Dave's bookshelf: read en-US Mon, 07 Apr 2025 08:32:24 -0700 60 Dave's bookshelf: read 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg <![CDATA[JavaScript: The Definitive Guide - Master the World's Most-Used Programming Language, Seventh Edition]]> 61157620 687 David Flanagan 9352139968 Dave 0 to-read 4.88 1996 JavaScript: The Definitive Guide - Master the World's Most-Used Programming Language, Seventh Edition
author: David Flanagan
name: Dave
average rating: 4.88
book published: 1996
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Art And Craft of Problem Solving]]> 593458 366 Paul Zeitz 0471789011 Dave 0 to-read 4.59 1999 The Art And Craft of Problem Solving
author: Paul Zeitz
name: Dave
average rating: 4.59
book published: 1999
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Win (Windsor Horne Lockwood III, #1)]]> 53916157 The new novel from Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author and creator of The Stranger on Netflix.

From a #1 New York Times bestselling author comes this thrilling story that shows what happens when a dead man's secrets fall into the hands of vigilante antihero—drawing him down a dangerous road.

Over twenty years ago, the heiress Patricia Lockwood was abducted during a robbery of her family's estate, then locked inside an isolated cabin for months. Patricia escaped, but so did her captors � and the items stolen from her family were never recovered.

Until now. On the Upper West Side, a recluse is found murdered in his penthouse apartment, alongside two objects of note: a stolen Vermeer painting and a leather suitcase bearing the initials WHL3. For the first time in years, the authorities have a lead � not only on Patricia's kidnapping, but also on another FBI cold case � with the suitcase and painting both pointing them toward one man.

Windsor Horne Lockwood III � or Win, as his few friends call him � doesn't know how his suitcase and his family's stolen painting ended up with a dead man. But his interest is piqued, especially when the FBI tells him that the man who kidnapped his cousin was also behind an act of domestic terrorism � and that the conspirators may still be at large. The two cases have baffled the FBI for decades, but Win has three things the FBI doesn't: a personal connection to the case; an ungodly fortune; and his own unique brand of justice.]]> 375 Harlan Coben 1538748215 Dave 3 3.95 2021 Win (Windsor Horne Lockwood III, #1)
author: Harlan Coben
name: Dave
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/23
date added: 2025/03/23
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Listen: Five Simple Tools to Meet Your Everyday Parenting Challenges]]> 30781430
Five surprising things parents will

- You don't have to reward or punish willful children to get them to cooperate.
- Aggressive kids are frightened kids, and there are simple tools to ease their fear so they don't need to lash out.
- Your willingness to just listen to crying or tantrums often is enough to heal a child's fears and hurts.
- Safe play during which your kid becomes the boss can reveal his hidden feelings-- and heal them too.
- Parents who regularly listen to one another's struggles, without judging or advising, often clear so much toxic emotion that their children benefit greatly.]]> 356 Patty Wipfler 0997459301 Dave 0 4.33 2016 Listen: Five Simple Tools to Meet Your Everyday Parenting Challenges
author: Patty Wipfler
name: Dave
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2016
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: currently-reading, communication, kids, parenting
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI]]> 198678736 **A New York Times Bestseller**

'Co-Intelligence is the very best book I know about the ins, outs, and ethics of generative AI. Drop everything and read it cover to cover NOW' Angela Duckworth

Consumer AI has arrived. And with it, inescapable upheaval as we grapple with what it means for our jobs, lives and the future of humanity.

Cutting through the noise of AI evangelists and AI doom-mongers, Wharton professor Ethan Mollick has become one of the most prominent and provocative explainers of AI, focusing on the practical aspects of how these new tools for thought can transform our world. In Co-Intelligence, he urges us to engage with AI as co-worker, co-teacher and coach. Wide ranging, hugely thought-provoking and optimistic, Co-Intelligence reveals the promise and power of this new era.]]> 243 Ethan Mollick 075356078X Dave 0 3.97 2024 Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI
author: Ethan Mollick
name: Dave
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/03
shelves: currently-reading, artificial-intelligence, futurism
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Coming to Wholeness: How to Awaken and Live with Ease (The Wholeness Work Book 1)]]> 42348332 266 Connirae Andreas 0911226524 Dave 4 4.31 Coming to Wholeness: How to Awaken and Live with Ease (The Wholeness Work Book 1)
author: Connirae Andreas
name: Dave
average rating: 4.31
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/03
date added: 2025/02/03
shelves: meditation, somatic, spirituality
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much]]> 17286670
A surprising and intriguing examination of how scarcity—and our flawed responses to it—shapes our lives, our society, and our culture

Why do successful people get things done at the last minute? Why does poverty persist? Why do organizations get stuck firefighting? Why do the lonely find it hard to make friends? These questions seem unconnected, yet Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir show that they are all are examples of a mind-set produced by scarcity.

Drawing on cutting-edge research from behavioral science and economics, Mullainathan and Shafir show that scarcity creates a similar psychology for everyone struggling to manage with less than they need. Busy people fail to manage their time efficiently for the same reasons the poor and those maxed out on credit cards fail to manage their money. The dynamics of scarcity reveal why dieters find it hard to resist temptation, why students and busy executives mismanage their time, and why sugarcane farmers are smarter after harvest than before. Once we start thinking in terms of scarcity and the strategies it imposes, the problems of modern life come into sharper focus.

Mullainathan and Shafir discuss how scarcity affects our daily lives, recounting anecdotes of their own foibles and making surprising connections that bring this research alive. Their book provides a new way of understanding why the poor stay poor and the busy stay busy, and it reveals not only how scarcity leads us astray but also how individuals and organizations can better manage scarcity for greater satisfaction and success.

]]> 304 Sendhil Mullainathan 0805092641 Dave 0 to-read 3.91 2013 Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much
author: Sendhil Mullainathan
name: Dave
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/03
shelves: to-read
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]]> Focusing 666175 technique for personal transformation

Based on groundbreaking research conducted at the University of Chicago, the focusing technique has gained widespread popularity and scholarly acclaim. It consists of six easy-to-master steps that identify and change the way thoughts and emotions are held within the body. Focusing can be done virtually anywhere, at any time, and an entire “session� can take no longer than ten minutes, but its effects can be felt immediately–in the relief of bodily tension and psychological stress, as well as in dramatic shifts in understanding and insight.

In this highly accessible guide, Dr. Eugene Gendlin, the award-winning psychologist who developed the focusing technique, explains the basic principles behind focusing and offers simple step-by-step instructions on how to utilize this powerful tool for tapping into greater self-awareness and inner wisdom. As you learn to develop your natural ability to “focus,� you’ll find yourself more in sync with both mind and body, filled with greater self-assurance, and better equipped to make the positive changes necessary to improve and enhance every aspect of your life.]]> 224 Eugene T. Gendlin 0553278339 Dave 0 to-read 3.93 1978 Focusing
author: Eugene T. Gendlin
name: Dave
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1978
rating: 0
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date added: 2025/01/01
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[How to Think Like a Lawyer—And Why: A Common-Sense Guide to Everyday Dilemmas]]> 56645967 Wehle shows you how to break complex issues down into digestible, easier-to-understand pieces that will enable you to make better decisions in all areas of your life.]]> 208 Kim Wehle 0063067560 Dave 0 to-read 3.25 How to Think Like a Lawyer—And Why: A Common-Sense Guide to Everyday Dilemmas
author: Kim Wehle
name: Dave
average rating: 3.25
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/12/25
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race that Will Change the World]]> 199809440
In November of 2022, a webpage was posted online with a simple text box. It was an AI chatbot called ChatGPT, and was unlike any app people had used before. It was more human than a customer service agent, more convenient than a Google search. Behind the scenes, battles for control and prestige between the world’s two leading AI firms, OpenAI and DeepMind, who now steers Google's AI efforts, has remained elusive - until now.

In Supremacy, Olson, tech writer at Bloomberg, tells the astonishing story of the battle between these two AI firms, their struggles to use their tech for good, and the hazardous direction they could go as they serve two tech monopolies whose power is unprecedented in history. The story focuses on the continuing rivalry of two key CEOs at the center of it all, who cultivated a religion around their mission to build god-like super intelligent machines: Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Demis Hassabis, the CEO of DeepMind.

Supremacy sharply alerts readers to the real threat of artificial intelligence that its top creators are ignoring: the profit-driven spread of flawed and biased technology into industries, education, media and more. With exclusive access to a network of high-ranking sources, Parmy Olson uses her 13 years of experience covering technology to bring to light the exploitation of the greatest invention in human history, and how it will impact us all.]]> 336 Parmy Olson 1250337747 Dave 0 to-read 4.02 2024 Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race that Will Change the World
author: Parmy Olson
name: Dave
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/12/25
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Science of Enlightenment: Teachings and Meditations for Awakening Through Self-Investigation]]> 1663855 656 Shinzen Young 1591792320 Dave 5 4.24 1998 The Science of Enlightenment: Teachings and Meditations for Awakening Through Self-Investigation
author: Shinzen Young
name: Dave
average rating: 4.24
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/22
date added: 2024/12/22
shelves: spirituality, buddhism, meditation
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World]]> 10483171
In our search for truth, how far have we advanced? This uniquely human quest for good explanations has driven amazing improvements in everything from scientific understanding and technology to politics, moral values and human welfare. But will progress end, either in catastrophe or completion - or will it continue infinitely?

In this profound and seminal book, David Deutsch explores the furthest reaches of our current understanding, taking in the Infinity Hotel, supernovae and the nature of optimism, to instill in all of us a wonder at what we have achieved - and the fact that this is only the beginning of humanity's infinite possibility.

