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bailo2's review against another edition
5.0
Reading this book every day felt like taking a vitamin for my soul and a little like being in conversation with a friend,especially once I started annotating my response in the margins. To be clear, I didn’t always agree. In fact, sometimes I was quite critical of the position being taken in these short essays. But I thank it for that as well. Because this book did its best to challenge me, inspire me, and help me to live a little bit better. Now I’m a little unsure of what to do with it now that it’s over. Do I read it again? Do I wait a year to see if how I feel changes over time? Do I gift it to a friend? Not sure, but all this is to say, that it’s been a treasured part of my morning routine.
papidoc's review against another edition
5.0
(2017-18) Nice way to create a daily habit of pondering on the wisdom of ancient philosophers. I typically read the day's entry either immediately before leaving for work, so I could think about it on the way there, or just before bed, so I could think about it as I dropped off to sleep. Those daily reads alternated with the scriptures, whether in the morning or in the evening. Lots of interesting parallels.
(2021) Re-read this daily Stoic "devotional" this past year, and again found much to ponder upon and bring into my life. Perhaps more importantly, I began to realize that the person who probably got the most value out of this book was the author, as he thought and considered and explored and acted upon those thoughts. I think many of us, myself included, would get more value out of writing a book of daily thoughts from great minds than from reading one written by someone else. That is going to be one of my goals for 2022 - instead of reading a daily devotional book, to write my own. Whether anyone else ever reads it is irrelevant - it will be a most useful exercise for me.
(2021) Re-read this daily Stoic "devotional" this past year, and again found much to ponder upon and bring into my life. Perhaps more importantly, I began to realize that the person who probably got the most value out of this book was the author, as he thought and considered and explored and acted upon those thoughts. I think many of us, myself included, would get more value out of writing a book of daily thoughts from great minds than from reading one written by someone else. That is going to be one of my goals for 2022 - instead of reading a daily devotional book, to write my own. Whether anyone else ever reads it is irrelevant - it will be a most useful exercise for me.
corita's review against another edition
4.0
I received this for Christmas last year. I started reading stoic philosophy hoping it world help put life in perspective. When the world’s on fire, we need all the help we can get.
Overall, the daily readings are great. Each month has a focus and emphasis. Thinking like a stoic, which has a lot in common with Buddhism and Asian philosophy, helps me deal the chaos of life.
Warning: what follows is my opinion, feel free to ignore.
The only complaint I have is that Rayan Holiday’s commentaries sometimes make sweeping generalities that annoyed me and made me question if he’d read the same passage as I had or if he’d thought through statements like college degrees are worthless.
Overall, the daily readings are great. Each month has a focus and emphasis. Thinking like a stoic, which has a lot in common with Buddhism and Asian philosophy, helps me deal the chaos of life.
Warning: what follows is my opinion, feel free to ignore.
The only complaint I have is that Rayan Holiday’s commentaries sometimes make sweeping generalities that annoyed me and made me question if he’d read the same passage as I had or if he’d thought through statements like college degrees are worthless.
saoreads's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
It provided an in-depth conversation that delved into the real idea of being a stoic, of which at first, I simply had no clue. There are many pieces that one can always get back into and sought out with action effectively. The last chapter left a more significant impact than all the other goodies found in the book. 'Words turn to works,' according to Seneca, and that will be a new addition to my mantra for 2024.
tittypete's review against another edition
5.0
God-free daily wisdom from real people sorted into monthly themes. Good stuff will continue to re-read in the future.
hellhoundharry's review against another edition
1.0
This is, I am sorry to say, another book in the category "Read this (=my) book and become a stoic, then YOU can be just as successful in business and make as much money as me!"
I am well aquainted with the classics, I sometimes find it funny that I discovered Meditations by Marcus Aurelius just as the Pandemic was about to hit. I have since then moved on to Seneca and Epictetus.
However, I always feel that the Holiday-version of stoicism is lacking. The ancient stoics talked about how you can achieve happiness no matter what your external circumstances are, no matter how well your business is going. And that has helped me a lot, especially during the pandemic.
So with that in mind, a book that is focused on becoming more productive in a working enviroment or succeeding in business with the help of stoicism is the antithesis of stoicsism.
I am gonna name this "American Stoicism".
I am sure Ryan Holiday is a good man with a good heart, with the best intentions in mind. But I would advice against reading this false interpretation of stoicism and instead read the classics. You can find them fairly cheap.
I am well aquainted with the classics, I sometimes find it funny that I discovered Meditations by Marcus Aurelius just as the Pandemic was about to hit. I have since then moved on to Seneca and Epictetus.
However, I always feel that the Holiday-version of stoicism is lacking. The ancient stoics talked about how you can achieve happiness no matter what your external circumstances are, no matter how well your business is going. And that has helped me a lot, especially during the pandemic.
So with that in mind, a book that is focused on becoming more productive in a working enviroment or succeeding in business with the help of stoicism is the antithesis of stoicsism.
I am gonna name this "American Stoicism".
I am sure Ryan Holiday is a good man with a good heart, with the best intentions in mind. But I would advice against reading this false interpretation of stoicism and instead read the classics. You can find them fairly cheap.
efabri123's review against another edition
reflective
5.0
Excellent! I will be revisiting many times.
drae's review against another edition
4.0
I started this book midyear, so will begin again with January. I've enjoyed the daily meditations and perspectives this book on stoicism offers.
mooseformayor's review against another edition
5.0
A great collection of ancient wisdom organised as a daily calendar. One thought to reflect and focus on for each calendar day. I will surely re-read this a few more times to internalise the content on a deeper level.