Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance?

Question

Did it change your life? It took the top of my head right off.

I ask because I am going to re-read it soon. I need something brilliant to juxtapose to rearing a tiny infant. I'm in a little too deep with "The Wheels On the Bus Go 'Round and 'Round" and "Pat the Bunny."

Any other deep reading suggestions out there?

I've read Crime and Punishment. It's one of my favorites, too, but give Zen and...another chance. It DOES measure up!

Answer 1

Crime & Punishment by Dostoevsky. Best book ever written, and I've read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, didn't come close. Enjoy.

Answer 2

There have been times when Zen and the Art made my life worth living!

Well, you've gotten some good suggestions here.

There is always Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse. That one has been known to change lives.

If you want an amazing contemporary writer, try Cormac McCarthy. His most recent is The Road - amazing. A lot of his books are intense, but you could try Blood Meridian (totally transcends genre) or Child of God.

Have you read The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera? Also a good one, although I liked Immortality better.

Any of the above are certainly deep. Life-changing is in the eye of the beholder, but I think they could qualify. Just don't let anyone get you to read Celestine Prophecy. If you want to read the Alchemist (by Coelho), I understand, although I am not the biggest fan, some people say it changed their lives!

Enjoy.

Answer 3

I would suggest 'A Confederacy of Dunces' by O'Toole. It's a great comic novel, seemingly very different from Zen. But in a subtle way, it's unexpectedly similar - both are stories about men deeply out of place in their societies. These are my two favorite American novels of the past 50 years. You might also consider Sophie's World, which, like Zen, is an unusual blend of novel and philosophic treatise.

You can't go wrong with Dostoevsky, and I would also recommend a rough contemporary, Honore De Balzac, a brilliant and prolific novelist. If you're unfamiliar with his work, the short novel Pere Goriot is a good starting point.

Answer 4

The Red and the Black by Stahl.
Personally, I thought "Zen" was nothing but a meticulous mental dismantling of this poor sap's degenerative relationship with his son. The whole time I felt the author and the main protagonist were selfish, troubled and so distraught by perceived mathematical enlightenment they were pathetically incapable of relating to social relationships. I was like, back to the coo-coos nest for you -- although I was glad he and his son *spoiler alert* resolve some connection.
It was almost as horrid as that Kazuhiro Ishiguro's Remains of the Day. Just pathetic, gutless voyeouristic observation of failing lives. I was so depressed and dissatisfied.
Go Julian Sorrel (spelling). Read the classic.

Answer 5

Zen in the Art of Archery.

It's awesome and required reading in a lot of colleges that teach about art and life.

Quote:
Herrigel describes Zen in archery as follows: "The archer ceases to be conscious of himself as the one who is engaged in hitting the bull's-eye which confronts him. This state of unconscious is realized only when, completely empty and rid of the self, he becomes one with the perfecting of his technical skill, though there is in it something of a quite different order which cannot be attained by any progressive study of the art..."

Answer 6

One of the best books. Read it twice. You should read it for yourself, well worth it. A big theme of the book is quality, being a quality person with integrity, the satisfaction of doing a good job of work yourself and not relying on others to do it for you. A very good message for the yout of today. A philosophy many motorcyclists like to follow.

Answer 7

beats me- 2 points