We did it! This is the conclusion of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. Here are all the chapters we’ve discussed: Chapter 12, Chapter 11, Chapter 10, Chapter 9, Chapter 8, Chapter 7, C…

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This is Chapter 12 of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. Missed the last chapters? Here are Chapter 11, Chapter 10, Chapter 9, Chapter 8, Chapter 7, Chapter 6, Chapter 5, Chapter 4, Chapter 3, Chapter 2, C…

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This is Chapter 11 of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. Missed the last chapters? Here are Chapter 10, Chapter 9, Chapter 8, Chapter 7, Chapter 6, Chapter 5, Chapter 4, Chapter 3, Chapter 2, Chapter 1, an…

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This is Chapter 10 of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. Missed the last chapters? Here are Chapter 9, Chapter 8, Chapter 7, Chapter 6, Chapter 5, Chapter 4, Chapter 3, Chapter 2, Chapter 1, and the announ…

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This is Chapter 9 of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. Missed the last chapters? Here are Chapter 8, Chapter 7, Chapter 6, Chapter 5, Chapter 4, Chapter 3, Chapter 2, Chapter 1, and the announcement. Also…

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This is Chapter 8 of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. Missed the last chapters? Here are Chapter 7, Chapter 6, Chapter 5, Chapter 4, Chapter 3, Chapter 2, Chapter 1, and the announcement. Also, you can f…

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This is Chapter 7 of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. Missed the last chapters? Here are Chapter 6, Chapter 5, Chapter 4, Chapter 3, Chapter 2, Chapter 1, and the announcement. Also, you can find the reg…

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This is Chapter 6 of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. Missed the last chapters? Here are Chapter 5, Chapter 4, Chapter 3, Chapter 2, Chapter 1, and the announcement. Also, you can find the regularly upda…

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This is Chapter 5 of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. Missed the last chapters? Here are Chapter 4, Chapter 3, Chapter 2, Chapter 1, and the announcement. Also, you can find the regularly updated reading…

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Before we continue with the second part of Siddhartha, I wanted to share some practical tools I extracted from the first part—alongside additional food for thought.

Most notably: four questions for reflecting on change and making better life decisions. Also, I’ll share a method I call philoetry—which I often use to extract more from the texts I read. Finally, I brought a poem (also by Hermann Hesse) that has long served me as a beacon for change and letting go.

Four questions for making better life decisions

Siddhartha is a master of changing his life over and over again. He rids his old attachments, routines, and homes like a snake sheds skin. In the light of this, I kept thinking. What are the reflective insights Siddhartha implicitly made to arrive at his decisions? And so, I sort of reversed-engineered his answers into questions.

So far, I dug up four questions that have sustainably made me more content and confident with facing change.

Most of these can be applied to any difficult (or not-so-difficult) life decision. Some of them can also be used as a shotgun approach if you know you need to make a change but don’t know where to start.

1. Imagine you’re looking back on the decision in question five years from now. Then, ask yourself: Am I satisfied with the decision I made? I imagine this question to be Siddhartha’s ultimate tool for deciding whether to stay or leave his current circumstances. When he was still a Brahmin, he realized he wouldn’t find peace in the long run. When he became a Samana, he realized even the oldest and wisest would never reach enlightenment. With the Buddha, Siddhartha realized he had to experience the teachings himself rather than listen to them. All these insights have in common that Siddhartha considered himself in the long run—using that information to make the most of his current situation.

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This is Chapter 4 of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. Missed the last chapters? Here are Chapter 3, Chapter 2, Chapter 1, and the announcement. Also, you can find the regularly updated reading schedule h…

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This is Chapter 3 of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. Missed the last chapters? Here are Chapter 2, Chapter 1, and the announcement. Also, you can find the regularly updated reading schedule here.

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This is Chapter 2 of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. Missed the last chapters? Here are Chapter 1 and the announcement. Also, you can find the regularly updated reading schedule here.

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This is Chapter 1 of Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. If you’re wondering why we’re reading it and what it’s about, you can check out the announcement here. Also, you can find the regularly updated readi…

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Hello and welcome and welcome back!

Thanks for bearing with me for such a long time. It’s been a month since we finished our last pick (Dopamine Nation), and since then, I’ve been head-over-heels occupied with a term paper on a 12th-century Islamic philosophical novel (yes, it was as hard to wrap my head around it as it sounds).

The other reason I took so long to resume The Bibliosopher’s Club is that I got swept away by the amount of new subscribers. I’m immensely grateful and would’ve never expected this little project to take off as rapidly as a jump jet. And yet, strangely, this taste of success raised the stakes.

I thought: now my posts must get even better—no, flawless.
I thought: uh oh, now I’ll get called out as a charlatan.
I thought: I really gotta deliver or else...

Yeah, or else what? It’s so strange how we sometimes put all this imaginary pressure on ourselves. So here’s the deal: while I can’t promise to deliver weekly posts or monthly picks, I can promise that our book selections will be meaningful and the chapter rundowns high-quality.

