Books like

Books like About Looking

12 books with a reading profile close to About Looking by John Berger. Deep and contemplative; a moderate read.

1

In Praise of Shadows

by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki

Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, theoretical

Jun'ichirō Tanizaki examines the collision between traditional Japanese aesthetics and Western modernization.
2

How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy

by Jenny Odell

Also deep · philosophy, theoretical

Jenny Odell argues that commercial platforms hijack human curiosity to monetize every waking second.
3

A Room of One’s Own

by Virginia Woolf

Also deep · philosophy, theoretical

Virginia Woolf bases this extended essay on the material conditions required for women to produce literature.
4

King Kong théorie

by Virginie Despentes

Also deep · philosophy, theoretical

Virginie Despentes constructs a manifesto centered on the "King Kong theory," which posits that women should reject traditional femininity to embrace a raw, desexualized strength.
5

Caim

by José Saramago

Also deep · philosophy, literary

In Saramago's last novel, the first murderer of the Bible, Cain, is condemned to wander the earth for killing his brother Abel.
6

Island

by Aldous Huxley

Also deep · philosophy, literary

The story follows Will Farnaby, a cynical journalist who shipwrecks on the forbidden Pacific island of Pala.
7

Imaginary Homelands

by Salman Rushdie

Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, literary

Salman Rushdie’s collection of essays centers on the fragmented perspective of the expatriate writer.
8

Blindness

by José Saramago

Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, literary

A sudden epidemic of "white blindness" strikes an unnamed city, leaving victims submerged in a milky void.
9

Eugene Onegin

by Alexander Pushkin

Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, literary

Alexander Pushkin’s novel in verse follows Eugene Onegin, a cynical aristocrat weary of Saint Petersburg’s high society.
10

Alcestis

by Euripides

Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, literary

In this tragedy, King Admetus is granted a reprieve from his impending death on the condition that someone else dies in his place.
11

The Burnout Society

by Byung-Chul Han

Also deep · philosophy, theoretical

Byung-Chul Han argues that Western society has shifted from a disciplinary model defined by prohibitions to an achievement-oriented model defined by positive pressure.
12

Fathers and Sons

by Ivan Turgenev

Also deep and contemplative · philosophy, literary

Arkady Kirsanov returns from university to his father's estate in 1859, bringing his friend Yevgeny Bazarov, a medical student and self-declared nihilist who rejects authority, art, and tradition.

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