Thoreau: A Sublime Life is a graphic novel written and by Maximilien Le Roy and illustrated by A. Dan. It tells the life of a classic philosopher withThoreau: A Sublime Life is a graphic novel written and by Maximilien Le Roy and illustrated by A. Dan. It tells the life of a classic philosopher with an eye to modern concerns and context.
Henry David Thoreau was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist, he is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay Civil Disobedience – an argument for disobedience to an unjust state.
Le Roy's foreword establishes his perspective, to show the various aspects of Henry David Thoreau's life as the father figure of civil disobedience: pacifist, abolitionist, philosopher, naturist, but one who sought to live his ideas in concrete, everyday experience. By subsuming the reader in Thoreau's day-to-day existence, his concerns come alive not as historical, in the years leading up to the Civil War, but as relevant to those seeking authenticity today. It’s a heady experience, being so caught up in another's life so effectively.
Thoreau: A Sublime Life is written and constructed moderately well. Dan and Le Roy argue that Thoreau was no intellectual scribbling in the woods, but a radical dreamer who had it in him to try to bring down the state. By showing Thoreau as the fiery abolitionist, who helped slaves escape to freedom, the outlaw arrested for not paying his taxes in opposition to slavery and the Mexican War, the appreciator of other cultures, and the revolutionary, who met and agreed with John Brown in wonderful fluid art.
A six-page ending essay by Michel Granger, a professor specializing in Thoreau’s life and work, discusses his political positions and philosophies. Granger makes a case for Thoreau’s status as a rebel that goes beyond the catchphrase of civil disobedience.
All in all, Thoreau: A Sublime Life is gives a luminous light to one of America’s most stirring writers of conscience....more
The Elementary Particles is a contemporary French literature written by Michel Houellebecq and translated by Frank Wynne. It holds the reader solidly,The Elementary Particles is a contemporary French literature written by Michel Houellebecq and translated by Frank Wynne. It holds the reader solidly, albeit a tad pretentious or flat-footed, with it speculation about humankind's biological future.
The story follows two half brothers, Michel Djerzinski and Bruno Clément. They have in common a minor Messalina of a mother, Janine Ceccaldi, who contributed most effectively to their upbringing by abandoning them: Bruno to his maternal grandmother, and Michel to Janine's second husband's mother.
Bruno's is the harder life. Abused by fellow students at a boarding school, he grows into a perpetually horny adolescence, his sexual advances always rebuffed because he is ugly and devoid of personal charm. He spends the '70s and '80s exposing himself to young girls or masturbating. After his first marriage fails, he meets Christiane at an "alternative" vacation compound with a reputation for free love, and together they embark on a tawdry swingers' odyssey.
Meanwhile, Michel, whose story is told in counterpoint, is so emotionally remote that he is unable to kiss his first girlfriend, the astonishingly beautiful Annabelle. In college, he loses sight of her and devotes himself to science, finally becoming a molecular biologist. Then, at 40, he meets Annabelle again, but she is on the verge of suicide.
Once death cheats both Bruno and Michel of happiness, Michel develops the basis for eliminating sex by cloning humans.
The Elementary Particles is written moderately well. The novel is burdened throughout with Houellebecq's message, which equates sex with consumerism and ever darker fates. Houellebecq also upholds the Madonna-whore polarization, pigeonholing his female characters with tiresome predictability. Still, it isn't the ideology that hampers the narrative – it is Houellebecq's touted scientific theorizing, which resorts to the shibboleths of popular science.
All in all, The Elementary Particles is a moderate narrative, which is clumsy much of the time, but fiercely interesting....more
The Art of Happiness is a spiritual self-help book written by the 14th Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler, a psychiatrist who posed questions to the Dalai LThe Art of Happiness is a spiritual self-help book written by the 14th Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler, a psychiatrist who posed questions to the Dalai Lama. Cutler quotes the Dalai Lama at length, providing context and describing some details of the settings in which the interviews took place, as well as adding his own reflections on issues raised.
This book serves as an entry (A book by or about someone you'd like to meet) in the Toronto Public Library Reading Challenge 2021. This entry was rather easy for me as I have always wanted to meet the Dalai Lama – the difficult part for me is to choose which book I wanted to read that was written by him.
