Augustine’s Confessions. People think of it as theological (and it is) but his reflections on the self, the cosmos, time, and other concepts massively shaped the Western philosophical soul.
My suggestion would be "Stories of Your Life and Others" by Ted Chiang, a collection of short stories. I have thoroughly enjoyed Chiang's work and his ability to make me think about what it means to be human. Bonus part of this pick, if you're into movies, is add in a watch of the film "Arrival" which is based on the titular story of the collection. Much discussion could then be had about translation from page to screen.
I’m currently reading Exhalation by Ted Chiang and it’s a collection of sci-fi short stories that all deal with the implications of the technology (non-human digital consciousness, free will, photographic memory, etc). Maybe the short stories will keep things fresh and encourage active participation? Not saying this is a perfect suggestion but sci-fi does thrive in the short story format.
I am still going through Plato’s republic just can be a bit nervous in commenting haha.
I have been keeping up with The Republic the whole time but were I struggle is with the participation. Some weeks I just don’t feel like I have much to contribute to the discussion. I like to see what others are saying and really enjoy reading other thoughts. I wonder how many others are like me just lurking some weeks.
Could not have said it better, Sam. I’m on track and even a little ahead in the reading. And I look forward to the posts each Monday! I feel a bit silly commenting as I am just a dabbler in philosophy- but I made myself engage last week and that felt good. Highly appreciative of this reading list and participation!
Keep commenting! I have no idea what I’m doing. Republic is the first work of philosophy I’ve read since 101 in uni. But I’m on maternity leave and Jared is generous enough to offer the opportunity, so why not. The worst that could happen is we say something wrong and then get to learn from it!
I commented on the other thread but my suggestions are as follows:
Aristotle, I like hitting one of these per year. The next one I’d like is Metaphysics and getting into the nature of “knowledge.” Similarly on that track would be Descartes Discourse, Hume, and Locke Essay. I feel that with Dispossessed, Republic, and Politics at the end of this year it would be good to veer from political theory for a minute.
Since you just remarked in a note about enjoying the literature on Nietzsche, then something from him would be enjoyable because your enthusiasm should bleed over.
Also think it would be cool to have a cooperative with Parker Settecase specifically if the two of you have a work that you disagree on, so that the companion essays are at cross-purposes and provide fruitful discussion.
Finally, a suggestion on the philosophical read-alongs for me would be a brief prompt of something to look out for in the coming week, and in the companion essays some more critique that we can react to. I think the summaries are helpful especially as my notes and thoughts might be scattered and these help me organize everything.
These read-alongs are fantastic and long overdue for my self development being out of school for a few years now.
I've always been intimidated by Russian novels, so if you did a read-along for one, that might provide me with the motivation to overcome my intimidation. I expect to have a lot more time to read in 2026, so I'd be able to tackle a big project like a Russian novel.
I would love to have a read along of Godel, Escher, Bach. The book was very important to my intellectual development and I have been wanting to read it again. Plenty to discuss about philosophy of consciousness, nice chapter structure as well.
For novels, I really recommend something short, as it is hard to have a peer discussion about a novel in the middle of reading it (it is also harder to set the reading pace). Obvious choices might be Camus or Sartre, but maybe The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde would be a bit different.
I AM A STRANGE LOOP, also by Douglas Hofstadter, the author of GEB, is shorter and more accessible than the earlier book. It offers an updated and more personal presentation of the same philosophical approach. Within the same line of thought, I think some of Daniel Dennett's books may also be good for our read-alongs; especially FREEDOM EVOLVES, which offers a wonderfully refreshing and innovative understanding of an age-old fundamental question concerning what it means to be human.
"Ficciones" by Jorge Luis Borges covers a pretty wide swath of what was to become sci-fi, fantasy, and experimental literature of the last half of the 20th century.
I think A Canticle for Leibowitz would be a great option for novel. The book is full of philosophy and thought provoking passages whilst still being incredibly engaging, funny and easy to read. It's also one of the only books to make me cry.
I love readalongs; they help me read and reflect together. I believe that community is one of the most important points when working on complex topics. I don't comment because I'm from Chile. English isn't my first language, so I feel like I can't convey what I'd like to say well.
As a recommendation, I liked another commenter's idea about reading Borges. I think short stories work perfectly with this format. It also occurs to me that we can read certain chapters of philosophy books, but that the complete work might not work entirely, since it's a lot. Whether in that sense or in its entirety, I think Nietzsche's "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" could be interesting because the symbolic language the author uses involves a lot of interpretation, and I think comparing it as a whole would be beneficial.
