Religion & Spirituality · Similar reads
Books like The Cloud of Unknowing
The best books like The Cloud of Unknowing are The Interior Castle, Dark Night of the Soul, and The Practice of the Presence of God. The Cloud of Unknowing by Anonymous is about contemplation, apophatic theology, prayer. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- The Interior Castle
01
Teresa of Ávila · Religion & Spirituality
The Interior Castle was written in 1577, when Teresa of Ávila was sixty-two and had already spent decades as a Carmelite reformer.
Shares contemplation and prayer with The Cloud of Unknowing.
Read the summary → - Dark Night of the Soul
02
John of the Cross · Religion & Spirituality
Dark Night of the Soul is a systematic commentary on a short poem John of the Cross wrote while imprisoned in Toledo in 1577.
Both dig into contemplation.
Read the summary → - The Practice of the Presence of God
03
The Practice of the Presence of God
Brother Lawrence · Religion & Spirituality
The Practice of the Presence of God is a short collection of conversations and letters recorded by a French Carmelite friar named Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection, compiled and published posthumously in 1692.
Shares contemplation and prayer with The Cloud of Unknowing.
Read the summary →
- Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
04
Shunryu Suzuki · Religion & Spirituality
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind is a collection of informal talks given by Shunryu Suzuki to his students at the San Francisco Zen Center in the late 1960s, edited and compiled by Trudy Dixon and published in 1970.
A kindred religion & spirituality read.
Read the summary → - God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism
05
God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism
Abraham Joshua Heschel · Religion & Spirituality
God in Search of Man is Abraham Joshua Heschel's systematic philosophy of Judaism, published in 1955 as the companion to Man Is Not Alone.
Both dig into prayer.
Read the summary → - New Seeds of Contemplation
06
Thomas Merton · Religion & Spirituality
New Seeds of Contemplation is Thomas Merton's revised and expanded version of Seeds of Contemplation, which he published in 1949 when he was still new to monastic life.
Both dig into contemplation.
Read the summary → - The Imitation of Christ
07
Thomas à Kempis · Religion & Spirituality
The Imitation of Christ is a 15th-century devotional text structured as four books of short, meditative chapters.
Both dig into contemplation.
Read the summary → - The Perennial Philosophy
08
Aldous Huxley · Religion & Spirituality
The Perennial Philosophy is Aldous Huxley's anthology and commentary on the mystical traditions of the world, arguing that behind the diversity of religious forms lies a single metaphysical core: the divine ground or ultimate reality is one; the human soul contains a spark of this reality; the purpose of human existence is to realize this identity; and the path to that realization requires ego-transcendence through contemplation, virtue, and love.
Both dig into contemplation.
Read the summary → - A History of God
09
Karen Armstrong · Religion & Spirituality
A History of God is Karen Armstrong's account of how the idea of God has changed over four thousand years across Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, with excursions into Hinduism and Buddhism.
A kindred religion & spirituality read.
Read the summary → - A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose
10
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose
Eckhart Tolle · Religion & Spirituality
A New Earth is Eckhart Tolle's follow-up to The Power of Now, applying the same framework of presence and ego-transcendence to a broader account of human dysfunction and its transformation.
A kindred religion & spirituality read.
Read the summary → - Autobiography of a Yogi
11
Paramahansa Yogananda · Religion & Spirituality
Autobiography of a Yogi, published in 1946, is Paramahansa Yogananda's account of his spiritual development in India and his subsequent mission to bring yogic teachings to the West.
A kindred religion & spirituality read.
Read the summary → - God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
12
God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
Christopher Hitchens · Religion & Spirituality
God Is Not Great is Christopher Hitchens' comprehensive polemic against religion, published in 2007 as part of the wave of "New Atheist" books that included Dawkins' The God Delusion, Harris' The End of Faith, and Dennett's Breaking the Spell.
A kindred religion & spirituality read.
Read the summary →
Books like The Cloud of Unknowing: quick answers
What are the best books like The Cloud of Unknowing?
The best books like The Cloud of Unknowing by Anonymous are The Interior Castle by Teresa of Ávila, Dark Night of the Soul by John of the Cross, The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki, God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism by Abraham Joshua Heschel, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with The Cloud of Unknowing, such as contemplation, apophatic theology, prayer.
What should I read after The Cloud of Unknowing?
A natural next read after The Cloud of Unknowing is The Interior Castle by Teresa of Ávila. Shares contemplation and prayer with The Cloud of Unknowing. Other strong choices are Dark Night of the Soul by John of the Cross, The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki.
What books are similar to The Cloud of Unknowing by Anonymous?
The Cloud of Unknowing centers on contemplation, apophatic theology, prayer. Books with a similar feel include The Interior Castle by Teresa of Ávila, Dark Night of the Soul by John of the Cross, The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki, God in Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism by Abraham Joshua Heschel, New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
