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How to Live Like a Stoic: A Handbook for Happiness
There's more to Stoicism than shrugging your shoulders and getting on with it, as Tom Hodgkinson discovers in this witty and enlightening book.
Stoicism is an enduring and ancient philosophy that can help you with everything from love and politics to money and spirituality. The Stoics were celebrated by the Romans, they influenced Christianity and even Shakespeare admired them. Today, both therapists and politicians will profess adherence to the Stoic creed. The “serenity prayer” is a Stoic statement. The Beatles' “Let it Be” is a Stoic song.
Tom Hodgkinson, author of bestselling How to Be Idle, goes back to the original philosophical texts and looks at the greatest Stoics in history – including Seneca, Cicero, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius and St Augustine – to see if they can help us find fulfilment. He discovers that Stoicism is much stranger and more radical than you'd think.
With witty reflections on everything from ethics, grammar, rhetoric, education, friendship and the importance of occasionally letting your hair down, Tom Hodgkinson shares his genuinely funny and brilliant guide to the Stoic life.
Stoicism is an enduring and ancient philosophy that can help you with everything from love and politics to money and spirituality. The Stoics were celebrated by the Romans, they influenced Christianity and even Shakespeare admired them. Today, both therapists and politicians will profess adherence to the Stoic creed. The “serenity prayer” is a Stoic statement. The Beatles' “Let it Be” is a Stoic song.
Tom Hodgkinson, author of bestselling How to Be Idle, goes back to the original philosophical texts and looks at the greatest Stoics in history – including Seneca, Cicero, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius and St Augustine – to see if they can help us find fulfilment. He discovers that Stoicism is much stranger and more radical than you'd think.
With witty reflections on everything from ethics, grammar, rhetoric, education, friendship and the importance of occasionally letting your hair down, Tom Hodgkinson shares his genuinely funny and brilliant guide to the Stoic life.
- GenresPhilosophyNonfiction
224 pages, Hardcover
Published April 14, 2026
About the author
Tom Hodgkinson
75 books295 followersTom Hodgkinson (b. 1968) is a British writer and the editor of The Idler, which he established in 1993 with his friend Gavin Pretor-Pinney. He was educated at Westminster School. He has contributed articles to The Sunday Telegraph, The Guardian and The Sunday Times as well as being the author of The Idler spin-off How To Be Idle (2005), How To Be Free (released in the U.S. under the title The Freedom Manifesto) and The Idle Parent.
In 2006 Hodgkinson created National Unawareness Day, to be celebrated on 1 November.
In 2006 Hodgkinson created National Unawareness Day, to be celebrated on 1 November.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 25, 2026
What a great read!
It explores Stoic authors and principles, comparing different perspectives while remaining a very easy and enjoyable read.
The author is also funny, I didn’t expect to laugh out loud at the witty remarks.
It explores Stoic authors and principles, comparing different perspectives while remaining a very easy and enjoyable read.
The author is also funny, I didn’t expect to laugh out loud at the witty remarks.
Review of advance copy
A delightful, and charmingly irreverent look at the Stoic philosophy, introducing the reader to what the original philosophers actually said, divided up across various themes such as love, death, happiness, money and so forth.
Conveyed with enthusiasm and wit, and a sprinkling of (mostly classical) historical anecdote, Tom Hodgkinson promotes the value in Stoic thinking, as more properly understood, as opposed to the sort of modern misunderstandings that deploy the label in reductive fashion, to get away from it's association with old school ideas of "boys don't cry", stiff upper lip and all that.
In doing so he paints a colourful picture of the philosophy's development, it's flaws as well as it's strengths. The idea of achieving a 'pure' level of Stoic existence at it's most extreme would lead to an impossible existence for most humans, devoid as it would be of any of the passions.