'This is Deutsch at his most ambitious, seeking to understand the implications of our scientific explanations of the world ... I enthusiastically recommend this rich, wide-ranging and elegantly written exposition of the unique insights of one of our most original intellectuals' Michael Berry, Times Higher Education Supplement

'Bold ... profound ... provocative and persuasive' Economist

'David Deutsch may well go down in history as one of the great scientists of our age' Scotsman]]> 487 David Deutsch 0670022756 Dave 0 currently-reading 4.16 2011 The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World
author: David Deutsch
name: Dave
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/11
shelves: currently-reading
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]]> Ubik 22590
Esta mordaz comedia metafísica de muerte y salvación (que podrá llevar un cómodo envase) es un tour de force de amenaza paranoica y comedia absurda, en la cual los muertos ofrecen consejos comerciales, compran su siguiente reencarnación y corren el riesgo continuo de volver a morir.]]> 288 Philip K. Dick 8498000831 Dave 4 scifi 4.11 1969 Ubik
author: Philip K. Dick
name: Dave
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1969
rating: 4
read at: 2024/11/23
date added: 2024/11/23
shelves: scifi
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Joseph Campbell: A Fire in the Mind]]> 401667
� Gives a complete biographical view of Campbell's life and a personal perspective of who he was through the voices of his friends and colleagues

� Written by two of Campbell's preeminent students with exclusive access to his notes and journals

Joseph Campbell forged an approach to the study of myth and legend that made ancient traditions and beliefs immediate, relevant, and universal. His teachings and literary works, including The Masks of God , have shown that beneath the apparent themes of world mythology lie patterns that reveal the ways in which we all may encounter the great mysteries of birth, growth, soul development, and death. Biographers Stephen and Robin Larsen, students and friends of Campbell for more than 20 years, weave a rich tapestry of stories and insights that catalogue both his personal and public triumphs.]]> 688 Stephen Larsen 0892818735 Dave 0 to-read 4.38 1991 Joseph Campbell: A Fire in the Mind
author: Stephen Larsen
name: Dave
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1991
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/11/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness]]> 41016873 The landmark work on mindfulness, meditation, and healing, now completely revised and updated after twenty-five years

Stress. It can sap our energy, undermine our health if we let it, even shorten our lives. It makes us more vulnerable to anxiety and depression, disconnection and disease. Based on Jon Kabat-Zinn’s renowned mindfulness-based stress reduction program, this classic, groundbreaking work—which gave rise to a whole new field in medicine and psychology—shows you how to use medically proven mind-body approaches derived from meditation and yoga to counteract stress, establish greater balance of body and mind, and stimulate well-being and healing. By engaging in these mindfulness practices and integrating them into your life from moment to moment and from day to day, you can learn to manage chronic pain, promote optimal healing, reduce anxiety and feelings of panic, and improve the overall quality of your life, relationships, and social networks. This second edition features the results of recent studies of the science of mindfulness, a new Introduction, up-to-date statistics, and an extensive updated reading list. Full Catastrophe Living is a book for the young and the old, the well, the ill, and anyone trying to live a healthier and saner life in our fast-paced world.

Praise for Full Catastrophe Living

“One of the great classics of mind/body medicine . . . More than any other, Full Catastrophe Living is the book that enabled Americans to discover the inner life. This book has brought peace of mind to hundreds and thousands of people and healed countless lives. This is your chance to let it heal yours.”—Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D., author of Kitchen Table Wisdom

“A wonderful guidebook for those of us who choose life and healing . . . I hope you all make that choice and read the book.”—Bernie S. Siegel, M.D., author of Love, Medicine & Miracles

“Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn eloquently explains the power of paying attention and increasing awareness. I strongly recommend this book for everyone who wants to begin healing their life.”—Dean Ornish, M.D., author of Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program for Reversing Heart Disease]]> 722 Jon Kabat-Zinn 0345539729 Dave 0 to-read 4.04 1990 Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness
author: Jon Kabat-Zinn
name: Dave
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1990
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Book Thief 42628604 560 Markus Zusak Dave 0 paused 4.52 2005 The Book Thief
author: Markus Zusak
name: Dave
average rating: 4.52
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/11/07
shelves: paused
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Mindbody Prescription: Healing the Body, Healing the Pain]]> 361775
Musculoskeletal pain disorders have reached epidemic proportions in the United States, with most doctors failing to recognize their underlying cause. In this acclaimed volume, Dr. Sarno reveals how many painful conditions-including most neck and back pain, migraine, repetitive stress injuries, whiplash, and tendonitises-are rooted in repressed emotions, and shows how they can be successfully treated without drugs, physical measures, or surgery.

"My life was filled with excruciating back and shoulder pain until I applied Dr. Sarno's principles, and in a matter of weeks my back pain disappeared. I never suffered a single symptom again...I owe Dr. Sarno my life." - Howard Stern]]> 210 John E. Sarno 0446675156 Dave 0 3.97 1998 The Mindbody Prescription: Healing the Body, Healing the Pain
author: John E. Sarno
name: Dave
average rating: 3.97
book published: 1998
rating: 0
read at: 2024/11/05
date added: 2024/11/05
shelves:
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]]> The Dragon's Banker 49405286
But when a spell of bad fortune and bitter rivalry leaves him scrambling to turn a profit on little more than winds and whispers, one such whisper catches Sailor’s ear� a dragon has been seen in the west.

Sailor soon finds that the dragons are very real, and not at all what he expected. And they practice a very different sort of economy � one of subterfuge and fire.


With bonus novelette: Forego Quest

What if you were the hero of every song, story, and legend?
What if you didn’t want to be?
Find out in this hilarious fantasy short.]]> 255 Scott Warren 0578552922 Dave 0 to-read 4.06 2019 The Dragon's Banker
author: Scott Warren
name: Dave
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Experience Machine: How Our Minds Predict and Shape Reality]]> 61028382 320 Andy Clark 024139452X Dave 0 to-read 3.88 2023 The Experience Machine: How Our Minds Predict and Shape Reality
author: Andy Clark
name: Dave
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/10/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model]]> 58425429 Discover an empowering new way of understanding your multifaceted mind—and healing the many parts that make you who you are.

Is there just one “you�? We’ve been taught to believe we have a single identity, and to feel fear or shame when we can’t control the inner voices that don’t match the ideal of who we think we should be. Yet Dr. Richard Schwartz’s research now challenges this “mono-mind� theory. “All of us are born with many sub-minds—or parts,� says Dr. Schwartz. “These parts are not imaginary or symbolic. They are individuals who exist as an internal family within us—and the key to health and happiness is to honor, understand, and love every part.�

Dr. Schwartz’s Internal Family Systems (IFS) model has been transforming psychology for decades. With No Bad Parts, you’ll learn why IFS has been so effective in areas such as trauma recovery, addiction therapy, and depression treatment—and how this new understanding of consciousness has the potential to radically change our lives. Here you’ll explore:

� The IFS revolution—how honoring and communicating with our parts changes our approach to mental wellness
� Overturning the cultural, scientific, and spiritual assumptions that reinforce an outdated mono-mind model
� The ego, the inner critic, the saboteur—making these often-maligned parts into powerful allies
� Burdens—why our parts become distorted and stuck in childhood traumas and cultural beliefs
� How IFS demonstrates human goodness by revealing that there are no bad parts
� The Self—discover your wise, compassionate essence of goodness that is the source of healing and harmony
� Exercises for mapping your parts, accessing the Self, working with a challenging protector, identifying each part’s triggers, and more

IFS is a paradigm-changing model because it gives us a powerful approach for healing ourselves, our culture, and our planet. As Dr. Schwartz teaches, “Our parts can sometimes be disruptive or harmful, but once they’re unburdened, they return to their essential goodness. When we learn to love all our parts, we can learn to love all people—and that will contribute to healing the world.�

]]> 200 Richard C. Schwartz 168364669X Dave 0 paused 4.25 2021 No Bad Parts: Healing Trauma and Restoring Wholeness with the Internal Family Systems Model
author: Richard C. Schwartz
name: Dave
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: paused
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman]]> 22155
From his youth as the son of a French Canadian blacksmith to the thrilling, ambitious climbing expeditions that inspired his innovative designs for the sport's equipment, Let My People Go Surfing is the story of a man who brought doing good and having grand adventures into the heart of his business life-a book that will deeply affect entrepreneurs and outdoor enthusiasts alike.

A newly revised edition of Let My People Go Surfing is available now.]]> 272 Yvon Chouinard 0143037838 Dave 0 to-read 4.16 2006 Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman
author: Yvon Chouinard
name: Dave
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Buddha, Geoff and Me: A Modern Story]]> 191617 288 Edward Canfor-Dumas 1844135683 Dave 3 4.11 2005 The Buddha, Geoff and Me: A Modern Story
author: Edward Canfor-Dumas
name: Dave
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/18
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves: buddhism, religion, spirituality
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse]]> 43708884
Here, you will find them together in this book of Charlie's most-loved drawings, adventuring into the Wild and exploring the thoughts and feelings that unite us all.]]> 128 Charlie Mackesy 1529105102 Dave 2 4.56 2019 The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse
author: Charlie Mackesy
name: Dave
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2019
rating: 2
read at: 2024/09/11
date added: 2024/09/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Book of Not Knowing: Exploring the True Nature of Self, Mind, and Consciousness]]> 9315473 For fans of Eckhart Tolle—a guide to mastering self-awareness through direct experience rather than old presumptions or harmful thought patternsThrough decades of martial arts and meditation practice, Peter Ralston discovered a curious and paradoxical that true awareness arises from a state of not-knowing.Even the most sincere investigation of self and spirit, he says, is often sabotaged by our tendency to grab too quickly for answers and ideas as we retreat to the safety of the known. This "Hitchhiker’s Guide to Awareness" provides helpful guideposts along an experiential journey for those Western minds predisposed to wandering off to old habits, cherished presumptions, and a stubbornly solid sense of self. With ease and clarity, Ralston teaches readers how to become aware of the background patterns that they are usually too busy, stressed, or distracted to notice.The Book of Not Knowingpoints out the ways people get stuck in their lives and offers readers a way to make fresh choices about every aspect of their lives—from a place of awareness instead of autopilot.]]> 601 Peter Ralston 1583942971 Dave 0 to-read 4.41 2010 The Book of Not Knowing: Exploring the True Nature of Self, Mind, and Consciousness
author: Peter Ralston
name: Dave
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2010
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/07
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Letting Go: The Pathway To Surrender]]> 16098910 368 David R. Hawkins 193388598X Dave 4 spirituality 4.13 2012 Letting Go: The Pathway To Surrender
author: David R. Hawkins
name: Dave
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/27
date added: 2024/08/18
shelves: spirituality
review:

]]> Blindness 40495148 From Nobel Prize–winning author José Saramago, a magnificent, mesmerizing parable of loss

A city is hit by an epidemic of "white blindness" that spares no one. Authorities confine the blind to an empty mental hospital, but there the criminal element holds everyone captive, stealing food rations, and assaulting women. There is one eyewitness to this nightmare who guides her charges—among them a boy with no mother, a girl with dark glasses, a dog of tears—through the barren streets, and their procession becomes as uncanny as the surroundings are harrowing. As Blindness reclaims the age-old story of a plague, it evokes the vivid and trembling horrors of the twentieth century, leaving readers with a powerful vision of the human spirit that's bound both by weakness and exhilarating strength.]]> 349 José Saramago Dave 0 to-read 4.17 1995 Blindness
author: José Saramago
name: Dave
average rating: 4.17
book published: 1995
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/13
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Blindsight (Firefall, #1) 48484 Two months since the stars fell...

