Montaigne: Essays - Reflections by the creator of the essay form

Montaigne was deeply influenced by some of the books I mentioned in this philosophy reading list. He was the epitome of Heraclitus’s line about “inquiring within.” So much so that he spent basically the entire second part of his life asking himself (and other people) all sorts of interesting questions and then exploring the answers in the form of short, provocative essays. (A favorite: Whether he was playing with his cat, or whether he was the toy to his cat). These essays are always good for a helpful thought or two–be it about death, about “other” people, about animals, about sex, or anything.