John's bookshelf: all en-US Wed, 16 Aug 2023 11:19:38 -0700 60 John's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Mutant Message Down Under 983259 187 Marlo Morgan 0060171928 John 3 to-read 3.63 1990 Mutant Message Down Under
author: Marlo Morgan
name: John
average rating: 3.63
book published: 1990
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/08/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> How Yoga Works 902825
The Sanskrit text is written in 210 brief, cryptic verses whose meaning has long ago sunk into darkness; the many, confusing modern attempts to explain them bear little resemblance to each other, which is just a sign of how difficult this priceless little book can be.

Geshe Michael Roach is an honors graduate of Princeton University and the first westerner in the 600-year history of Sera Mey Tibetan Monastery to be awarded the degree of Geshe, or Master of Buddhism. He is known for his business bestseller, The Diamond The Buddha on Managing Your Business & Your Life.

Using a database of almost half a million pages of ancient Asian literature, Geshe Michael has produced a fresh, clear, and immediately usable translation of the Yoga Sutra in the form of a wonderful novel about a young Tibetan woman who uses the wisdom to transform the corrupt world around her into a paradise on earth.

How Yoga Works has been acclaimed as a must-read for anyone who does yoga and who wants to know what the Yoga Sutra really says. It is an especially popular reading for yoga teacher training courses throughout the world, and as a personal daily guide for spiritual inspiration.]]> 406 Michael Roach 0976546906 John 4 I highly recommend it to all yogis. It shares the masters' writings in practical and enjoyable messages. It is kind of a story of a group of people who learn from a young teacher. ]]> 4.20 2004 How Yoga Works
author: Michael Roach
name: John
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2010/02/18
date added: 2023/08/16
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review:
I've been studying the Yoga Sutras via this book for the last few months. I highly recommend it to all yogis. It shares the masters' writings in practical and enjoyable messages. It is kind of a story of a group of people who learn from a young teacher.
]]> <![CDATA[Come Ride with Me Along the Big C]]> 22094740
Claire’s narrative offers a fresh perspective on how cancer can redirect one’s life path. She invites you along, with her unique wit propelling the journey. Throughout the ebbs and flows of treatment, she explores how yogic wisdom helped her find the silver lining in even the darkest circumstances. Living in the present moment becomes not just a concept, but a reality.

The book also provides practical information about how integrating a healthy organic diet, yoga practice, and exercise can impart a greater quality of life for people during cancer treatment and recovery. Claire credits yoga with aiding her return to radiant health and is passionate about sharing its benefits with others.]]> 292 Claire Petretti Marti John 0 to-read 5.00 Come Ride with Me Along the Big C
author: Claire Petretti Marti
name: John
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2020/04/27
shelves: to-read
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]]> Wool (Silo, #1) 17164655 Wool is more than a self-published ebook phenomenon―it’s the new standard in classic science fiction.

In a ruined and toxic future, a community exists in a giant silo underground, hundreds of stories deep. There, men and women live in a society full of regulations they believe are meant to protect them. Sheriff Holston, who has unwaveringly upheld the silo’s rules for years, unexpectedly breaks the greatest taboo of all: He asks to go outside.

His fateful decision unleashes a drastic series of events. An unlikely candidate is appointed to replace him: Juliette, a mechanic with no training in law, whose special knack is fixing machines. Now Juliette is about to be entrusted with fixing her silo, and she will soon learn just how badly her world is broken. The silo is about to confront what its history has only hinted about and its inhabitants have never dared to whisper. Uprising.

A New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller, as well as Kindle Book Review’s 2012 Indie Book of the Year, Wool is truly a blockbuster.]]> 511 Hugh Howey 1476733953 John 0 to-read 4.15 2012 Wool (Silo, #1)
author: Hugh Howey
name: John
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2012
rating: 0
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date added: 2019/08/29
shelves: to-read
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]]> Breakfast of Champions 2017580 Breakfast of Champions, one of Kurt Vonnegut’sĚý most beloved characters, the aging writer Kilgore Trout, finds to his horror that a Midwest car dealer is taking his fiction as truth. What follows is murderously funny satire, as Vonnegut looks at war, sex, racism, success, politics, and pollution in America and reminds us how to see the truth.]]> 296 Kurt Vonnegut Jr. John 0 to-read 4.01 1973 Breakfast of Champions
author: Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
name: John
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1973
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2018/12/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Natural rest for addiction 20437827 256 Scott Kiloby 148183908X John 0 to-read 4.15 2013 Natural rest for addiction
author: Scott Kiloby
name: John
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2017/10/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Bhagavad Gita 12379467 297 Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa John 5 4.53 -400 The Bhagavad Gita
author: Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa
name: John
average rating: 4.53
book published: -400
rating: 5
read at: 2013/04/10
date added: 2017/03/28
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review:
A classic. I have read it before, but this translation really reached me. It also helped to have some good people to discuss it with. We actually read it out loud which was powerful.
]]> <![CDATA[Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion]]> 18775658 256 Sam Harris 1442359943 John 0 to-read 3.63 2014 Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion
author: Sam Harris
name: John
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2015/09/29
shelves: to-read
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]]> To Kill a Mockingbird 37449 here .

The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.

Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior - to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos.]]> 376 Harper Lee 1439550417 John 5 4.30 1960 To Kill a Mockingbird
author: Harper Lee
name: John
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1960
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2015/03/12
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]]> The Rift (Rootless, #2) 21881461
Banyan was once a tree builder, creating scrap-metal forests for rich clients in a barren burned-out world. Now he's traded his scaffolds for lookouts, his tools for guns. On a stolen boat, surrounded by a mutinous crew, Banyan has escaped from Promise Island with the last living trees on earth, and he's desperate to smuggle them to safety.

But powerful enemies are in pursuit, seeking to claim the trees for themselves. To reach a safe haven, Banyan will need the help of the pirate girl he loves, Alpha, his broken friend, Crow, and his troubled sister, Zee. Only together can they cross the mysterious molten wasteland of THE RIFT. And when Banyan discovers a new threat to Alpha's life, he fears he'll lose not only the trees they sacrificed so much to find, but the girl who inspires him and gives him hope.

Howard's "gift for the phantasmagoric" (Kirkus) is on full display in this thrilling second book of the Rootless trilogy.]]> 358 Chris Howard John 0 to-read 4.33 2014 The Rift (Rootless, #2)
author: Chris Howard
name: John
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/05/11
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Star's Reach: A Novel Of The Deindustrial Future]]> 22020374 380 John Michael Greer John 0 to-read 4.10 2014 Star's Reach: A Novel Of The Deindustrial Future
author: John Michael Greer
name: John
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/05/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mr. Everit's Secret: What I Learned from the World's Richest Man]]> 356728 120 Alan Cohen 1571744169 John 4 4.34 2003 Mr. Everit's Secret: What I Learned from the World's Richest Man
author: Alan Cohen
name: John
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2014/05/09
date added: 2014/05/09
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The power of abundance versus lack.
]]> The Goldfinch 18902634
Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He is tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the years clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld. As he grows up, Theo learns to glide between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love - and his talisman, the painting, places him at the centre of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph - a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and self-invention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity and fate.]]> 774 Donna Tartt John 0 to-read 4.03 2013 The Goldfinch
author: Donna Tartt
name: John
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2014/04/08
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps]]> 411998 The author, a Buddhist meditation teacher and longtime Twelve Step practitioner, weaves his personal story of recovery with traditional Buddhist teachings. The book takes us on a journey through the Steps, examining critical Twelve Step ideas like Powerlessness, Higher Power, and Moral Inventory through the lens of Buddhism. One Breath at a Time presents potent ancient techniques for finding calm and clarity and offers a vision of a Higher Power not tied to traditional Western Judeo-Christian concepts. One Breath at a Time , describes the convergence of two vital traditions, one ancient, the other contemporary, and shows how they are working together to create a rich spiritual path for our times.

Certain to resonate with both meditators and those whose mantra is "One day at a time," One Breath at a Time should find a large, welcoming audience.]]> 256 Kevin Griffin 1579549055 John 0 currently-reading 4.29 2004 One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps
author: Kevin Griffin
name: John
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2004
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/02/18
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Red Harvest (The Continental Op #1)]]> 30005
The Op was in Personville, derogatory nickname aside, as the result of a letter to the Continental Detective Agency in San Francisco from Donald Willsson, publisher of the local paper, asking for an agent to visit. No other information. As soon as the OP arrives, the body count begins and it starts with his client!

'Red Harvest' is more than a superb crime novel; it is a classic exploration of corruption and violence in America and one of the greats of 20th century literature.

Librarian's note #1: this entry relates to the novel 'Red Harvest.' Collections, and other Hammett stories can be found elsewhere on Ĺ·±¦ÓéŔÖ.

Librarian's note #2: the two serialized novels are: 1. The Cleansing of Poisonville (which later became Red Harvest), and 2. The Dain Curse.

Librarian's note #3: there are a total of 28 Continental Op short stories plus one incomplete; they can be found by searching GR for: 'a Continental Op Short Story.' They are: 1. Arson Plus, 2. Crooked Souls, 3. Slippery Fingers, 4. It, 5. Bodies Piled Up, 6. The Tenth Clew, 7. Night Shots, 8. Zigzags of Treachery, 9. One Hour, 10. The House on Turk Street, 11. The Girl with the Silver Eyes, 12. Women, Politics & Murder, 13. The Golden Horseshoe, 14. Who Killed Bob Teal? 15. Mike or Alec or Rufus, 16. The Whosis Kid, 17. The Scorched Face, 18. Corkscrew, 19. Dead Yellow Women, 20. The Gutting of Couffignal, 21. Creeping Siamese, 22. The Big Knock-Over, 23. $106,000 Blood Money, 24. The Main Death, 25. This King Business, 26. Fly Paper, 27. The Farewell Murder, 28. Death and Company and, 29. Three Dimes (unfinished).]]> 215 Dashiell Hammett 0752852612 John 4 ]]> 3.98 1929 Red Harvest (The Continental Op #1)
author: Dashiell Hammett
name: John
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1929
rating: 4
read at: 2014/02/18
date added: 2014/02/18
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Hammet weaves crazy scenes with the hardboiled storylines and authentic humans. I'm much rather read his work that watch most movies.

]]> A Return to Love 12948617 A Return to Love, Marianne Williamson's mega-bestselling spiritual guide, is available for the first time on compact disc. In it, she shares her reflections on A Course in Miracles and her insights on the application of love in the search for inner peace.

Williamson reveals how we each can become a miracle worker by accepting God and by the expression of love in our daily lives. Whether our psychic pain is in the area of relationships, career, or health, she shows us how love is a potent force, the key to inner peace, and how by practicing love we can make our own lives more fulfilling while creating a more peaceful and loving world for our children.

