You need to READ these 15 BOOKS if you want to be a true STOIC
Read Marcus Aurelius, Tim Ferriss, Socrates, Victor Frankl, and others
A room without books is like a body without a soul.- Marcus Tulius Cicero
People always ask me: Daniel, what books of stoicism do you recommend?
The question is very simple to ask, but very complicated to answer.
why?
- I like to read and I always recommend reading many books
- Read philosophy is hard
That is why I recommend books of stoicism is a real headache for me.
Still, I realized a list of 15 stoicism books divided into:
- Classic books
- Theoretical books
- Practical books
- non-stoic books but with a lot practicability
Classic Books
“Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all.” ― Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers
Reading an old book can be an impossible task. Study philosophers 2000 years ago bored. Modern books are easier to understand. Many of them contain images and explain things to us in simple language.
Today there are videos on YouTube and audiobooks. We can get enough interesting information without any difficulty.
However, if we want to be stoics we have to read.
We need to know the teachers of this philosophy. Understand their way of thinking and use them as examples.
Believe me, it also cost me to read 2,000-year-old books. But the effort paid off.
1)Meditations of Marcus Aurelius:
“Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in your power, be good.” ― Marcus Aurelius
Machiavelli says that Marcus Aurelius is one of the 5 great emperors that Rome has had. He was one of the most powerful men on earth. A person who never boasted of his power. History would remember him as a philosopher.
The book is the personal diary of Marcus Aurelius. He never thought that they would publish his writings.
It is the consequence of seeing a man write for himself thoughts about humility, passions, to be cold and how to overcome adversity.
From Marcus Aurelius, you will learn to be Stoic when you are quite successful. His lessons will teach you to be humble before all circumstances.
This book has been read by people like:
- Bill Clinton
- The former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao
- The writer of Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling
- The creator of Twitter Jack Dorsey.
2) Discourses and Selected Writings of Epictetus
“Men are disturbed not by the things that happen, but by their opinion of the things that happen.” — Epictetus
Epictetus began his life as a Roman slave until he was able to found his own philosophy school.
His teachings are preserved in that book written by his disciples.
If you read the book you will learn the basic premise of Epictetus:
“Knowing how to differentiate what we can control from what we can not control.”
According to the philosopher, we should only focus on those things that we can control and be indifferent to others.
Epictetus has been very influential within Stoicism.
- Frederick the Great always carried a copy of the Manual of Epictetus.
- Francisco de Quevedo made the first translation of the Manual of Epictetus into Spanish.
- James Stockdale the American aircraft pilot who was a prisoner of war for over seven years in Vietnam was a fan of Epictetus.
3)On the Shortness of Life by Seneca
“Life is divided into three parts: what was, what is and what shall be. Of these three periods, the present is short, the future is doubtful and the past alone is certain.”― Seneca, On the Shortness of Life
Seneca is the only Roman Stoic who would leave a written work and publish it.
The philosopher has written several books however this is my favorite. The reflections on time are quite interesting. For the philosopher, the time we have is enough. The big problem is in the use we give it.
In the end, Séneca concludes:
“It is not that we have a short life, but that we are the ones who make it short.”
As humans, we waste a lot of time on superfluous and unnecessary things. We must concentrate on those small actions that really matter.
Within Stoicism the idea of time is fundamental. Day after day the Stoics reflected on time and looked for ways to maximize their days.
If you are looking to be more productive, you have to start by reading Seneca.
4) Plato’s Apology of Socrates
“We all deceive each other without a doubt if we believe that death is evil.” — Socrates
The Stoics were inspired by Socrates to develop their own philosophy. Epictetus said: “We must be like Socrates”.
In this book, Plato recounts the trial of the death of Socrates.
The most interesting part of the book is to observe Socrates’ perception of death. For the philosopher death is neither a good nor evil, it is just something we do not know
Theoretical Books
These books are optional. They are not indispensable to begin to practice this philosophy.
It is good to read them because they give us an in-depth knowledge of the subject.
5)What is Ancient Philosophy? by Pierre Hadot:
This is one of the best philosophy books you can read. For me, Pierre Hadot is the only writer who doesn`t fall for technicalities or redundant words.
In the book, you will get in detail the process of evolution of all ancient philosophy. From the sophists to Christianity. Passing by Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Zeno, Diogenes of Sinope and others.
6)Stoicism de John Sellar:
The interesting thing about the book is the timeline that builds us from the history of Stoicism.
You will discover how Stoicism influenced people like Justus Lipsius, Michel de Montaigne, Francisco de Quevedo, Erasmus of Rotterdam, Friedrich Nietzsche and James Stockdale.
7)Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder:
“The most subversive people are those who ask questions.” ― Jostein Gaarder, Sophie’s World
It is a novel and we should not consider it a philosophy book.
