What should I be looking for?

[-illusionz-]

I used to enjoy reading books for pleasure, but then I just opted to movies (Good ones, not your Pirates of the Caribbeans and the such), but I'd like to start reading again to get my head out of places.

Now, what I'm not sure on, is what genre of book I should look under.

I don't want a novel, or a biography.

I like Benjamin Franklin's quotes, if that helps at all.

I'm looking for something Philosophical I guess?

Kind of something that someone noticed around the world, and wrote things down.


If you understand what I mean, Any suggestions?

[blazeofglory]

I used to enjoy reading books for pleasure, but then I just opted to movies (Good ones, not your Pirates of the Caribbeans and the such), but I'd like to start reading again to get my head out of places.

Now, what I'm not sure on, is what genre of book I should look under.

I don't want a novel, or a biography.

I like Benjamin Franklin's quotes, if that helps at all.

I'm looking for something Philosophical I guess?

Kind of something that someone noticed around the world, and wrote things down.


If you understand what I mean, Any suggestions?

I am reading Khalil Gibran's the prophet, a book of poems very philosophical indeed. I do not know whether or not you like them.

[stlukesguild]

Hmmm... Franklin's quotes...? I might suggest you look into Emerson's essays and even more so Montaigne's essays. A good starting point for philosophical observations that avoid the more esoteric or brain-numbing manner.

[Nico87]

If you like poems, and are interested in war in general, I would recommend 'War Poems', published by Everyman's Library.

Card catalog description
"From Homer and Virgil to Byron and Yeats, from Shelley and Whitman to Auden and Stevens, from ancient China's anonymous bards to Poland's Mickiewicz and Israel's Amichai, poets of all times, places, and sensibilities have been moved to write about war. Here are more than one hundred of their most memorable poems, ranging from Horace on the Battle of Actium and Heinrich Heine's "The Grenadiers" to Adrienne Rich's Vietnam-era "Newsreel." From Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon to Randall Jarrell and Stevie Smith, the poets represented here have encompassed the entire spectrum of feeling - pride, compassion, courage, anger, anguish, laughter."

http://www.amazon.com/Poems-Everymans-Library-Pocket-Poets/dp/0375407901/ref=sr_1_1/104-8167855-6944738?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193417373&sr=8-1

I liked it very much.

Philosophical? Try Ayn Rand.

[adampearson]

The book you should read is Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. It's a true story about a young man, fed up with life and parents and society, who donates his life savings to a charity and becomes a vagabond. It's rich on philosophy, nature, and quotes from his favorite authors. It is not a biography but rather an after the fact telling of his adventure. It's a beautiful story and will also give you some exposure to other authors you may want to read in the future.

Please, I repeat, please do not go for Ayn Rand. Atlas Shrugged is a very good book but I wouldn't want it to be your first exposure to something philisophical.

Adam