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Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman – Lives of the Stoics | Review

Title: Lives of the Stoics

Author: Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count: 334

Rating: 5/5

I picked this book up after hearing about it on BookTube, which was a happy little coincidence because I’d already been getting into stoicism after being introduced to it by my girlfriend. I just wish I could remember whose channel I saw the video on.

What we have here is essentially a cracking little introduction to the key figures of stoicism in ancient Rome and Greece, and it’s written by a well-known figure in contemporary stoic circles. In fact, at the same time that I ordered this book, I also subscribed to a bunch of Stoic YouTube channels, and it turns out that the host of one of them is one of the authors of this book.

I found it to be super accessible, with the story told slowly but surely through short chapters on some of the key figures of the Stoic movement. After a while, it gets a little difficult to remember who was who, but that doesn’t really matter. The important thing here is the lessons that are on offer, and the interesting thing about the figures that are profiled is that as well as writing about and teaching their beliefs, they also lived them.

All in all, it’s a pretty accessible read whether you’re new to stoicism or not, and if you’ve been looking to learn more about the philosophy then this is a pretty good place to look. I enjoyed reading it, and I also ended up tabbing out half of the pages for my video review, which meant that I had a lot to say about it. It’s definitely food for thought.

Now that I’ve read this, I’m keen to learn more about stoicism, and I’m also looking forward to watching some more of the author’s videos. You should give it a Google and check out both the book and the YouTube channel.

Learn more about Lives of the Stoics.

Aesop – The Complete Fables | Review

Title: The Complete Fables

Author: Aesop

Type: Fiction

Page Count: 262

Rating: 3.54/5

I’m finding it quite difficult to decide whether fables count as fiction or non-fiction, and I guess that’s kind of the point of them. The idea is that you can read them and learn from them, taking the ideas from the story and applying them to your life. Aesop’s pretty good at that, and there’s a reason for it, as I learned during the introduction.

It turns out that he was probably a slave, albeit one who was held in high esteem, and he was known for arguing in the courts and using his fables as ways to direct people’s thinking. Many of the fables have even been categorised in such a way that they can be divided based upon their use cases, such as whether they’re good for showing the virtues of patience or whether they show that those who accuse people are often themselves also at fault.

All in all, it was a pretty good little read that provided some food for thought, and I’m definitely glad that I picked it up. At the same time, I’m also glad that I used it as a bedtime read, because it’s one of those where it’s best if you read it a little bit at a time instead of binging on it. One fable probably isn’t enough, but a half dozen or so each night is a good way to do it. However you read it, it’s definitely worth picking it up sometime.

Learn more about The Complete Fables.