I think using short stories or book chapters is an excellent suggestion. Reading collections of short stories help stimulate participation; we can both discuss the stories on their own and, at the same time, explore the possible connections among them. However, I worry that it might be too difficult to find self-contained chapters of philosophy books that accurately present a philosopher's thinking. An alternative is to consider anthologies of essays by philosophers; they simultaneously offer the benefits of a curated collection and the plurality of views on a key idea or question. One title comes to mind: Martin Heidegger's THE QUESTION CONCERNING TECHNOLOGY, AND OTHER ESSAYS. Given our interest in technology, this collection provides one coherent viewpoint to help us discuss this issue in a philosophical way. As an bonus, we also get an article on Nietzsche in the collection.
Along these lines, I was considering making the selections more thematic (so, a portion from Heidegger on the theme, followed by Nietzsche, and so on) to encourage an extended discussion over the course of months or even the entire year.
If you remember, I mentioned very early on that I consider these readalongs as lessons in a year-long course of study. I was hoping that a more or less steady core of readers would coalesce and that the "wisdom" of our discussions would accumulate. It is for this reason that I tell myself to commit to reading books that I don't want to read. Honestly, I have been disappointed by the failure of that carryover to happen. Wouldn't it be fun to place Mrs. Dalloway, a housewife of nobility who spends her entire day organizing a dinner party, in Plato's republic? Wouldn't it be enlightening and productive to counterpose Arendt's concept of politics and the public sphere with Plato's ideal city? I'm surprised that nobody has yet put THE DISPOSSESSED and REPUBLIC together; they seem to be begging for such a comparison.
Just one more thought. If you can tie whatever theme you're going to select back to the name of your newsletter COMMONPLACE PHILOSOPHY, that would be wonderful!
I assume by nihilism you are referring to the absence of a "moral compass" in contemporary society, now that "God is dead." If so, I'd vote for it, as it is the question that I have been struggling with for at least 30 years, both as a primary school teacher and a lover of philosophy and literature. However, it is a tough, tough topic as it requires patient critical thinking, a quality that is hard to promote and sustain on a platform whose members can come and go at any time. The risk is that emotional sentiments can easily overwhelm objective analyses. Technology is a safer topic; and timely and urgent. I don't think you can go wrong.
Let me put another bug in your ear. Philosophy As a Way of Life; or What Does a Philosophical Way of Life Mean? Something along this line. All in all, however, I believe Technology is the safest and most practical choice.
Along those lines, Brave New World? I tend to think of that as one of those books that everyone has read at some point, but I haven't read it since high school, and it's probably worth revisiting.
For anybody who has fallen behind on reading Plato's Republic (and that includes me), I suggest just skipping forward and reading Book VII for next week. It contains the best-known part, the Allegory of the Cave. It would not be unusual for an intro class to read just Books I and VII.
I want you to know that I’m following along, but as someone who’s both new to philosophy and not a native English speaker, I prefer not to comment here or speak in the Zoom calls.
I know you asked us to be specific with suggestions, but I want to share two general thoughts—after reading comments here.
First, I always prefer to read a book in its entirety rather than skipping chapters.
Second, I mostly follow philosophical texts with you because reading fiction in English is quite challenging for me.
As a suggestion, since we read the Nicomachean Ethics before, I’d love it if we could explore Aristotle’s Metaphysics and Organon together sometime.
I agree with Ghazaleh about skipping chapters. Maybe a few readings that are selected works, but at least a few full books. It’s super satisfying to say you read a whole book.
Please don't move away from the challenging works that take more time and effort. Those are the works that need guidance/walk-throughs the most. Even if people can't keep up, the post will be there indefinitely for people to catch up to.
I suggest 'Billiards at Half Past Nine' by Heinrich Böll for a fiction read-along, and not only because it's my favourite book ever. Some additional arguments in its favour:
- good to read something written by a non-US/UK author
- the novel's interesting and challenging narrative structure, where the main plot takes place from morning until evening of a single day, and at the same time we learn about 50 years' worth of history of a single family through the characters' memories and narratives
- the main theme of a choice of resistance or collaboration with a violent ideology is especially topical nowadays
Augustine’s Confessions. People think of it as theological (and it is) but his reflections on the self, the cosmos, time, and other concepts massively shaped the Western philosophical soul.
I second (or third) this suggestion.
Augustine was one of my thoughts as well, it’s on my TBR.
