Midlife: A Philosophical Guide

by Kieran Setiya

If my problem is an excessive investment in telic activities, the solution is to love their atelic counterparts, to find meaning in the process, not the project.

If you take one recommendation from this book, let it be the stand-up comedy of Stewart Lee, whose 2009 show If You Prefer a Milder Comedian, Please Ask for One (directed by Tim Kirkby [New York: Comedy Central, 2010], DVD) is a profound investigation of memory, nostalgia, and midlife. Some references may elude non-British viewers.