With that in mind, here’s our next pick: Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse.

What’s Siddhartha About?

Siddhartha is a novel that explores the self-discovery process and spiritual awakening of a young man during the time of the historical Buddha (ca. 5th century BCE). That said, the novel isn’t overly esoteric or cryptic. Quite the opposite: the writing style is simple and speaks directly to the heart.

Hesse wrote this book more than 100 years ago and placed it in an era of 2500 years ago—and yet, I dare to say it’s more relevant than ever. The themes are highly practical—no matter how spiritual you are. Siddhartha deals with the meaning of life, figuring out a life path, finding love, losing love, coping with death, attaining peace of mind.

In other words, it deals with fundamentally human topics—topics that we all ask ourselves at some point in our lives.

Typically, I aim to read books for The Bibliosopher’s Club gradually as I write the chapter rundowns. But Siddhartha? I devoured it in two days. That’s how impactful it was for me.

Anyway, I don’t want to take too much away. Here’s our reading schedule.

Our Reading Schedule

I’ll use the 2008 version by Penguin Books (the one with an introduction from Paulo Coelho). It’s the same one you can borrow and read here for free. If you have any doubts about the page numbers, use the chapters as a reference.

As we go along, I’ll update this post with new links to the chapter rundowns.

PART ONE

• The Brahmin’s Son (pages 3-10)

• With the Samanas (pages 11-20)

• Gotama (pages 21-29)

• Awakening (pages 30-33)

PART TWO

• Kamala (pages 37-49)

• Amongst the People (pages 50-58)

• Sansara (pages 59-67)

• By the River (pages 68-78)

PART THREE

• The Ferryman (pages 79-90)

• The Son (pages 91-99)

• Om (pages 100-106)

• Govinda (pages 107-117)

These dates won’t be binding. Siddhartha is a short book, but I want us to take our sweet, sweet time with it. So, see this less as a strict schedule and more as a sloppy compass. (Of course, you can always trailblaze your own reading adventure. One alternative way might be reading the book in one go on your own and then going back through it with our chapter rundowns).

How to Get a (Free) Copy

Generally, I’m a big fan of physical books since they allow me to get away from screens, take notes, and flip and fold pages. If you can relate, I encourage you to get a second-hand copy or pick up a new one at your local bookstore.

Luckily, there are also lots of ways to read Siddhartha for free:

• Read, borrow, and download for free at the Internet Archive.

• Read an online version at Project Gutenberg.

• Listen to the audiobook with a free audible trial (this is an affiliate link, which means I earn a small commission if you sign up—at no extra cost to you, of course!)

Special Deal: Unlock Bonuses for The Bibliosopher’s Club

The essential writings of The Bibliosopher’s Club are for free. I don’t earn a penny for writing these posts—the project is an end in itself. That said, if you do get value out of this book club, your support would mean the world to me. Patron plans start at less than $1 per week, granting you unlimited access to the archive and exclusive bonus material.

Plus, to celebrate the next reading season, I’m running a special offer that grants you a 30% lifetime discount to The Bibliosopher’s Club. Only available until October 2nd.

Get 30% off forever

Comments?

What do you think? Do you look forward to this pick? Have you already heard of or even read Siddartha? Do you have special wishes or requests for this book?

Whatever it is—I want to hear about it!

Leave a comment

And I’ll see you here on October 1st for the first chapter of Siddartha by Hermann Hesse.

This is the conclusion of Dopamine Nation by Dr. Anna Lembke. Missed the last chapters? Here are Ch. 9, Ch. 8, Ch.7, Ch. 6, Ch. 5, Ch. 4, Ch. 3, Ch. 2, Ch. 1, and the introduction. Also, you can find…

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This is Chapter 9 of Dopamine Nation by Dr. Anna Lembke. Missed the last chapters? Here are Ch. 8, Ch.7, Ch. 6, Ch. 5, Ch. 4, Ch. 3, Ch. 2, Ch. 1, and the introduction. Also, you can find the complet…

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This is Chapter 8 of Dopamine Nation by Dr. Anna Lembke. Missed the last chapters? Here are Ch.7, Ch. 6, Ch. 5, Ch. 4, Ch. 3, Ch. 2, Ch. 1, and the introduction. Also, you can find the complete readi…

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This is Chapter 7 of Dopamine Nation by Dr. Anna Lembke. Missed the last chapters? Here are Ch. 6, Ch. 5, Ch. 4, Ch. 3, Ch. 2, Ch. 1, and the introduction. Also, you can find the complete reading sch…

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This is Chapter 6 of Dopamine Nation by Dr. Anna Lembke. Missed the last chapters? Here are Ch. 5, Ch. 4, Ch. 3, Ch. 2, Ch. 1, and the introduction. Also, you can find the complete reading schedule h…

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