[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.

[stnmtn]

The final, moving message of the book comes down to "live in the present." Something we hear 50 times a day from friends, commercials, videos, etc. But I think Siddhartha communicates and brings the reader on a journey that results in this realization the most effectively out of every piece of media I've ever consumed

[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.

[gkya]

Hesse us one of my favourite novelists. I'd also suggest Knulp as an interesting read, though not very on-topic in this general thread.

[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 :)

[ShorsHammer]

Read it long ago, one of those books that just sticks with you. Easily one of my favourite works of fiction. Hesse has such a bizarre writing style but it is a very deep book.