanks to you, a fantastic work. Would J.L. Borges maybe interesting, especially his essays, cimbined with the Name of the Rose from Eco. Thanks again for all the tips
I agree with the sci-fi series perspective. I think some get close (a couple of the Foundation books by Asimov get close to being best of on their own) but usually series are stronger because of the set, and not because of their parts alone.
Loved The Nick of McKeon Ethics.
Great list! I appreciate the analysis and personal reflections.
I would highly recommend you read Democracy and Tradition by Jeffrey Stout. It’s deeply appreciative and critical of MacIntyre in truly exemplary ways.
An excellent choice here. If I could be so bold, I would recommend "Hadji Murat" by Leo Tolstoy, "Death and the Dervish" by Mesa Selimovic, "Sabres of Paradise" by Lesley Blanch, and "My Name is Red" by Orhan Pamuk.
A treatise of Human Nature...what a profound pick. Thanks.
Books for men : the Road, blood meridian, tree of smoke, anything ernest hemingway, coldmountain, forgotten soldier- guy sajer
Can’t stand Hemingway, agree with the rest
6:38 Nice list and discussion. Sertillanges was actually a Dominican, not Jesuit. However, the forward to the edition you linked to was written by James Schall, a Jesuit thinker and educator who recently passed away.
I love that old joke about the Dominican, Franciscan, and Jesuit present at the nativity. The Dominican stands in awe. The Franciscan kneels and sings His praises. The Jesuit walks up to Joseph, puts his arm around Joseph’s shoulders and asks “ have you thought about how you’re going to educate the kid?”
As someone who majored in English and minored in Philosophy, this is an excellent list.
Just started reading blood meridian a few weeks ago and it's looking to be incredible
Mikel, lo leí el año pasado y me encantó. Disfrútalo!
@@pabloisusi6097 eso intentaré hacer.
Una cosa que me sorprendió bastante es que tengo entendido que en la novela tenía cosas en castellano (estoy leyendo una traducción)
@@mikelpelaez Yo la leí traducida también. Puede ser que en original tenga partes en español, al situarse gran parte de la novela en México y California. No me sorprendería.
@@pabloisusi6097 eso me ponía en una nota a pie de página
Tired of litbros ruining Blood Meridian but I’m glad that you were able to find it
I’ve read everything but your #3 and agree for the most part. Blood meridian is my #1 but it holds more significance to me I read it before the first Iraq war then went to Iraqi. I was primed for war and was disappointed I’d read it several more times before Afghanistan ((I spent many years there) and finally got to experience what cormac described as war and loved it at that time in my life i was truly testing my will against that greater will and reveling in the violence. I’m older now and better read. The book means something different to me now, but it is truly in the same league as Warren peace at least at this stage in my life.
Nice list. Gonna check some of it out. Suttree is probably my favorite McCarthy, though I have not read Blood for so long it would probably be a different read. I enjoy Stephenson a lot (Snow Crash and Cryptonomicron are tons of fun), and I'm gonna read Anathem now. I've always loved LeGuin. Her two best short story collections - The Winds Twelve Quarters and Compass Rose - are near perfect. I'm with you on Crime and Punishment being better than Brothers, which drags. But if you're gonna go with the Russians, I prefer the Big Dog. And Gogol was way. way ahead of his time. I'm gonna check out the recommended Hume, too. I've probably read parts of it but was too young to appreciate it.
“Crime and Punishment” is a great book!
3:25 I read this months ago and I was quite disappointed.
I had the impression I was reading a very long prayer.
He talk a lot about the pears he stole but gives only a mention of his child. And on the philosophical part I was definitely expecting more.
I was happy to find the two quotes I leant in high school (“what is time? If you don’t ask me, I know it but if you ask me, I don’t” and “what was doing God before he created the Universe? He was creating the Hell where to put those who ask too many questions”).
Do you recommend that someone should read these books starting today although he has no former knowledge or background in reading Philosophy books ?
Hume and Aristotle could be read right away, though they would take work. MacIntyre assumes familiarity with the history of philosophy.
Do you talk about Herman hesse on your channel at all? My favorite author
Yum! That mineral water from HEB is delicious haha.
There’s almost always a bottle on my desk.
