Hafiz, as rendered by Daniel Ladinsky. I Heard God Laughing. Finally my Hafiz/Ladinsky collection is complete! Hafiz was a wonderful Sufi poet who lived in the 14th century and wrote in Persian. I read Hafiz daily; he always comforts me about the universe–and makes me at least smile, if not laugh outright.
Heidegger, Martin. The Essence Of Truth: On Plato's Cave Allegory and Theaetetus. Trans. Ted Sadler. I have spent 40 years (!) thinking about the Allegory of the Cave and never understood it until I began this book. I serendipitously came across it at the TCC Southeast library. Previously all I knew about Heidegger was some vague and troubling memory of a connection to Nazism; nonetheless, I gave it a try, and–mirabile dictu!–the best explanation of the allegory I've ever read.
