New Years' Book Recommendations: Action Selection

In this post, I will summarize a list of books that I included on my Amazon list for beginners interested in the themes of my philosophy, and include some into which I divulged since then and thoroughly enjoyed.

Although I admit there may be scholars of a certain predisposition across the Internet and print media who have a more comprehensive list of books that provide a generally helpful perspective on the struggles of ordinary 'modern' life, this is my selection, and I will only include that which I know I can recommend, for it has proven helpful in my own personal ponderings.

My two favourite fiction books are currently Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov as well as Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes.

I have been a lifetime fan of Nabokov's work and biography, and consider him to be a heavy inspiration to my literary style. Although I consider 'Ada, or Andor' to be one of his more thorough works which can serve his life's career better justice and paint a better picture than 'Lolita', the latter is still one of my all time favourites due to its heavy symbolism, nomenclature, self-reflection and the mannerisms that accompany styling such a heavy, albeit partly ficticious, topic.

But, what about Flowers for Algernon? This novel, to which I was introduced by my eight grade advanced language arts teacher, is perhaps one of the most original works in English out there. It depicts a first-hand account of a heavily mentally challenged man by the name of Charlie Gordon, from his first few journals where he can barely write, towards the peak of his philosophical and misanthropic musings as he undergoes a psychiatric-neurological operation to increase his level of intelligence.

To spoil this book, the mouse upon which the experiment was first successfully tested prior to Gordon's operation (nicknamed 'Algernon', as the title suggests) dies midway through, sparking fear in Gordon that he will eventually meet this fate as well, but ultimately ending in an inconclusive and melancholic spiral downwards that leaves him mute, memoryless and unable to write more. Along with Lolita, I consider it one of the saddest works I have yet read. This is, in my mind, another word for 'the best'. Nevertheless, below are some more notable entries.


Fiction:

  1. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (The Amazon Prime series never managed to do this one proper justice, aside from cinematically and by depicting a complex relationship between father and son)
  2. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (Bladerunner continues to be one of my favorite films plot-wise)
  3. The Way of the Superior Man: A Spiritual Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Women, Work, and Sexual Desire (20th Anniversary Edition) by David Deida (Teaches the spiritual intricacies of sex better than any talk with your parents ever could)
  4. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (I found it scary how much I related to the protagonist here when I first read it for my senior-year English project)
  5. Fight Club: A Novel by Chuck Palahniuk (Fond memories of listening to this on a trip throughout Northern Europe)
  6. No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai, Donald Keene (Passage about women particularly applicable)
  7. The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger (He's me, although nothing in this book made me violently inclined towards John Lennon)
  8. Diary of an Oxygen Thief (1) (The Oxygen Thief Diaries) by Anonymous (Good that he kept it anonymous)
  9. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
  10. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett (I still don't understand all of it)
  11. The Rebel: An Essay on Man in Revolt by Albert Camus
  12. The Myth of Sisyphus (Vintage International) by Albert Camus
  13. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
  14. Ada or Ardor by Vladimir Nabokov
  15. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (Could've been shorter, although the same can be said for a certain book named paradigm something)
  16. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
  17. White Fang by Jack London
  18. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  19. Drive by Daniel H. Pink (I particularly liked his jacket in the film)
  20. Harassment Architecture by Mike Ma (Do not read if you are socially liberal)


Non-Fiction:

  1. Revolt Against the Modern World by Julius Evola
  2. The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss
  3. The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime by MJ DeMarco
  4. How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
  5. The Art Of War by Sun Tzu
  6. The Way of Men by Jack Donovan
  7. The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene
  8. The Menu by Aaron Clarey (This is pretty essential if you're a man, though Clarey made a 'Womens' Menu' for those seeking alternative lifestyle advice from the general mainstream, which has continued to fail us throughout decades of modernization)
  9. The Unplugged Alpha by Richard Cooper
  10. Caligula by Stephen Dando-Collins
  11. The Death of Cool by Gavin McInnes
  12. Think and Grow Rich: The Landmark Bestseller Now Revised and Updated for the 21st Century (Think and Grow Rich Series) by Napoleon Hill, Arthur R. Pell
  13. The Psychology of Selling: Increase Your Sales Faster and Easier Than You Ever Thought Possible by Brian Tracy, Gildan Media, LLC
  14. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear, Penguin Audio
  15. Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins
  16. No More Mr Nice Guy: A Proven Plan for Getting What You Want in Love, Sex, and Life by Robert A. Glover
  17. Meditations: A New Translation by Marcus Aurelius, Gregory Hays
  18. The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
  19. The Way of Men by Jack Donovan
  20. The Unplugged Alpha by Richard Cooper
  21. 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson (I heavily disagree with Peterson on the Israel issue, among others, but the book still has merit)
  22. The Death of Cool by Gavin McInnes (Same goes for McInnes, although I like him much more, he seems rather tough-minded which I heavily envy)
  23. Trauma and Memory by Peter A. Levine
  24. The Age of Napoleon by J. Christopher Herold
  25. Psychological Types by Carl Jung
  26. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
  27. Hard Times Create Strong Men by Stefan Aarnio
  28. The Psychology of Totalitarianism by Mattias Desmet

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