Written and read by Marianne Williamson]]> 0 Marianne Williamson 0517136309 John 0 to-read 4.43 1992 A Return to Love
author: Marianne Williamson
name: John
average rating: 4.43
book published: 1992
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/02/13
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[May Cause Miracles: A 40-Day Guidebook of Subtle Shifts for Radical Change and Unlimited Happiness]]> 13573425
From the popular and exciting author of Spirit Junkie and Add More ~Ing to Your Life comes this practical and fun 40-day guidebook of subtle shifts for radical change and unlimited happiness.

Are you ready to work miracles? Gabrielle Bernstein believes that simple, consistent shifts in our thinking and actions can lead to the miraculous in all aspects of our daily lives, including our relationships, finances, bodies, and self-image. In this inspiring guide, Gabrielle offers an exciting plan for releasing fear and allowing gratitude, forgiveness, and love to flow through us without fail. All of which, ultimately, will lead to breathtaking lives of abundance, acceptance, appreciation, and happiness. With May Cause Miracles , readers can expect incredible transformation in 40 powerful days: simply by adding up subtle shifts to create miraculous change.]]> 272 Gabrielle Bernstein 0307986934 John 4 3.81 2012 May Cause Miracles: A 40-Day Guidebook of Subtle Shifts for Radical Change and Unlimited Happiness
author: Gabrielle Bernstein
name: John
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2014/01/06
date added: 2014/01/11
shelves:
review:
So I didn't complete it in 40 days, but did in less than 80! A good take on the teachings of The Course of Miracles. Fed me a lot during the holidays. I'd like a copy so I can return to it.
]]> <![CDATA[A Year of Miracles: Daily Devotions and Reflections]]> 18269350 384 Marianne Williamson 0062205528 John 0 to-read 4.28 2007 A Year of Miracles: Daily Devotions and Reflections
author: Marianne Williamson
name: John
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/01/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom]]> 74445 234 John O'Donohue 006092943X John 5 4.30 1996 Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom
author: John O'Donohue
name: John
average rating: 4.30
book published: 1996
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/12/26
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas]]> 57579 428 Mari Sandoz 0803293194 John 5 -- The spiritual and natural aspect of how Crazy Horse and his people read the signs gave to the Universe. I will always hold a copy of this book to hope to understand the ways of them. The language is amazing.
-- The history of how the expansion of settlers over the West was met by the tribes. And the political ramifications of the chiefs who looked for benefits for themselves and their groups while selling out the others. Much like today.
-- Finally, the beauty of the storytelling that Sandoz delivers via interviews, records and folklore to depict the selfless man who led and cared for thousands.
Highly recommended!]]> 4.23 1942 Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas
author: Mari Sandoz
name: John
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1942
rating: 5
read at: 2010/07/22
date added: 2013/12/10
shelves:
review:
An amazing book about a hero of the Native Americans who faced impossible odds and stood with dignity and strength. Three elements made this one of the best books I have ever read:
-- The spiritual and natural aspect of how Crazy Horse and his people read the signs gave to the Universe. I will always hold a copy of this book to hope to understand the ways of them. The language is amazing.
-- The history of how the expansion of settlers over the West was met by the tribes. And the political ramifications of the chiefs who looked for benefits for themselves and their groups while selling out the others. Much like today.
-- Finally, the beauty of the storytelling that Sandoz delivers via interviews, records and folklore to depict the selfless man who led and cared for thousands.
Highly recommended!
]]> <![CDATA[The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity, and Freedom]]> 11011459 “Desire is here to stay. The challenge we all face, and which I intend to guide you through, is to learn how to take into account the full measure of who you are and use the positive force of all four of your soul’s desires to lead you to your best life.�
—Rod Stryker

According to ancient Yogic tradition, your soul has four distinct desires:
Ěý
� The desire for purpose, the drive to become who you are meant to be
� The desire for the means (money, security, health) to prosper in this world
â€� TheĚýdesire for pleasures like intimacy, beauty, and love
� The desire for spiritual fulfillment and lasting freedom
Ěý
Learning to honor these four desires is the key to happiness, and to a complete and balanced life. But how can you discern what will truly satisfy your desires? How can you increase your capacity to achieve them? What if your desires seem to conflict with one another? Is it really possible to live a spiritual life while also wanting material pleasures and success?

For more than three decades, master teacher Rod Stryker has taught yoga in the context of its deepest philosophy. His course, called The Yoga of Fulfillment�, has helped thousands recognize their soul’s call to greatness and to achieve their dreams. Now, in this wise and richly practical book, he has distilled those broad teachings into a roadmap for becoming the person you were meant to be. It is filled with revealing true stories, provocative exercises, and practices for unlocking your inner guidance. And even if you’ve never done a yoga pose, you can follow this step-by-step process to:
Ěý
� discover your soul’s unique purpose—the one you came into this world to fulfill.
� recognize the goal(s) you need to focus on at any given time and enliven your capacity to reach them.
� overcome self-defeating ideas and behavior.
� recruit your deepest energies and strengthen your resolve to meet any challenge.
� learn to live with joy at every stage of your growth.
Ěý
The Four Desires is nothing less than a complete path toward living your best life possible—a life that is rich in meaning and in means, a life that attracts and emanates happiness, a life that is your unique gift to yourself and the world.


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 352 Rod Stryker 0553803980 John 0 to-read 4.16 2011 The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity, and Freedom
author: Rod Stryker
name: John
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/11/13
shelves: to-read
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]]> One 265264 320 Richard Bach 0330311735 John 0 to-read 3.98 1988 One
author: Richard Bach
name: John
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1988
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/11/13
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Beach 607639
The Khao San Road, Bangkok -- first stop for the hordes of rootless young Westerners traveling in Southeast Asia. On Richard's first night there, in a low-budget guest house, a fellow traveller slashes his wrists, bequeathing to Richard a meticulously drawn map to "the Beach."

The Beach, as Richard has come to learn, is the subject of a legend among young travellers in Asia: a lagoon hidden from the sea, with white sand and coral gardens, freshwater falls surrounded by jungle, plants untouched for a thousand years. There, it is rumoured, a carefully selected international few have settled in a communal Eden.

Haunted by the figure of Mr. Duck -- the name by which the Thai police have identified the dead man -- and his own obsession with Vietnam movies, Richard sets off with a young French couple to an island hidden away in an archipelago forbidden to tourists. They discover the Beach, and it is as beautiful and idyllic as it is reputed to be. Yet over time it becomes clear that Beach culture, as Richard calls it, has troubling, even deadly, undercurrents.

Spellbinding and hallucinogenic, The Beach by Alex Garland -- both a national bestseller and his debut -- is a highly accomplished and suspenseful novel that fixates on a generation in their twenties, who, burdened with the legacy of the preceding generation and saturated by popular culture, long for an unruined landscape, but find it difficult to experience the world first hand.]]> 436 Alex Garland 1573226521 John 4 3.98 1996 The Beach
author: Alex Garland
name: John
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at: 2013/08/13
date added: 2013/11/13
shelves:
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I'd seen the movie, so the concept was familiar. I like the way the tension was built in the book. For so many in my life who are travelers, I'd love to hear how you can relate to it. I haven't had the luxury to pick up and live in Asia, etc, but one day it may happen.
]]> <![CDATA[Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny]]> 14761405 Achieve Your Soul Purpose
Accomplish Your Life Calling

Divine The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny is the definitive handbook to uncover your original life plan and sacred birthright. You will be empowered to remember your divine origins and learn how to manifest the amazing life you were always meant to have.

Discover the deeper meaning and purpose of your life and reclaim your true destiny. Divine Living is the preferred lifestyle choice for many spiritually awakened souls all over the world. It is the new way of being that changes your life and perception of reality forever.

This is a practical guide that goes beyond New Thought Spirituality and Esoteric Mysticism; it includes many practical guidelines, metaphysical tools and spiritual self-care exercises to prepare you for a truly awakened and abundant life. Like many other enlightened souls worldwide you will be equipped with the power to design an authentic new life of happiness and fulfillment, and be inspired to make a real difference in the world.

As a species we are currently experiencing the inevitable dawning of a new era in human ascension. The new age of conscious evolution has begun. This book is your personal survival guide to successfully navigate this looming, global paradigm shift, which is gradually gaining critical mass all over the planet.]]> 489 Anthon St. Maarten 0987044125 John 0 to-read 3.57 2012 Divine Living: The Essential Guide To Your True Destiny
author: Anthon St. Maarten
name: John
average rating: 3.57
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/07/23
shelves: to-read
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]]> Tao of Jeet Kune Do 57858 208 Bruce Lee 0897500482 John 4 4.35 1975 Tao of Jeet Kune Do
author: Bruce Lee
name: John
average rating: 4.35
book published: 1975
rating: 4
read at: 2013/06/25
date added: 2013/07/09
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I need a trainer to get me using some of these exercises to practice like Bruce Lee. I may get a copy of this book.
]]> Love in the Time of Cholera 9712 348 Gabriel García Márquez 140003468X John 0 to-read 3.92 1985 Love in the Time of Cholera
author: Gabriel García Márquez
name: John
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1985
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/07/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Kali Yuga 1636563 Robert Kelly John 0 to-read 4.08 1970 Kali Yuga
author: Robert Kelly
name: John
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1970
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/06/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Telegraph Avenue 10756240
When ex–NFL quarterback Gibson Goode, the fifth-richest black man in America, announces plans to build his latest Dogpile megastore on a nearby stretch of Telegraph Avenue, Nat and Archy fear it means certain doom for their vulnerable little enterprise. Meanwhile, Aviva and Gwen also find themselves caught up in a battle for their professional existence, one that tests the limits of their friendship. Adding another layer of complication to the couples' already tangled lives is the surprise appearance of Titus Joyner, the teenage son Archy has never acknowledged and the love of fifteen-year-old Julius Jaffe's life.

An intimate epic, a NorCal Middlemarch set to the funky beat of classic vinyl soul-jazz and pulsing with a virtuosic, pyrotechnical style all its own, Telegraph Avenue is the great American novel we've been waiting for. Generous, imaginative, funny, moving, thrilling, humane, triumphant, it is Michael Chabon's most dazzling book yet.]]> 465 Michael Chabon 0061493341 John 0 to-read 3.38 2012 Telegraph Avenue
author: Michael Chabon
name: John
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/05/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane: (A Heartwarming Tale of a China Rabbit's Quest for Love & Belonging - A Middle-Grade Chapter Book for Kids Ages 7-10 in Grades 2-5)]]> 37186
Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who treated him with the utmost care and adored him completely.

And then, one day, he was lost.

