The Sunny Nihilist

A Declaration of the Pleasure of Pointlessness

By: Wendy Syfret

Narrated by: Jean Ann Douglass

Length: 5 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

A positively rebellious take on a traditionally negative philosophy offers an antidote for our anxious times.

Career success, a beautiful life, a beautiful Instagram account - what's the point? In a world where meaning has become twisted into a form of currency that everyone is very keen to cash in on, journalist Wendy Syfret invites you to change the way you think about the way you think.

In her seminal work, The Sunny Nihilist, Syfret presents the optimism in nihilism, encouraging us to dismantle our self-care and self-centered way of living and accept a life more or less ordinary. Syfret reexamines the meaning of worth, value, time, happiness, success, and connection, and guides us toward the alternative path of pointless pleasure.

When you let go of the idea that everything must have purpose, you will find relief from stress, exhaustion, and anxiety. Most importantly, you can embrace the opportunity to enjoy the moment, the present, the chaos and luck of being alive at all. The Sunny Nihilist is an inspiring call to action and survival adaptation for modern life.

©2022 Wendy Syfret (P)2022 Chronicle Prism

Delightfully insightful

Being new to nihilism in concept and belief, I appreciated this approach to the beliefs. You can be nihilist and not have existential crisis or be a horrible person. I’ll listen to this one again.

Must listen

I wholeheartedly recommend 'The Sunny Nihilist' to anyone seeking a thought-provoking & engaging read. This book not only captivated my interest but also provided a refreshing perspective that left me feeling less stressed and overwhelmed. It's a must-read for those looking to explore beyond the grind of hustle culture.

Transformed The Way I View Life

This book was recommended to me at a time when I was experiencing crippling anxiety from the stresses of life. Wendy Syfret's perspective on life transformed my thinking in a way that has helped me destress and stop worrying about the insignificant issues that I deal with every day. It is well performed and I easily listened to it in two days between work and commuting.

Refreshing

Great book. Easy to listen to. Recommend to anyone searching for purpose. Read this book

Worth the listen!

Why not listen? In the end it all doesn’t really matter. Quite enlightening and freeing.

Embracing the pleasure of pointlessness

Really enjoyed this book and felt a deep sense of comfort knowing that others are battling with leaning into the void.

How to be a fake, whiny nihilist in 5 wasted hours

You would think writing a book on nihilism would require the author to understand that commitments to “greater goods”, saving earth, and working and caring about a new world is pretty much the exact opposite of nihilism, but apparently not.
It would be like writing about the beauty of communism by blabbing on and on about the value of capitalism. It’s so nonsensical as to be a magic trick that fools almost no one. I’ve never wanted 5 hours of my life back more.

Could’ve been a Medium Article

It reads like an essay for school about a book you were supposed to have read but only got a third of the way through- so you just write about the first couple of chapters and then talk about how your life relates to it to meet the word minimum.

Find Another Book on Nihilism

The writer kept repeating words, referenced
quotes from shows plus Nietzsche or other philosophers, contradict themself by devaluing their book while trying to sell you on
Nihilism.

*To save anyone money and time on something else, she basically talks about living in the moment and how you can find value in whatever, but finds everything meaningless which sounds pretty paradoxical. *

The narrator wasn't bad.

Unexamined assumptions and missing context

While the author’s general message is valid, and potentially uplifting for cynical
Millennials, her lack of philosophical context and social political assumptions regularly derail her message.

She could have more simply perhaps used Buddhism, Zen, or even pop new age philosophies to argue for “be present and do good” without wading into the nihilist swamp to find the positive aspects of a philosophy that has so many undesirable adherents.
I found it interesting that she could find the positive in nihilism, but can’t find the positive in capitalism, policing, or contemporary racial/ethnic interactions.

Crux of the matter is that a broader background in philosophy, religion,, and history could have made a stronger argument possible, preferably without alienating those who disagree with her politics.

FWIW, Isaac Singer’s Shosha ends with the following passage that seems to hit at the core concept well:

“Haiml began speaking to me, to himself, and to no one in particular: “Where did all the years go to? Who will remember them after we’re gone? The writers will write, but they’ll get everything topsy-turvy. There must be a place somewhere where everything is preserved, inscribed down to the smallest detail. Let us say that a fly has fallen into a spiderweb and the spider has sucked her dry. This is a fact of the universe and such a fact cannot be forgotten. If such a fact should be forgotten, it would create a blemish in the universe. Do you understand me or not?” “Yes, Haiml.” “Tsutsik, those are your words!” “I don’t remember saying them.” “You don’t remember, but I do. I remember everything that Morris said, that you said, and that Celia said. At times you uttered ridiculous foolishness, and I remember that, too. If God is wisdom, how can there be foolishness? And if God is life, how can there be death? I lie at night, a little man, a half-squashed fly, and I talk with the dead, with the living, with God – if He exists – and with Satan, who certainly does exist. I ask them, “What need was there for all this?” and I wait for an answer. What do you think, Tsutsik, is there an answer somewhere or not?” “No, no answer.” “Why not?” “There can’t be any answer for suffering – not for the sufferer.” “In that case, what am I waiting for?” Genia opened the door. “Why are you two sitting in the dark, eh?” Haiml laughed. “We’re waiting for an answer””