Two months since sixty-five thousand alien objects clenched around the Earth like a luminous fist, screaming to the heavens as the atmosphere burned them to ash. Two months since that moment of brief, bright surveillance by agents unknown.

Two months of silence while a world holds its breath.

Now some half-derelict space probe, sparking fitfully past Neptune’s orbit, hears a whisper from the edge of the solar system: a faint signal sweeping the cosmos like a lighthouse beam. Whatever’s out there isn’t talking to us. It’s talking to some distant star, perhaps. Or perhaps to something closer, something en route.

So who do you send to force introductions on an intelligence with motives unknown, maybe unknowable? Who do you send to meet the alien when the alien doesn’t want to meet?

You send a linguist with multiple personalities, her brain surgically partitioned into separate, sentient processing cores. You send a biologist so radically interfaced with machinery that he sees X-rays and tastes ultrasound, so compromised by grafts and splices he no longer feels his own flesh. You send a pacifist warrior in the faint hope she won’t be needed, and a fainter hope she’ll do any good if she is needed. You send a monster to command them all, an extinct hominid predator once called “vampire,� recalled from the grave with the voodoo of recombinant genetics and the blood of sociopaths. And you send a synthesist � an informational topologist with half his mind gone � as an interface between here and there, a conduit through which the Dead Center might hope to understand the Bleeding Edge.

You send them all to the edge of interstellar space, praying you can trust such freaks and retrofits with the fate of a world. You fear they may be more alien than the thing they’ve been sent to find.

But you’d give anything for that to be true, if you only knew what was waiting for them…]]> 384 Peter Watts 0765312182 Dave 0 scifi, to-read 4.01 2006 Blindsight (Firefall, #1)
author: Peter Watts
name: Dave
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves: scifi, to-read
review:

]]> Misery 383137 Simplified adaptation with language-learning materials.
[Penguin Readers Level 6]

Paul Sheldon is Annie Wilkes' favourite writer. She loves all his books about Misery Chastain. When she finds Paul injured after a car crash and takes him home she learns that he has decided to end the series by killing off Misery. Soon Paul's biggest fan turns into his biggest enemy and his nightmare begins! By the master of horror, Stephen King, this will keep you on the edge of your seat!]]> 96 Robin Waterfield 3526418292 Dave 0 4.50 1987 Misery
author: Robin Waterfield
name: Dave
average rating: 4.50
book published: 1987
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
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]]> Wilt (Wilt, #1) 420966
After a peculiarly nasty experience at a party thrown by particularly nasty Americans, Wilt finds himself in several embarrassing positions: Eva stalks out in stratospheric dudgeon, and Wilt, under the inspiration of gin, puts one of his more vindictive fantasies into effect. But suspicions are instantly aroused and Wilt rapidly achieves an unenviable notoriety in the role of The Man Helping Police With Their Enquiries. Or is he exactly helping? Wilt's problem -although he's on the other side of the fence -is the same as Inspector Flint's: where is Eva Wilt? But Wilt begins to flourish in the heat of the investigation, and as the police stoke the flames of circumstantial evidence, Wilt deploys all his powers to show that the Law can't tell a Missing Person from a hole in the ground.]]> 336 Tom Sharpe 0099435489 Dave 4 fiction, comedy 3.95 1976 Wilt (Wilt, #1)
author: Tom Sharpe
name: Dave
average rating: 3.95
book published: 1976
rating: 4
read at: 2024/08/04
date added: 2024/08/04
shelves: fiction, comedy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself]]> 1963638 The Untethered Soul offers simple yet profound answers to these questions.

Whether this is your first exploration of inner space, or you’ve devoted your life to the inward journey, this book will transform your relationship with yourself and the world around you. You’ll discover what you can do to put an end to the habitual thoughts and emotions that limit your consciousness. By tapping into traditions of meditation and mindfulness, author and spiritual teacher Michael A. Singer shows how the development of consciousness can enable us all to dwell in the present moment and let go of painful thoughts and memories that keep us from achieving happiness and self-realization.

Copublished with the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) The Untethered Soul begins by walking you through your relationship with your thoughts and emotions, helping you uncover the source and fluctuations of your inner energy. It then delves into what you can do to free yourself from the habitual thoughts, emotions, and energy patterns that limit your consciousness. Finally, with perfect clarity, this book opens the door to a life lived in the freedom of your innermost being.]]> 183 Michael A. Singer Dave 5 spirituality 4.19 2007 The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself
author: Michael A. Singer
name: Dave
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2024/08/04
date added: 2024/08/04
shelves: spirituality
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Verses from the Center: A Buddhist Vision of the Sublime]]> 596071 208 岵ܲԲ 1573228761 Dave 0 paused 3.88 2001 Verses from the Center: A Buddhist Vision of the Sublime
author: 岵ܲԲ
name: Dave
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2001
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/31
shelves: paused
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Portable Jung (Portable Library)]]> 67885 oeuvre within the context of his life and times.]]> 659 C.G. Jung 0140150706 Dave 0 psychology, mythology, paused 4.26 1971 The Portable Jung (Portable Library)
author: C.G. Jung
name: Dave
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1971
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/31
shelves: psychology, mythology, paused
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhanas]]> 25241895
One of the elements of the Eightfold Path is Right the one-pointedness of mind that, together with ethics, livelihood, meditation, and more, leads to the ultimate freedom from suffering. So how does one achieve Right Concentration? According to the Buddha himself, the jhānas —a series of eight progressive altered states of consciousness—are an essential method. But because the jhānas can usually be achieved only through prolonged meditation retreat, they have been shrouded in mystery for years.

Not anymore. In Right Concentration , Leigh Brasington takes away the mystique and gives instructions on how to achieve them in plain, accessible language. He notes the various pitfalls to avoid along the way and provides a wealth of material on the theory of jhāna practice—all geared toward the practitioner rather than the scholar. As Brasington proves, these states of bliss and concentration are attainable by anyone who devotes the time and sincerity of practice necessary to realize them.]]> 237 Leigh Brasington 1611802695 Dave 0 4.31 2015 Right Concentration: A Practical Guide to the Jhanas
author: Leigh Brasington
name: Dave
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/31
shelves: spirituality, meditation, paused
review:

]]> <![CDATA[I Am That: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj]]> 299869 This collection of the timeless teachings of one of the greatest sages of India, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, is a testament to the uniqueness of the seer's life and work and is regarded by many as a "modern spiritual classic".

I Am That preserves Maharaj's dialogues with the followers who came from around the world seeking his guidance in destroying false identities. The sage's sole concern was with human suffering and the ending of suffering. It was his mission to guide the individual to an understanding of his true nature and the timelessness of being. He taught that mind must recognize and penetrate its own state of being, "being this or that, here or that, then or now," but just timeless being.

]]> 550 Nisargadatta Maharaj 0893860220 Dave 0 paused 4.41 1973 I Am That: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
author: Nisargadatta Maharaj
name: Dave
average rating: 4.41
book published: 1973
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/31
shelves: paused
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Character of Physical Law (Penguin Press Science)]]> 19174074 212 Richard P. Feynman 0141956119 Dave 0 paused, physics, science 4.18 1964 The Character of Physical Law (Penguin Press Science)
author: Richard P. Feynman
name: Dave
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1964
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/07/31
shelves: paused, physics, science
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Living Untethered: Beyond the Human Predicament]]> 59552636 The book you need right now is finally here! From beloved spiritual teacher Michael A. Singer—author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, The Untethered Soul—this transformative and highly anticipated guide will be your compass on an exciting new journey toward self-realization and unconditional happiness.

Now more than ever, we’re all looking to feel more joy, happiness, and deeper meaning in our lives. But are we looking in all the wrong places? When our sense of wholeness depends on things or people outside ourselves—whether it’s a coveted job, a new house, a lavish vacation, or even a new relationship—sooner or later we’re bound to feel unsatisfied. That’s why we must look inside for real freedom, love, and inspiration. But how do we embark on this inner journey?

Living Untethered is the book to reach for. At once profoundly transcendent and powerfully practical, it provides clear guidance for moving beyond the thoughts, feelings, and habits that keep you stuck—so you can heal the pain of the past and let your spirit soar. On each page, you’ll discover a deeper understanding of where your thoughts and emotions come from, and how they affect your natural energy flow. Finally, you’ll find freedom from the psychological scars, or samskaras, that block you and keep you from reaching your highest potential.

It’s time to stop struggling and start experiencing. This miraculous book will show you how to put the spiritual teachings of Michael A. Singer into practice every day, and propel you toward a life of liberation, serenity, openness, and self-knowledge.