Kate DiCamillo takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the top of a garbage heap to the fireside of a hoboes' camp, from the bedside of an ailing child to the bustling streets of Memphis. And along the way, we are shown a true miracle � that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.]]> 228 Kate DiCamillo 0763625892 John 5 4.38 2006 The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane: (A Heartwarming Tale of a China Rabbit's Quest for Love & Belonging - A Middle-Grade Chapter Book for Kids Ages 7-10 in Grades 2-5)
author: Kate DiCamillo
name: John
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/05/08
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Sacred Economics: Money, Gift, and Society in the Age of Transition]]> 11289729 Sacred Economics traces the history of money from ancient gift economies to modern capitalism, revealing how the money system has contributed to alienation, competition, and scarcity, destroyed community, and necessitated endless growth. Today, these trends have reached their extreme—but in the wake of their collapse, we may find great opportunity to transition to a more connected, ecological, and sustainable way of being.
Ěý
This book is about how the money system will have to change—and is already changing—to embody this transition. A broadly integrated synthesis of theory, policy, and practice, Sacred Economics explores avant-garde concepts of the New Economics, including negative-interest currencies, local currencies, resource-based economics, gift economies, and the restoration of the commons. Author Charles Eisenstein also considers the personal dimensions of this transition, speaking to those concerned with "right livelihood" and how to live according to their ideals in a world seemingly ruled by money. Tapping into a rich lineage of conventional and unconventional economic thought, Sacred Economics presents a vision that is original yet commonsense, radical yet gentle, and increasingly relevant as the crises of our civilization deepen.

Sacred Economics official website:

About the Imprint:
EVOLVER EDITIONS promotes a new counterculture that recognizes humanity's visionary potential and takes tangible, pragmatic steps to realize it. EVOLVER EDITIONS explores the dynamics of personal, collective, and global change from a wide range of perspectives. EVOLVER EDITIONS is an imprint of North Atlantic Books and is produced in collaboration with Evolver, LLC.]]> 469 Charles Eisenstein 1583943978 John 0 to-read 4.21 2011 Sacred Economics: Money, Gift, and Society in the Age of Transition
author: Charles Eisenstein
name: John
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/04/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Anatomy and Asana: Preventing Yoga Injuries]]> 561186 90 Susi Hately 0939616548 John 0 to-read 4.08 2006 Anatomy and Asana: Preventing Yoga Injuries
author: Susi Hately
name: John
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/04/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Face Thief 12939966
Gottlieb introduces the mystery of the charismatic Margot, a promising journalist who morphs--with stunning panache--from a high-achieving affluent twentysomething into a grifter making her living preying on the weaknesses of men. Having studied the ancient Chinese art of face reading, she becomes an expert at reading people and is also able to rearrange her look and persona with uncanny skill to fit any social situation. She is an avenging angel, shattering marriages and draining bank accounts.

What drives her quest to deceive and disarm? Exploring this question, The Face Thief moves fluidly forward and back in time, drawing vivid portraits of Margot's rocky childhood and her adult victims: an amiable, newly married man enticed into a catastrophic fraud; an esteemed teacher outwitted by his most dangerous student; and a well-meaning New York City cop tripped up by his belief in redemption.

Ingeniously constructed and exquisitely written, The Face Thief swirls a hypnotic dance of predator and prey, creating a contemporary landscape where the educated are violent, the beautiful ugly, and the well-intentioned hapless. And yet we never give way to despair, because the protagonists of the book push back against the maelstrom and attempt tirelessly to right their toppled lives. Rich in suspense, psychological depth, and nuance, The Face Thief confirms Gottlieb's standing as "a master" (Denver Post) and, in the words of essayist Phillip Lopate, "an enthralling stylist who[se] . . . characters are shockingly, electrically alive."]]> 249 Eli Gottlieb 0061735051 John 4 I enjoyed learning about facial recognition and how it can be used in everyday life plus business. The storyline was taunt and kept me guessing. A nice departure from my normal reads, and highly recommended. ]]> 3.05 2012 The Face Thief
author: Eli Gottlieb
name: John
average rating: 3.05
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2013/03/10
date added: 2013/03/14
shelves:
review:

I enjoyed learning about facial recognition and how it can be used in everyday life plus business. The storyline was taunt and kept me guessing. A nice departure from my normal reads, and highly recommended.
]]> On Kindness 5633364
In this brilliant book, the eminent psychoanalyst Adam Phillips and the historian Barbara Taylor examine the pleasures and perils of kindness. Modern people have been taught to perceive ourselves as fundamentally antagonistic to one another, our motives self-seeking. Drawing on intellectual history, literature, psychoanalysis, and contemporary social theory, this book explains how and why we have chosen loneliness over connection. On Kindness argues that a life lived in instinctive, sympathetic identification with others is the one we should allow ourselves to live.

Bursting with often shocking insight, this brief and essential book will return to its readers what Marcus Aurelius declared was mankind’s “greatest delight�: the intense satisfactions of generosity and compassion.]]> 128 Adam Phillips 0374226504 John 3 3.47 2009 On Kindness
author: Adam Phillips
name: John
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2013/02/16
date added: 2013/02/16
shelves:
review:
Good descriptions and psychology on kindness, but a bit too academic for my tastes.
]]> <![CDATA[Patience: A Little Book of Inner Strength]]> 9937046 80 Eknath Easwaran 1458778592 John 4 Love EE and his ideas. 4.02 2010 Patience: A Little Book of Inner Strength
author: Eknath Easwaran
name: John
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2013/01/16
date added: 2013/02/16
shelves:
review:
Love EE and his ideas.
]]> The Sisters Brothers 9850443
With The Sisters Brothers, Patrick deWitt pays homage to the classic Western, transforming it into an unforgettable comic tour de force. Filled with a remarkable cast of characters - losers, cheaters, and ne'er-do-wells from all stripes of life - and told by a complex and compelling narrator, it is a violent, lustful odyssey through the underworld of the 1850s frontier that beautifully captures the humor, melancholy, and grit of the Old West, and two brothers bound by blood, violence, and love.]]> 328 Patrick deWitt 0062041266 John 0 to-read 3.84 2011 The Sisters Brothers
author: Patrick deWitt
name: John
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/11/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Rootless (Rootless, #1) 13591672
Everything changes when Banyan meets a woman with a strange tattoo—a clue to the whereabouts of the last living trees on earth, and he sets off across a wasteland from which few return. Those who make it past the pirates and poachers can't escape the locusts—the locusts that now feed on human flesh.

But Banyan isn't the only one looking for the trees, and he's running out of time. Unsure of whom to trust, he's forced to make an uneasy alliance with Alpha, an alluring, dangerous pirate with an agenda of her own. As they race towards a promised land that might only be a myth, Banyan makes shocking discoveries about his family, his past, and how far people will go to bring back the trees.

In this dazzling debut, Howard presents a disturbing world with uncanny similarities to our own. Like the forests Banyan seeks to rebuild, this visionary novel is both beautiful and haunting—full of images that will take permanent root in your mind . . . and forever change the way you think about nature.]]> 336 Chris Howard 0545387892 John 4 3.53 2012 Rootless (Rootless, #1)
author: Chris Howard
name: John
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/11/17
shelves:
review:
Found this book through some friends of the author who is in the Denver community. Books like this remind me so much of movies because I just like plowing through them picturing the images and dying to see what happens. Howard does a great job of creating a fast-paced story that keeps you excited from chapter to ever-changing chapter. And it is quite the horror story as the Monsanto-type company basically controls all the food and is moving toward genetically modifying the rest of the earth. Banyan the protagonist was very blessed to survive, but that is what heroes do, right? My main beef is that this is only Book One in the series. I swore after the last books I started in a series that I would not read these types until all the books were written.
]]> <![CDATA[The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns]]> 13330769
Renegade thinkers are crashing the gates of a venerable American institution, shoving aside its so-called wise men and replacing them with a radical new data-driven order. We’ve seen it in sports, and now in The Victory Lab , journalist Sasha Issenberg tells the hidden story of the analytical revolution upending the way political campaigns are run in the 21st century.
ĚýĚýĚýĚý The Victory Lab follows the academics and maverick operatives rocking the war room and re-engineering a high-stakes industry previously run on little more than gut instinct and outdated assumptions. Armed with research from behavioural psychology and randomized experiments that treat voters as unwitting guinea pigs, the smartest campaigns now believe they know who you will vote for even before you do.Ěý Issenberg tracks these fascinating techniques—which include cutting edge persuasion experiments, innovative ways to mobilize voters, heavily researched electioneering methods—and shows how our most important figures, such as Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, are putting them to use with surprising skill and alacrity.
ĚýĚýĚýĚý Provocative, clear-eyed and energetically reported, The Victory Lab offers iconoclastic insights into political marketing, human decision-making, and the increasing power of analytics.Ěý]]> 321 Sasha Issenberg 030795479X John 0 to-read 3.74 2012 The Victory Lab: The Secret Science of Winning Campaigns
author: Sasha Issenberg
name: John
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/11/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Jesus� Son 608287 Jesus' Son, the first collection of stories by Denis Johnson, presents a unique, hallucinatory vision of contemporary American life unmatched in power and immediacy and marks a new level of achievement for this acclaimed writer. In their intensity of perception, their neon-lit evocation of a strange world brought uncomfortably close to our own, the stories in Jesus' Son offer a disturbing yet eerily beautiful portrayal of American loneliness and hope.

Contains:
Car Crash While Hitchhiking
Two Men
Out on Bail
Dundun
Work
Emergency
Dirty Wedding
The Other Man
Happy Hour
Steady Hands at Seattle General
Beverly Home']]> 160 Denis Johnson 0060975776 John 5 4.16 1992 Jesus’ Son
author: Denis Johnson
name: John
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1992
rating: 5
read at: 2012/10/26
date added: 2012/10/29
shelves:
review:
Stepped into a dream while reading this Denis Johnson book. Amazing how his words paint the picture. Characters with a lot of life in them, descriptions of their pain, and hope. It has been a long time when I read something that had me within the subconscious of the author.
]]> Train Dreams 11073085 Train Dreams is an epic in miniature, one of his most evocative and poignant fictions.

Robert Grainer is a day laborer in the American West at the start of the twentieth century—an ordinary man in extraordinary times. Buffeted by the loss of his family, Grainer struggles to make sense of this strange new world. As his story unfolds, we witness both his shocking personal defeats and the radical changes that transform America in his lifetime.

Suffused with the history and landscapes of the American West—its otherworldly flora and fauna, its rugged loggers and bridge builders—the new novella by the National Book Award-winning author of Tree of Smoke captures the disappearance of a distinctly American way of life.