The book explores training the human outlook that alters perception. The concepts that the purpose of life is happiness, that happiness is determined more by the state of one's mind than by one's external conditions, circumstances, or events – once one's basic survival needs are met and that happiness can be achieved through the systematic training of our hearts and minds.
The Art of Happiness is written rather well. Despite getting top billing, the Dalai Lama didn't write the book, but was the subject of it. It is mainly written by Howard Cutler, a psychiatrist, who had many interviews with the Dalai Lama. Some parts of the book are filled with spirituality and readers really get to know the Dalai Lama, while other parts seems to drag on – it depended on the questions that Cutler asked. The book consists of fifteen chapters separated by five sections, which neatly divides how one pursues happiness, despite a world that would do anything to squash it.
All in all, The Art of Happiness is wonderful spiritual and self-help book that help trains the mind to pursue and find happiness in all circumstances....more
Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day is a semi-autobiographical memoir and self-help book written by Jay Shetty. It is aThink Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day is a semi-autobiographical memoir and self-help book written by Jay Shetty. It is a peppy and persuasive work that guides readers through a process of personal growth by training one's minds to focus on how to react, respond, and commit to what one wants in life.
This book serves as an entry (A book to assist in self-discovery and self-care) in The Indigo Reading Challenge 2021. I just clicked the link provided for this entry and found this book rather interesting. With my personal quest of being more mindful in my life, I thought this book would be apropos for me to read.
Jay Shetty is a British author, former monk, and purpose coach. As the host of the podcast On Purpose, his guests have included Alicia Keys, Khloe Kardashian, and Kobe Bryant, resulting in 64 million downloads.
Shetty covers a wide range of topics, including diffusing fear, reconsidering career direction, and improving relationships. The common thread of his suggestions is his "spot, stop, and swap" method: spot the issue, stop to consider it, and swap in a new approach. He also recommends a variety of meditative techniques and offers stories from his time in the ashram, and is at his most inspiring when focusing on practical matters.
Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day is written moderately well – the concepts is rather sound, but the writing and execution was mediocre at best. Shetty draws on his experience, the Vedas, and uses some Sanskrit terminology. However, his approach is nonsectarian and will appeal to anyone who is, at minimum, open to trying meditation.
All in all, Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day is an interesting take on Hindu spirituality, which delivers practical wisdom for anyone looking to create better daily habits....more
The Buddhist on Death Row: How One Man Found Light in the Darkest Place is a biography of Jarvis Jay Masters, a death-row inmate in San Quentin State The Buddhist on Death Row: How One Man Found Light in the Darkest Place is a biography of Jarvis Jay Masters, a death-row inmate in San Quentin State Prison. David Sheff is an American author, wrote this biography.
Jarvis Jay Masters is currently on death row at San Quentin State Prison in Marin County, California. He arrived at San Quentin in 1981 at the age of 19 charged with armed robbery and was moved to Death Row in 1990 after being convicted of a role in a prison guard's murder.
Masters was 19 years old when he was convicted of armed robbery and sent to California’s San Quentin State Prison in 1981. Nine years later, he was convicted of the murder of a prison guard and sentenced to death.
After being advised by a criminal investigator working on his case to perform breathing exercises to help with anxiety, Masters became interested in Buddhism. He discovered that practicing the faith allowed him to change the ways he related to himself and to others, and Sheff captures the difficult, powerful realizations Masters gained as a result of his practice, which lead him to become a comforting, beneficial presence to his fellow inmates.
The Buddhist on Death Row: How One Man Found Light in the Darkest Place is written and researched rather well. Sheff draws from research and personal correspondence to convey Masters' transformative jailhouse exchanges with Buddhist masters, family members, and special friends with poignancy and profound emotional power.
All in all, The Buddhist on Death Row: How One Man Found Light in the Darkest Place is an indelible portrait of an incarcerated man finding new life and purpose behind bars....more
Wit's End: What Wit Is, How It Works, and Why We Need It is a humorous quasi-philosophical self-help book written by James Geary. The book is a playfuWit's End: What Wit Is, How It Works, and Why We Need It is a humorous quasi-philosophical self-help book written by James Geary. The book is a playful book that celebrates all forms of wit.
Geary discusses many of the forms wit can take. To add to the fun, he writes each chapter in a style that mimics the topic under discussion. Furthermore, Geary has great fun with the many different styles from essay, a section written in jive, a poem in the form of a rap song, an art history lecture, and even a sermon.