Isn’t it time you started Living Untethered?]]> 216 Michael A. Singer 1648480934 Dave 5 spirituality, business 4.38 2022 Living Untethered: Beyond the Human Predicament
author: Michael A. Singer
name: Dave
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/07/01
date added: 2024/07/29
shelves: spirituality, business
review:

]]> And Then There Were None 16299
"Ten little boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine. Nine little boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight. Eight little boys traveling in Devon; One said he'd stay there then there were seven. Seven little boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in half and then there were six. Six little boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five. Five little boys going in for law; One got in Chancery and then there were four. Four little boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three. Three little boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two. Two little boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was one. One little boy left all alone; He went out and hanged himself and then there were none."

When they realize that murders are occurring as described in the rhyme, terror mounts. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. Who has choreographed this dastardly scheme? And who will be left to tell the tale? Only the dead are above suspicion.]]> 264 Agatha Christie 0312330871 Dave 3 4.28 1939 And Then There Were None
author: Agatha Christie
name: Dave
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1939
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/18
date added: 2024/07/18
shelves:
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]]> <![CDATA[Hidden Zen: Practices for Sudden Awakening and Embodied Realization]]> 53749064
Though Zen is best known for the practices of koan introspection and "just sitting" or shikantaza, there are in fact many other practices transmitted in Zen lineages. In modern practice settings, students will find that Bodhidharma's words "direct pointing at the human mind" are little mentioned, or else taken to be simply a general descriptor of Zen rather than a crucial activity within Zen practice. Reversing this trend toward homogeneous and superficial understandings of Zen technique, Hidden Zen presents a diverse collection of practice instructions that are transmitted orally from teacher to student, unlocking a comprehensive path of awakening.

This book reveals and details, for the first time, a treasury of "direct pointing" and internal energy cultivation practices preserved in the Rinzai Zen tradition. The twenty-eight practices of direct pointing offered here illuminate one's innate clarity and, ultimately, the nature of mind itself. Over a dozen practices of internal energetic cultivation galvanize dramatic effects on the depth of one's meditative attainment. Hidden Zen affords a small taste of the richness of authentic Zen, helping readers grow beyond the bounds of introspection and sitting to find awakening itself.]]> 320 Meido Moore 1611808464 Dave 0 to-read 4.18 Hidden Zen: Practices for Sudden Awakening and Embodied Realization
author: Meido Moore
name: Dave
average rating: 4.18
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/16
shelves: to-read
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]]> Verity 59344312
Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity's recollection of what really happened the day her daughter died.

Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents would devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen's feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife's words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue to love her.]]> 336 Colleen Hoover 153872474X Dave 0 to-read 4.29 2018 Verity
author: Colleen Hoover
name: Dave
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/07/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Surrender Experiment: My Journey into Life's Perfection]]> 23164946 From the author of the New York Times #1 bestseller The Untethered Soul comes this thought-provoking, inspirational memoir on the magic that happens when you just let go

Spirituality is meant to bring about harmony and peace. But the diversity of our philosophies, beliefs, concepts, and views about the soul often leads to confusion. To reconcile the noise that clouds spirituality, Michael Singer combines accounts of his own life journey to enlightenment—from his years as a hippie-loner to his success as a computer program engineer to his work in spiritual and humanitarian efforts—with lessons on how to put aside conflicting beliefs, let go of worries, and transform misdirected desires. Singer provides a road map to a new way of living not in the moment, but to exist in a state of perpetual happiness.]]> 252 Michael A. Singer 080414110X Dave 4 4.00 2015 The Surrender Experiment: My Journey into Life's Perfection
author: Michael A. Singer
name: Dave
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2024/06/07
date added: 2024/06/07
shelves: business, meditation, spirituality
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment]]> 796429 480 Philip Kapleau 0385260938 Dave 0 to-read 4.07 1965 The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, and Enlightenment
author: Philip Kapleau
name: Dave
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1965
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/06/03
shelves: to-read
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]]> Meditation on Emptiness 1166877
This 1996 Revised Edition includes a critical edition of Jamyang Shêpa Ngawang Tsöndrü's root text Great Exposition of the Tenets (1689) in Tibetan text.]]> 1017 Jeffrey Hopkins 0861711106 Dave 0 to-read 4.46 1983 Meditation on Emptiness
author: Jeffrey Hopkins
name: Dave
average rating: 4.46
book published: 1983
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/05/25
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Harmony of Emptiness and Dependent-Arising]]> 1282521 160 Lobsang Gyatso 818510283X Dave 5 4.83 1992 Harmony of Emptiness and Dependent-Arising
author: Lobsang Gyatso
name: Dave
average rating: 4.83
book published: 1992
rating: 5
read at: 2024/05/25
date added: 2024/05/25
shelves:
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]]> Nutrition For Dummies 19798573
This new edition includes approx 20% new and updated material, including new chapters on nutrition in institutions and how to eat healthily on the go. New content also includes up-to-date health guidelines and government policies, information on probiotics and over the counter weight loss drugs, plus advice on how to eat well on a budget.

Nutrition For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Part The Basic Facts about Nutrition Chapter 1: What's Nutrition, Anyway? Chapter 2: The 24-Hour Food Factory Chapter 3: Why You Eat What You Eat and Like What You Like

Part What You Get from Food Chapter 4: Powerful Protein Chapter 5: The Lowdown on Fat and Cholesterol Chapter 6: The Energisers Chapter 7: A Complex Story Chapter 8: The Alcohol The Whole Truth Chapter 9: Vigorous Vitamins Chapter 10: Mighty Minerals Chapter 11: Phabulous Phytochemicals Chapter 12: Water Works

Part Healthy Eating Chapter 13: What Is a Healthy Diet? Chapter 14: Making Wise Food Choices Chapter 15 : Ensuring Good Nutrition Whoever You Are NEW! Chapter 16: Eating in Institutions NEW! Chapter 17: Being Nutritionally Savvy on the Go

Part Processed Food Chapter 18: What Is Processed Food? Chapter 19: Cooking and Keeping Food Chapter 20: Weird Examining Food Additives

Part Food and Health Chapter 21: Food and Allergies Chapter 22: Food and Mood Chapter 23: Food and Medicine Chapter 24: Food and Dietary Supplements

Part The Part of Tens Chapter 25: Ten Nutrition Web Sites You Can Trust Chapter 26: Ten Superfoods Chapter 27: Ten Fad The Truth Behind the Headlines]]> 540 Nigel Denby Dave 0 to-read 4.12 1997 Nutrition For Dummies
author: Nigel Denby
name: Dave
average rating: 4.12
book published: 1997
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/04/26
shelves: to-read
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]]> Preacher, Book 1 5428776
After merging with a bizarre spiritual force called Genesis, Texan preacher Jesse Custer has become completely disillusioned with the beliefs to which he had dedicated his entire life. Now possessing the power of "the word," an ability to make people do whatever he utters, Custer begins a violent and riotous journey across the country. Joined by his gun-toting girlfriend Tulip and the hard-drinking Irish vampire Cassidy, Custer loses faith in both God and man as he witnesses dark atrocities and improbable calamities during his exploration of America.

This new collected edition features an all-new introduction by series writer Garth Ennis.]]> 335 Garth Ennis 140122279X Dave 5 comics 4.41 2009 Preacher, Book 1
author: Garth Ennis
name: Dave
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/03/22
shelves: comics
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Technic and Magic: The Reconstruction of Reality]]> 36302721
Technic and Magicis an original philosophical work, and a timely cultural intervention. It disturbs our understanding of the structure of reality, while restoring it in a new form. This is possibly the most radical act: if we wish to change our world, first we have to change the idea of ‘reality� that defines it.]]> 256 Federico Campagna 1350044024 Dave 0 to-read 4.34 Technic and Magic: The Reconstruction of Reality
author: Federico Campagna
name: Dave
average rating: 4.34
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/03/04
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tidy First?: A Personal Exercise in Empirical Software Design]]> 171691901 122 Kent Beck 1098151240 Dave 0 to-read 3.88 Tidy First?: A Personal Exercise in Empirical Software Design
author: Kent Beck
name: Dave
average rating: 3.88
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/02/18
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes]]> 15803166
On Looking begins with inattention. It is not meant to help you focus on your reading of Tolstoy; it is not about how to multitask. Rather, it is about attending to the joys of the unattended, the perceived "ordinary." Horowitz encourages us to rediscover the extraordinary things that we are missing in our ordinary activities. Even when engaged in the simplest of activities - taking a walk around the block - we pay so little attention to most of what is right before us that we are sleepwalkers in our own lives. So turn off the phone and portable electronics and get into the real world, where you'll find there are worlds within worlds within worlds.]]> 308 Alexandra Horowitz 1439191255 Dave 0 to-read 3.48 2013 On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes
author: Alexandra Horowitz
name: Dave
average rating: 3.48
book published: 2013
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/02/06
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]]> <![CDATA[Notes on the Synthesis of Form]]> 320553
In the first part of the book, Christopher Alexander discusses the process by which a form is adapted to the context of human needs and demands that has called it into being. He shows that such an adaptive process will be successful only if it proceeds piecemeal instead of all at once. It is for this reason that forms from traditional un-self-conscious cultures, molded not by designers but by the slow pattern of changes within tradition, are so beautifully organized and adapted. When the designer, in our own self-conscious culture, is called on to create a form that is adapted to its context he is unsuccessful, because the preconceived categories out of which he builds his picture of the problem do not correspond to the inherent components of the problem, and therefore lead only to the arbitrariness, willfulness, and lack of understanding which plague the design of modern buildings and modern cities.

In the second part, Mr. Alexander presents a method by which the designer may bring his full creative imagination into play, and yet avoid the traps of irrelevant preconception. He shows that, whenever a problem is stated, it is possible to ignore existing concepts and to create new concepts, out of the structure of the problem itself, which do correspond correctly to what he calls the subsystems of the adaptive process. By treating each of these subsystems as a separate subproblem, the designer can translate the new concepts into form. The form, because of the process, will be well-adapted to its context, non-arbitrary, and correct.

