I came here on this platform after reading the book "living for pleasure" By Emily Austin, she is a good writer and that book helped me a lot, and I am interested in reading more gems of such kind, so I would really appreciate it if you recommend me some good books on Epicureanism that you liked, (preferably about Ethics, but metaphysics and Epistemology also works ), and it should not be a heavy book, heavy in the sense of having too many pages or being too complex, thank you.
Want some good book recommendations like "Living for pleasure" by Emily Austin
SUNDAY WEEKLY ZOOM - 12:30 PM EDT - Ancient Text Study: De Rerum Natura by Lucretius -- Meeting is open to Level 03 members and above -- Read the agenda for December 14, 2025 by clicking here.
-
There are not many books like "Living For Pleasure" which I personally would recommend. Haris Dimitriadis' "Epicurus and the Pleasant LIfe" probably would be next on a list geared to your specifications. You might also like Catherine Wilson's How To Be An Epicurean.
The recommended reading list in our FAQ is geared toward helping people read the works of the ancient Epicureans directly, as that is a far more accurate way to find out what Epicurus really taught:
Can You Suggest A Reading List For Learning About Epicurus? - Epicureanfriends.comwww.epicureanfriends.comLess in line with your specifiication to be short would be:
1 - Norman DeWitt's Epicurus and His Philosophy, which is the best "textbook" treatment of Epicurean Philosophy
2 - A Few Days in Athens - which conveys Epicurean philosophy in Fiction form but is probably the most true-to-form original work on Epicurus written since the ancient world. You can read that online here: AFewDaysInAthens.com
-
Emily Austin's book is my favorite, too, and I also kind of like Epicurus and the Pleasant Life. Hiram Crespo's Tending the Epicurean Garden is kind of up and down for me, but it has its moments.But I also wanted to put in a good word for a book I just finished, Epicureanism by Tim O'Keefe, which has a good overview of the whole philosophy and has a big section on the ethics. It's not a very long book, but it is definitely a work of philosophy, written for people with a serious interest, although it does seem to be aimed at undergraduates.
-
I have been reading and recommend "On Epicurus" by Norman Lillegard which clearly breaks down all the fundamentals of Epicurean philosophy. And have been reading "The Pocket Epicurean" which is a short and well written guide to Epicurean ideas.
-
Emily book is the best I have read tbh.
-
Kalosyni
December 2, 2024 at 6:12 PM Moved the thread from forum General Discussion to forum Book Recommendations and Misc. Epicurean Books.
Finding Things At EpicureanFriends.com
Here is a list of suggested search strategies:
- Website Overview page - clickable links arrranged by cards.
- Forum Main Page - list of forums and subforums arranged by topic. Threads are posted according to relevant topics. The "Uncategorized subforum" contains threads which do not fall into any existing topic (also contains older "unfiled" threads which will soon be moved).
- Search Tool - icon is located on the top right of every page. Note that the search box asks you what section of the forum you'd like to search. If you don't know, select "Everywhere."
- Search By Key Tags - curated to show frequently-searched topics.
- Full Tag List - an alphabetical list of all tags.