A Philosophical Summer Reading List

May 16, 2006

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Are there some philosophers, philosophies, or philosophical issues you want to bone up on over the Summer? Hegel’s Phenomenology of the Spirit probably isn’t a very good choice to take to the beach, but there are a lot of readable, beach-friendly classics and non-classics to add philosophical depth to your Summer Reading. Ken and John discuss some of their favorites and pass on suggestions from Philosophy Talk guests.

Recommendations from John & Ken *Fiction*

Blindness Jose Saramago	Siddhartha Hermann Hesse	The Brothers Karamazov Fyodor Dostoevsky
Changing Places David Lodge	Small World David Lodge	Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevsky
*Non-Fiction*
Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think George Lakoff
*Philosophical*
Why I Am Not a Christian Bertrand Russell	Breaking the Spell Daniel Dennett	Confessions of Saint Augustine St. Augustine
The Gay Science Friedrich Nietzsche	Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion David Hume	Great Dialogues of Plato Plato
The Story of Philosophy Will Durant
Recommendations from Listeners *Fiction*
The Sandman Vol.1 Neil Gaiman	The Golden Compass Philip Pullman	Memoirs of a Geisha Arthur Golden
The Schopenhauer Cure Irv Yalom	Anansi Boys Neil Gaiman	The Plague Albert Camus
Gilead Marilynne Robinson	Dombey and Son Charles Dickens	A Changed Man Francine Prose
The Duel and Other Stories Anton Chekhov	Charlotte’s Web E.B. White	The Left Hand of Darkness Ursula K. Le Guin
*Non-Fiction*
Woman: The Incredible Life of Yoko Ono Alan Clayson, Barb Jungr, and Robb Johnson	Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation Lynne Truss	The Essential Grizzly: The Mingled Fates of Men and Bears Doug & Andrea Peacock
Of Water and Spirit Malidoma Some	The Nine Nations of North America Joel Garreau	Why We Love Helen Fisher
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Edward Gibbon	Surfing the Himalayas: A Spiritual Adventure Frederick Lenz
*Philosophical*
Nausea Jean-Paul Sartre	Spiritual Enlightenment: The Damnedest Thing Jed McKenna	The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith Marcus J. Borg
The Passions: Emotions and the Meaning of Life Robert C. Solomon	The Joy of Philosophy: Thinking Thin versus the Passionate Life Robert C. Solomon
Recommendations from our guest Ashley Wallingford, Powell’s Books *Fiction*
Seeing Jose Saramago	The Snows of Yesteryear Gregory Von Rezzori	Barabbas Par Lagerkvist
*Non-Fiction*
Endgame: Volume 1: The Problem of Civilization Derrick Jensen	Elements of Refusal John Zerzan	Landscape and Memory Simon Schama
*Philosophical*
The Portable Nietzsche Friedrich Nietzsche	The End of Faith Sam Harris