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veeronald's reviews
119 reviews
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate by Peter Wohlleben
4.0
A most human way to wonder about, understand, and appreciate trees.
Wenjack by Joseph Boyden
4.0
Boyden is a craftsman in subtlety, of things not needing to be said, and of forming breathing landscapes out of everything from myth to colonial wounds to the writing itself.
Such a small book, but such a long story.
Such a small book, but such a long story.
How to Sit by Thích Nhất Hạnh
3.0
Such a wonderful little book. I found a number of insightful tips about meditation and perspective, without being bogged down by lists, routines, or rituals; all of this is told to you as if someone was in front of you, talking you through the process - including the guided meditations at the end.
And yet, despite being so small, I couldn't help thinking that the nuggets of Zen teachings were lost in a sea of aphorisms and strange pseudoscience (like 'habit energies' and 'spiritual ancestors', 'collective energies', etc.).
Nevertheless, it was short, sweet, and left me smiling, as though I had just risen from meditation.
And yet, despite being so small, I couldn't help thinking that the nuggets of Zen teachings were lost in a sea of aphorisms and strange pseudoscience (like 'habit energies' and 'spiritual ancestors', 'collective energies', etc.).
Nevertheless, it was short, sweet, and left me smiling, as though I had just risen from meditation.
The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
4.0
A perfect and proper true story belonging to people rough against the world. Full of moonlight and trees, mending of cracks, and tending to things askew. And many angry apples.
There is no plot, there is only one character, and there is little dialogue; but there is story. Sometimes moving gently is what is needed. Such is the way of things.
There is no plot, there is only one character, and there is little dialogue; but there is story. Sometimes moving gently is what is needed. Such is the way of things.
How to Walk by Thích Nhất Hạnh
1.0
Like the other tiny books in this series, this one is full of aphorisms, anecdotes, and repetitious meanderings. And apparently lies, like: "A child is a bell of mindfulness" - really? It could easily have been summarized by a single paragraph of intentional thought.
I like Thich Nhat Hanh, but this series is irksome. It's an expensive, well-packaged notebook of everything that passed through his mind, at any given point, in no order, and with a lot of assumptive pseudoscience thrown in for good measure. Rather than being helpful or mindful (or, you could argue, being a practice in prolonged mindfulness in itself), the book seems like a monologue of things Which Nhat Hanh thinks about while he should be walking in mindfulness.
I like Thich Nhat Hanh, but this series is irksome. It's an expensive, well-packaged notebook of everything that passed through his mind, at any given point, in no order, and with a lot of assumptive pseudoscience thrown in for good measure. Rather than being helpful or mindful (or, you could argue, being a practice in prolonged mindfulness in itself), the book seems like a monologue of things Which Nhat Hanh thinks about while he should be walking in mindfulness.
Peeps by Scott Westerfeld
3.0
Surprisingly good. Really good.
I'm not one for YA. I'm not one for vampires. I'm not even one for urban-based light fiction. But Peeps was so very enjoyable. It's an intriguing twist on an overused genre, is plausibly grounded in reality, and has a surprisingly tidy story.
There is, however, an unfortunately weak B-story coupled with a rushed denouement that dead-ends at a corny finale - uncharacteristic of the rest of the book.
I'm not one for YA. I'm not one for vampires. I'm not even one for urban-based light fiction. But Peeps was so very enjoyable. It's an intriguing twist on an overused genre, is plausibly grounded in reality, and has a surprisingly tidy story.
There is, however, an unfortunately weak B-story coupled with a rushed denouement that dead-ends at a corny finale - uncharacteristic of the rest of the book.
Autumn by Ali Smith
Such a layered, subtle, bright, colourful, beautiful story, nothing short of (re)reading it wholly will do it justice.
Smith explores the commonality, the common land, of discrepancies, folding in themes and stories and lives alike from literature, art, film, music: the expression of our realities as they meet with the stories we tell ourselves. She Demands your consciousness as your eyes skip from one word to the next, from time to another, from one person to another.
"Look at the colour of it" the book demands. Look, listen; and begin your dialogue.
Smith explores the commonality, the common land, of discrepancies, folding in themes and stories and lives alike from literature, art, film, music: the expression of our realities as they meet with the stories we tell ourselves. She Demands your consciousness as your eyes skip from one word to the next, from time to another, from one person to another.
"Look at the colour of it" the book demands. Look, listen; and begin your dialogue.
Make Good Art by Neil Gaiman, Chip Kidd
3.0
What can I say, I like cynically optimistic speeches. A bonus if they come in little books that require some twisting and turning to read the right side up - despite the unfortunate colour palette - and typography that reflects the contents, going as far as imposing spatial and physical breaks between ideas.
A quaint and imaginative way to spend 15 minutes.
A quaint and imaginative way to spend 15 minutes.