But it's the work in progress, the aspiration that matters more than the end result. Developing a self-sufficiency, and a phlegmatic indifference to emotional whirlpools that can assail us through life, are guiding tools for managing the chaos; assisting with self understanding, encouraging political / community engagement, not letting the insane tyrannies of others destabilise your own well being, and developing fulfillment in what actually matters - what 'nourishes the soul' as opposed to the more frivolous concerns of the modern age.
As with any philosophical theory / treaty / tome, the value is in how you can use it. Take a little from this, mix it in with a little of that, and day by day be a little better.
Written with good humour and in a very breezy style, even those with the attention span of a gnat should be able to enjoy this!
Conveyed with enthusiasm and wit, and a sprinkling of (mostly classical) historical anecdote, Tom Hodgkinson promotes the value in Stoic thinking, as more properly understood, as opposed to the sort of modern misunderstandings that deploy the label in reductive fashion, to get away from it's association with old school ideas of "boys don't cry", stiff upper lip and all that.
In doing so he paints a colourful picture of the philosophy's development, it's flaws as well as it's strengths. The idea of achieving a 'pure' level of Stoic existence at it's most extreme would lead to an impossible existence for most humans, devoid as it would be of any of the passions.
But it's the work in progress, the aspiration that matters more than the end result. Developing a self-sufficiency, and a phlegmatic indifference to emotional whirlpools that can assail us through life, are guiding tools for managing the chaos; assisting with self understanding, encouraging political / community engagement, not letting the insane tyrannies of others destabilise your own well being, and developing fulfillment in what actually matters - what 'nourishes the soul' as opposed to the more frivolous concerns of the modern age.
As with any philosophical theory / treaty / tome, the value is in how you can use it. Take a little from this, mix it in with a little of that, and day by day be a little better.
Written with good humour and in a very breezy style, even those with the attention span of a gnat should be able to enjoy this!
Review of advance copy
An enjoyable read, but it's painfully obvious that the author doesn't practice, let alone live the stoic life.
The rather childish tantrums he lets out about modern day events show he could really learn from the material he's passing on.
And I read the conclusion, he admits to not practicing the stoic creed, for he wants to "be foolish and have fun."
And I find agreement with him on that, and therefore I can't call myself a traditional stoic either.
But that doesn't mean I can't practice the other, more helpful elements containing the philosophy like practicing the overall indifferences, of which I think Hodgkinson could profit too.
The rather childish tantrums he lets out about modern day events show he could really learn from the material he's passing on.
And I read the conclusion, he admits to not practicing the stoic creed, for he wants to "be foolish and have fun."
And I find agreement with him on that, and therefore I can't call myself a traditional stoic either.
But that doesn't mean I can't practice the other, more helpful elements containing the philosophy like practicing the overall indifferences, of which I think Hodgkinson could profit too.
May 25, 2026
The potential of this book, much like Ryan Holliday’s stoic books, is overshadowed by the author’s insistence on inserting political opinion throughout when it wasn’t necessary.
For example, I find it ironic that the author thinks America has a tyrant in office but at least we can post memes here without being arrested unlike in the author’s home country of Great Britain.
That said, it was a quick read and I enjoyed when the content was focused on the stoical concepts and history.
For example, I find it ironic that the author thinks America has a tyrant in office but at least we can post memes here without being arrested unlike in the author’s home country of Great Britain.
That said, it was a quick read and I enjoyed when the content was focused on the stoical concepts and history.
Review of advance copy
This was published on 12th February 2026 with ISBN 978-1-3994-1558-3. I purchased it a week or so later at an independent bookshop in Bristol. It is extremely surprising to have Goodreads say it is not yet published and that the ISBN does not exist. The book gives an excellent grounding in Greek philosophy and encourages me to read more primary texts.
April 21, 2026
Read this, learn how to be supremely indifferent and enjoy life.
April 24, 2026
This was a great read !! Very witty at times and the political jibes got me laughing out loud.
May 10, 2026
Fairly repetitive, a bit of a slog.
May 23, 2026
Very informational with a bibliography at the back. I enjoy how the author included modern knowledge into it
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews