en-US Sat, 19 Apr 2025 10:21:52 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg ReadStatus9327258249 Sat, 19 Apr 2025 10:21:52 -0700 /review/show/7501309434 Ivan is currently reading Martin Eden by Jack London
]]> Review7333108749 Sat, 19 Apr 2025 10:04:38 -0700 /review/show/7333108749 Ivan gave 5 stars to War & Peace, Volume 2 (Audio CD) by Leo Tolstoy
A novel so big, so epic, that it might as well have been called "Life & Death" instead of "War & Peace". The parallels between the human stories of aristocrats and commoners, and the larger civilization-level movements of the Napoleonic Wars, are interspersed with Tolstoy's analyses of historic events and his views on politics. All this is crowned with extended contemplations about the inevitability of history, the existence of free will, and the relevance of the science of history.

As with the first volume of this enormous work, I cannot stress enough how utterly brilliant is Neville Jason's reading, doing great justice to the original work and its English translation. ]]> ReadStatus9241513754 Fri, 28 Mar 2025 02:47:32 -0700 /review/show/7441764131 Ivan is currently reading Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre
]]> Review7345840069 Fri, 28 Mar 2025 02:43:04 -0700 /review/show/7345840069 Ivan gave 4 stars to Modern Man in Search of a Soul (Kindle Edition) by C.G. Jung
A collection of essays by Carl Jung, touching on a wide range of topics from facing your own mortality to accepting the mysterious nature of the human soul as part of a psychotherapy treatment. For the curious, a critique of Freud and his followers do appear, but in a purely academical, doctor-to-doctor tone. All in all, a good, accessible for the layman, foray into Jung's thoughts and beliefs. ]]> Review7326279050 Sat, 22 Feb 2025 14:19:07 -0800 /review/show/7326279050 Ivan gave 5 stars to Hopper (Paperback) by Rolf G端nter Renner
From Taschen's series on art one expects mainly nicely printed images to absentmindedly browse through while sipping coffee in your living room, but this is truly superficial. Along the, well, nicely printed images to absentmindedly browse through, this book on Hopper offers a nicely structured, professionally written, insightful analysis on the painter's artistic arch. ]]> Review7077385228 Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:54:46 -0800 /review/show/7077385228 Ivan gave 5 stars to War & Peace, Volume 1 (Audio CD) by Leo Tolstoy
It's a bit funny to comment on just the first volume of a book after more than 31 hours of listening, but this is War & Peace for you. And what a great performance by Neville Jason; I had my doubts about a native English speaker interpreting a Russian classic, but Mr Jason does it complete justice. Can't wait to start the second part. ]]> ReadStatus9086198846 Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:54:45 -0800 /review/show/7333108749 Ivan is currently reading War & Peace, Volume 2 by Leo Tolstoy
]]> Review7077385228 Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:52:59 -0800 /review/show/7077385228 Ivan gave 5 stars to War & Peace, Volume 1 (Audio CD) by Leo Tolstoy
It's a bit funny to comment on just the first volume of a book after more than 31 hours of listening, but this is War & Peace for you. And what a great performance by Neville Jason; I had my doubts about a native English speaker interpreting a Russian classic, but Mr Jason does it complete justice. Can't wait to start the second part. ]]> ReadStatus9076416022 Sun, 16 Feb 2025 09:14:44 -0800 /review/show/7326279050 Ivan is currently reading Hopper by Rolf G端nter Renner
]]> Review7129790343 Sun, 16 Feb 2025 08:55:22 -0800 /review/show/7129790343 Ivan gave 2 stars to Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness (Kindle Edition) by Frederic Laloux
Reinventing organizations is more a thought experiment than a book about business and leadership. It presents a theory about structuring and running an organisation, which, although apparently supported by a few real-life examples, is based on the questionable premise that people would work motivated by purpose and meaning instead of salary. In the late stage capitalism we inhabit this sounds almost grotesque to me. Still, the author is not delusional and in the last few chapters he admits to the fallacy by presenting his view on the type of society where this manner of doing business could survive; a society where ownership is replaced by stewardship. We don't cross the thin line between this image and "seize the means of production", but we are not too far off. ]]>