My suggestion would be "Stories of Your Life and Others" by Ted Chiang, a collection of short stories. I have thoroughly enjoyed Chiang's work and his ability to make me think about what it means to be human. Bonus part of this pick, if you're into movies, is add in a watch of the film "Arrival" which is based on the titular story of the collection. Much discussion could then be had about translation from page to screen.
I’m currently reading Exhalation by Ted Chiang and it’s a collection of sci-fi short stories that all deal with the implications of the technology (non-human digital consciousness, free will, photographic memory, etc). Maybe the short stories will keep things fresh and encourage active participation? Not saying this is a perfect suggestion but sci-fi does thrive in the short story format.
I am still going through Plato’s republic just can be a bit nervous in commenting haha.
I have been keeping up with The Republic the whole time but were I struggle is with the participation. Some weeks I just don’t feel like I have much to contribute to the discussion. I like to see what others are saying and really enjoy reading other thoughts. I wonder how many others are like me just lurking some weeks.
Could not have said it better, Sam. I’m on track and even a little ahead in the reading. And I look forward to the posts each Monday! I feel a bit silly commenting as I am just a dabbler in philosophy- but I made myself engage last week and that felt good. Highly appreciative of this reading list and participation!
Keep commenting! I have no idea what I’m doing. Republic is the first work of philosophy I’ve read since 101 in uni. But I’m on maternity leave and Jared is generous enough to offer the opportunity, so why not. The worst that could happen is we say something wrong and then get to learn from it!
I commented on the other thread but my suggestions are as follows:
Aristotle, I like hitting one of these per year. The next one I’d like is Metaphysics and getting into the nature of “knowledge.” Similarly on that track would be Descartes Discourse, Hume, and Locke Essay. I feel that with Dispossessed, Republic, and Politics at the end of this year it would be good to veer from political theory for a minute.
Since you just remarked in a note about enjoying the literature on Nietzsche, then something from him would be enjoyable because your enthusiasm should bleed over.
Also think it would be cool to have a cooperative with Parker Settecase specifically if the two of you have a work that you disagree on, so that the companion essays are at cross-purposes and provide fruitful discussion.
Finally, a suggestion on the philosophical read-alongs for me would be a brief prompt of something to look out for in the coming week, and in the companion essays some more critique that we can react to. I think the summaries are helpful especially as my notes and thoughts might be scattered and these help me organize everything.
These read-alongs are fantastic and long overdue for my self development being out of school for a few years now.
I've always been intimidated by Russian novels, so if you did a read-along for one, that might provide me with the motivation to overcome my intimidation. I expect to have a lot more time to read in 2026, so I'd be able to tackle a big project like a Russian novel.
I would love to have a read along of Godel, Escher, Bach. The book was very important to my intellectual development and I have been wanting to read it again. Plenty to discuss about philosophy of consciousness, nice chapter structure as well.
For novels, I really recommend something short, as it is hard to have a peer discussion about a novel in the middle of reading it (it is also harder to set the reading pace). Obvious choices might be Camus or Sartre, but maybe The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde would be a bit different.
I AM A STRANGE LOOP, also by Douglas Hofstadter, the author of GEB, is shorter and more accessible than the earlier book. It offers an updated and more personal presentation of the same philosophical approach. Within the same line of thought, I think some of Daniel Dennett's books may also be good for our read-alongs; especially FREEDOM EVOLVES, which offers a wonderfully refreshing and innovative understanding of an age-old fundamental question concerning what it means to be human.
"Ficciones" by Jorge Luis Borges covers a pretty wide swath of what was to become sci-fi, fantasy, and experimental literature of the last half of the 20th century.
Seconding selections from Borges.
I think A Canticle for Leibowitz would be a great option for novel. The book is full of philosophy and thought provoking passages whilst still being incredibly engaging, funny and easy to read. It's also one of the only books to make me cry.
I love readalongs; they help me read and reflect together. I believe that community is one of the most important points when working on complex topics. I don't comment because I'm from Chile. English isn't my first language, so I feel like I can't convey what I'd like to say well.
As a recommendation, I liked another commenter's idea about reading Borges. I think short stories work perfectly with this format. It also occurs to me that we can read certain chapters of philosophy books, but that the complete work might not work entirely, since it's a lot. Whether in that sense or in its entirety, I think Nietzsche's "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" could be interesting because the symbolic language the author uses involves a lot of interpretation, and I think comparing it as a whole would be beneficial.