Wit's End: What Wit Is, How It Works, and Why We Need It is written moderately well. The use of different styles for each chapter is sometimes too clever for its own good, but one is likely to come away from the book convinced of many of Geary's arguments. Many of the anecdotes are hilarious. However, the different writing styles interrupted the flow and rhythm of the narrative, which was jarring in some places.
All in all, Wit's End: What Wit Is, How It Works, and Why We Need It is an overall mediocre book that celebrates the many forms of wit....more
Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Remarkable Story About Living Your Dreams is a self-help novel written by Robin S. Sharma. The book is a business fable dMonk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Remarkable Story About Living Your Dreams is a self-help novel written by Robin S. Sharma. The book is a business fable derived from Sharma's personal experiences after leaving his career as a litigation lawyer at the age of twenty-five.
This book serves as an entry (A book you found helpful) in the Toronto Public Library Reading Challenge 2020. This book was particularly difficult to find, but eventually went to the self-help section and this book caught my eye.
The book develops around two characters, Julian Mantle and his best friend John, in the form of conversation. Julian narrates his spiritual experiences during a Himalayan journey which he undertook after selling his holiday home and red Ferrari.
Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Remarkable Story About Living Your Dreams is written rather well. This inspiring tale provides a step-by-step approach to living with greater courage, balance, abundance, and joy. It is a wonderfully crafted fable of Julian Mantle, a lawyer forced to confront the spiritual crisis of his out-of-balance life. On a life-changing odyssey to an ancient culture, he discovers powerful, wise, and practical lessons to live a balanced and full life.
All in all, Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Remarkable Story About Living Your Dreams is a wonderful fable or parable to seek out a life of courage, balance, abundance, and joy and some tips that would help one achieve it....more
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values is a standalone fictionalized autobiography novel written by Robert M. Pirsig. This Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values is a standalone fictionalized autobiography novel written by Robert M. Pirsig. This novel chronicles the journey of the undefined author (probably Pirsig) and his son as they take a motorcycle cross-country trip together and their discussion about life along the way.
This book serves as an entry (A book that is older than you) in the Toronto Public Library Reading Challenge 2020. First published in 1974, this book is significantly older than I am! =)
The book is a fictionalized autobiography of a seventeen-day journey that Pirsig made on a motorcycle from Minnesota to Northern California along with his son Chris. Father and son are also accompanied, for the first nine days of the trip, by close friends John and Sylvia Sutherland, with whom they part ways in Montana.
The trip is punctuated by numerous philosophical discussions on topics including epistemology, the history of philosophy, and the philosophy of science.
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values is written rather well. The story of this journey is recounted in a first-person narrative, although the author is not identified, it is presumed by many (or at least me) that it was the author himself. Pirsig's arguments are as incisive and absorbing as his drastic fate would indicate, and the elements of the story hang together in a reified, disturbing duality.
All in all, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values is a well-written philosophical book about an existential bonding excursion between father and son....more
Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too is a graphic novel written and illustrated by Jomny Sun. It is a sweet, cute, and deceptively simple story ofEveryone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too is a graphic novel written and illustrated by Jomny Sun. It is a sweet, cute, and deceptively simple story of Jomny, an alien who does not fit in with his own people, who is sent to Earth with the mission of learning about humans.
This book serves as a entry (A graphic novel) in the Toronto Public Library Reading Challenge 2019.
Jomny is alone in a culture of other aliens who do not look like him and who all come in pairs. He arrives on Earth feeling confused, lost, and unsure how to complete his mission. Then he starts talking to all the creatures he meets, makes friends, and learns how to be a friend in return.
Everyone has a different view of what the purpose of life is, on happiness, art, death, change, and becoming who you will be. By talking to all of them, Jomny learns how to accept himself while helping do the same – not to mention, the general uncertainty about changing in an uncertain world.
None of the entities that Jomny meet is human, though, they are all animals, plants, and a Yeti. Toward the end, they tell him that the humans all died a long time ago, implying that humans never quite learned these lessons, but that animals were fine without them.
Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too is wonderfully written. It is a small book with big ideas and timeless ideals told in a simplistic manner. The illustration is a tad simplistic for my taste, but seems oddly apropos to the narrative – simplistic illustration to a seemingly simplistic text. In short, a small and easy book feels universal and big.
All in all, Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too is an extremely well written and constructed graphic novel about an alien trying to find a place to belong and in return do the same for those he meets on Earth....more