The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work
by Alain De Botton · first published 2009
82% recommend18% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Essayistic profiles of jobs from pylon engineers to logistics workers, with philosophical observations about work and its meaning; suited to readers who enjoy de Botton's writing and a reflective view of careers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
We spend most of our waking lives at work — in occupations often chosen by our unthinking sixteen-year-old selves. And yet we rarely ask ourselves how we got there or what it might mean for us.Equally intrigued by work's pleasures and its pains, Alain de Botton here heads out into the under-charted worlds of the office, the factory, the fishing fleet and the logistics centre, ears and eyes open to the beauty, interest and sheer strangeness of the modern workplace. Along the way he tries to answer some of the most urgent questions we can ask about work: Why do we do it? What makes it pleasurabl
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2009–2010Great Melody
Conor Cruise O’Brien
Recommended by 1 · mentioned by 21 recommend · 2 mention1 recommend · 21 recommend
2010–2020The human animal
Desmond Morris
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 43 recommend · 4 mention3 recommend · 43 recommend
2009–2021The Girl Who Played with Fire
Stieg Larsson
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 42 recommend · 4 mention2 recommend · 42 recommend
2009–2012Personal development for smart people
Steve Pavlina
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 53 recommend · 5 mention3 recommend · 53 recommend
2009–2016Risk
Dan Gardner
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 33 recommend · 3 mention3 recommend · 33 recommend
2009–2022The Time Traveler's Wife
Audrey Niffenegger
Recommended by 2 · mentioned by 82 recommend · 8 mention2 recommend · 82 recommend
2009–2025Taiko
Eiji Yoshikawa
Recommended by 5 · mentioned by 55 recommend · 5 mention5 recommend · 55 recommend
2010–2024Sperm Wars
Robin Baker
Recommended by 7 · mentioned by 137 recommend · 13 mention7 recommend · 137 recommend
The OP would do well to read "Walden" by Henry David Thoreau or, perhaps more pointedly, read up on the teachings of Epicurus[1]. And, more generally, I highly recommend "The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work" by Alain De Botton. And then there's the defining entry from 1960's philosophy, "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Persig, which is precisely about the intersection between nature and technology.…
on “The lost world of physicality” ↗The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain De Botton recommended in this thread: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=760771
on “What are you reading?” ↗Non-fiction: Coders at Work by Peter Siebel and Founders at Work by Jessica Livingston - I loved reading about the founder's stories and first-hand perspectives of notable programmers. The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton - really interesting perspective on "work" and various types of careers and people that find happiness in them/work itself. Superfreakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner -…
on “Ask HN: Great books you read in 2009?” ↗Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, R Pirsig Recently each of Alain de Botton's books (Status Anxiety, Pleasures and Sorrows of Work and Essays on Love) had a valuable lesson to teach. Alexander Pope's 'Essay on Criticism' (poem, not a book) was one the first poems that I gleaned something from, and that opened up a whole new library…
on “Ask HN: Books that changed your life?” ↗…aspects of my life. After this book I changed many things in my life, and ended up meeting and dating my future (now present) wife. Overall my life has been much improved by defaulting to "yes". The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work ( http://www.amazon.com/Pleasures-Sorrows-Work-Alain-Botton/dp... ) Gave me insight into how there is a huge invisible fabric of society that we take for granted, and how I consistently underrated many…
on “What one book could give me a new, useful superpower?” ↗…like this keep me coming to HN. Thank you. I found an amazon link for the book it is extracted from: http://www.amazon.com/Shop-Class-Soulcraft-Inquiry-Value/dp/... I also recommend de Botton's The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work to those who enjoyed it. I read it in a single sitting. http://www.amazon.com/Pleasures-Sorrows-Work-Alain-Botton/dp... And blessedly, I didn't have to negotiate any subscribe forms at nytimes.com.
on “The Case For Working With Your Hands” ↗Recommended reading: The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0241143535/alaindeb... Talks about happiness and work.
on “Upgrade your career” ↗A while back I read The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton, and enjoyed it immensly. de Botton has a real philosophical bent, and profiled a number of different occupations, and makes a lot of really insightful observations about the modern…
on “Ask HN: Good books?” ↗You should read the pleasures and sorrows of work by alain de botton. He does a deep dive in several industries to understand what drives the people there.
on “SES-10 Mission” ↗Alain de Botton wrote a book The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work where he describes ten different people and their jobs in detail. I enjoyed the book because I like de Botton's writing, but it turns out most jobs sound a little dull.
on “Face it: you're a crazy person” ↗I have just finished reading "The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work" which I thought was fantastic. Particularly the chapter where he follows a high voltage electricity line across southern England until it disappears underground in London. He walks with a man who's…
on “TED Talk: A kinder, gentler philosophy of success” ↗If you're interested in this kind of behind-an-industry reading I can highly recommend The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work. http://alaindebotton.com/work/
on “Whitewood Under Siege: Wooden Shipping Pallets” ↗It reminds one of that odd chapter on pylons from de Botton in "The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work" where he mentions the "coquettish sexuality" of Finnish pylons. http://books.google.com/books?id=SslgkiNvZ9wC&lpg=PA199&...
on “Human-shaped pylons carry electricity across Iceland” ↗…bare hills and unsullied lake being symptomatic of what Ian (having grown increasingly garrulous under the influence of brandy) condemned as the garden-gnome mentality of sentimental Luddites.” — The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work: t/c (Vintage International) by Alain De Botton https://a.co/1CjMq1u
on “Can electricity pylons ever be beautiful?” ↗