The author uses “Sofia”, the main character of the story, to make an account of the whole philosophy. Beginning with the sophists, going through Socrates, Hellenistic philosophies, etc.
This book is ideal for someone who has never read philosophy and wants to get started on the subject.
Practical Books
“To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, nor even to found a school, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust.” ― Henry David Thoreau
Practical books are my favorites. The problem is that most of these books are in English. Still, they are not an impediment to not reading them.
Each of them is written so that anyone can understand them.
8) Ego is The Enemy by Ryan Holiday:
“The pretense of knowledge is our most dangerous vice because it prevents us from getting any better.” ― Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy
This is my favorite author of stoicism books. His books are practical and easy to understand.
The book discusses the “Ego”. For Ryan holiday the Ego is those insane beliefs that we have of ourselves and that lead us to act incorrectly.
The ego is present in all aspects of our life. Whether we have achieved a triumph, or fail, or aspire to achieve something. The ego will be there latent and we must learn to fight it
9) The Obstacle is the Way de Ryan Holiday
“There is no good or bad without us, there is only perception. There is the event itself and the story we tell ourselves about what it means.”― Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle Is the Way
This book was purchased by the entire team of the New England Patriots and the administration of Donald Trump.
The book talks about three of the most basic components of stoicism: The control of our perception, acting and fulfilling our duty.
10) Daily Stoic de Ryan Holiday
It is a guide for every day. The book is divided into small daily chapters where Ryan Holiday leaves us some phrase from a Stoic, does not explain them and calls us to action.
I recommend this book for everyone who is starting out in stoicism and wants a guide for every day.
11) How to Be Stoic by Massimo Pigliucci:
The author is one of the greatest promoters of stoicism today. Like Ryan Holiday, his books are practical and not theoretical
In the book, you will observe how the author uses the figure of Epictetus to explain each of the aspects of Stoicism
Non-Stoic Books but with a lot Practicability
Each of the books contains thoughts and passages quite applicable to Stoicism. Many of them studied the Stoics, however, Stoicism is not the main theme in these books.
12) Walden by Henry David Thoreau
“Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify.” — Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau is a graduate writer at Harvard famous for his books and ideas.
He was the writer of Civil Disobedience: The first peaceful protest treaty that exists. Read by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King.
However, I will focus on Walden. The book tells the story of Thoreau living in the woods.
The philosopher fled the city to extract everything that was not life and discovers that he had never really lived.
Inside the book, you will get pretty stoic thoughts. Thoreau’s reflections on time are similar to Seneca’s conclusions.
13) Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl:
“Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.”― Victor Frankl
It is my favorite book. The author recounts his experiences after surviving 2 years in a concentration camp.
Viktor Frankl lived from feeding himself on bread. Surviving winter by being almost a skeleton. Performing forced labor that the Germans demanded of him. All that while watching his teammates die in the gas chambers.
The book teaches us that even in the worst circumstances, we will have the opportunity to laugh and have moments of happiness.
In my case, Every time I read the book I conclude that my situation is not bad. However bad my situation is, it is nothing compared to the experiences of Viktor Frankl.
14)Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
I don’t wanna die without any scars. So come on; hit me before I lose my nerve.- Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
You probably know this book thanks to the movie starring Brad Pitt. The movie is pretty good. If you see it again from a stoic perspective, you will like it even more.
Still, I recommend you read the novel. When we read, we meditate better with our ideas. We highlight those passages that we consider fundamental.
15) the 50th law by Robert Greene:
“Put yourself deliberately in difficult situations and examine your reactions. You will notice in each case that your fears were exaggerated and that facing them has the invigorating effect of bringing you closer to reality.” — Robert Greene
It’s the 50 cent rapper’s biography. The best example of a person who overcame adversity and was not intimidated by anyone. He was born in the district of Queens (New York). His father abandoned him when he was born and lost his mother when he was 8 years old. At 15 he was already a drug dealer and still managed to overcome and build an entire record empire.
Even so, even though you do not like rap or 50 Cent, I recommend you read your story.
Robert Greene compares the rapper with other people in the story who also went through difficult circumstances.
In addition, it is a book where you will get various stoic passages
16) the 4 hours work week by Tim Ferriss:
“What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.” — Tim Ferriss
What is the use of being rich if you can not enjoy your money? How to create your online business while traveling across the 5 continents? Those are the questions Tim Ferriss answers.
The interesting thing is that each one of the answers is from a stoic perspective. Tim Ferriss is one of the biggest promoters of Stoicism today.
In the book, you will get apart from entrepreneurship advice, quite a few stoic exercises. For example, Tim Ferriss recommends defining our fears instead of our goals.
Annexed
There are many more stoicism books. There are those of Nassim Nicholas Taleb, William Irvine, Musonius Rufus, etc.
However, I only recommend the books that I have read. In the future, I hope to update this list to about 30 books that I can recommend.
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