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On Purpose

Ten Lessons on the Meaning of Life
3.35 goodreads logo

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( 57 ratings, 5 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
On Purpose by Ben Hutchinson delves into the cultural and philosophical exploration of human intention and purpose. Drawing from a wide range of examples across art, literature, and human history, this book investigates what it means to live with purpose, questioning how and why we seek meaning in our lives and the roles of intention in creating art and narratives.
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Format: Hardback
$4900

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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you're fascinated by the exploration of purpose across different realms of human activity. Delve into thought-provoking insights on how purpose can shape our understanding of art, culture, and life itself. Engage with ideas that combine philosophical depth and cultural analysis, offering a rich tapestry for readers intrigued by the intersection of meaning and creativity.

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Ten essays on how reading and meaningfully engaging with literature can help us live better, more purposeful lives.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Ten essays on how reading and meaningfully engaging with literature can help us live better, more purposeful lives.

How do we live fully?

How do we live successfully?

Adrift in an anchorless world, we often worry about where we are heading. What meaning can we hope to find in our modern, secular life? The answer, Ben Hutchinson explains, can be found by looking to writers and thinkers to help us live more purposefully, more mindfully – more fully.

Interweaving his own (mis-)adventures with those of authors such as T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Marcel Proust and Joan Didion, On Purpose proposes ten ways in which reading and writing encourage us to ask difficult questions, project our minds into the past and future, and see ourselves and others differently.

Engaging, uplifting and aphoristic, this book is for anyone who has lost their sense of direction or wishes to radically transform the way they live.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

On Purpose by Ben Hutchinson is praised as an exemplary mix of history, criticism, and memoir. The tone is conversational yet instructive, reminiscent of a personal trainer or life coach.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780008588465

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 14 September 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Fourth Estate Ltd

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 26.0mm

Width: 135.0mm

Height: 204.0mm

Weight: 260g

Pages: 208

About the Author

Ben Hutchinson is currently Professor of European Literature at Kent University. He writes for the TLS, Observer and Literary Review, and has published six books with the Oxford University Press, Reaktion and Chicago UP, which have been widely translated. He has lectured at institutions across the world, including at Oxford, Heidelberg, Harvard, Jerusalem, and the ENS Paris. He is also an Honorary Secretary of the British Comparative Literature Association.

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