Zen Motorcycles and Old Salamano's Dog

Two of my favorite books are The Stranger by Albert Camus (pdf) and Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig (pdf).

Albert Camus: Old Salamano and his Dog

Albert Camus was a French philosopher. He focused most of his philosophy around existential questions. The absurdity of life, the inevitable ending (death) is highlighted in his acts, his belief that the absurd – life being void of meaning, or man's inability to know that meaning if it were to exist – was something that man should embrace. 

Albert Camus: Making Absurdity Meaningful

According to the Greek myth, Sisyphus is condemned to roll a rock up to the top of a mountain, only to have the rock roll back down to the bottom every time he reaches the top. The gods were wise, (Albert) Camus suggests, in perceiving that an eternity of futile labor is a hideous punishment.  

Spark notes: The Myth of Sisyphus