A New York Times Notable Book for 2011]]> 116 Denis Johnson 0374281149 John 4 3.91 2002 Train Dreams
author: Denis Johnson
name: John
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 2012/10/09
date added: 2012/10/09
shelves:
review:
Johnson writes of the rugged American West when life and loss went hand in hand with the protagonist's life in the Northwest timber country. What impacted me was the thoughts of my friends who travel seeking adventure globally and when people finally settle into their place. Just like we all have.
]]> <![CDATA[The Financial Lives of the Poets]]> 6426026 The Financial Lives of the Poets is a comic and heartfelt novel from National Book Award nominee Jess Walter, author of Citizen Vince and The Zero, about how we get to the edge of ruin—and how we begin to make our way back. Walter tells the story of Matt Prior, who’s losing his job, his wife, his house, and his mind—until, all of a sudden, he discovers a way that he might just possibly be able to save it all . . . and have a pretty damn great time doing it.]]> 304 Jess Walter 0061916048 John 4 3.69 2009 The Financial Lives of the Poets
author: Jess Walter
name: John
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2012/09/15
date added: 2012/09/21
shelves:
review:
Jess Walter wrote a book I didn't get upset at -- too much -- like I usually do when the characters that remind me too much of my life do things that I hate. Thank you.
]]> Selected Stories 145608 236 Ivan Turgenev 0434799084 John 3 3.75 2009 Selected Stories
author: Ivan Turgenev
name: John
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2009
rating: 3
read at: 2012/08/21
date added: 2012/09/21
shelves:
review:
Love the classics, but dang this was a tough one to get through.
]]> <![CDATA[Stretch: The Unlikely Making of a Yoga Dude]]> 8362253 320 Neal Pollack 0061727695 John 3 3.50 2010 Stretch: The Unlikely Making of a Yoga Dude
author: Neal Pollack
name: John
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2010/10/19
date added: 2012/09/12
shelves:
review:
I went to see Pollack at his reading at Tattered Cover and was immediately insulted by him as I walked in with my yoga bag. It was the sarcastic guy who wrote Alternadad, a book about hipster parenting. He grated my nerves, but I'm as much into yoga as he is so I gave it a chance. It was a good look at the world of asana. I liked the evolution of Pollack, but I still wish he would be less of a smart ass. Not the world I like being in.
]]> Jitterbug Perfume 8682 Jitterbug Perfume is an epic, which is to say, it begins in the forests of ancient Bohemia and doesn't conclude until nine o'clock tonight [Paris time]. It is a saga, as well. A saga must have a hero, and the hero of this one is a janitor with a missing bottle. The bottle is blue, very, very old, and embossed with the image of a goat-horned god. If the liquid in the bottle is actually is the secret essence of the universe, as some folks seem to think, it had better be discovered soon because it is leaking and there is only a drop or two left.]]> 342 Tom Robbins 1842430351 John 5 4.24 1984 Jitterbug Perfume
author: Tom Robbins
name: John
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1984
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2012/09/06
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Every Love Story Is a Ghost Story: A Life of David Foster Wallace]]> 13589124
David Foster Wallace was the leading literary light of his era, a man who not only captivated readers with his prose but also mesmerized them with his brilliant mind. In this, the first biography of the writer, D. T. Max sets out to chart Wallace’s tormented, anguished and often triumphant battle to succeed as a novelist as he fights off depression and addiction to emerge with his masterpiece, Infinite Jest.

Since his untimely death by suicide at the age of forty-six in 2008, Wallace has become more than the quintessential writer for his time—he has become a symbol of sincerity and honesty in an inauthentic age.Ěý In the end, as Max shows us, what is most interesting about Wallace is not just what he wrote but how he taught us all to live. Written with the cooperation of Wallace’s family and friends and with access to hundreds of his unpublished letters, manuscripts, and audio tapes, this portrait of an extraordinarily gifted writer is as fresh as news, as intimate as a love note, as painful as a goodbye.]]> 356 D.T. Max 0670025925 John 0 to-read 3.73 2012 Every Love Story Is a Ghost Story: A Life of David Foster Wallace
author: D.T. Max
name: John
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/09/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Dog in a Hat: An American Bike Racer's Story of Mud, Drugs, Blood, Betrayal, and Beauty in Belgium]]> 3840967
Riding along a canal in Belgium years later, Roll encountered Parkin, who he saw as “a wraith, an avenging angel of misery, a twelve-toothed assassin�. Roll barely recognized him. Belgium had forged Parkin into a pro bike racer, and changed him forever.

A Dog in a Hat is Joe’s remarkable story. Leaving California with a bag of clothes, two spare wheels, some cash, and a phone number, Parkin left the comforts of home for the windy, rainswept heartland of European cycling. As one of the first American pros in Europe, Parkin was what the Belgians call “a dog with a hat on� � something familiar, yet decidedly out of place.

Parkin lays out the hard reality of the life—the drugs, the payoffs, the betrayals by teammates, the battles with team owners for contracts and money, the endless promises that keep you going, the agony of racing day after day, and the glory of a good day in the saddle.

A Dog in a Hat is the unforgettable story of the un-ordinary education of Joe Parkin and his love affair with racing, set in the hardest place in the world to be a bike racer. It is a story untold until now, and one that you will never forget.]]> 205 Joe Parkin 1934030260 John 2 3.87 2008 A Dog in a Hat: An American Bike Racer's Story of Mud, Drugs, Blood, Betrayal, and Beauty in Belgium
author: Joe Parkin
name: John
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2008
rating: 2
read at: 2012/04/14
date added: 2012/08/02
shelves:
review:
A take on Parkin's move to Belgium to become a professional bike racer. I loved the description of the Flemish lifestyle, his stories of the scene, and the brutal honesty. But I almost felt this would have been a better 3,000 word article with sweet photos.
]]> <![CDATA[The Book of Mystical Chapters: Meditations on the Soul's Ascent, from the Desert Fathers and Other Early Christian Contemplatives]]> 721521 224 John Anthony McGuckin 1590300076 John 0 to-read 4.20 2002 The Book of Mystical Chapters: Meditations on the Soul's Ascent, from the Desert Fathers and Other Early Christian Contemplatives
author: John Anthony McGuckin
name: John
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/07/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail]]> 12262741 An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State � and she would do it alone.

Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.]]> 336 Cheryl Strayed 0307592731 John 0 to-read 4.06 2012 Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
author: Cheryl Strayed
name: John
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/05/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Alchemy of Love and Sex 1602581
This nonfiction consciousness-expanding book may reveal to you just how liberal you are--or aren't--about your sexuality. Far more than a sex manual, Lee Lozowick's eye-opening text discusses such tangential issues as having passion for all aspects of life, the elements of a truly sacred marriage, and the balance of the Masculine and the Feminine in each individual, among other subjects. But be the author goes after common Western notions of sexuality with an axe! You may love this book or hate it, challenge it or be challenged, but either way, you will take a new look at the old story of love.]]> 281 Lee Lozowick 0934252580 John 0 to-read 4.60 1995 The Alchemy of Love and Sex
author: Lee Lozowick
name: John
average rating: 4.60
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/05/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Candide 19380 Candide is the story of a gentle man who, though pummeled and slapped in every direction by fate, clings desperately to the belief that he lives in "the best of all possible worlds." On the surface a witty, bantering tale, this eighteenth-century classic is actually a savage, satiric thrust at the philosophical optimism that proclaims that all disaster and human suffering is part of a benevolent cosmic plan. Fast, funny, often outrageous, the French philosopher's immortal narrative takes Candide around the world to discover that � contrary to the teachings of his distinguished tutor Dr. Pangloss � all is not always for the best. Alive with wit, brilliance, and graceful storytelling, Candide has become Voltaire's most celebrated work.]]> 129 Voltaire 0486266893 John 3 3.76 1759 Candide
author: Voltaire
name: John
average rating: 3.76
book published: 1759
rating: 3
read at: 2012/05/29
date added: 2012/05/29
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]]> <![CDATA[Lucking Out: My Life Getting Down and Semi-Dirty in the Seventies]]> 10349830
That would be in the autumn of 1972, when a very young and green James Wolcott arrived from Maryland, full of literary dreams, equipped with a letter of introduction from Norman Mailer, and having no idea what was about to hit him. Landing at a time of accelerating municipal squalor and, paradoxically, gathering cultural energy in all spheres as “Downtown� became a category of art and life unto itself, he embarked upon his sentimental education, seventies New York style.

This portrait of a critic as a young man is also a rollicking, acutely observant portrait of a legendary time and place. Wolcott was taken up by fabled film critic Pauline Kael as one of her “Paulettes� and witnessed the immensely vital film culture of the period. He became an early observer-participant in the nascent punk scene at CBGB, mixing with Patti Smith, Lester Bangs, and Tom Verlaine. As a Village Voice writer he got an eyeful of the literary scene when such giants as Mailer, Gore Vidal, and George Plimpton strode the earth, and writing really mattered.

A beguiling mixture of Kafka Was the Rage and Please Kill Me , this memoir is a sharp-eyed rendering, at once intimate and shrewdly distanced, of a fabled milieu captured just before it slips into myth. Mixing grit and glitter in just the right propor­tions, suffused with affection for the talented and sometimes half-crazed denizens of the scene, it will make readers long for a time when you really could get mugged around here.]]> 272 James Wolcott 0385527780 John 0 to-read 3.45 2011 Lucking Out: My Life Getting Down and Semi-Dirty in the Seventies
author: James Wolcott
name: John
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/05/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Out of the Vinyl Deeps: On Rock Music]]> 9796196 New Yorker hired Ellen Willis as its first popular music critic. Her column, Rock, Etc., ran for seven years and established Willis as a leader in cultural commentary and a pioneer in the nascent and otherwise male-dominated field of rock criticism. As a writer for a magazine with a circulation of nearly half a million, Willis was also the country’s most widely read rock critic. With a voice at once sharp, thoughtful, and ecstatic, she covered a wide range of artists—Bob Dylan, The Who, Van Morrison, Elvis Presley, David Bowie, the Rolling Stones, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Joni Mitchell, the Velvet Underground, Sam and Dave, Bruce Springsteen, and Stevie Wonder—assessing their albums and performances not only on their originality, musicianship, and cultural impact but also in terms of how they made her feel.

Because Willis stopped writing about music in the early 1980s—when, she felt, rock ’n� roll had lost its political edge—her significant contribution to the history and reception of rock music has been overshadowed by contemporary music critics like Robert Christgau, Lester Bangs, and Dave Marsh. Out of the Vinyl Deeps collects for the first time Willis’s Rock, Etc. columns and her other writings about popular music from this period (includingliner notes for works by Lou Reed and Janis Joplin) and reasserts her rightful place in rock music criticism.