The mathematics underlying this method, based mainly on set theory, is fully developed in a long appendix. Another appendix demonstrates the application of the method to the design of an Indian village.]]> 224 Christopher W. Alexander 0674627512 Dave 4 architecture, systems 4.05 1964 Notes on the Synthesis of Form
author: Christopher W. Alexander
name: Dave
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1964
rating: 4
read at: 2024/02/05
date added: 2024/02/05
shelves: architecture, systems
review:

]]> The Elements of Graphing Data 18619 technology. Many new ideas and methods;
many not widely known before. Excellent
methodological resource for research
workers.]]> William S. Cleveland 0963488414 Dave 0 to-read 4.07 1985 The Elements of Graphing Data
author: William S. Cleveland
name: Dave
average rating: 4.07
book published: 1985
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/21
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Path to Nibbana: How Mindfulness of Loving-Kindness Progresses through the Tranquil Aware Jhanas to Awakening]]> 34233847 Latest Edition with added chapters that dive deeper into the profound levels of mind than any other other book published. New Summary of progress and instructions chapter added for 2021. "Wow! Got your book. It is a major contribution. What is Nibbana? What is the experience and how to achieve it is in this book." Based on the earliest Buddhist Texts with information from the suttas never discussed before.This is a complete meditation handbook with all the instructions to achieve the goal and all of the levels of knowledge along the way. And now includes full text of "A Guide to Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation (TWIM)" and the full text of "A Guide to Forgiveness Meditation."

You will learn a different definition for Mindfulness that totally changes how you practice; and about a step in the text that has been left out of contemporary practices that is the key to the deepest levels of tranquility.

Learn the basics of Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation (TWIM) which is really the practice of Loving-kindness and the Brahmaviharas from the earliest Buddhist The Majjhima Nikaya and the Samyutta Nikaya. This book will guide you from the beginning stages to the highest attainments laid out clearly and concisely. Many previous students� experiences have been compiled and researched to create the basis for this book.

Additionally, other popular methods are compared here against the suttas to see if they match the Buddha's teachings and lead you to the enlightenment.

David Johnson wrote this book based on his insights as a senior student under Bhante Vimalaramsi, a 30-year monk living in the forests of Missouri. He came from a career in Silicon Valley to learn and study TWIM for the past seven years at the Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center near St. Louis. He currently teaches Online Retreats and authored “A Guide to Tranquil Wisdom Insight Meditation� along with Bhante, which is the detailed beginning instructions for TWIM Loving-kindness practice. More information is available at ]]> 307 David C. Johnson Dave 5 buddhism, spirituality 4.27 The Path to Nibbana: How Mindfulness of Loving-Kindness Progresses through the Tranquil Aware Jhanas to Awakening
author: David C. Johnson
name: Dave
average rating: 4.27
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/17
date added: 2024/01/17
shelves: buddhism, spirituality
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Empowered: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products (Silicon Valley Product Group)]]> 53481975 432 Marty Cagan 111969129X Dave 0 to-read 4.24 Empowered: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products (Silicon Valley Product Group)
author: Marty Cagan
name: Dave
average rating: 4.24
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)]]> 22055262
Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.]]> 400 Victoria E. Schwab 0765376458 Dave 3 fiction 4.04 2015 A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)
author: Victoria E. Schwab
name: Dave
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2015
rating: 3
read at: 2024/01/05
date added: 2024/01/05
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> Hocus Pocus 29870426 -- The Nation

Eugene Debs Hartke, ex-Vietnam vet, ex-college professor, current inmate of Tarkington State Reformatory, awaits his trial and probable death from TB. How did he get there? Via numerous absurd twists of fate which he now narrates on scraps of paper found about the place. Killer of men romancer of women, compulsive list-maker, Eugene is just one more victim of the world's hocus pocus.]]> 268 Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Dave 0 paused 3.78 1990 Hocus Pocus
author: Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
name: Dave
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1990
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/05
shelves: paused
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Understanding Variation: The Key to Managing Chaos]]> 63859 Great book 158 Donald J. Wheeler 0945320531 Dave 0 to-read 4.08 1993 Understanding Variation: The Key to Managing Chaos
author: Donald J. Wheeler
name: Dave
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1993
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/01/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation]]> 48710241 "While we need to rewrite the rules of the twenty-first-century economy, Kevin's book is a great look at how people can do this on a personal level to always put humanity first."--Andrew Yang

"A clear, compelling strategy for surviving the next wave of technology with our jobs--and souls--intact."--Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit

The machines are here. After decades of sci-fi fantasies and hype, artificial intelligence has leapt out of research labs and Silicon Valley engineering departments and into the center of our lives. Algorithms shape everything around us, from the news we see to the products we buy and the relationships we form. And while the debate over whether or not automation will destroy jobs rages on, a much more important question is being ignored:

What does it mean to be a human in a world that is increasingly built by and for machines?

In Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation, New York Times technology columnist Kevin Roose lays out a hopeful, pragmatic vision of how people can succeed in the machine age by making themselves irreplaceably human. He shares the secrets of people and organizations that have survived technological change, and explains how we can protect our own futures, with lessons like

- Do work that is surprising, social, and scarce (the types of work machines can't do).
- Demote your phone.
- Work near other people.
- Treat A.I. like an army of chimpanzees.
- Add more friction to your life.

Roose rejects the conventional wisdom that in order to compete with machines, we have to become more like them--hyper-efficient, data-driven, code-writing workhorses. Instead, he says, we should let machines be machines, and focus on doing the kinds of creative, inspiring, and meaningful things only humans can do.]]> 256 Kevin Roose 059313334X Dave 0 to-read 3.92 2021 Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation
author: Kevin Roose
name: Dave
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2021
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/12/23
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science]]> 25942786 504 Culadasa (John Charles Yates) 0990847705 Dave 0 4.20 2015 The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science
author: Culadasa (John Charles Yates)
name: Dave
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2015
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/28
shelves: meditation, spirituality, paused
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Being Nobody, Going Nowhere: Meditations on the Buddhist Path]]> 240237 Being Nobody, Going Nowhere is both.]]> 192 Ayya Khema 086171198X Dave 4 4.25 1987 Being Nobody, Going Nowhere: Meditations on the Buddhist Path
author: Ayya Khema
name: Dave
average rating: 4.25
book published: 1987
rating: 4
read at: 2023/11/26
date added: 2023/11/26
shelves: meditation, spirituality, buddhism
review:

]]> The End of Mr. Y 2153792
With "Mr. Y" under her arm, Ariel finds herself thrust into a thrilling adventure of love, sex, death and time travel.]]> 502 Scarlett Thomas 1847670709 Dave 3 fiction 3.74 2006 The End of Mr. Y
author: Scarlett Thomas
name: Dave
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at: 2023/11/15
date added: 2023/11/15
shelves: fiction
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Mine!: How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives]]> 54226795 An Adam Grant Spring Book Pick
Finalist for the Next Big Idea Club

A must-read this spring -- a fantastically well-written exploration of our need for ownership and the costs of greed.
--Andrew Solomon, National Book Award-winning author of Far From the Tree
A hidden set of rules governs who owns what--explaining everything from whether you can recline your airplane seat to why HBO lets you borrow a password illegally--and in this lively and entertaining guide, two acclaimed law professors reveal how things become mine.

Mine is one of the first words babies learn. By the time we grow up, the idea of ownership seems natural, whether buying a cup of coffee or a house. But who controls the space behind your airplane seat: you reclining or the squished laptop user behind? Why is plagiarism wrong, but it's okay to knock-off a recipe or a dress design? And after a snowstorm, why does a chair in the street hold your parking space in Chicago, but in New York you lose the space and the chair?

Mine! explains these puzzles and many more. Surprisingly, there are just six simple stories that everyone uses to claim everything. Owners choose the story that steers us to do what they want. But we can always pick a different story. This is true not just for airplane seats, but also for battles over digital privacy, climate change, and wealth inequality. As Michael Heller and James Salzman show--in the spirited style of Freakonomics, Nudge, and Predictably Irrational--ownership is always up for grabs.

With stories that are eye-opening, mind-bending, and sometimes infuriating, Mine! reveals the rules of ownership that secretly control our lives.]]> 336 Michael A. Heller 0385544723 Dave 0 to-read 4.11 2021 Mine!: How the Hidden Rules of Ownership Control Our Lives
author: Michael A. Heller
name: Dave
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/11/14
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Solutions and Other Problems 51323365
Solutions and Other Problems includes humorous stories from Allie Brosh’s childhood; the adventures of her very bad animals; merciless dissection of her own character flaws; incisive essays on grief, loneliness, and powerlessness; as well as reflections on the absurdity of modern life.

This full-color, beautifully illustrated edition features all-new material with more than 1,600 pieces of art.]]> 519 Allie Brosh 1982156945 Dave 0 to-read, comedy, comics 4.21 2020 Solutions and Other Problems
author: Allie Brosh
name: Dave
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/11/14
shelves: to-read, comedy, comics
review:

]]> Awake: It's Your Turn 58045165 476 Angelo DiLullo 1737212307 Dave 5 spirituality 4.62 Awake: It's Your Turn
author: Angelo DiLullo
name: Dave
average rating: 4.62
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2023/10/25
date added: 2023/10/25
shelves: spirituality
review:

]]> Sophie’s World 10959 An alternative cover for this ISBN can be found here

One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, with one question on each: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" From that irresistible beginning, Sophie becomes obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must use the philosophy she is learning—but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined.]]> 403 Jostein Gaarder 1857993284 Dave 0 to-read, philosophy 3.94 1991 Sophie’s World
author: Jostein Gaarder
name: Dave
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1991
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/14
shelves: to-read, philosophy
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Lying for Money: How Legendary Frauds Reveal the Workings of Our World]]> 38605195 321 Dan Davies Dave 0 to-read 3.98 2018 Lying for Money: How Legendary Frauds Reveal the Workings of Our World
author: Dan Davies
name: Dave
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2018
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/12
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Name of the Rose 119073 552 Umberto Eco 0156001314 Dave 0 paused 4.13 1980 The Name of the Rose
author: Umberto Eco
name: Dave
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1980
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/10/11
shelves: paused
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Pathless Path: Imagining a New Story For Work and Life]]> 60151185 With 55k global sales, The Pathless Path has become a surprise best-seller. The book has received attention from major publishers, including a 6-figure offer from a Big Five publisher (which was turned down). The author is currently looking for foreign publishers to translate the work into different languages.It takes a few wrong turns to find the right way.

Paul thought he was on his way. From a small-town Connecticut kid to the most prestigious consulting firm in the world, he had everything he thought he wanted. Yet he decided to walk away and embark on the "real work" of his life - finding the things that matter and daring to create a life to make them happen.

This Pathless Path is about finding yourself in the wrong life, and the real work of figuring out how to live. Through painstaking experiments, living in different countries and the goodwill of people from around the world, Paul pieces together a set of ideas and principles that guide him from unfulfilled and burned out to the good life and all of the existential crises in between.

The Pathless Path is not a how-to book filled with “hacks�; instead, it is a vulnerable account of Paul’s journey from leaving a path centered around getting ahead and towards another, one focused on doing work that matters. This book is an ideal companion for people considering leaving their jobs, embarking on a new path, dealing with the uncertainty of an unconventional path, or searching for better models for thinking about work in a fast-changing world.

Reader

“It’s a rare book in that it is tangentially about careers and being more focused and productive, but unlike almost every other book I have read about these topics, I finished this one and felt better about myself and my career.�

“The themes are timeless. The content is expertly written. The advice is refreshingly non-prescriptive.�

“If you have questioned your own path, or a nagging lack of intention in your choices you need this book. If you have felt a gradual loss of agency in your direction you need this book. You are in the grip of an invisible script that was not written for you.� - Kris Abdelmessih

“The writing is fantastic - Paul's writing is approachably poetic; a quick read that weaves together his own experience moving from a 'default path' overachiever to a 'pathless path' seeker of passion and curiosity, deep research into the history of work and collections of perspectives from years of podcasting, friendship, conferences, and meetings with other 'alternative path' life-livers."]]> 222 Paul Millerd Dave 0 career, work, paused 3.98 2022 The Pathless Path: Imagining a New Story For Work and Life
author: Paul Millerd
name: Dave
average rating: 3.98
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/10/11
shelves: career, work, paused
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion]]> 18774981
From Sam Harris, neuroscientist and author of numerous New York Times bestselling books, Waking Up is for the twenty percent of Americans who follow no religion but who suspect that important truths can be found in the experiences of such figures as Jesus, the Buddha, Lao Tzu, Rumi, and the other saints and sages of history. Throughout this book, Harris argues that there is more to understanding reality than science and secular culture generally allow, and that how we pay attention to the present moment largely determines the quality of our lives.

Waking Up is part memoir and part exploration of the scientific underpinnings of spirituality. No other book marries contemplative wisdom and modern science in this way, and no author other than Sam Harris—a scientist, philosopher, and famous skeptic—could write it.]]> 256 Sam Harris 1451636016 Dave 2 spirituality 3.88 2014 Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion
author: Sam Harris
name: Dave
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2014
rating: 2
read at: 2023/10/05
date added: 2023/10/05
shelves: spirituality
review:
Spent much more time on detailed rants against religions and charlatans than anything else - not what I was expecting.
]]> <![CDATA[An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us]]> 156479403
“One of this year’s finest works of narrative nonfiction.”� Oprah Daily

ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Time, People, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Slate, Reader’s Digest, Chicago Public Library, Outside, Publishers Weekly, BookPage

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE Oprah Daily, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Economist, Smithsonian Magazine , Prospect (UK), Globe & Mail,Esquire, Mental Floss, Marginalian, She Reads, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal

The Earth teems with sights and textures, sounds and vibrations, smells and tastes, electric and magnetic fields. But every kind of animal, including humans, is enclosed within its own unique sensory bubble, perceiving but a tiny sliver of our immense world.

In An Immense World, Ed Yong coaxes us beyond the confines of our own senses, allowing us to perceive the skeins of scent, waves of electromagnetism, and pulses of pressure that surround us. We encounter beetles that are drawn to fires, turtles that can track the Earth’s magnetic fields, fish that fill rivers with electrical messages, and even humans who wield sonar like bats. We discover that a crocodile’s scaly face is as sensitive as a lover’s fingertips, that the eyes of a giant squid evolved to see sparkling whales, that plants thrum with the inaudible songs of courting bugs, and that even simple scallops have complex vision. We learn what bees see in flowers, what songbirds hear in their tunes, and what dogs smell on the street. We listen to stories of pivotal discoveries in the field, while looking ahead at the many mysteries that remain unsolved.

Funny, rigorous, and suffused with the joy of discovery, An Immense World takes us on what Marcel Proust called “the only true voyage . . . not to visit strange lands, but to possess other eyes.�

WINNER OF THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL � FINALIST FOR THE KIRKUS PRIZE � FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD � LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/E.O. WILSON AWARD]]> 480 Ed Yong 0593133250 Dave 0 to-read 4.42 2022 An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us
author: Ed Yong
name: Dave
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/08/18
shelves: to-read
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]]> Thought as a System 204527 272 David Bohm 0415110300 Dave 0 to-read 4.27 1994 Thought as a System
author: David Bohm
name: Dave
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1994
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/08/17
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Being Logical: A Guide to Good Thinking]]> 721564
Logic is synonymous with reason, judgment, sense, wisdom, and sanity. Being logical is the ability to create concise and reasoned arguments—arguments that build from given premises, using evidence, to a genuine conclusion. But mastering logical thinking also requires studying and understanding illogical thinking, both to sharpen one’s own skills and to protect against incoherent, or deliberately misleading, reasoning.

Elegant, pithy, and precise, Being Logical breaks logic down to its essentials through clear analysis, accessible examples, and focused insights. D. Q. McInerney covers the sources of illogical thinking, from naïve optimism to narrow-mindedness, before dissecting the various tactics—red herrings, diversions, and simplistic reasoning—the illogical use in place of effective reasoning.

An indispensable guide to using logic to advantage in everyday life, this is a concise, crisply readable book. Written explicitly for the layperson, McInerny’s Being Logical promises to take its place beside Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style as a classic of lucid, invaluable advice.

Praise for Being Logical

“Highly readable . . . D. Q. McInerny offers an introduction to symbolic logic in plain English, so you can finally be clear on what is deductive reasoning and what is inductive. And you’ll see how deductive arguments are constructed.� � Detroit Free Press

“McInerny’s explanatory outline of sound thinking will be eminently beneficial to expository writers, debaters, and public speakers.� � Booklist

“Given the shortage of logical thinking,
And the fact that mankind is adrift, if not sinking,
It is vital that all of us learn to think straight.
And this small book by D.Q. McInerny is great.
It follows therefore since we so badly need it,
Everybody should not only but it, but read it.�
—Charles Osgood]]> 160 D.Q. McInerny 0812971159 Dave 0 to-read 3.72 2004 Being Logical: A Guide to Good Thinking
author: D.Q. McInerny
name: Dave
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2004
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/08/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Fall of Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #2)]]> 77565 517 Dan Simmons 0553288202 Dave 3 scifi 4.23 1990 The Fall of Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #2)
author: Dan Simmons
name: Dave
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1990
rating: 3
read at: 2023/07/31
date added: 2023/07/31
shelves: scifi
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Fundamentals of Software Architecture: An Engineering Approach]]> 44144493
Authors Neal Ford and Mark Richards help you learn through examples in a variety of popular programming languages, such as Java, C#, JavaScript, and others. You'll focus on architecture principles with examples that apply across all technology stacks.]]> 422 Mark Richards 1492043451 Dave 0 to-read 4.25 2020 Fundamentals of Software Architecture: An Engineering Approach
author: Mark Richards
name: Dave
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2020
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/07/08
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Cloud Atlas 23388065
Alternative Cover of ISBN: 9780340822784]]> 544 David Mitchell Dave 4 3.92 2004 Cloud Atlas
author: David Mitchell
name: Dave
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2023/07/04
date added: 2023/07/04
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review:

]]> <![CDATA[Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre]]> 306940 Impro lays bare the techniques and exercises used to foster spontaneity and narrative skill for actors. These techniques and exercises were evolved in the actors' studio, when he was Associate Director of the Royal Court and then in demonstrations to schools and colleges and ultimately in the founding of a company of performers called The Theatre Machine.

Divided into four sections, 'Status', 'Spontaneity', 'Narrative Skills' and 'Masks and Trance', arranged more or less in the order a group might approach them, the book sets out the specific approaches which Johnstone has himself found most useful and most stimulating. The result is a fascinating exploration of the nature of spontaneous creativity.]]> 208 Keith Johnstone 0878301178 Dave 0 to-read 4.23 1979 Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre
author: Keith Johnstone
name: Dave
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1979
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The User Illusion: Cutting Consciousness Down to Size]]> 106732 480 Tor Nørretranders 0140230122 Dave 0 4.32 1991 The User Illusion: Cutting Consciousness Down to Size
author: Tor Nørretranders
name: Dave
average rating: 4.32
book published: 1991
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/06/15
shelves: to-read, consciousness, brain, spirituality
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Philosophy of Software Design]]> 39996759 190 John Ousterhout 1732102201 Dave 0 4.18 2018 A Philosophy of Software Design
author: John Ousterhout
name: Dave
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2018
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/15
shelves: design, programming, tech, paused
review:

]]> INTROSPECT 59781317
�

Praise for INTROSPECT:

“…this book has sutured a number of my mental/psychological wounds.� � @bejapewa

“Particularly i wanted to comment on how incredibly effective I found (Introspect’s) style which disarmed me BAM, i’ve never read a book that felt so much like a human living project, somehow i felt like i was writing it myself with all the tangents and brilliant flashes and cliches and circles and meta commentary of real life thinking.� � Nicole M

�(Introspect) is probably the self-help book with the most humility I’ve read � the way it breaks the fourth wall is well-done. The mythic framing of the journey into the self is beautiful.� � Marie

“The book has a million things good about it, plenty of practical advice tailored towards understanding yourself, building approaches to managing your psychology, and confronting your deepest fears � and astonishingly, it delivers on its immensely ambitious metaphorical arc.� � @annihalated

"I think its safe to say that this book has gently and casually shattered my self-concept." � @russlramos]]> 319 Visakan Veerasamy Dave 0 paused 4.42 INTROSPECT
author: Visakan Veerasamy
name: Dave
average rating: 4.42
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/15
shelves: paused
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]]> <![CDATA[Seeing That Frees: Meditations on Emptiness and Dependent Arising]]> 25172403
From the Foreword by Joseph Goldstein:
"Rob Burbea, in this remarkable book, proves to be a wonderfully skilled guide in exploring the understanding of emptiness as the key insight in transforming our lives... It is rare to find a book that explores so deeply the philosophical underpinnings of awakening at the same time as offering the practical means to realize it."]]> 465 Rob Burbea 099284892X Dave 0 4.65 2014 Seeing That Frees: Meditations on Emptiness and Dependent Arising
author: Rob Burbea
name: Dave
average rating: 4.65
book published: 2014
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/15
shelves: meditation, spirituality, paused
review:

]]> Five Ways to Know Yourself 18308377 183 Shinzen Young Dave 0 4.45 2011 Five Ways to Know Yourself
author: Shinzen Young
name: Dave
average rating: 4.45
book published: 2011
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/15
shelves: meditation, spirituality, paused
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow]]> 58784475 In this exhilarating novel, two friends—often in love, but never lovers—come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality.

