Discourses

I only read non-fiction; mostly philosophy. Here are some books off the top of my head: * The Inner Citadel/Philosophy as a Way of Life by Pierre Hadot * Plato's dialogues (someone already mentioned a few of them, but the Republic was missing from their list). * Epictetus (Discourses and Enchiridion) * The various essays/letters of Seneca * Matter and Consciousness by Churchland (older, but fascinating) * The Mediations of Marcus Aurelius * (mostly) any Buddhist texts * What a Plant Knows * Moonwalking with Einstein There are tons of fascinating books, way too many to list.

I have about half a dozen translations of the Meditations and i suggest the following; * Translation by Gregory Hays published in "The Modern Library" classics. This is highly approachable and should be the first one you start with. * Translation by Martin Hammond and published by Penguin Classics. Lots of illuminating Notes. * Translation by Robin Hard and published in "Oxford World's Classics" series. Robin Hard also has a translation of Epictetus' Discourses/Enchiridion/Fragments and Sayings and Anecdotes of Diogenes in the same Oxford series, both of which are also excellent. PS: All of the above contain a detailed Introduction to the work which you should not skip. They set the background, Worldview, Time etc. which help you understand the ideas in the book better.

It's actually his personal diary, written often while he was on campaign. From that perspective I think it's impressive how insightful he managed to be in short bursts. But if you are looking for something more long-form, you might try Seneca's Letters or Epictetus Discourses.

The Black Swan (anything by Taleb really), Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, Letters from a Stoic by Seneca, Epictetus' Discourses, Fish that ate the whale by Rich Cohen, Man's Search for Meaning, Titan, Principles by Ray Dalio (not really a book, but really worth reading, plus it's free), 4HW by Tim Ferris, The Strategy Paradox. Also Teddy Roosevelt's biography has been very influential.