More than simply setting the record straight, Out of the Vinyl Deeps reintroduces Willis’s singular approach and style—her use of music to comment on broader social and political issues, critical acuity, vivid prose, against-the-grain opinions, and distinctly female (and feminist) perspective—to a new generation of readers. Featuring essays by the New Yorker’s current popular music critic, Sasha Frere-Jones, and cultural critics Daphne Carr and Evie Nagy, this volume also provides a lively and still relevant account of rock music during, arguably, its most innovative period.]]> 234 Ellen Willis 0816672830 John 0 to-read 3.98 2011 Out of the Vinyl Deeps: On Rock Music
author: Ellen Willis
name: John
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/05/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)]]> 186074
The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature.

A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.]]> 662 Patrick Rothfuss 075640407X John 4 4.52 2007 The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)
author: Patrick Rothfuss
name: John
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2012/05/13
date added: 2012/05/13
shelves:
review:
The author, Patrick Rothfuss, has developed a series that will become a standard for those who love epics. And Kvothe is a character who will be remembered, but it is his writing that strings together some of the best dialogue and descriptions I have enjoyed in a long time.
]]> <![CDATA[The Vein of Gold: A Journey to Your Creative Heart]]> 249238 400 Julia Cameron 0874778794 John 0 to-read 4.03 1996 The Vein of Gold: A Journey to Your Creative Heart
author: Julia Cameron
name: John
average rating: 4.03
book published: 1996
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/04/14
shelves: to-read
review:
About to start this follow up to The Artist's Way. If anyone is interested in doing some of the exercises together, message me.
]]> <![CDATA[The Trance of Scarcity: Stop Holding Your Breath and Start Living Your Life]]> 783568 216 Victoria Castle 1576754391 John 5 4.04 2006 The Trance of Scarcity: Stop Holding Your Breath and Start Living Your Life
author: Victoria Castle
name: John
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2012/04/07
date added: 2012/04/14
shelves:
review:
It shares what we already know at our Divine core. Presented with a conversation that we can integrate into our lives. I really enjoyed. Recommended by a friend who did Om Time's YTT, where it was part of the curriculum.
]]> <![CDATA[60 Visions: A Book of Prophecy]]> 44969 60 Bob Marley 0971975817 John 0 to-read 4.35 2005 60 Visions: A Book of Prophecy
author: Bob Marley
name: John
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/03/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Talking to Girls About Duran Duran]]> 7515197 274 Rob Sheffield 0525951563 John 2 3.59 2010 Talking to Girls About Duran Duran
author: Rob Sheffield
name: John
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2010
rating: 2
read at: 2012/03/19
date added: 2012/03/20
shelves:
review:
I am a youth of the 80s, and I dug Love is a Mix Tape, but TGaDD just didn't do it for me. His family and stories of growing up were ok, but not strong enough to carry a book -- no matter how many sweet cassette singles and pop references mentioned. More like 2 and a half stars.
]]> Papillon 6882
Charrière's astonishing autobiography, Papillon, was published in France to instant acclaim in 1968, more than twenty years after his final escape. Since then, it has become a treasured classic -- the gripping, shocking, ultimately uplifting odyssey of an innocent man who simply would not be defeated.]]> 544 Henri Charrière 0061120669 John 0 to-read 4.22 1969 Papillon
author: Henri Charrière
name: John
average rating: 4.22
book published: 1969
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/03/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Crossing to Safety 9820 335 Wallace Stegner 037575931X John 5
Life will always throw us difficulties, but to manage them with the ones you love and close friends is the most shining thing in the world to me. Stegner's book shares the tales of two couples who do just that by living in the most creative, family-bonded, and loving way. His writing is amazing and the journey really had me interested and caring for them.

Can't wait to read more of his work.]]> 4.16 1987 Crossing to Safety
author: Wallace Stegner
name: John
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1987
rating: 5
read at: 2012/03/04
date added: 2012/03/10
shelves:
review:
"Beautiful people blazing with life"

Life will always throw us difficulties, but to manage them with the ones you love and close friends is the most shining thing in the world to me. Stegner's book shares the tales of two couples who do just that by living in the most creative, family-bonded, and loving way. His writing is amazing and the journey really had me interested and caring for them.

Can't wait to read more of his work.
]]> <![CDATA[The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (National Book Award Winner)]]> 843804
In his first book for young adults, Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist who leaves his school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white high school. This heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written tale, featuring poignant drawings that reflect the character's art, is based on the author's own experiences. It chronicles contemporary adolescence as seen through the eyes of one Native American boy.

Illustrated in a contemporary cartoon style by Ellen Forney.]]> 230 Sherman Alexie 0316013692 John 4 4.17 2007 The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (National Book Award Winner)
author: Sherman Alexie
name: John
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2007
rating: 4
read at: 2012/03/07
date added: 2012/03/10
shelves:
review:
Suggested by a couple of friends, this story made me happy for a guy who overcomes his nature and nurture to live an amazing life. I particularly appreciated his take on alcohol and the problems it causes on the res -- but really everywhere. And may favorite part was his comparison of family and community in whites versus native Americans.
]]> The Glass Castle 7445 THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family.

The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.

The Glass Castle is truly astonishing--a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar but loyal family.]]> 288 Jeannette Walls 074324754X John 3 4.32 2005 The Glass Castle
author: Jeannette Walls
name: John
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at: 2012/02/25
date added: 2012/02/27
shelves:
review:
Wow, what a book! The life of the Walls family left me heartbroken. Sure the stories of survival were awesome, but the fact that so many live this way saddened me.
]]> <![CDATA[Ship Breaker (Ship Breaker, #1)]]> 7095831 326 Paolo Bacigalupi 0316056219 John 3 3.75 2010 Ship Breaker (Ship Breaker, #1)
author: Paolo Bacigalupi
name: John
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2012/02/17
date added: 2012/02/19
shelves:
review:
I've been reading young adult books with my son. This one by a Colorado author is in the Futuristic sci-fi genre. I liked it as well as The Hunger Games. The story moved well, and the characters were interesting. It is a four star with enjoyment, a three star in literature level. Check it out.
]]> The Laws of the Sun 2037485
What is the nature of spirit and soul? What are the universal spiritual laws and how can we learn to live in harmony with them? What really happens when we die?

In this powerful book, author and teacher Ryuho Okawa reveals the transcendent nature of consciousness and the secrets of our multidimensional universe and our place in it. By understanding the natural laws of the universe and following the Buddhist Eightfold Path, he believes we can speed up our eternal process of development. The Laws of the Sun shows the way to realize true happiness a happiness that continues from this world through the other. The book s modern interpretation of traditional Buddhist teachings addresses many vital issues including how our thoughts influence reality and the different stages of spiritual and human love.]]> 160 Ryuho Okawa 193005162X John 0 to-read 3.82 1991 The Laws of the Sun
author: Ryuho Okawa
name: John
average rating: 3.82
book published: 1991
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/02/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Compound (The Compound, #1)]]> 2696181
For Eli, no amount of luxury can stifle the dull routine of living in the same place, with only his two sisters, his father and mother, doing the same thing day after day after day.

As problems with their carefully planned existence threaten to destroy their sanctuary—and their sanity—Eli can't help but wonder if he'd rather take his chances outside.

Eli's father built the Compound to keep them safe. But are they safe—or sorry?]]> 256 S.A. Bodeen 0312370156 John 0 to-read 3.88 2008 The Compound (The Compound, #1)
author: S.A. Bodeen
name: John
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/02/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Seed 11601984
In this new world, there is a new power. Satori is more than just a corporation, she is an intelligent, living city that grew out of the ruins of Denver. Satori bioengineers both the climate-resistant seed that feeds a hungry nation, and her own post-human genetic Designers, Advocates, and Laborers. What remains of the United States government now exists solely to distribute Satori seed; a defeated American military doles out bar-coded, single-use Satori seed to the nation's starving citizens.

When one of Satori's Designers goes rogue, Agent Sienna Doss—ex-Army Ranger turned glorified bodyguard—is tasked by the government to bring her in: the government wants to use the Designer to break Satori's stranglehold on seed production and reassert themselves as the center of power.

Sienna Doss's search for the Designer intersects with Brood and his younger brother Pollo—orphans scrapping by on the fringes of the wastelands. Pollo is abducted, because he is believed to suffer from Tet, a newly emergent disease, the victims of which are harvested by Satori.

As events spin out of control, Brood and Sienna Doss find themselves at the heart of Satori, where an explosive climax promises to reshape the future of the world.]]> 341 Rob Ziegler 1597803235 John 0 to-read 3.20 2011 Seed
author: Rob Ziegler
name: John
average rating: 3.20
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/02/06
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Watsons Go to Birmingham�1963]]> 1621254
When the Watson family—ten-year-old Kenny, Momma, Dad, little sister Joetta, and brother Byron—sets out on a trip south to visit Grandma in Birmingham, Alabama, they don’t realize that they’re heading toward one of the darkest moments in America’s history. The Watsons� journey reminds us that even in the hardest times, laughter and family can help us get through anything.
Ěý
"A modern classic." —NPR

“Marvelous . . . both comic and deeply moving .� � The New York Times

"One of the best novels EVER." —Jacqueline Woodson, ĚýNewbery Honor and National Book Award–winning author ofĚý Brown Girl Dreaming
Ěý
Bonus Content
� New foreword and afterword from the author
� Map of the Watsons� journey
� Original manuscript pages and letter from the Newbery committee
� Personal essays celebrating the book’s legacy by award-winning authors: Elizabeth Acevedo, Chris Crutcher, Kate DiCamillo, Varian Johnson, David Barclay Moore, Jason Reynolds, Jerry Spinelli, Vince Vawter, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Jacqueline Woodson]]> 210 Christopher Paul Curtis 0440414121 John 4 3.94 1995 The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963
author: Christopher Paul Curtis
name: John
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1995
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2012/01/25
shelves:
review:
I read this after my son introduced it to me. A tale of growing up during the Civil Rights Movement. These are the stories that I wanted to hear when I grew up in Alabama, but few ever wanted to talk about it.
]]> Big Sur 50140
"Big Sur's humane, precise account of the extraordinary ravages of alcohol delirium tremens on Kerouac, a superior novelist who had strength to complete his poetic narrative, a task few scribes so afflicted have accomplished—others crack up. Here we meet San Francisco's poets & recognize hero Dean Moriarty ten years after On the Road. Jack Kerouac was a 'writer,' as his great peer W.S. Burroughs says, and here at the peak of his suffering humorous genius he wrote through his misery to end with 'Sea,' a brilliant poem appended, on the hallucinatory Sounds of the Pacific Ocean at Big Sur."—Allen Ginsberg 10/10/91 N.Y.C.]]> 256 Jack Kerouac 0140168125 John 0 to-read 3.85 1962 Big Sur
author: Jack Kerouac
name: John
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1962
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2012/01/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Hugger Mugger (Spenser, #27) 414739
When Spenser is approached by Walter Clive, president of Three Fillies Stables, to find out who is threatening his horse Hugger Mugger, he can hardly say no: He's been doing pro bono work for so long his cupboards are just about bare. Disregarding the resentment of the local Georgia law enforcement, Spenser takes the case. Though Clive has hired a separate security firm, he wants someone with Spenser's experience to supervise the operation.

