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Comment by antoko | Hacker News Reader

It isn't really about motorcycle maintenance. Pirsig uses that as a common example in various places throughout the book. Its actually a philosophical novel, the subtitle is "An Inquiry into Values"

His later work Lila - is similarly subtitled "An Inquiry into Morals"

I highly recommend them both.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_M...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lila:_An_Inquiry_into_Morals

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Great Post!I must absolutely read this Zen and the Art ...

Also, I have never played tennis but I read the book 'The inner game of Tennis' (W. Timothy Gallwey) and it was a very enlightening experience for me. It seems some of these books somehow use the subject matter purely as a parable or metaphor that is so powerful, and they shine a light on a very core aspect of being. I recommend the 'inner game of tennis' to anyone , even if you never hit a single ball in your life ...

I wonder if people still read it or if it's mostly something for people who were alive in the 70s?

Did the people from the 70s forget how to read now its 2013? ;)

I was born in '79 so although I was alive in 70s I wasn't really part of the whole free love movement or anything :)

I'm not sure its even that popular of a book for that cohort... I mean its a philosophical novel, what's the size of that market ever been?

There are certainly some things addressed in the book that aren't as applicable in a modern setting but the main thrust of the book investigates the intrinsic value or quality of things - That should always be applicable to future generations.

When I read it, I was a young teenager in the 2000s. It was engrossing and mind-expanding, though perhaps I was more interested in 70s ideas than most.

I'm 23 and I just finished reading this book. I even passed it on to a friend.

I just tried to read it, and had to quit when it started spouting all the pseudo religious advice as fact, and as a replacement for scientific inquiry.

But that's just my opinion.

I read it first when I was in my early 20s. I seem to re-read it about every 5 years. Though some of the language is dated, I find the philosophical musing important enough to take the time to refresh in my mind. Finally, the "me" that I bring to the book is different every time I pick it up for the next re-reading...which is to say, I find that I relate to the text differently over time.

I've read it several times, the first time being in highschool and the most recent being a few months ago. As I get older I've read it with a bit more skepticism about the novelty of his overarching ideas and the rigor of some of his reasoning but I always find the book full of valuable ideas and interesting food for thought.

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