Comments on: "That's deep."

Question: "That's deep."

Evernix — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 21:52:34 -0800

Books that "hint" at life lessons or realizations about life?

I'm looking for recommendations of books/comic books that tend to leave the reader really pondering about that one line pertaining to a certain concept of life every now and then. The Watchmen comic book, for example, is full of these and I loved it oh so much.

Any novels recommended, I would prefer to have them be <500 pages. I have enough reading to do for my English courses.

Hopefully I haven't been too vague in what I'm asking for here.

By: patronuscharms

patronuscharms — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 21:54:45 -0800

The Alchemist
Tuesdays with Morrie
Autobiography of a Yogi
Twilight (haha, just kidding, unless you feel like pondering the hysteria surrounding romance novels of that particular ilk)

This is a great question. I'm looking forward to seeing what other people have to say.

By: carsonb

carsonb — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 22:04:30 -0800

Tales of the Dervishes
Spider Robinson
The Devil's Dictionary?

By: pseudonick

pseudonick — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 22:20:20 -0800

The Little Prince

By: chicainthecity

chicainthecity — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 23:10:55 -0800

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

By: Bromius

Bromius — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 23:23:41 -0800

Breakfast of Champions.

By: Monsieur Caution

Monsieur Caution — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 23:27:12 -0800

Taking Watchmen as a clue that you might prefer comic book / SF&F recommendations, I suggest Neil Gaiman's The Sandman (particularly later volumes), Terry Pratchett's mid/late Discworld novels such as Reaper Man, Tom Holt's The Walled Orchard (including Goatsong), Patricia McKillip's The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, Zenna Henderson's Ingathering, or Jonathan Carroll's From the Teeth of Angels. None are explicitly wisdom texts, but neither is Watchmen, so I reckon that's what you're looking for.

By: him

him — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 01:46:24 -0800

Franny & Zooey by J.D. Salinger

By: Ahab

Ahab — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 02:28:57 -0800

Forrest Gump.

By: hasna

hasna — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 04:47:52 -0800

Almost anything by Paolo Coehlo fits nicely into this category. As patronuscharms mentionned, The Alchemist is the best example, but most of his other books are along these lines. The Zahir is a personal favorite.

By: hasna

hasna — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 04:49:18 -0800

^ Paulo Coelho. As many times as I've typed his name, I can never get it right.

By: Obscure Reference

Obscure Reference — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 05:04:18 -0800

The Magus
The Illuminatus Trilogy
1984

By: Busmick

Busmick — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 05:25:35 -0800

The Razors Edge

By: Evernix

Evernix — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 06:07:10 -0800

Awesome, guys. I'm liking these suggestions.

By: Beardman

Beardman — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 06:23:51 -0800

Many of the stories in Alice Munro's Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You.

By: Giant luck

Giant luck — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 06:23:58 -0800

The Border Trilogy - Cormac Mccarthy

By: fairmettle

fairmettle — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 06:25:41 -0800

The Bridge Across Forever

By: teragram

teragram — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 06:47:48 -0800

Number Our Days: A Triumph of Continuity and Culture Among Jewish Old People in an Urban Ghetto, by Barbara Myerhoff

By: keeo

keeo — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 06:51:08 -0800

Dandelion Wine

By: kaybdc

kaybdc — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 07:02:03 -0800

The Elegance of the Hedgehog

By: wenestvedt

wenestvedt — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 08:12:59 -0800

A Wizard of Earthsea and its two sequels

By: ottereroticist

ottereroticist — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 08:34:10 -0800

The Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

By: ottereroticist

ottereroticist — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 08:35:28 -0800

Actually, don't follow the link above for Life of Pi -- it's full of spoilers. Look here instead.

By: brisbane

brisbane — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 11:35:13 -0800

+1 for the Boarder Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy. Especially books one and two. Shook me to the core.

By: Ryogen

Ryogen — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 14:42:11 -0800

nthing Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, as it's the first thing that came to mind for me.

By: charleskinbote

charleskinbote — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:10:06 -0800

I agree with those who think Cormac McCarthy fits your bill, but I would start with his later works like No Country for Old Men and especially The Road. They're shorter, more accessible, and, at least in my opinion, more compelling than the Border Trilogy.

As far as comic books go, Grant Morrison's work if rife with these (for better or worse), but his 90s stuff like The Invisibles is probably a good start.

By: Evernix

Evernix — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 17:54:26 -0800

Thanks, all. I got a pretty good list going here so far.