Despite a veneer of civility, Spenser encounters tensions beneath the surface southern gentility. The case takes an even more deadly turn when the attacker claims a human victim, and Spenser must revise his impressions of the whole Three Fillies organization--and watch his own back as well.

With razor-sharp dialogue, eloquently spare prose, and some of the best supporting characters to grace the printed page, Hugger Mugger is grand entertainment.]]> 307 Robert B. Parker 0399145877 John 3 3.82 2000 Hugger Mugger (Spenser, #27)
author: Robert B. Parker
name: John
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2000
rating: 3
read at: 2012/01/20
date added: 2012/01/20
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)]]> 2767052
Winning means fame and fortune. Losing means certain death. The Hunger Games have begun. . . .

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.]]> 374 Suzanne Collins John 3 4.34 2008 The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)
author: Suzanne Collins
name: John
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2008
rating: 3
read at: 2012/01/06
date added: 2012/01/08
shelves:
review:
My son and a long-time friend have been wanting me to read The Hunger Games. I'm really glad I did. It was one of the best escapes I've had with a book. The concept was a bit too Survivor/reality tv-ish for me, but it sure was a page turner. I will read the next ones in the series one day.
]]> Stone Arabia 10647326
In the sibling relationship, “there are no first impressions, no seductions, no getting to know each other,� says Denise Kranis. For her and her brother, Nik, now in their forties, no relationship is more significant. They grew up in Los Angeles in the late seventies and early eighties. Nik was always the artist, always wrote music, always had a band. Now he makes his art in private, obsessively documenting the work, but never testing it in the world. Denise remains Nik’s most passionate and acute audience, sometimes his only audience. She is also her family’s first defense against the world’s fragility. Friends die, their mother’s memory and mind unravel, and the news of global catastrophe and individual tragedy haunts Denise. When her daughter, Ada, decides to make a film about Nik, everyone’s vulnerabilities seem to escalate.

Dana Spiotta has established herself as a “singularly powerful and provocative writer� (The Boston Globe) whose work is fiercely original. Stone Arabia—riveting, unnerving, and strangely beautiful—reexamines what it means to be an artist and redefines the ties that bind.]]> 235 Dana Spiotta 1451617968 John 2 3.39 2011 Stone Arabia
author: Dana Spiotta
name: John
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2011
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2012/01/01
shelves:
review:
Ok I didn't finish it. Maybe I am not cut out for this book, but I tried. The music parts bored me, the creativity of it's subjects annoyed me, and the mid-life of the characters was depressing. I tried, but only made it half way through. I was warned about it before starting by someone who disliked Eat the Document.
]]> The White Tiger 1768603
Balram Halwai is a complicated man. Servant. Philosopher. Entrepreneur. Murderer. Over the course of seven nights, by the scattered light of a preposterous chandelier, Balram tells us the terrible and transfixing story of how he came to be a success in life—having nothing but his own wits to help him along.

Born in the dark heart of India, Balram gets a break when he is hired as a driver for his village's wealthiest man, two house Pomeranians (Puddles and Cuddles), and the rich man's (very unlucky) son. From behind the wheel of their Honda City car, Balram's new world is a revelation. While his peers flip through the pages of Murder Weekly ("Love -- Rape -- Revenge!"), barter for girls, drink liquor (Thunderbolt), and perpetuate the Great Rooster Coop of Indian society, Balram watches his employers bribe foreign ministers for tax breaks, barter for girls, drink liquor (single-malt whiskey), and play their own role in the Rooster Coop. Balram learns how to siphon gas, deal with corrupt mechanics, and refill and resell Johnnie Walker Black Label bottles (all but one). He also finds a way out of the Coop that no one else inside it can perceive.

Balram's eyes penetrate India as few outsiders can: the cockroaches and the call centers; the prostitutes and the worshippers; the ancient and Internet cultures; the water buffalo and, trapped in so many kinds of cages that escape is (almost) impossible, the white tiger. And with a charisma as undeniable as it is unexpected, Balram teaches us that religion doesn't create virtue, and money doesn't solve every problem -- but decency can still be found in a corrupt world, and you can get what you want out of life if you eavesdrop on the right conversations.

The White Tiger recalls The Death of Vishnu and Bangkok 8 in ambition, scope, and narrative genius, with a mischief and personality all its own. Amoral, irreverent, deeply endearing, and utterly contemporary, this novel is an international publishing sensation —and a startling, provocative debut.]]> 276 Aravind Adiga 1416562591 John 4 3.76 2008 The White Tiger
author: Aravind Adiga
name: John
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2011/12/22
date added: 2011/12/22
shelves:
review:
Recommended by a world travelling friend of mine, it is a good study of the fast-changing world of India. As a yogi and a business writer who has seen the changes in India from afar, Adiga really gives a great view of a local servant dealing with a caste system in the modern world.
]]> <![CDATA[The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium #1)]]> 2429135
An international publishing sensation, Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo combines murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel.]]> 480 Stieg Larsson 0670069019 John 2
But reading graphic violence just isn't how I want to spend my time. That being said, I'm sure Hollywood will jazz up the slow parts and tone down the sickness -- so I may check out the movie.]]> 4.17 2005 The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium #1)
author: Stieg Larsson
name: John
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2005
rating: 2
read at: 2011/12/18
date added: 2011/12/18
shelves:
review:
A friend gave me a box of books earlier this year, and I pulled out TGWTDT this weekend to read before the movie came out this week. I get it is a thriller, mystery that makes you have to know the ending. But I just didn't enjoy all the sexual violence, unlikable characters, research, and dullness of the Swedish countryside. I did read it all very quickly, so it was a page turner. Just mainly to get it over with. Would love to hear if the second is better -- or different.

But reading graphic violence just isn't how I want to spend my time. That being said, I'm sure Hollywood will jazz up the slow parts and tone down the sickness -- so I may check out the movie.
]]> Off Magazine Street 493712
When their latest female companion dies in their fleabag hotel room, the duo find themselves putting up her young but futureless daughter, Hanna. Despite their own dishonorable intentions and aging desires, the pair cannot abide her lack of ambition and low expectations for herself. Together, they dust off their teachers' instincts and conspire to use every means necessary - legal, illegal, fair, and unfair - to get Hanna into college.]]> 401 Ronald Everett Capps 1596921323 John 5
Then after a few days of hard drinking, I had to get out of there to stay alive.

The two main characters in this story, Bobby and Byron, don't leave. This is their conversations, appreciation of poetry, hijinks with the bums of the outdoor living room, and the care they have for those around them.

Not a perfect book, but perfect imperfection.

Thanks for (3w)thewareaglereader(com) for bringing this book to my attention. ]]> 3.70 2004 Off Magazine Street
author: Ronald Everett Capps
name: John
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 2011/11/09
date added: 2011/11/09
shelves:
review:
When I used to go to New Orleans a couple of times a year, the urge to fall out of society and write creatively overcame me as I walked Magazine St. The people were so open for conversation so the dialogue would have been easy. You just felt like you were in a place that was right and there was no need to leave it.

Then after a few days of hard drinking, I had to get out of there to stay alive.

The two main characters in this story, Bobby and Byron, don't leave. This is their conversations, appreciation of poetry, hijinks with the bums of the outdoor living room, and the care they have for those around them.

Not a perfect book, but perfect imperfection.

Thanks for (3w)thewareaglereader(com) for bringing this book to my attention.
]]> A Visit from the Goon Squad 7331435
We first meet Sasha in her mid-thirties, on her therapist’s couch in New York City, confronting her long-standing compulsion to steal. Later, we learn the genesis of her turmoil when we see her as the child of a violent marriage, then as a runaway living in Naples, then as a college student trying to avert the suicidal impulses of her best friend. We plunge into the hidden yearnings and disappointments of her uncle, an art historian stuck in a dead marriage, who travels to Naples to extract Sasha from the city’s demimonde and experiences an epiphany of his own while staring at a sculpture of Orpheus and Eurydice in the Museo Nazionale. We meet Bennie Salazar at the melancholy nadir of his adult life—divorced, struggling to connect with his nine-year-old son, listening to a washed-up band in the basement of a suburban house—and then revisit him in 1979, at the height of his youth, shy and tender, reveling in San Francisco’s punk scene as he discovers his ardor for rock and roll and his gift for spotting talent. We learn what became of his high school gang—who thrived and who faltered—and we encounter Lou Kline, Bennie’s catastrophically careless mentor, along with the lovers and children left behind in the wake of Lou’s far-flung sexual conquests and meteoric rise and fall.

A Visit from the Goon Squad is a book about the interplay of time and music, about survival, about the stirrings and transformations set inexorably in motion by even the most passing conjunction of our fates. In a breathtaking array of styles and tones ranging from tragedy to satire to PowerPoint, Egan captures the undertow of self-destruction that we all must either master or succumb to; the basic human hunger for redemption; and the universal tendency to reach for both—and escape the merciless progress of time—in the transporting realms of art and music. Sly, startling, exhilarating work from one of our boldest writers.]]> 274 Jennifer Egan 0307592839 John 4 3.70 2010 A Visit from the Goon Squad
author: Jennifer Egan
name: John
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2011/10/30
date added: 2011/10/30
shelves:
review:
A stream of short stories that pull various connections together. I enjoyed most of the chapters and felt the storm of lost love, sins, hopes, rock and roll, media, and creativity that beats in our lives. Egan is a really good writer, and I recommend this one. I will probably read it again this winter, since it has that type of feel.
]]> <![CDATA[Wonder Woman: Marketing Secrets for the Trillion Dollar Customer]]> 5323847 255 Iain Ellwood 0230201601 John 0 to-read 4.00 2008 Wonder Woman: Marketing Secrets for the Trillion Dollar Customer
author: Iain Ellwood
name: John
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2011/10/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Flashback 9432902
The United States is near total collapse. But 87% of the population doesn't they're addicted to flashback, a drug that allows its users to re-experience the best moments of their lives. After ex-detective Nick Bottom's wife died in a car accident, he went under the flash to be with her; he's lost his job, his teenage son, and his livelihood as a result.

