Discover new books on Goodreads
Meet your next favorite book
Sign in with Facebook
Myth, Meaning, and Experience
Some see reality as a subjective experience which lacks any obvious meaning. This demands that we become the creators of own universe. This is a journey through their ideas and stories, in hopes of finding personal empowerment and meaningful living--be it through empirical, rational, or transcendental means.
This list was originated by Erraticus, an online publication focused on human flourishing.
This list was originated by Erraticus, an online publication focused on human flourishing.
Score
A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
| 1 |
|
The Stranger
by
4.03 avg rating — 1,335,807 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 2 |
|
Man's Search for Meaning
by
4.37 avg rating — 842,632 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 3 |
|
The Metamorphosis
by
3.90 avg rating — 1,359,643 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 4 |
|
Siddhartha
by
4.08 avg rating — 854,353 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 5 |
|
Candide
by
3.76 avg rating — 296,305 ratings
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 6 |
|
The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays
by
4.22 avg rating — 64,065 ratings
score: 860,
and
9 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 7 |
|
Waiting for Godot
by
3.84 avg rating — 218,338 ratings
score: 804,
and
9 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 8 |
|
The Hero With a Thousand Faces
by
4.13 avg rating — 44,380 ratings
score: 795,
and
8 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 9 |
|
The Power of Myth
by
4.26 avg rating — 53,274 ratings
score: 780,
and
8 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 10 |
|
Записки из подполья
by
4.17 avg rating — 214,025 ratings
score: 748,
and
8 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 11 |
|
The Trial
by
3.94 avg rating — 380,667 ratings
score: 746,
and
8 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 12 |
|
The Real Crisis
by
4.59 avg rating — 34 ratings
score: 700,
and
7 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 13 |
|
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
by
4.13 avg rating — 44,380 ratings
score: 673,
and
7 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 14 |
|
Steppenwolf
by
4.13 avg rating — 208,923 ratings
score: 661,
and
7 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 15 |
|
When Nietzsche Wept
by
4.36 avg rating — 81,499 ratings
score: 645,
and
7 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 16 |
|
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
by
4.07 avg rating — 171,278 ratings
score: 571,
and
6 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 17 |
|
The Fall
by
4.03 avg rating — 129,647 ratings
score: 528,
and
6 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 18 |
|
The Brothers Karamazov
by
4.39 avg rating — 373,881 ratings
score: 376,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 19 |
|
The Sorrows of Young Werther
by
3.69 avg rating — 150,545 ratings
score: 371,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 20 |
|
Beyond Good and Evil
by
4.03 avg rating — 110,512 ratings
score: 368,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 21 |
|
Man's Search for Meaning
by
4.37 avg rating — 842,632 ratings
score: 361,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 22 |
|
Momma and the Meaning of Life: Tales of Psychotherapy
by
4.07 avg rating — 10,863 ratings
score: 358,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 23 |
|
Memories, Dreams, Reflections
by
4.17 avg rating — 37,599 ratings
score: 351,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 24 |
|
The Book of Disquiet
by
4.40 avg rating — 36,246 ratings
score: 345,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 25 |
|
Modern Man in Search of a Soul
by
4.20 avg rating — 13,772 ratings
score: 343,
and
4 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 26 |
|
The Most Wretched Thing Imaginable or, Beneath the Burnt Umbrella
by
Stephen Moles (Goodreads Author)
3.75 avg rating — 20 ratings
score: 296,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 27 |
|
Love and Will
by
4.13 avg rating — 2,695 ratings
score: 287,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 28 |
|
Myths to Live By
by
4.16 avg rating — 7,051 ratings
score: 281,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 29 |
|
Fear and Trembling
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 30,342 ratings
score: 280,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 30 |
|
12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos
by
3.91 avg rating — 260,274 ratings
score: 279,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 31 |
|
To the Lighthouse
by
3.81 avg rating — 209,228 ratings
score: 276,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 32 |
|
The Varieties of Religious Experience
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 12,869 ratings
score: 275,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 33 |
|
Endgame
by
3.79 avg rating — 23,885 ratings
score: 274,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 34 |
|
Love's Executioner and Other Tales of Psychotherapy
by
4.25 avg rating — 40,329 ratings
score: 264,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 35 |
|
The Woman in the Dunes
by
3.88 avg rating — 38,009 ratings
score: 258,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 36 |
|
Crime and Punishment
by
4.28 avg rating — 1,038,023 ratings
score: 255,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 37 |
|
The Waste Land and Other Poems
by
4.22 avg rating — 73,027 ratings