I strongly feel that the ‘Blood Meridian’ is one of the best books ever written. It has opened my mind to the dark history of America as an Irish person but in an artistic style, and coincidentally, just before the release of ‘Killers of the flower moon’ film - a book I also read after finishing Blood Meridian at the beginning of 2023. Love your picks
Were you reading McCarthy for the Catherine Project? I have read some other McCarthy but haven't gone through Blood Meridian yet but I look forward to after grad school.
These videos are so inspiring and interesting. If you haven't read Suttree, I think you would enjoy its genius.
The Dispossessed????? Quite curious and unexpected choice (good!!). Charles Joseph McCarthy is highly expected to a typical American. I will check MacKinnon (I read the own Aristotle).
Brasil.
What prerequisites do you need to read the Nicomachaen Ethics? I am not a philosophy student.
Arturo Perez-Reverte, The Club Dumas
Mark Munn, The School of History: Athens in the Age of Socrates
Stephen Donaldson, The Chronicle of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever (series)
It'd be nice to add a spoiler alert before spoiling the end of a book. Are classics not worth not spoiling? The amount of times I've learned the ending of a book from the first sentence of the blurb or by someone mentioning it on a video...
Great list! Can I ask, if I read Alasdair MacIntyre's "Dependent Rational Animals", should I still read "After Virtue"? I got the impression that he was updating and even revising some AV in DRA, but my current project is trying to make sense of moral claims, and I don't want to miss out on any important insights from MacIntyre.....
You should read The Karamazov Brothers. It is deeper than Crime and Panishment. It is a very popular book with theologians, philosophers and psychologists.
Thanks for your list. Epictetus and Laozi are also books you can read until the death
Crime & Punishment, also a book about dealing with our demons and whether we succumb to them or not. It is quite an achievement, an almost freudian examination of the 'soul' written long before Freud wrote a single word. The Dispossessed, another great book, almost like 1984 in its examination of what we are told is the 'truth' and how we can best live together.
I named my son after Cormac after I read The Road.
I tried reading a Cormac MCarthy book. I think it was the Road. It had no punctuation!! It was unreadable at least for me. Probably for other people as well.
Interesting choices.
I bought The Dispossessed last week because you kept talking about it lol
It's a book primarily about capitalists vs anarchists. I thought it was excellent.
I recently read Blood Meridian as well to see how it influenced Bakker and the Second Apocalypse which I really did like. His prose kept drawing me in and then kicked me right back out and a few other issues.
The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien off the banned book list. Incredibly intense.
Also just finished Dispossessed. A lot of interesting thought experiments but did enjoy it. Lathe of Heaven might rate a little higher for me.
Non fiction is tough as it is most often history. Found the Liberation Trilogy by Atkinson very readable, and can check another Pulitzer Prize winner off the list.
Would add just about anythijg by Elaine Pagels.
Erasmus and Luther the Battle for Freewill was very interesting and quite entertaining.
If you haven't already, I recommend Vonda N McIntyre. Ursula K LeGuin was a big fan of hers and quotes from LeGuin often appear in front of McIntyre's books. Her novels are also Sci-fi with strong leanings towards feminism, largely focused on characters as well as the what and why of their actions and reactions.
Dreamsnake is easily her most famous, winning the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards, but somehow was out of print for nearly 13 years. It's also a pretty easy read with very fluid prose that explains very little of the technology, allowing for the story to just flow
Out of curiosity, what note taking system do you use, Jared? I have tried a couple but haven't really found the one that satisfies me
What are your thoughts on What We Owe To Each Other by T. M. Scanlon? I bought it because it was what The Good Place was "based" on. Haven't gotten a chance to read it yet (currently reading A Canticle For Leibowitz) but wondering if it should be next?
I've read five of the books on your list and can't take issue with any of them. I especially agree that Anathem is Stephenson's best. After Virtue will probably be my sixth. Takes for the video.
Ignoring outside sources when reading Aristotle sounds like a great idea but unless you read the greek version you only read the book through the lens of the translator.
Please make videos on fantasy books and ideas on where to begin. Ive always read non fiction and lately ive been grtting into fiction but feel so overwhelmed with options. Ive read dan brown so far and dont have any ideas where to go from here
Give Henry Miller a chance. Tropic of Cancer. Just wander and find your way with fiction. Channels like this help.
i agree. i preferred crime and punishment to brothers karamazov but both would be in my top 10.
thank you so much
Great video! But I'm wondering why you dropped such a massive spoiler about Crime and Punishment
Good list.
Just started reading Frederick Douglas very inspiring book 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🇦🇺