Maria's accent comes from Sweden, but she is not so sure about the rest. Most of her books had to stay on the other side of the ocean and the rest she gave away while building a tiny house, which is probably why she wants to work in a bookstore. |
Our senses have developed to give us a functional picture of reality-- not an "accurate" mirroring of the world. Hoffman makes the case that evolutionary adaptation has made us perceive reality through heavily filtered lenses. Fun and easy to read.
I often want to take a break from human civilization and all its complications and fussiness, but rarely have any better ideas than island escapes, or long hikes. Thwaites "took a holiday from being human" -- he became a goat! I've rarely read anything as fascinating.
I absolutely loved this book- one of the most direct explorations of what it means to be enlightened while living in the human form. It is a memoir of a monk's escape from his monastery, to self-imposed homelessness to find his true home in the world. From dealing with intense anxiety on train rides, to embarrassment while having to beg for food, we follow Yongey's journey toward freedom, His near-death experience illuminates his life-long Bardo training and shows the deep peace and generous love that is there for all.
I was surprised how touched I was by The Ramayana, and that I would come to consider it my favorite spiritual text. On more than one occasion, I was moved to tears by Rama's and Sita's commitment to the dharma and their unfailing goodness. This particular version is written in a very clear and simple prose; helping turn ancient mythology into a heart-wrenching page-turner.
Merton himself was a Catholic mystic, but had a deep understanding of the essence of Zen philosophy that I've ever read. I appreciate Merton's insistence on interfaith respect and understanding.
The one philosophy book you need! Loy pulls insights from both Eastern and Western philosophy, in particular Buddhism, Existentialism, and Psychololgy and blends them into an enlightening whole. It is interesting as history of thought, but also a hopeful way out of the nihilism left in the wake of much of Western thought.
I love Murakami's surreal universe-- Dark and violent, it possesses soulful beauty and inner quietness. A cast of solitary characters search , often in vain, for something or someone lost. Kafka on the Shore, Dance, Dance, Dance and Killing Commendatore are all as moody and dreamy with glimmers of sweetness.
In this exquisite essay on the Japanese sense for aesthetics, Tanizaki muses on everything from architecture and design to natural beauty and electric light. He praises the shadows, the dark corners, the weathered and used, over the sparking and pristine. A certain beauty can only be found with "the glory of grime" as he so aptly writes.
The devil visits Moscow in this satirical, darkly funny, and philosophical novel Relying on symbolisms to be able to critique Stalin's regime, Bulgakov still got censored for his masterful work. With visits to the insane asylum, a talking cat, Pontius Pilate's headache of Yeshua's execution, and a rompous dance in hell- the story keeps you awake and amazed, In the midst of the seeming madness is tenderness and deep humanity.
I recommend anything by Woolf, but on the top of my list are The Waves, To the Lighthouse, Mrs. Dalloway, Orlando, In Between the Acts, and her diaries. I love to spend time with her gorgeous mind- hyper rational yet poetical. Her self-insight is pitiless and piercing, but never falsely modest (something I loathe), which often makes her unintentionally funny (something I love). I'd read her grocery lists.
I picekd up this book randomly and was immediately drawn into the world of movie producers and writers and randomly famous and not so famous people. Side-by-side are letters and diary snippets from the 1500's to no-- giving you a historical snapshot.
A new facorite-- I devoured it in little over one sitting. It is a fictionalized memoir centered on Ullman's relationships with her world-renowned parents Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullman. Dream and hyper-realism merge to creat a subtle yet rich book that almost reads like a haiku-- just gorgeous.