score: 252,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 38 |
|
The Aleph and Other Stories
by
4.33 avg rating — 47,369 ratings
score: 250,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 39 |
|
Beyond Psychology
by
4.13 avg rating — 127 ratings
score: 246,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 40 |
|
Schopenhauer: A Very Short Introduction
by
3.78 avg rating — 832 ratings
score: 235,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 41 |
|
The Wisdom of Life
by
4.07 avg rating — 15,640 ratings
score: 206,
and
3 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 42 |
|
Shallcross: The Blindspot Cathedral, A Novel (The Hearing Voices Series Book 1)
by
Charles Porter (Goodreads Author)
4.60 avg rating — 5 ratings
score: 200,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 42 |
|
The Call of the Void
by
Reece LeResche (Goodreads Author)
4.35 avg rating — 34 ratings
score: 200,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 44 |
|
Wrong Planet - Searching for your Tribe
by
Karl Wiggins (Goodreads Author)
4.14 avg rating — 58 ratings
score: 199,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 45 |
|
The Soul's Code: In Search of Character and Calling
by
3.89 avg rating — 5,287 ratings
score: 198,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 46 |
|
The Red Book: Liber Novus
by
4.49 avg rating — 6,398 ratings
score: 197,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 46 |
|
Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief
by
4.03 avg rating — 6,463 ratings
score: 197,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 48 |
|
The Magic Mountain
by
4.13 avg rating — 57,344 ratings
score: 192,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 49 |
|
The Alchemist
by
Paulo Coelho (Goodreads Author)
3.92 avg rating — 3,463,981 ratings
score: 187,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 49 |
|
Meditations
by
4.28 avg rating — 327,056 ratings
score: 187,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 51 |
|
Existential-Humanistic Therapy
by
Kirk J. Schneider (Goodreads Author)
4.04 avg rating — 137 ratings
score: 180,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 52 |
|
The Prophet
by
4.23 avg rating — 323,033 ratings
score: 179,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 52 |
|
Faust, First Part
by
3.83 avg rating — 84,569 ratings
score: 179,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 52 |
|
Myths and Modern Man
by
3.44 avg rating — 18 ratings
score: 179,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 55 |
|
The Glass Bead Game
by
4.10 avg rating — 41,579 ratings
score: 178,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 56 |
|
Zorba the Greek
by
4.03 avg rating — 57,107 ratings
score: 177,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 57 |
|
Nausea
by
3.93 avg rating — 135,607 ratings
score: 176,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 58 |
|
Primal Myths: Creation Myths Around the World
by
3.89 avg rating — 319 ratings
score: 175,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 59 |
|
Thou Art That: Transforming Religious Metaphor
by
4.31 avg rating — 1,258 ratings
score: 173,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 60 |
|
The Will to Believe, Human Immortality and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy
by
4.11 avg rating — 554 ratings
score: 171,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 60 |
|
Either/Or: A Fragment of Life
by
4.16 avg rating — 10,031 ratings
score: 171,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 62 |
|
African Myths of Origin
by
3.76 avg rating — 160 ratings
score: 169,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 63 |
|
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
by
4.07 avg rating — 171,278 ratings
score: 168,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 63 |
|
Little Birds
by
3.69 avg rating — 13,560 ratings
score: 168,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 63 |
|
The Way of Zen
by
4.16 avg rating — 22,976 ratings
score: 168,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 66 |
|
Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others
by
Stephanie Dalley (Editor)
4.01 avg rating — 2,713 ratings
score: 167,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 67 |
|
Fantastic Worlds: Myths, Tales, and Stories
by
Eric S. Rabkin (Editor)
3.86 avg rating — 114 ratings
score: 164,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 68 |
|
Demian
by
4.14 avg rating — 131,159 ratings
score: 162,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 68 |
|
Oh My Gods: A Modern Retelling of Greek and Roman Myths
by
Philip Freeman (Goodreads Author)
3.75 avg rating — 772 ratings
score: 162,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 70 |
|
The Courage to Create
by
4.07 avg rating — 4,145 ratings
score: 160,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 71 |
|
A Room of One’s Own
by
4.22 avg rating — 249,989 ratings
score: 158,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 71 |
|
Gods and Myths of Northern Europe
by
4.08 avg rating — 2,154 ratings
score: 158,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 71 |
|
Macbeth
by
3.89 avg rating — 998,598 ratings
score: 158,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 74 |
|
The World as Will and Representation, Volume I
by
4.22 avg rating — 10,913 ratings
score: 155,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 75 |
|
The Sickness Unto Death: A Christian Psychological Exposition for Upbuilding and Awakening
by
4.09 avg rating — 11,859 ratings
score: 153,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 75 |
|
A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers
by
3.64 avg rating — 3,687 ratings
score: 153,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 77 |
|
The Man Without Qualities
by
4.19 avg rating — 7,233 ratings
score: 151,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 77 |
|
The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism
by
4.22 avg rating — 418 ratings
score: 151,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 79 |
|
Love's Executioner: & Other Tales of Psychotherapy
by
4.25 avg rating — 40,329 ratings
score: 148,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 80 |
|
Mysticism: The Nature and Development of Spiritual Consciousness
by
3.92 avg rating — 2,143 ratings
score: 147,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 81 |
|
No Exit and Three Other Plays
by
4.08 avg rating — 29,877 ratings
score: 144,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 82 |
|
The Earth Has a Soul: The Nature Writings of C.G. Jung
by
4.33 avg rating — 543 ratings
score: 142,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 82 |
|
The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge
by
3.93 avg rating — 9,732 ratings
score: 142,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 84 |
|
On Love
by
Alain de Botton (Goodreads Author)
3.96 avg rating — 34,362 ratings
score: 140,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 85 |
|
The Meaning of Anxiety
by
4.25 avg rating — 728 ratings
score: 132,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 86 |
|
Become What You Are
by
4.08 avg rating — 5,706 ratings
score: 130,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 86 |
|
Happy Days
by
3.84 avg rating — 7,322 ratings
score: 130,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 88 |
|
On Becoming a Person: A Therapist's View of Psychotherapy
by
4.16 avg rating — 18,247 ratings
score: 128,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 89 |
|
A Way of Being
by
4.22 avg rating — 2,906 ratings
score: 126,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 90 |
|
The Undiscovered Self
by
4.14 avg rating — 12,543 ratings
score: 118,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 91 |
|
Pragmatism and The Meaning of Truth
by
3.94 avg rating — 82 ratings
score: 117,
and
2 people voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 92 |
|
Beyond Good And Evil
by
4.03 avg rating — 110,512 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 92 |
|
The Gospel of the Rauschmonstrum
by
3.56 avg rating — 16 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 92 |
|
Sacred Selfishness: A Guide to Living a Life of Substance
by
Bud Harris (Goodreads Author)
4.23 avg rating — 74 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 92 |
|
If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him! The Pilgrimage of Psychotherapy Patients
by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2,776 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 92 |
|
The Gospel of Lie: A Grieving Christian Searches the Bible for a New Jesus
by
3.86 avg rating — 22 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 92 |
|
Optimistic Nihilism: A Psychologist's Personal Story & (Biased) Professional Appraisal of Shedding Religion
by
David Landers (Goodreads Author)
4.18 avg rating — 234 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 92 |
|
Wednesdays: An Ex-Pastor's Voyage into Unbelief
by
3.80 avg rating — 5 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 92 |
|
Give Up the Dead (Jay Porter, #3)
by
Joe Clifford (Goodreads Author)
3.93 avg rating — 255 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
| 92 |
|
Stop Unreality, Second Edition: A Guide to Conquering Depersonalization, Derealization, DPD, Anxiety & Depression
by
Kevin Klix (Goodreads Author)
3.67 avg rating — 27 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
|
Error rating book. Refresh and try again.
Rate this book
Clear rating
|
269 books ·
90 voters ·
list created November 4th, 2015
by Jeffrey Howard (votes) .
Tags:
absurdism, alain-de-botton, alan-watts, albert-camus, anais-nin, anxiety, art-as-therapy, arthur-shopenhauer, atheism, beyond-good-and-evil, carl-jung, carl-rogers, cg-jung, death, depth-psychology, dostoyevsky, existential, existential-psychotherapy, existentialism, experience, frank-kafka, friedrich-nietzsche, irvin-yalom, james-hillman, jean-paul-sartre, joseph-campbell, love-and-will, mans-search-for-meaning, meaning, meaningless, myth, mythology, myths-to-live-by, otto-rank, paul-tillich, power-of-myth, pragmatism, psychology, radical-empiricism, religion-for-atheists, rollo-may, samuel-beckett, self, soren-kirkegaard, subjectivity, the-courage-to-create, the-cry-for-myth, the-hero-with-a-thousand-faces, the-idiot, the-stranger, thus-spoke-zurathustra, transcendentalism, viktor-frankl, waiting-for-godot, when-nietzsche-wept, william-james
Jeffrey
2331 books
607 friends
607 friends
Joseph
0 books
44 friends
44 friends
Arun
2735 books
69 friends
69 friends
John
715 books
5 friends
5 friends
Kirsten Elizabeth
3053 books
360 friends
360 friends
Nicole
20 books
0 friends
0 friends
Dizzyca
3699 books
74 friends
74 friends
Courtney Tiberio
35 books
68 friends
68 friends
More voters…
Related News
If you’re looking for fresh advice about personal finance, figuring out life, and making your career work for you, we’ve rounded up a crop of...
Anyone can add books to this list.
How to Vote
To vote on existing books from the list, beside each book there is a link vote for this book clicking it will add that book to your votes.
To vote on books not in the list or books you couldn't find in the list, you can click on the tab add books to this list and then choose from your books, or simply search.
