Books like Diary of a philosophy student by Simone de Beauvoir

A series of spiritual exercises for leading a meaningful life, 2,000 years old and still relevant today.

Nietzsche’s first book explores Greek tragedy, Schopenhauer’s philosophy, and Wagner’s music, arguing that the fusion of Apollonian order and Dionysian ecstasy creates the highest art and offers insight into suffering.

Bryan Magee tells the story of his own discovery of philosophy and makes the subject not only come alive but seem intensely relevant. He describes the fundamentals of philosophy as questions about the nature of reality encountered in the course of living, not as problems presented in the writings of the philosophers. Experiences of everyday life provoke discussions about why, through the ages, certain philosophical questions have persistently exercised our minds. Magee's memoir follows the course of his life, so that problems and philosophers are discussed in the order in which he came upon them, rather than in chronological order. By the end of the book, we have been introduced to all the great philosophers, from the pre-Socratics to those of the twentieth century, including two of the most important contemporary philosophers, Bertrand Russell and Karl Popper, both of whom the author knew personally. Logically and with great fluency, Magee clarifies this sometimes obscure subject, revealing its richness to readers who may have considered it inaccessible.

Passionate, freethinking existentialist philosopher-writers Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre are one of the world's legendary couples. Their committed but notoriously open union generated no end of controversy in their day. Biographer Hazel Rowley offers the first dual portrait of these two colossal figures and their intense, often embattled relationship. Through original interviews and access to new primary sources, Rowley portrays Sartre and Beauvoir up close.Tete-a-Tete magnificently details the passion, daring, humor, and contradictions of a remarkably unorthodox relationship.