Nick may be a lost soul but he's still a good cop, so he is hired to investigate the murder of a top governmental advisor's son. This flashback-addict becomes the one man who may be able to change the course of an entire nation turning away from the future to live in the past.]]> 554 Dan Simmons 0316006963 John 0 to-read 3.26 2011 Flashback
author: Dan Simmons
name: John
average rating: 3.26
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2011/10/11
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fearless Interviewing: How to Win the Job by Communicating with Confidence]]> 1190360 192 Stein 0071408843 John 4 4.02 2001 Fearless Interviewing: How to Win the Job by Communicating with Confidence
author: Stein
name: John
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 2011/10/11
date added: 2011/10/11
shelves:
review:
Information for negotiating what you want in a job. Highly recommended.
]]> Call It Courage 462207 95 Armstrong Sperry 0027860302 John 3 3.71 1940 Call It Courage
author: Armstrong Sperry
name: John
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1940
rating: 3
read at: 2011/10/08
date added: 2011/10/08
shelves:
review:
Polynesian legend of boy's adventures on a deserted island. The hijinks really weren't wacky enough for me.
]]> <![CDATA[My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business]]> 9580315 ĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚý
His trailblazing television program, The Dick Van Dyke Show (produced by Carl Reiner, who has written the foreword to this memoir), was one of the most popular sitcoms of the 1960s and introduced another major television star, Mary Tyler Moore. But Dick Van Dyke was also an enormously engaging movie star whose films, including Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, have been discovered by a new generation of fans and are as beloved today as they were when they first appeared. Who doesn’t know the word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?
ĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚýĚý
A colorful, loving, richly detailed look at the decades of a multilayered life, My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business, will enthrall every generation of reader, from baby-boomers who recall when Rob Petrie became a household name, to all those still enchanted by Bert’s “Chim Chim Cher-ee.� This is a lively, heartwarming memoir of a performer who still thinks of himself as a “simple song-and-dance man,� but who is, in every sense of the word, a classic entertainer.


From the Hardcover edition.]]> 287 Dick Van Dyke 0307592235 John 3 3.82 2011 My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business
author: Dick Van Dyke
name: John
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2011
rating: 3
read at: 2011/09/14
date added: 2011/09/19
shelves:
review:
Read this quickly -- skimmed it -- to gain some smiles and perspective on someone who always seemed to be having a good time. Surprised at his addiction troubles -- but who doesn't have them? -- and liked how much he leaned on family and trust that things were going to work out. Book wasn't great, but I'm glad I read it.
]]> The Three Musketeers 7190 The Three Musketeers is the most famous of Alexandre Dumas' historical novels and one of the most popular adventure novels ever written.

Dumas' swashbuckling epic chronicles the adventures of d'Artagnan, a brash young man from the countryside who journeys to Paris in 1625 hoping to become a musketeer and guard to King Louis XIII. Before long, he finds treachery and court intrigue,and also three boon companions, the daring swordsmen Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. Together, the four strive heroically to defend the honor of their queen against the powerful Cardinal Richelieu and the seductive spy Milady.]]> 625 Alexandre Dumas John 4 4.09 1844 The Three Musketeers
author: Alexandre Dumas
name: John
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1844
rating: 4
read at: 2011/09/06
date added: 2011/09/18
shelves:
review:
Just finished this classic while reading it each night with my son at bed time. Understandable why so many people have enjoyed it. The drama, romance, betrayal, and action really makes it a page turner.
]]> The Lovely Bones 12232938
So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her -- her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling. Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, The Lovely Bones succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy.]]> 372 Alice Sebold 0316166685 John 3 3.87 2002 The Lovely Bones
author: Alice Sebold
name: John
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2002
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2011/08/09
shelves:
review:

]]> Wall and Piece 114683 240 Banksy 1844137872 John 4 3.85 2005 Wall and Piece
author: Banksy
name: John
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2011/05/09
date added: 2011/07/20
shelves:
review:
My son, Tucker, and I had a great time with this book. He loves drawing graffiti style. Cool photos.
]]> The Imperfectionists 6834410
Fifty years and many changes have ensued since the paper was founded by an enigmatic millionaire, and now, amid the stained carpeting and dingy office furniture, the staff’s personal dramas seem far more important than the daily headlines. Kathleen, the imperious editor in chief, is smarting from a betrayal in her open marriage; Arthur, the lazy obituary writer, is transformed by a personal tragedy; Abby, the embattled financial officer, discovers that her job cuts and her love life are intertwined in a most unexpected way. Out in the field, a veteran Paris freelancer goes to desperate lengths for his next byline, while the new Cairo stringer is mercilessly manipulated by an outrageous war correspondent with an outsize ego. And in the shadows is the isolated young publisher who pays more attention to his prized basset hound, Schopenhauer, than to the fate of his family’s quirky newspaper.

As the era of print news gives way to the Internet age and this imperfect crew stumbles toward an uncertain future, the paper’s rich history is revealed, including the surprising truth about its founder’s intentions.

Spirited, moving, and highly original, The Imperfectionists will establish Tom Rachman as one of our most perceptive, assured literary talents.]]> 272 Tom Rachman 0385343663 John 4 3.55 2010 The Imperfectionists
author: Tom Rachman
name: John
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2011/07/07
date added: 2011/07/07
shelves:
review:
Mini stories of the folks working at an international newspaper in Rome. I can't say I loved all the characters, but Rachman made me care for them. Everyday life of all of us could make a novel too.
]]> <![CDATA[Last Man Standing: The Tragedy and Triumph of Geronimo Pratt]]> 14838
Geronimo Pratt did not commit the murder for which he served twenty-seven nightmarish years. As a UCLA student, though, he had led the Los Angeles Chapter of the Black Panther Party, and became a target of the FBI. Here is the spellbinding saga of Pratt, his heroic lawyers, Johnnie Cochran and Stuart Hanlon, and the Reverend James McCloskey, who overcame all the odds to bring the truth to light and free Geronimo.]]> 512 Jack Olsen 0385493681 John 0 to-read 4.47 2000 Last Man Standing: The Tragedy and Triumph of Geronimo Pratt
author: Jack Olsen
name: John
average rating: 4.47
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2011/06/29
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Facebook Marketing Book 8421468 282 Dan Zarrella 1449388485 John 2 3.28 2010 The Facebook Marketing Book
author: Dan Zarrella
name: John
average rating: 3.28
book published: 2010
rating: 2
read at: 2011/04/27
date added: 2011/05/27
shelves:
review:
very basic, read Mashable every day and get so much more.
]]> <![CDATA[I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President]]> 6192443 303 Josh Lieb 1595142401 John 4 3.64 2009 I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President
author: Josh Lieb
name: John
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2011/05/24
date added: 2011/05/27
shelves:
review:
Not really sure how I found this book, but really glad I did. Hilarious commentary on middle school social systems, financial empires, attack dog training, and family dynamics. A great kickoff to summer reading if you love South Parkish humor.
]]> Asanas: 608 Yoga Postures 965907 672 Dharma Mittra 1577314026 John 0 to-read 4.28 2002 Asanas: 608 Yoga Postures
author: Dharma Mittra
name: John
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2011/05/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> White Teeth 3711 White Teeth revels in the ecstatic hodgepodge of modern life, flirting with disaster, confounding expectations, and embracing the comedy of daily existence.]]> 448 Zadie Smith 0375703861 John 0 to-read 3.80 2000 White Teeth
author: Zadie Smith
name: John
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2000
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2011/03/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Nine Stories 4009
The stories are:

"A Perfect Day for Bananafish"
"Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut"
"Just Before the War with the Eskimos"
"The Laughing Man"
"Down at the Dinghy"
"For Esmé � with Love and Squalor"
"Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes"
"De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period"
"Teddy"]]> 302 J.D. Salinger 0316767727 John 4 4.20 1953 Nine Stories
author: J.D. Salinger
name: John
average rating: 4.20
book published: 1953
rating: 4
read at: 2011/03/21
date added: 2011/03/21
shelves:
review:
Picked this up while sitting in a coffee shop and have really enjoy it. Short stories have long been a favorite source and Salinger doesn't disappoint. Something about this book made me appreciate his impact on the literary world even more.
]]> <![CDATA[Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time]]> 84699
Climb the ladder to personal success?

The secret, master networker Keith Ferrazzi claims, is in reaching out to other people. As Ferrazzi discovered early in life, what distinguishes highly successful people from everyone else is the way they use the power of relationships—so that everyone wins.

In Never Eat Alone , Ferrazzi lays out the specific steps—and inner mindset—he uses to reach out to connect with the thousands of colleagues, friends, and associates on his Rolodex, people he has helped and who have helped him.

The son of a small-town steelworker and a cleaning lady, Ferrazzi first used his remarkable ability to connect with others to pave the way to a scholarship at Yale, a Harvard MBA, and several top executive posts. Not yet out of his thirties, he developed a network of relationships that stretched from Washington’s corridors of power to Hollywood’s A-list, leading to him being named one of Crain’s 40 Under 40 and selected as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the Davos World Economic Forum.

Ferrazzi's form of connecting to the world around him is based on generosity, helping friends connect with other friends. Ferrazzi distinguishes genuine relationship-building from the crude, desperate glad-handling usually associated with “networking.� He then distills his system of reaching out to people into practical, proven principles. Among them:

Don’t keep score: It’s never simply about getting what you want. It’s about getting what you want and making sure that the people who are important to you get what they want, too.

“Ping� constantly: The Ins and Outs of reaching out to those in your circle of contacts all the time—not just when you need something.

Never eat alone: The dynamics of status are the same whether you’re working at a corporation or attending a society event� “invisibility� is a fate worse than failure.

In the course of the book, Ferrazzi outlines the timeless strategies shared by the world’s most connected individuals, from Katherine Graham to Bill Clinton, Vernon Jordan to the Dalai Lama.

Chock full of specific advice on handling rejection, getting past gatekeepers, becoming a “conference commando,� and more, Never Eat Alone is destined to take its place alongside How to Win Friends and Influence People as an inspirational classic.]]> 309 Keith Ferrazzi 0385512058 John 4 3.84 Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time
author: Keith Ferrazzi
name: John
average rating: 3.84
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2010/04/11
date added: 2011/03/21
shelves:
review:
A really good book on how to live in a way to give back to others. The authors certainly give a lot of business and career-building tips, too.
]]> <![CDATA[Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard]]> 6570502 Why is it so hard to make lasting changes in our companies, in our communities, and in our own lives?

The primary obstacle is a conflict that's built into our brains, say Chip and Dan Heath, authors of the critically acclaimed bestseller Made to Stick. Psychologists have discovered that our minds are ruled by two different systems - the rational mind and the emotional mind - that compete for control. The rational mind wants a great beach body; the emotional mind wants that Oreo cookie. The rational mind wants to change something at work; the emotional mind loves the comfort of the existing routine. This tension can doom a change effort - but if it is overcome, change can come quickly.

