Reddit reviews The Meditations

Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging. I'm starting this comment off with this book because it is, far beyond the shadow of a doubt, the most important book that every man should read. It is primarily meant for soldiers in the US military but god damn dude every fucking male on this planet needs to read this fucking book, plus it's less than 200 pages. If someone comes up to you and tells you that you can only read one more book ever again let it be this one. If you buy any book recommended here today, it absolutely needs to be this one. If you're one of those dudes that is in a sort of "melancholy" where you're not "living" life, you're just sort of "existing", this book can really help you sort things out. Fuck, buy this book even if you're one of the women of /r/AskMen.

The book question gets asked from time to time in this subreddit and I actually bought some of the books that people were recommending. Most of them (in my opinion) suck sweaty ass but a few were actually good. Here's a general run down of the books I bought from a thread asking the same question.

From best to worst. Keep in mind that this is just my opinion and shouldn't be treated as the law of the land.

Man's Search for Meaning. Written by a Jewish man who survived Nazi concentration camps. Unlike a lot of concentration camp books it doesn't go over the physical torture aspect of it. He talks about what was going through his mind and the way that other prisoners acted. The talks about his mental state and what got him and others through one of the most devastating crimes against humanity. Craziest part is when they get liberated. The prisoners are allowed to go into the nearby town and most of them think to themselves "this isn't real, this is bullshit" at which point they head back to the concentration camp.

The Tao of Pooh. The author conveys the lessons of Buddhist Taoism through Winnie the Pooh stories he made with commentary in between the stories. Started off good but I skipped the Pooh stories and went straight to the commentary, having to read excerpts that are meant for 3 year olds got old really quick. The book spirals into a steaming pile of shit towards the end. Te author starts inserting personal opinion into the commentary and talking shit on types of people he doesn't like. He talks shit on scientists for studying birds (let the birds be birds), joggers (all that running and they never go anywhere), and people who try to develop cures for diseases (let nature run its course). He tries to back all his opinions up with this totally bullshit story about a Chinese man who lived to be 250 years old. I don't know how sheltered and naive you have to be to think that you can live to 250 by "going for brisk walks" and "eating only vegetables" but the author makes himself look like a complete asshat by putting faith in the story.

The Stranger. The book tries to convey that the universe is indifferent to you and your problems (which it is) but the author presents it in a painfully boring manner.

The Meditations. A Roman emperors diary and notes on stoicism. Super fucking hard to read. "I thank my mother for teaching me motherly things. I thank my father for teaching me fatherly things. I thank my teacher for sharing knowledge. I thank my friends for being there for me." I couldn't make it to page 10. Shit was just too fucking repetitive.