Further Reading and References for The Subtle Art
A lot of readers and fans of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck have emailed me asking me for more information about what books I read or reference and want some form of bibliography. As a big fan of “Further Reading” sections myself, I decided to put together this rundown of the major influences on The Subtle Art and references used.
All in all, I read somewhere between 60-70 books specifically in research for The Subtle Art, and many sections of the book reference other readings I’ve done for fun in the past. So there’s a lot that went into it. Below are merely the “Greatest Hits” of all of those influences. Enjoy.
Chapter 1: Don’t Try
Bukowski’s first three novels are largely auto-biographical, so if you want to get into his work, his personality, and his amazingly sparse use of language, then I recommend Post Office, Women, and Ham on Rye, probably in that order. For a taste of his poetry, I recommend his reading of “Bluebird”.
The Backwards Law comes from Alan Watts’ book The Wisdom of Insecurity …
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