Junior classical languages and literatures and history major
My recommendation, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig, comes with a few caveats. First off, let me make clear that the book has little to nothing to do with explaining how to maintain a motorcycle.
Second, the appearance of Zen philosophy is not a focus either per se, though the idea of Zen plays a crucial role in a few of the concepts that serve as undercurrent for the book.
Third, and perhaps most important, is that “recommendation” is not the word I’d use to describe my feelings about this book. When I read it my freshman year, five years ago and before I transferred to this university, I became, for the better part of the semester, shockingly similar to one of the characters in the book. This was not a good thing.
Nevertheless, this book is a pure powerhouse of philosophy that begins early with the schism between school as a thing and school as a place. It is beneficial to question academia early on, and this book encourages that in a constructive way.
If philosophy isn’t your thing, it is also a touching story about a dad and his son taking a motorcycle trip through the American Northwest. The two seemingly unrelated topics mesh well together and allow you to take a breather in between the heavier philosophical pages.
This book, should you give it the time it deserves, has an extraordinary power to drastically shift your entire way of processing, working and self-motivating. Just be sure to either read it with someone else or find someone who has read it already. Not talking about what you learn inside can be quite dangerous.
But who doesn’t like their books with a bit of danger attached?
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