In Switch, the Heaths show how everyday people - employees and managers, parents and nurses - have united both minds and, as a result, achieved dramatic results:

- The lowly medical interns who managed to defeat an entrenched, decades-old medical practice that was endangering patients (see page 242)
- The home-organizing guru who developed a simple technique for overcoming the dread of housekeeping (see page 130)
- The manager who transformed a lackadaisical customer-support team into service zealots by removing a standard tool of customer service (see page 199)

In a compelling, story-driven narrative, the Heaths bring together decades of counterintuitive research in psychology, sociology, and other fields to shed new light on how we can effect transformative change. Switch shows that successful changes follow a pattern, a pattern you can use to make the changes that matter to you, whether your interest is in changing the world or changing your waistline.]]> 305 Chip Heath 0385528752 John 3 4.02 2010 Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
author: Chip Heath
name: John
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2010
rating: 3
read at: 2010/08/18
date added: 2011/03/21
shelves:
review:
Some good ideas and cases, but business books like this don't thrill me. I do want to check out their other book.
]]> <![CDATA[The Wall: Rome's Greatest Frontier]]> 6533845 270 Alistair Moffat 1841587893 John 0 to-read 3.89 2009 The Wall: Rome's Greatest Frontier
author: Alistair Moffat
name: John
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2009
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2011/03/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love]]> 2153780 Heralded by the New York Times and Time as the couples therapy with the highest rate of success, Emotionally Focused Therapy works because it views the love relationship as an attachment bond.

This idea, once controversial, is now supported by science, and has become widely popular among therapists around the world. In Hold Me Tight, Dr. Sue Johnson presents Emotionally Focused Therapy to the general public for the first time. Johnson teaches that the way to save and enrich a relationship is to reestablish safe emotional connection and preserve the attachment bond. With this in mind, she focuses on key moments in a relationship-from "Recognizing the Demon Dialogue" to "Revisiting a Rocky Moment" -- and uses them as touch points for seven healing conversations.

Through case studies from her practice, illuminating advice, and practical exercises, couples will learn how to nurture their relationships and ensure a lifetime of love.
]]> 300 Sue Johnson 031611300X John 4 4.12 2008 Hold Me Tight: Seven Conversations for a Lifetime of Love
author: Sue Johnson
name: John
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at: 2011/02/19
date added: 2011/03/19
shelves:
review:
I suck at love, but this book showed that I'm pretty much like everyone else. Was recommended by a counselor and it showed the habits that people have when things can't quite get right.
]]> The Road 6288
A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.

The Road is the profoundly moving story of a journey. It boldly imagines a future in which no hope remains, but in which the father and his son, “each the other’s world entire,� are sustained by love. Awesome in the totality of its vision, it is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation.]]> 241 Cormac McCarthy 0307265439 John 3 3.99 2006 The Road
author: Cormac McCarthy
name: John
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2011/02/13
date added: 2011/02/13
shelves:
review:
Cormac McCarthy delivers descriptive visions like no other. But The Road left me queasy with some of the story. Brutally frightening, and lit with the love of a father.
]]> <![CDATA[In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction]]> 617702 In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts begins by introducing us to many of Dr. Maté's most dire patients who steal, cheat, sell sex, and otherwise harm themselves for their next hit. Maté looks to the root causes of addiction, applying a clinical and psychological view to the physical manifestation and offering some enlightening answers for why people inflict such catastrophe on themselves.

Finally, he takes aim at the hugely ineffectual, largely U.S.-led War on Drugs (and its worldwide followers), challenging the wisdom of fighting drugs instead of aiding the addicts, and showing how controversial measures such as safe injection sites are measurably more successful at reducing drug-related crime and the spread of disease than anything most major governments have going. It's not easy reading, but we ignore his arguments at our peril. When it comes to combating the drug trade and the ravages of addiction, society can use all the help it can get. --Kim Hughes]]> 480 Gabor Maté 0676977405 John 0 to-read 4.49 2007 In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction
author: Gabor Maté
name: John
average rating: 4.49
book published: 2007
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2011/01/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Book of Ralph 607051 All of us need a Ralph in our lives.

Chicago, 1978. Hank Boyd, a solid B+ student, a good kid, wants eighth grade to be his special year. But when Ralph, an oddball troublemaker who ' s been held back twice, gets the idea that he and Hank are pals, Hank's year devolves into an odyssey as frightening as it is hilarious.

John McNally, acclaimed author of Troublemakers, deftly portrays the astonishing, sometimes terrifying world of adolescence in 1970s America: The adult world becomes increasingly untrustworthy, the economy plummets, and families seem to be falling apart, yet the two boys manage to create their own small moments of transcendence.

At once wary and full of wonder, Hank and Ralph will win your heart with their outrageous, poignant, and occasionally scary antics -- and they will teach you something about the ties that bind us together, hold us back, and redeem us.

]]> 304 John McNally 0743257774 John 4 3.67 2004 The Book of Ralph
author: John McNally
name: John
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2011/01/11
date added: 2011/01/11
shelves:
review:
I laughed a lot at this crazy book. Something about growing up in the 70s is downright funny, if that is when you did. Hank and Ralph lived the life. Their worldwide view was unique and sadly entertaining. The author, McNally, is a charming and strange. Plus this book helps me prepare for my son becoming a teenager this year.
]]> Fight Club 5759 218 Chuck Palahniuk 0393327345 John 4 4.19 1996 Fight Club
author: Chuck Palahniuk
name: John
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at: 2011/01/01
date added: 2011/01/01
shelves:
review:
"Hit me. As hard as you can ..." Boy does this book throw a punch. About so many things. And we as society haven't learned a thing since it was published. Read it now.
]]> <![CDATA[The New York Trilogy (New York Trilogy, #1-3)]]> 431 The remarkable, acclaimed series of interconnected detective novels � from the author of 4 3 2 1: A Novel

The New York Review of Books has called Paul Auster’s work “one of the most distinctive niches in contemporary literature.� Moving at the breathless pace of a thriller, this uniquely stylized triology of detective novels begins with City of Glass, in which Quinn, a mystery writer, receives an ominous phone call in the middle of the night. He’s drawn into the streets of New York, onto an elusive case that’s more puzzling and more deeply-layered than anything he might have written himself. In Ghosts, Blue, a mentee of Brown, is hired by White to spy on Black from a window on Orange Street. Once Blue starts stalking Black, he finds his subject on a similar mission, as well. In The Locked Room, Fanshawe has disappeared, leaving behind his wife and baby and nothing but a cache of novels, plays, and poems.

This Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition includes an introduction from author and professor Luc Sante, as well as a pulp novel-inspired cover from Art Spiegelman, Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic artist of Maus and In the Shadow of No Towers.]]> 308 Paul Auster 0143039830 John 4 3.93 1987 The New York Trilogy (New York Trilogy, #1-3)
author: Paul Auster
name: John
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1987
rating: 4
read at: 2010/12/29
date added: 2010/12/31
shelves:
review:
What did I just read? Mystery? Insanity? Surely bizarre and even more gripping. But certainly not for most.
]]> The Crucible 17250
Written in 1953, The Crucible is a mirror Miller uses to reflect the anti-communist hysteria inspired by Senator Joseph McCarthy's "witch-hunts" in the United States. Within the text itself, Miller contemplates the parallels, writing, "Political opposition... is given an inhumane overlay, which then justifies the abrogation of all normally applied customs of civilized behavior. A political policy is equated with moral right, and opposition to it with diabolical malevolence."

WIth an introduction by Christopher Bigsby.
(back cover)]]> 143 Arthur Miller 0142437336 John 0 to-read 3.60 1953 The Crucible
author: Arthur Miller
name: John
average rating: 3.60
book published: 1953
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2010/12/31
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Shantaram 33600
So begins this epic, mesmerizing first novel set in the underworld of contemporary Bombay. Shantaram is narrated by Lin, an escaped convict with a false passport who flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of a city where he can disappear.

Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter Bombay's hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere.

As a hunted man without a home, family, or identity, Lin searches for love and meaning while running a clinic in one of the city's poorest slums, and serving his apprenticeship in the dark arts of the Bombay mafia. The search leads him to war, prison torture, murder, and a series of enigmatic and bloody betrayals. The keys to unlock the mysteries and intrigues that bind Lin are held by two people. The first is Khader Khan: mafia godfather, criminal-philosopher-saint, and mentor to Lin in the underworld of the Golden City. The second is Karla: elusive, dangerous, and beautiful, whose passions are driven by secrets that torment her and yet give her a terrible power.

Burning slums and five-star hotels, romantic love and prison agonies, criminal wars and Bollywood films, spiritual gurus and mujaheddin guerrillas—this huge novel has the world of human experience in its reach, and a passionate love for India at its heart. Based on the life of the author, it is by any measure the debut of an extraordinary voice in literature.]]> 936 Gregory David Roberts 192076920X John 3 4.27 2003 Shantaram
author: Gregory David Roberts
name: John
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2003
rating: 3
read at: 2010/12/17
date added: 2010/12/17
shelves:
review:
So three stars for a 900 page book? Why bother? It has some good parts and some tedious parts. I wish the editor would have trimmed lots of the fat. It seemed like an ego trip. I would have enjoyed it more if it would have been heavier on development of some of the interesting characters, but the author brought them in, then had them leave without going very deep. I did love the vision into Bombay.
]]> The Tao of Pooh 48757
Is there such thing as a Western Taoist? Benjamin Hoff says there is, and this Taoist's favorite food is honey. Through brilliant and witty dialogue with the beloved Pooh-bear and his companions, the author of this smash bestseller explains with ease and aplomb that rather than being a distant and mysterious concept, Taoism is as near and practical to us as our morning breakfast bowl.

Romp through the enchanting world of Winnie-the-Pooh while soaking up invaluable lessons on simplicity and natural living.]]> 176 Benjamin Hoff 1405204265 John 5
I liked this book as it explained the teachings of The Tao, with injections of the characters of Winnie the Pooh. It's a way of life that felt natural to me and it was great to learn more. I first read this book when a girl from Cleveland, Ohio gave it to my country ass while we were working for Clean Water Action in Birmingham. One of the first toward where I am now as a part-time Buddhist.

Get this book for an easy read that helps understand that all the worrying busy mind is doing is choking your spirit. ]]> 4.02 1982 The Tao of Pooh
author: Benjamin Hoff
name: John
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1982
rating: 5
read at: 2010/11/08
date added: 2010/11/08
shelves:
review:
Return to the beginning; become a child again. -- Tao Te Ching. When I was youngster, my best buddy was a Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal. We had a great time 'doing nothing.' Or as the book describes Chaung-tse saying "To go nowhere and do nothing is the first step towards peace in the Tao."

I liked this book as it explained the teachings of The Tao, with injections of the characters of Winnie the Pooh. It's a way of life that felt natural to me and it was great to learn more. I first read this book when a girl from Cleveland, Ohio gave it to my country ass while we were working for Clean Water Action in Birmingham. One of the first toward where I am now as a part-time Buddhist.

Get this book for an easy read that helps understand that all the worrying busy mind is doing is choking your spirit.
]]>