On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn't heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won't protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of their hearts.

Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a dazzling and intricately imagined novel that examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love. Yes, it is a love story, but it is not one you have read before.]]> 401 Gabrielle Zevin 0735243344 Dave 0 to-read 4.12 2022 Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
author: Gabrielle Zevin
name: Dave
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/06/12
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Use of the Self 46158430 The Use of the Self is the foremost text on Alexander’s revolutionary technique.]]> Frederick Matthias Alexander Dave 2 2.67 1985 The Use of the Self
author: Frederick Matthias Alexander
name: Dave
average rating: 2.67
book published: 1985
rating: 2
read at: 2023/05/31
date added: 2023/05/31
shelves: biology, health, psychology, spirituality
review:

]]> <![CDATA[On Having No Head: Zen and the Rediscovery of the Obvious]]> 18913150 86 Douglas E. Harding Dave 3 spirituality 3.85 1961 On Having No Head: Zen and the Rediscovery of the Obvious
author: Douglas E. Harding
name: Dave
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1961
rating: 3
read at: 2023/05/20
date added: 2023/05/20
shelves: spirituality
review:

]]> <![CDATA[How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything In Between]]> 61327449 The secrets to successfully planning and delivering projects on any scale—from home renovation to space exploration—by the world’s leading expert on megaprojects

“This book is important, timely, instructive, and entertaining. What more could you ask for?”—Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize–winning author of Thinking, Fast and Slow

“Over-budget and over-schedule is an inevitability. Incompetence and grift is outrageous. Bent Flyvbjerg, with this terrific data-driven book, has shown that there is another way.”—Frank Gehry

Nothing is more inspiring than a big vision that becomes a triumphant, newreality. Think of how the Empire State Building went from a sketch to the jewel of New York’s skyline in twenty-one months, or how Apple’s iPod went from a project with a single employee to a product launch in eleven months.

These are wonderful stories. But most of the time big visions turn into nightmares. Remember Boston’s “Big Dig�? Almost every sizeable city in the world has such a fiasco in its backyard. In fact, no less than 92% of megaprojects come in over budget or over schedule, or both. The cost of California’s high-speed rail project soared from $33 billion to $100 billon—and won’t even go where promised. More modest endeavors, whether launching a small business, organizing a conference, or just finishing a work project on time, also commonly fail. Why?

Understanding what distinguishes the triumphs from the failures has been the life’s work of Oxford professor Bent Flyvbjerg, dubbed “the world’s leading megaproject expert.� In How Big Things Get Done, he identifies the errors in judgment and decision-making that lead projects, both big and small, to fail, and the research-based principles that will make you succeed with yours. For example:

� Understand your odds. If you don’t know them, you won’t win.
� Plan slow, act fast. Getting to the action quick feels right. But it’s wrong.
� Think right to left. Start with your goal, then identify the steps to get there.
� Find your Lego. Big is best built from small.
� Be a team maker. You won’t succeed without an “us.�
� Master the unknown unknowns. Most think they can’t, so they fail. Flyvbjerg shows how you can.
� Know that your biggest risk is you.

Full of vivid examples ranging from the building of the Sydney Opera House, to the making of the latest Pixar blockbusters, to a home renovation in Brooklyn gone awry, How Big Things Get Done reveals how to get any ambitious project done—on time and on budget.]]> 304 Bent Flyvbjerg 0593239512 Dave 0 to-read 4.28 2023 How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors That Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything In Between
author: Bent Flyvbjerg
name: Dave
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/05/18
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes]]> 41817484 272 Donald D. Hoffman 0393254690 Dave 0 to-read 3.84 The Case Against Reality: Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes
author: Donald D. Hoffman
name: Dave
average rating: 3.84
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/05/09
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice]]> 402843
So begins this most beloved of all American Zen books. Seldom has such a small handful of words provided a teaching as rich as has this famous opening line. In a single stroke, the simple sentence cuts through the pervasive tendency students have of getting so close to Zen as to completely miss what it’s all about. An instant teaching on the first page. And that’s just the beginning.

In the forty years since its original publication, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind has become one of the great modern Zen classics, much beloved, much reread, and much recommended as the best first book to read on Zen. Suzuki Roshi presents the basics—from the details of posture and breathing in zazen to the perception of nonduality—in a way that is not only remarkably clear, but that also resonates with the joy of insight from the first to the last page. It’s a book to come back to time and time again as an inspiration to practice, and it is now available to a new generation of seekers in this fortieth anniversary edition, with a new afterword by Shunryu Suzuki’s biographer, David Chadwick.
]]> 138 Shunryu Suzuki 0834800799 Dave 0 spirituality 4.21 1970 Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice
author: Shunryu Suzuki
name: Dave
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1970
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/09
shelves: spirituality
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #1)]]> 77566 500 Dan Simmons 0553283685 Dave 4 4.26 1989 Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #1)
author: Dan Simmons
name: Dave
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1989
rating: 4
read at: 2023/05/05
date added: 2023/05/05
shelves:
review:

]]> Steppenwolf 19198262 A new translation by David Horrocks.



At first sight Harry Haller seems like a respectable, educated man. In reality he is the Steppenwolf: wild, strange, alienated from society and repulsed by the modern age. But as he is drawn into a series of dreamlike and sometimes savage encounters - accompanied by, among others, Mozart, Goethe and the bewitching Hermione - the misanthropic Haller discovers a higher truth, and the possibility of happiness. This haunting portrayal of a man who feels he is half-human and half-wolf became a counterculture classic for a disaffected generation. Yet it is also a story of redemption, and an intricately-structured modernist masterpiece. This is the first new translation of Steppenwolf for over eighty years, returning to the fresh, authentic language of Hesse's original.

]]> 250 Hermann Hesse 0141938684 Dave 0 fiction, paused 4.11 1927 Steppenwolf
author: Hermann Hesse
name: Dave
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1927
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/05
shelves: fiction, paused
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology]]> 60321447
You may be surprised to learn that microchips are the new oil—the scarce resource on which the modern world depends. Today, military, economic, and geopolitical power are built on a foundation of computer chips. Virtually everything� from missiles to microwaves, smartphones to the stock market � runs on chips. Until recently, America designed and built the fastest chips and maintained its lead as the #1 superpower. Now, America's edge isslipping, undermined by competitors in Taiwan, Korea,Europe, and, above all, China. Today, as Chip War reveals, China, which spends more money each year importing chips than it spends importing oil,is pouring billions into a chip-building initiative to catch up to the US. At stake is America's military superiority and economic prosperity.

Economic historian Chris Miller explains how the semiconductor came to play a critical role in modern life and how the U.S. become dominant in chip design and manufacturing and applied this technology to military systems. America's victory in the Cold War and its global military dominance stems from its ability to harness computing power more effectively than any other power. But here, too, China is catching up, with its chip-building ambitions and military modernization going hand in hand.America has let key components of the chip-building process slip out of its grasp, contributing not only to a worldwide chip shortage but also a new Cold War with a superpower adversary that is desperate to bridge the gap.

Illuminating, timely, and fascinating, Chip War shows that, to make sense of the current state of politics, economics, and technology, we must first understand the vital role played by chips.]]> 464 Chris Miller 1982172002 Dave 0 to-read 4.38 2022 Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology
author: Chris Miller
name: Dave
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2022
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/05/01
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Island 11782243
Inevitably, this island of bliss attracts the envy and enmity of the surrounding world. A conspiracy is underway to take over Pala, and events are set in motion when an agent of the conspirators, a newspaperman named Faranby, is shipwrecked there. What Faranby doesn't expect is how his time with the people of Pala will revolutionize all his values and—to his amazement—give him hope.]]> Aldous Huxley Dave 0 to-read 3.78 1962 The Island
author: Aldous Huxley
name: Dave
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1962
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/04/26
shelves: to-read
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]]> Gyo, Vol. 2 564877 The Horrifying Conclusion...
Trapped on an island filled with the stench of mutating bodies, can teenager Tadashi save his girlfriend from a fate worse than death? Or will the cure prove worse than the disease? Hold your breath until all is revealed--along with the final stinking secrets of the "walking fish of Okinawa"!]]> 208 Junji Ito 1421513889 Dave 0 4.31 2002 Gyo, Vol. 2
author: Junji Ito
name: Dave
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at: 2022/07/16
date added: 2023/04/20
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]]> Cloudthinker 126847669
Seasoned tech journalist Parham Nasiri is convinced there’s something sinister behind tech giant Magenta’s new product, Cloudthinker. The ambitious AI service sent shockwaves through an already fragile economy, decimating the workforce and tightening Magenta’s stranglehold on society.

After his employers subscribe to the service and put him out of a job, Parham becomes determined to uncover the truth. His digging leads him to Boogie Wu � an enigmatic math genius who died in a corporate jet accident � and he’s quickly ensnared in a shadowy web of mystery and deception.

Tangled up with a corporate whistle-blower, a human-like autonomous hacker, AI-powered robots, and the increasingly blurry line separating humans from software, Parham fights to expose the secrets behind Cloudthinker and its elusive creators.

And when he realizes the world-shaking consequences of Magenta’s real intentions, he’ll be forced to make impossible choices to stop the world from tipping into crisis...]]> 355 Andrew McGlinchey Dave 0 to-read 4.73 2023 Cloudthinker
author: Andrew McGlinchey
name: Dave
average rating: 4.73
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/04/14
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals]]> 54785515 The average human lifespan is absurdly, insultingly brief. Assuming you live to be eighty, you have just over four thousand weeks.

Nobody needs to be told there isn’t enough time. We’re obsessed with our lengthening to-do lists, overfilled inboxes, work-life balance, and ceaseless battle against distraction; we’re deluged with advice on becoming more productive and efficient and life hacks to optimize our days. But such techniques often end up making things worse. The sense of anxious hurry grows more intense, and still the most meaningful parts of life seem to lie just beyond the horizon. Still, we rarely make the connection between our daily struggles with time and the ultimate time management problem: the challenge of how best to use our four thousand weeks.

Drawing on the insights of both ancient and contemporary philosophers, psychologists, and spiritual teachers, Oliver Burkeman delivers an entertaining, humorous, practical, and ultimately profound guide to time and time management. Rejecting the futile modern obsession with “getting everything done,� Four Thousand Weeks introduces readers to tools for constructing a meaningful life by embracing finitude, showing that many of the unhelpful ways we’ve come to think about time aren’t inescapable, unchanging truths, but choices we’ve made as individuals and as a society—and that we could do things differently.]]> 271 Oliver Burkeman 0374159122 Dave 3 productivity 4.20 2021 Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals
author: Oliver Burkeman
name: Dave
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2023/03/24
date added: 2023/04/03
shelves: productivity
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]]> <![CDATA[Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment]]> 34805848
Robert Wright famously explained in The Moral Animal how evolution shaped the human brain. The mind is designed to often delude us, he argued, about ourselves and about the world. And it is designed to make happiness hard to sustain.

But if we know our minds are rigged for anxiety, depression, anger, and greed, what do we do? Wright locates the answer in Buddhism, which figured out thousands of years ago what scientists are only discovering now. Buddhism holds that human suffering is a result of not seeing the world clearly—and proposes that seeing the world more clearly, through meditation, will make us better, happier people.

In Why Buddhism is True, Wright leads readers on a journey through psychology, philosophy, and a great many silent retreats to show how and why meditation can serve as the foundation for a spiritual life in a secular age. At once excitingly ambitious and wittily accessible, this is the first book to combine evolutionary psychology with cutting-edge neuroscience to defend the radical claims at the heart of Buddhist philosophy. With bracing honesty and fierce wisdom, it will persuade you not just that Buddhism is true—which is to say, a way out of our delusion—but that it can ultimately save us from ourselves, as individuals and as a species.]]> 332 Robert Wright Dave 3 4.17 2017 Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment
author: Robert Wright
name: Dave
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2023/03/10
date added: 2023/03/10
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]]> <![CDATA[Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah]]> 29946
In Illusions, Richard Bach takes to the air to discover the ageless truths that give our souls wings: that people don't need airplanes to soar...that even the darkest clouds have meaning once we lift ourselves above them... and that messiahs can be found in the unlikeliest places � like hay fields, one-traffic-light midwestern towns, and most of all, deep within ourselves.]]> 144 Richard Bach Dave 0 to-read 4.16 1977 Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah
author: Richard Bach
name: Dave
average rating: 4.16
book published: 1977
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/08
shelves: to-read
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]]> The Undiscovered Self 67891 One of the world's greatest psychiatrists reveals how to embrace our own humanity and resist the pressures of an ever-changing world.

In this challenging and provocative work, Dr. Carl Jung—one of history's greatest minds—argues that civilization's future depends on our ability as individuals to resist the collective forces of society. Only by gaining an awareness and understanding of one's unconscious mind and true, inner nature�"the undiscovered self"—can we as individuals acquire the self-knowledge that is antithetical to ideological fanaticism. But this requires that we face our fear of the duality of the human psyche—the existence of good and the capacity for evil in every individual.

In this seminal book, Jung compellingly argues that only then can we begin to cope with the dangers posed by mass society�"the sum total of individuals"—and resist the potential threats posed by those in power.]]> 112 C.G. Jung 0451217322 Dave 0 to-read 4.18 1961 The Undiscovered Self
author: C.G. Jung
name: Dave
average rating: 4.18
book published: 1961
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/03/03
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]]> <![CDATA[Games: Agency As Art (Thinking Art)]]> 48765399
This volume presents a new theory of games which insists on their unique value. C. Thi Nguyen argues that games are an integral part our systems of communication and our art. Games sculpt our practical activities, allowing us to experience the beauty of our own actions and reasoning. Bridging aesthetics and practical reasoning, he gives an account of the special motivational structure involved in playing games. When we play games, we can pursue a goal, not for its own value, but for the value of the struggle. Thus, playing games involves a motivational inversion from normal life. We adopt an interest in winning temporarily, so we can experience the beauty of the struggle. Games offer us a temporary experience of life under utterly clear values, in a world engineered to fit to our abilities and goals.

Games also let us to experience forms of agency we might never have developed on our own. Games, it turns out, are a special technique for communication. They are a technology that lets us record and transmit forms of agency. Our games form a "library of agency" and we can explore that library to develop our autonomy. Games use temporary restrictions to force us into new postures of agency.]]> 256 C. Thi Nguyen 0190052082 Dave 0 to-read, games 4.12 Games: Agency As Art (Thinking Art)
author: C. Thi Nguyen
name: Dave
average rating: 4.12
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date added: 2023/02/13
shelves: to-read, games
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]]> Gateless Gatecrashers 17178492 226 Ilona Ciunaite 1470028913 Dave 4 spirituality 4.19 2012 Gateless Gatecrashers
author: Ilona Ciunaite
name: Dave
average rating: 4.19
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/10
date added: 2023/02/10
shelves: spirituality
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]]> <![CDATA[Somatic Descent: Experiencing the Ultimate Intelligence of the Body]]> 26485103 Engaging the Body as Your Source of Infinite Knowing

Most of us sense that our bodies contain uncommon intelligence—we "feel it in our bones" or notice it in our "gut instincts." But is there something far vaster here waiting to be experienced? With Somatic Descent, you are invited to tune into the natural wisdom of your body, refine and amplify it, and explore it fully.

In this program, pioneering teacher Dr. Reggie Ray presents a fascinating audio program on this rich dimension of Tibetan Buddhism: how to go beyond the veil of the thinking mind to tap the wondrous yet wholly trustworthy domain of your body.

Beyond Basic Mindfulness and into the Empowering Realms of the Soma

For those who've worked with basic breath and body-based meditations, this course will be a revelation: step-by-step guidance into some of the most transformative and powerful experiences charted by Buddhism's vast maps of consciousness.

Drawing on decades of teaching and scholarship, Reggie Ray shares a 13-CD curriculum of practices and insights to access the deepest knowing enfolded in the Soma, the landscape of your physical body and the source of immediate and greatest fulfillment.

With him, you will learn: how your body is a field of infinite wisdom, the origins of somatic descent practices and how they transform us on both the neurological and non-physical levels, many meditations for connecting with and embracing the Soma, and how to integrate these profound changes into your daily life.

HIGHLIGHTS
� Your body as the field of infinite knowing

� How to explore the wisdom of the Soma

� Yin Breathing, Connecting with the Earth, and many other guided practices

� Over 13 hours of investigation into the somatic dimensions of awakening]]> 192 Reginald A. Ray 1622036638 Dave 0 paused 4.25 2016 Somatic Descent: Experiencing the Ultimate Intelligence of the Body
author: Reginald A. Ray
name: Dave
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2016
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/02/09
shelves: paused
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]]> <![CDATA[Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality]]> 10016013 2184 Eliezer Yudkowsky Dave 0 4.39 2015 Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality
author: Eliezer Yudkowsky
name: Dave
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2015
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/02/09
shelves: fiction, philosophy, thinking, rationality, paused
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]]> <![CDATA[The Inner Citadel: The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius]]> 330370 The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius are treasured today - as they have been over the centuries - as an inexhaustible source of wisdom. And as one of the three most important expressions of Stoicism, this is an essential text for everyone interested in ancient religion and philosophy. Yet the clarity and ease of the work's style are deceptive. Pierre Hadot, eminent historian of ancient thought, uncovers new levels of meaning and expands our understanding of its underlying philosophy.

Written by the Roman emperor for his own private guidance and self-admonition, the Meditations set forth principles for living a good and just life. Hadot probes Marcus Aurelius's guidelines and convictions and discerns the hitherto unperceived conceptual system that grounds them. Abundantly quoting the Meditations to illustrate his analysis, the author allows Marcus Aurelius to speak directly to the reader. And Hadot unfolds for us the philosophical context of the Meditations, commenting on the philosophers Marcus Aurelius read and giving special attention to the teachings of Epictetus, whose disciple he was.

The soul, the guiding principle within us, is in Marcus Aurelius's Stoic philosophy an inviolable stronghold of freedom, the "inner citadel." This spirited and engaging study of his thought offers a fresh picture of the fascinating philosopher-emperor, a fuller understanding of the tradition and doctrines of Stoicism, and rich insight on the culture of the Roman empire in the second century. Pierre Hadot has been working on Marcus Aurelius for more than twenty years; in this book he distills his analysis and conclusions with extraordinary lucidity for the general reader.]]> 368 Pierre Hadot 0674461711 Dave 0 4.38 1992 The Inner Citadel: The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
author: Pierre Hadot
name: Dave
average rating: 4.38
book published: 1992
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/02/09
shelves: philosophy, biography, history, stoicism, paused
review:

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