Philosophy · Similar reads

Books like Ways of Seeing

The best books like Ways of Seeing are Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees, Steal Like an Artist, and The Artist's Way. Ways of Seeing by John Berger is about visual culture, power and representation, capitalism and art. 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.

  1. Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees
    Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees

    01

    Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees

    Lawrence Weschler · Biography

    Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees is Lawrence Weschler's extended portrait of Robert Irwin, the California artist who began his career as an abstract expressionist painter and progressively dismantled every element of conventional art-making — frame, canvas, pigment, discrete object — until he was working with pure perception itself.

    A kindred philosophy read.

    Read the summary →
  2. Steal Like an Artist
    Steal Like an Artist

    02

    Steal Like an Artist

    Austin Kleon · Self-help

    Steal Like an Artist is Austin Kleon's short, illustrated guide to the creative process, built around the premise that nothing is truly original — all creative work is built from and inspired by what came before.

    A kindred philosophy read.

    Read the summary →
  3. The Artist's Way
    The Artist's Way

    03

    The Artist's Way

    Julia Cameron · Self-help

    The Artist's Way is Julia Cameron's twelve-week program for recovering and developing creative ability, originally published in 1992 and still widely used in studio groups and classrooms.

    A kindred philosophy read.

    Read the summary →
  4. The Design of Everyday Things
    The Design of Everyday Things

    04

    The Design of Everyday Things

    Donald Norman · Psychology

    The Design of Everyday Things began as The Psychology of Everyday Things when first published in 1988, and Donald Norman revised it substantially for a 2013 edition that updated the examples for a digital age.

    A kindred philosophy read.

    Read the summary →
  5. Just My Type
    Just My Type

    05

    Just My Type

    Simon Garfield · History

    Just My Type is Simon Garfield's popular history of fonts and typography, aimed at general readers who have become dimly aware that fonts matter without having the vocabulary to explain why.

    Both dig into visual culture.

    Read the summary →
  6. 1984
    1984

    06

    1984

    George Orwell · Philosophy

    Nineteen Eighty-Four is George Orwell's 1949 novel about a future England called Airstrip One, governed by the totalitarian Party under the figurehead Big Brother.

    A kindred philosophy read.

    Read the summary →
  7. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
    21 Lessons for the 21st Century

    07

    21 Lessons for the 21st Century

    Yuval Noah Harari · Philosophy

    Where Sapiens traced humanity's past and Homo Deus speculated about its future, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century plants itself in the present.

    A kindred philosophy read.

    Read the summary →
  8. A Guide to the Good Life
    A Guide to the Good Life

    08

    A Guide to the Good Life

    William Irvine · Philosophy

    William Irvine's book is a modern case for reviving Stoic philosophy as a practical guide to living well.

    A kindred philosophy read.

    Read the summary →
  9. A History of Western Philosophy
    A History of Western Philosophy

    09

    A History of Western Philosophy

    Bertrand Russell · Philosophy

    A History of Western Philosophy is Bertrand Russell's single-volume account of Western philosophical thought from the pre-Socratics through Aristotle, the Stoics, medieval Scholasticism, the Renaissance, the empiricists and rationalists, Kant, German Idealism, and the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

    A kindred philosophy read.

    Read the summary →
  10. A Rulebook for Arguments
    A Rulebook for Arguments

    10

    A Rulebook for Arguments

    Anthony Weston · Philosophy

    A Rulebook for Arguments is Anthony Weston's slim, widely assigned handbook on how to build and judge arguments.

    A kindred philosophy read.

    Read the summary →
  11. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain
    A Swim in a Pond in the Rain

    11

    A Swim in a Pond in the Rain

    George Saunders · Philosophy

    A Swim in a Pond in the Rain is George Saunders's account of the graduate fiction workshop he has taught at Syracuse for over twenty years, organized around seven stories by Tolstoy, Chekhov, Turgenev, and Gogol.

    A kindred philosophy read.

    Read the summary →
  12. A Theory of Justice
    A Theory of Justice

    12

    A Theory of Justice

    John Rawls · Philosophy

    A Theory of Justice, published in 1971, is John Rawls's attempt to construct a systematic alternative to utilitarianism in political philosophy.

    A kindred philosophy read.

    Read the summary →

Books like Ways of Seeing: quick answers

What are the best books like Ways of Seeing?

The best books like Ways of Seeing by John Berger are Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees by Lawrence Weschler, Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman, Just My Type by Simon Garfield, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with Ways of Seeing, such as visual culture, power and representation, capitalism and art.

What should I read after Ways of Seeing?

A natural next read after Ways of Seeing is Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees by Lawrence Weschler. A kindred philosophy read. Other strong choices are Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman.

What books are similar to Ways of Seeing by John Berger?

Ways of Seeing centers on visual culture, power and representation, capitalism and art. Books with a similar feel include Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees by Lawrence Weschler, Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon, The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman, Just My Type by Simon Garfield, 1984 by George Orwell — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.

Chat with Ways of Seeing

Ask questions. Adapt it to your life. Get answers based on your goals.

Download on the App Store