Reddit reviews Existentialism

Start with Fear and Trembling. It's really something else, as much concerned with its aesthetic as with its philosophy.

I would also suggest perhaps picking up the Existentialism anthology by Solomon (http://amzn.to/qSR7f9), which has a broad selection of short excerpts from different of Kierkegaard's texts. Also, you'll then be able to read other existentialists to get a feel for just how widely varied this branch of philosophy is.

The Sickness Unto Death is also a good choice for after Fear and Trembling-- a lot of what Kierkegaard writes in the Sickness is very similar to what Heidegger has to say, but Kierkegaard makes much more sense.

The beautiful thing and the very modern thing about Kierkegaard is that he doesn't have a systematic philosophy-- instead, he has a series of personas in his different books that can be at odds with the others. He's very much so anti-systematizing- the Preface to Fear and Trembling will make this abundantly clear.

Having a firm grasp on Kierkegaard and Nietzsche will make learning your 20th century philosophy, especially the Continental (and in particular the French) kind massively easier.

I think that's a fair assessment of 'the Absurd'. There isn't really a wrong answer here! In this game it's all about interpretation and supporting yourself logically and coherently. My suggestion to you then, is to take a look at The Myth of Sysiphus (and the [sparknotes won't you here hurt either] (http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/sisyphus/summary/)). Find yourself a breakdown of Camus' philosophy somewhere that you can understand. This is sprawling, complicated stuff, and no one in their right mind would expect someone in high school to write a comprehensive paper covering all of Camus' philosophy from source texts. Solomon's 'Existentialism' really is gold. I tried to find a pdf online for you, but it doesn't seem to exist. Since you seem to have an interest in the topic, I'd suggest picking this up at some point (maybe a birthday or Xmas gift?). Solomon also has a short little paperback called 'Introducing The Existentialists' which is worth picking up. Any more questions, ask away! Good luck!

I think it might be best to get a 'reader' that has selections from many different philosophers and, ideally, solid introductions to each to help put them in context and distill a few of their major ideas. This will help you get a sense of what you're interested in and what you'd like to pursue deeper.

As an example the book Existentialism provides a great overview of existentialist thinkers with outstanding introductions to each. And that's an area that tends to be appealing to newcomers and also to younger people That's not to put it down to say it's a lesser area of philosophy. It's as rich, deep, challenging and diverse as any other.