The other day I finished reading "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck" by Mark Manson. The author is an American blogger well known to everyone except me. And the book is supposedly motivational, about life values and all that.
I don't usually read this kind of stuff, but how could you pass by that title. In Russian the book came out as "The Subtle Art of Couldn't-Care-Less-ism", so I read it in English. To avoid a version possibly censored (by translators, editors, or legislation). Because the very f*uck from the cover could compete in the number of uses in the book with "The Big Lebowski" itself.
By the way, I counted. The book has 175 occurrences of the word. And "Lebowski", as everyone knows, has 260. The author fell a bit short.
And The Dude Lebowski himself could, of course, have been a perfect illustration in the book, as an example of a model of inner values, but. But there are no pictures in the book this book is not about how you shouldn't give a damn about anything. So instead of a fictional character, the author talks about the life values of real ones. And from such outstanding citizens as Charles Bukowski, Hiroo Onoda and Dave Mustaine he goes all the way to Prince Gautama.
A very long time ago I came across a fun book by Arthur Schopenhauer, "Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life", which is striking above all for how timeless its topics are. And although the author doesn't quote Schopenhauer directly here (he quotes Alan Watts instead), the ideas about the inevitability of suffering and the futility of the endless pursuit of happiness are plain to see. And in that sense the book is definitely Schopenhauerian. Or even Schopenhauerish.
Overall, as I said, the book isn't about how you shouldn't give a damn about anything, but about choosing correctly what you should give a damn about. Which values are valuable, which sorrows are sorrowful, and what to suffer for, because suffer you will. With a touch of Buddhism, Stoicism and cheerful humor. The author takes shots at snowflakes, the "I'm not like other girls" crowd, the entitled people, and doesn't forget about consumerism and the Instagram dolce vita too.
Of course, at 43 you can't say any veils have been torn off, or that someone's life has been completely changed. But it's written in a fun, down-to-earth way, a decent book. And it's not long, either.