I guess the genre id be looking for is philosophy? But generally philosophy seems more esoteric and academic than what I’m actually looking for. I’m in search of something more along the lines of Alain de Botton’s writing, or maybe self-help-ish books? Psychology-ish as well?
Just about topics that discuss the dynamics in life regarding pleasure vs enjoyment (this is something touched on in Flow by Mihalyi Ciksentmihalyi—may god have mercy on Hungarian spelling). eg. You can find pleasure by spending an hour on TikTok, but it may not be enjoyable. Whereas after a workout you may feel good and feel like you enjoyed it, but during it, it may have been quite unpleasant and not particularly pleasurable. But on the surface, pleasure and enjoyment seem to be so similar.
Or books about the balance of life, I.e. moderation vs indulgence. Eg. How a life of indulgence yields a less rewarding life than a life balanced with moderation (does a donut taste better when you have 2 every morning for breakfast? Or after you’ve spent the last 6 days eating a really strict, healthy diet, and this is your one “cheat meal”?)
There’s of course extremes to this: abstaining from all pleasurable things on one end, and pursuing only pleasure entirely. But there’s points along the spectrum as well. I’m interested in books discussing that spectrum.
A bit of a ramble, but if any of these thoughts made you think of any books, please share 🙂
by Missing_Back