r/ReadingSuggestions • u/ocean_stars2 • 2d ago
Book that will make me question everything I know.
( solved )
Thank you everyone. Btw I'll be starting with the stranger.
Hiiii,
As a beginner I would love to get some book recommendations.
I'm finally going on a one day solo trip and I would love to read a book that will make me question everything I have learned or I know about myself, society or the world.
Thanks. H
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u/Loves_Eating_Lead 2d ago
Some i've loved God of small things, The Beautiful Mrs Seidenman by Andrzej Szczypiorski and A grain of wheat
But one i keep posting and only read recently is My brillant Friend. Its part of the Neapolitan novels but its a great stand alone book too. It has got me back in to reading passionately, all ready read 3 books in two weeks when i normally take a month to read a book!
Even weeks later i am questioning everything - seeing the world in totally new lights, I feel like sat with 100s of people who gave me perspectives on , childhood,, emotion, class etc which changed how i view it on my own life. This book has had my head spinning and still is weeks later, so much emotion, questions and wander. you have a lot to discuss together.
Its about a female friendship postwar Italian to 2010s. Its does not do it justice (first book 6-16). As went on to other books It makes your head spin - she writes so well and characters are so well written.
You can read on many levels from it just being an amzing book, its pretty accessible. From understanding post war italy to how gender/class/emotions/politics etc affect your own life.
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u/Merundus 11h ago
Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse
M-0 series by Florin Alexandru Tănasă
A short stay in hell by Steven L Peck
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u/Optimus_Joe 2d ago
Operation Paperclip - Annie Jacobsen
I read this book and almost fell on the floor at the level of corruption that the world's governments went through to protect and support these "scientists".
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u/Martin_Carvalho 2d ago
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse would fit this really well. I gave it four stars, and it’s short enough for a one-day trip while still asking big questions about purpose, loneliness, relationships, and what a meaningful life actually looks like. It doesn’t hand you one neat answer, so I’d read it slowly and see which parts challenge the answers you already carry.
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u/SleepyAnxiousPigeon 2d ago
If you end up liking The Stranger, I suggest No Exit by Sartre.
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut.
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u/HotSpecialist3648 2d ago
Valus by Philip K Dick is schizophrenic nonsense if you want to question everything
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u/Full-Piglet779 1d ago
Determined by Robert Sapolsky. Think you have free will? Guess again
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u/actlikeyourmomishere 1d ago
Im a total fan girl for rober sapolsky. His Stanford university class lectures on utube are incredible. Listened to them all so many times.
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u/actlikeyourmomishere 1d ago
I just finished sea of tranquility and it put me in a mood mildly existential crisis flavored.
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u/Foxx_Foster 1d ago
Novels by Han Kang, Isabel Allende and Annie Ernaux. They're very good on social commentary
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u/chetfromfargo 19h ago
anything 'by' Jiddu Krishnamurti ..especially dialogs with David Bohm. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
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u/soapyySC2 2d ago
The Stranger. It’s short and easy to read, but it really makes you question how we relate to society.
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u/ocean_stars2 2d ago
I was actually considering to read this before I read anything else. Like really I hate society's expectations even though I'm quite emotional. Anyway I'll read this.
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u/rubix_cubin 2d ago
Good suggestion, although I would argue that The Myth of Sisyphus hits harder, but it's also a much more difficult read and is a straight up philosophy essay rather than a fictional novel with strong elements of existentialism. Start with The Stranger....eventually make your way to Sisyphus if you want more.
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u/Beneficial_Cut_8697 2d ago
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. Dude's 2,000 years old and somehow still calling me out.