'Spare time' book recommendations?

In our latest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader writes:

I am wondering what philosophy books people read in their spare time "for fun" (or, at least not for research). Most of what I read in philosophy are related to my research or teaching. In my spare time, most of what I read are outside of philosophy, such as fictions or news articles. I imagine there are philosophy books that are inspiring while not too technical. I can read them in my spare time, may or may not dive deep into them, but will learn something new and interesting. Do people have recommendations? I hope the question makes sense.

What a great idea for a thread! Brad answered:

There are some great philosophy books to read in your spare time - they are as much about the broader culture as they are about philosophy. For example, Wittgenstein's Poker is a real joy to read. It is so engaging, and it gives you a nice picture of the worlds of Wittgenstein and Popper, including their social worlds. It is truly funny at parts. A second book is The Murder of Professor Schlick. It is a bit more technical, but also quite insightful. The Vienna Circle Positivists are shown to be quite humane people, each with their own challenges and strengths. Finally, I would mention George Reisch's books: The Politics of Paradigms and How the Cold War Transformed Philosophy of Science. George is very knowledgeable about the Cold War period. He also has a great sense of humor.

I've also read and can recommend Wittgenstein's Poker and The Murder of Professor Schlick. Personally, my favorite spare time books are biographies and autobiographies of philosophers and scientists. I highly recommend this John Stuart Mill biography (which contains some great history of philosophy, including some of Mill's criticisms of moral intuitionism), Cheryl Misack's recent Frank Ramsey biography (which has some nice coverage of why Ramsey favored naturalistic philosophy), Ray Monk's Wittgenstein biography, and (for those interested in science and philosophy of science) this great physicists book, which provides a wonderful history of and relatively non-technical introduction to the groundbreaking contributions of a wide variety of physicists ranging all the way from Galileo to Marie Curie.

I love biographies in particular because they not only expose me to interesting tidbits of intellectual history--including the fascinating personalities and personal stories (and struggles!) of influential historical figures, as well as their otherwise lesser-known thoughts about ideas and debates that may have never shown up in their published work--but also because it helps to bring the history of ideas alive, situating great works in their historical context, revealing how many of the greatest figures in intellectual history had struggles not unlike you and I. For example, did you know that Kant had to work for a number of years as an unpaid lecturer before getting a paid (not to mention permanent) academic job? Or that the Critique of Pure Reason initially received brutal reviews? Also, in addition to being a pleasure to read, I find that biographies often inadvertently inspire new philosophical ideas! 

What about all of you? Any good recommendations for philosophy-related books to read in one's spare time?

Comments

[JR]

Philosophers Behaving Badly by Mel Thompson and Nigel Rodgers.

[Marcus Arvan]

JR: an excellent-looking recommendation - just ordered it!

[Chris Stephens]

Following up on the Vienna Circle theme, there is also Karl Sigmund's Exact Thinking in Demented Times: the Vienna Circle and the Epic Quest for the Foundations of Science.
Sigmund is a mathematician by training, but the book is non-technical, yet substantial and philosophically interesting.

Another entertaining book I just finished is Roy Sorensen's A Brief History of the Paradox: philosophy and the labyrinths of the mind. Accessible and non-technical, but fun in the way that Sorensen's work typically is.

[Michel]

I wouldn't recommend reading philosophy-related stuff for one's fun reading. Instead, I'd fill those non-fiction fun hours (if non-fiction they must be) with stuff from other disciplines--history, economics, anthropology, popular science, etc. Stephen Jay Gould's essay collections, in particular, make for a lovely, entertaining, and educational read.

But if you insist, then I can recommend Derek Turner's "Paleoaesthetics and the Practice of Paleontology", which is a lovely read at the intersection of the philosophy of science, aesthetics, and environmental philosophy. And it's short--it's part of Cambridge's Elements series. It was a total joy to read, and I found it inspiring.

[EuroProf]

I just stumbled across Jim Holt's 'Why does the world exist?' which is quite entertaining. Also: Thomas Metzinger's 'The Ego-tunnel' is a very readable exploration of the fringes of philosophy of mind. Not strictly philosophical but still verys interesting: Steven Pinker 'Enlightenment Now'.

[david]

I can't deal with too much philosophy in my spare time. Bugs Bunny cartoons are more my speed.

[PhD Student]

I enjoyed Sarah Bakewell's "At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktailsl." It's a wonderful introduction to existentialism and some phenomenology. The book is entertaining and, I think, the philosophy is represented well (existentialism and phenomenology aren't my areas).

[Sam Duncan]

Rudiger Safranski's Heidegger biography isn't too technical. It's also an excellent biography in that Safranski does a great job explaining why Heidegger is important and in holding him to account for both his philosophical failures and, his much more significant, failures as a human being. It's also quite well-written and has a cast of characters worthy of any novel (not just Heidegger himself but Jaspers, Husserl, Arendt, and Ernst Bloch play large roles). I guess though it also depends on what you count as philosophy. Ted Chiang's recent short story collection "Exhalation" is wonderful at examining eternalism about time, compatibilism in free will, and possible worlds. I found it very useful as a philosopher because it helped me to see the emotional reasons people might have for holding those views and why the views themselves matter. I very much disagree with what I take to be Chiang's views on each of these issues but I think I'm better at teaching them and maybe even thinking about them for reading his book. Marilynne Robinson's essays, especially those in her most recent collection "What Are We Doing Here?" are another one I'd suggest. She might not be a philosophy professor but she knows philosophy pretty well, is a wonderful writer and makes some very powerful philosophical points.