If you lean to the left and have a sense of humour there is no one better than Vonnegut, and no book better than this. His mixture of wit, and ascerbiIf you lean to the left and have a sense of humour there is no one better than Vonnegut, and no book better than this. His mixture of wit, and ascerbic tone make for an aisle rolling read....more
You catch a glimpse of what Kerouac became in the writing of this book. It's a little ragged around the edges. Some of the characters develop well whiYou catch a glimpse of what Kerouac became in the writing of this book. It's a little ragged around the edges. Some of the characters develop well while other just lack any reason to be in the story at all. There are few, if any, great phrases but the writing seems solid enough. Worth the read....more
This collection of shorts was a mixed bag. I really enjoyed "Alone On A Mountaintop" and it makes me want to read Desolation Angels, and re-read DharmThis collection of shorts was a mixed bag. I really enjoyed "Alone On A Mountaintop" and it makes me want to read Desolation Angels, and re-read Dharma Bums. "Big Trip To Europe" was very good too. I loved the insight into travelling in the fifties from a beat author point of view....more
An exploration of healing the inner child from the Buddhist point of view. It made for a good read, if a very quick one. The book is made up of transcAn exploration of healing the inner child from the Buddhist point of view. It made for a good read, if a very quick one. The book is made up of transcripts of dharma talks given by Hanh over a 10 year period. The downside can be that this makes for a little bit of a disjointed flow, but the ideas in the chapters are well worth thinking over....more
I described this book to someone as "What you would get if Stephen King came up with the idea for Walking Dead, and asked Michael Crichton to write itI described this book to someone as "What you would get if Stephen King came up with the idea for Walking Dead, and asked Michael Crichton to write it." It's very good, although it felt like I read four different books. There are definate branches in the story. That's not a bad thing, but it does feel like you've read a series when you're done. Onto the next book!...more
Kornfield writes a kind of overview of modern buddhist thought from a western perspective. The most interesting sections of this book dealt with an hoKornfield writes a kind of overview of modern buddhist thought from a western perspective. The most interesting sections of this book dealt with an honest examination of what the realities of buddism in Asia versus buddhism in North America are and how they differ. His chapters on some of the better known personalities in modern buddhism are very good as well....more
Like most of his books, Bryson tells his story of selected travels along the Appalachian Trail with a definite sense of humour. While I'm not sure of Like most of his books, Bryson tells his story of selected travels along the Appalachian Trail with a definite sense of humour. While I'm not sure of the truth of all the stories he shares, or of the characters he paints, I enjoyed them. Well worth reading....more
Navigator was a bit of a letdown. The overall feel of the book was lessened by a constant stream of "I have one more secret" that was tiresome after tNavigator was a bit of a letdown. The overall feel of the book was lessened by a constant stream of "I have one more secret" that was tiresome after the first occurence. As I said to another reader it felt like an episode of Columbo!
The descriptions of northern exporation, and the characters of the explorers were good enough to make me look up the actual people that the charactors were based on. This was the only saving grace of the book....more
"Instead of having some object of worship we just concentrate on the activity we do in each moment". Read the book."Instead of having some object of worship we just concentrate on the activity we do in each moment". Read the book....more
While I enjoyed the portions dealing with Buddhist idealogy, I didn't really enjoy the deep discussions of Buddhist cosmology. Some of the best parts While I enjoyed the portions dealing with Buddhist idealogy, I didn't really enjoy the deep discussions of Buddhist cosmology. Some of the best parts for me were the examination of transition, and non attachment, and the ideas behind the Buddhist point of view on death and the bardo's. I also enjoyed the description of tonglen.
A lot of the more esoteric aspects of Buddhism hold no appeal to me and I found their discussion a little thick....more
I find Das to be one of the more clearly spoken of the western Buddhist writers. For whatever reason he is able to put his ideas in a way that I underI find Das to be one of the more clearly spoken of the western Buddhist writers. For whatever reason he is able to put his ideas in a way that I understand on a few levels....more
Good primer on what's required to keep goldfish. Presented in a clear and understandable way.Good primer on what's required to keep goldfish. Presented in a clear and understandable way....more
I wasn't quite suffering from the zeal of the converted after reading Awakening, but it was a close thing! At this point in my life a lot of the ideasI wasn't quite suffering from the zeal of the converted after reading Awakening, but it was a close thing! At this point in my life a lot of the ideas the author discusses are appealing. He, being a Jewish kid from New York City once upon a time, has a unique outlook on buddhist thought, and he manages to translate the concepts well for a western audience. I've been interested in these ideas for many years and it was time to read more. I was lucky to find this book first and I will be looking for the others by Lama Surya Das. This one made me sit down and make notes of works and concepts to research and, to me, that is always a sign of a book to keep and look back on often....more
Tagore created a spiritual powerhouse in these prose pictures. It works on so many levels. It can inspirational. It can make you sad, or realise what Tagore created a spiritual powerhouse in these prose pictures. It works on so many levels. It can inspirational. It can make you sad, or realise what being a human means at the end of the day.
Only in the last verse does he use the name God. In the rest his word usage, or that of the translator, is quite generic but but effective.
You can read it in an hour, as I did. But I think I'll go back from time to time....more
An exhaustively footnoted and sourced book. If you enjoy academic history this book is worth the time and effort to read. The author does a great job An exhaustively footnoted and sourced book. If you enjoy academic history this book is worth the time and effort to read. The author does a great job at really fleshing out the subject, and his desire to began the country that becomes Canada. He makes a good case for Champlain as the bastard son of Henry IV of France, but then he ceases to mention it for the rest of the book. I think it might have been a reason for some of the advantages that Champlain had in the early part of his career. The apendices he writes are a little bit too much for me but the book itself was eye opening in a lot of ways....more
Loading...