I think using short stories or book chapters is an excellent suggestion. Reading collections of short stories help stimulate participation; we can both discuss the stories on their own and, at the same time, explore the possible connections among them. However, I worry that it might be too difficult to find self-contained chapters of philosophy books that accurately present a philosopher's thinking. An alternative is to consider anthologies of essays by philosophers; they simultaneously offer the benefits of a curated collection and the plurality of views on a key idea or question. One title comes to mind: Martin Heidegger's THE QUESTION CONCERNING TECHNOLOGY, AND OTHER ESSAYS. Given our interest in technology, this collection provides one coherent viewpoint to help us discuss this issue in a philosophical way. As an bonus, we also get an article on Nietzsche in the collection.
Along these lines, I was considering making the selections more thematic (so, a portion from Heidegger on the theme, followed by Nietzsche, and so on) to encourage an extended discussion over the course of months or even the entire year.
Excellent idea!
If you remember, I mentioned very early on that I consider these readalongs as lessons in a year-long course of study. I was hoping that a more or less steady core of readers would coalesce and that the "wisdom" of our discussions would accumulate. It is for this reason that I tell myself to commit to reading books that I don't want to read. Honestly, I have been disappointed by the failure of that carryover to happen. Wouldn't it be fun to place Mrs. Dalloway, a housewife of nobility who spends her entire day organizing a dinner party, in Plato's republic? Wouldn't it be enlightening and productive to counterpose Arendt's concept of politics and the public sphere with Plato's ideal city? I'm surprised that nobody has yet put THE DISPOSSESSED and REPUBLIC together; they seem to be begging for such a comparison.
I’m sorry I missed the earlier books! Sounds like I will need to go back to The Dispossessed.
Just one more thought. If you can tie whatever theme you're going to select back to the name of your newsletter COMMONPLACE PHILOSOPHY, that would be wonderful!
The two themes I’m considering (no promise!) are technology and nihilism, so they would be related to the publication as a whole!
I assume by nihilism you are referring to the absence of a "moral compass" in contemporary society, now that "God is dead." If so, I'd vote for it, as it is the question that I have been struggling with for at least 30 years, both as a primary school teacher and a lover of philosophy and literature. However, it is a tough, tough topic as it requires patient critical thinking, a quality that is hard to promote and sustain on a platform whose members can come and go at any time. The risk is that emotional sentiments can easily overwhelm objective analyses. Technology is a safer topic; and timely and urgent. I don't think you can go wrong.
Let me put another bug in your ear. Philosophy As a Way of Life; or What Does a Philosophical Way of Life Mean? Something along this line. All in all, however, I believe Technology is the safest and most practical choice.
If technology, perhaps Frankenstein? Or is this too cliche a suggestion!
Along those lines, Brave New World? I tend to think of that as one of those books that everyone has read at some point, but I haven't read it since high school, and it's probably worth revisiting.
Syntopical!!
For anybody who has fallen behind on reading Plato's Republic (and that includes me), I suggest just skipping forward and reading Book VII for next week. It contains the best-known part, the Allegory of the Cave. It would not be unusual for an intro class to read just Books I and VII.
Good advice, I'm still in book 1 sadly....so maybe I will first read these two and continue the read along, then come back for the other chapters.
I want you to know that I’m following along, but as someone who’s both new to philosophy and not a native English speaker, I prefer not to comment here or speak in the Zoom calls.
I know you asked us to be specific with suggestions, but I want to share two general thoughts—after reading comments here.
First, I always prefer to read a book in its entirety rather than skipping chapters.
Second, I mostly follow philosophical texts with you because reading fiction in English is quite challenging for me.
As a suggestion, since we read the Nicomachean Ethics before, I’d love it if we could explore Aristotle’s Metaphysics and Organon together sometime.
I agree with Ghazaleh about skipping chapters. Maybe a few readings that are selected works, but at least a few full books. It’s super satisfying to say you read a whole book.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
This is a good one
Enneads by Plotinus
Yes, Plotinus please!
Please don't move away from the challenging works that take more time and effort. Those are the works that need guidance/walk-throughs the most. Even if people can't keep up, the post will be there indefinitely for people to catch up to.
I suggest 'Billiards at Half Past Nine' by Heinrich Böll for a fiction read-along, and not only because it's my favourite book ever. Some additional arguments in its favour:
- good to read something written by a non-US/UK author
- the novel's interesting and challenging narrative structure, where the main plot takes place from morning until evening of a single day, and at the same time we learn about 50 years' worth of history of a single family through the characters' memories and narratives
- the main theme of a choice of resistance or collaboration with a violent ideology is especially topical nowadays