Teo Degas' Books & Decks

I hurried up to my local bookshop to buy this book as soon as it came out, as there were some autographed stickers and a bag given as a token, and I am a fan of Tan's artwork.

Rules of Summer is a book about the summer in the life of two young boys. Tan depicts what a summer feels, underline feels, to these two kids. The illustrations are not about what they did or what happened to them, although that is also clear in some of them, but is more about how these kids felt and interpreted what happened to them, and what the highlights of their summer in their memories were. If you depart from this principle, the book immediately makes sense and the narrative pops up. For example, this is perfectly clear in the images associated to: "Never eat the last olive at a party" and "never leave the back door open overnight". The rest of the illustrations work in a similar way, but some of them are more difficult to understand or decipher than others.

The images in the book are wonderfully painted, with Tan's great sense of lighting, chiaroscuro and colour, and the use of the same to create wonderfully simply but evocative atmospheric images that require little words to be appreciated. The landscape of his native Perth WA is perfectly captured in this book: blind white light, quiet neighbourhoods, over-present crows, the always crooked power lines, among others, which are incorporated into his wondrous magic world.

I love everything that Tan does, but this is, perhaps, his less inspired book. My opinion. It is still wonderful, but way too short and not as original or fulfilling, to me

Matilda is a modern tale that has many elements of the old folk European stories, with angelical vs evil people who you immediately love and hate, and an air of defiance of the adult world that hooks up children. What separates Matilda from old fairy tales is that, despite the character being a female heroine, the story doesn't want to turn her into a princess,  into a girlfriend, or into a male character's attachment. Matilda is brilliant because she is an individual and knows what she wants.

The book speaks about the importance of family values and being brought up properly, and about the importance of your willpower and education to overcome any struggle and become your best self. Also, you get in life as much as the effort you put in achieving your goals, you get what you focus on, your willpower moves mountains.

The book reads effortlessly and fast, and it is truly enjoyable. A classic of children literature, and very important to reinforce positive female roles in a world that wants to turn little girls into little empty dolls.

I like Quentin Blake's illustrations style but they don't resonate with me with regards to Matilda, perhaps because I imagine Matilda very different from the character we find drawn in the book. This is a personal preference of course.

Talking it Over is a very witty novel on a love-triangle story told by each character in first person to the reader. Barnes creates a human chorus with distinctive voices, and characters that feel real and almost alive due to his insight on the psychology of each one. I especially love snob Ollie's character which is just hilarious.

Talking it Over is not as philosophical and deep as other of Barnes' books, but is light, entertaining, witty, well written, with a masterly character composition, and still succeeds at making us questioning what reality is by listening to the distinct voices of all of characters involved.

Just a warning, more of Ollie's interventions are plagued with French expressions and sayings. If you don't know French, you will need a dictionary at hand, which might be a put off for some people.

The Sense of an Ending is one of those books that 1/ is well written, 2/ you cannot put down, 3/ It is light and profound at the same time, 4/ It keeps you thinking long after you have finished it, 5/ and you want to re-read it. It happened to me.

Barnes succeeds at creating a very engaging story with terrific characters and providing food for thought regarding different philosophical and psychological issues.

The mystery in the book is purposely vague and open to interpretation. I think the key to understand the mystery and the difficulty that Tony has at understanding it, is in the character itself, his perception of reality and how his memory works according to his self-centred personality. We like the character and become him, so it is difficult for us, like for him, to "get it" because we are seeing things from his point of view.. To get it easy, we should have been presented with a different book structure in which all the characters and their stories have similar weight in the narrative, or simply a straight forward narrative of what really happened.

Barnes gives many clues of what he is doing through the philosophical reflections of Tony, who is able to reflect on life with great clarity but it is unable to see some things in front of his own eyes because he has a black spot in his way of perceiving reality. Many of the things in the "mystery" case are his perception of them, probably not what happened. That is why he does not get it. He is his own black spot.

Ultimately the book is about the role of perception and of memory in our lives, and on how core personality issues remain intact through age, no matter we think they are not. After all, Tony despite what he says, is still the same Tony he was when he was when he was young.

The sense of a ending is a brilliant reflection on what reality is, how we see reality and how we create our lives. It is also masterly at involving the reader, almost fusing it, with the character of Tony, so much so that, only after a bit of thought, you realize that you were accepting a version of reality that was, simply put, very personal to Tony, not the real reality.

If you are a Westerner and you are seriously interested in starting the practice of Zen, or you just want to know what Zen is but feel somewhat put off by the Japanese jargon and the cryptic simplicity of Zen, this is your book. I have been interested in Zen for a long time, and read more substantial books than this one, but I certainly recommend this book to any beginner as it is a stepping stone on which to build up your journey.

The authors use a language that is approachable, entertaining, full of examples, and unpretentious. The book is a bit wordy at times, but really nothing to bother anybody who is into Zen. And mind you, this is supposed to be a guide for idiots, so there is a need for all what it is in it. If you are genius, why did you pick up this book?

Although the authors are two, there is a harmony and consistency in the writing, and the reader cannot tell if they divided the work, or who wrote what, or if they both sat and did it together unless one of the authors mentions the other. I think part of the merit is due to the editor!

The book is really well structured in parts and lessons that go from the Zen Philosophy basics, meditation techniques (how to sit and breath), to the practice of Zen in your daily life, in the good and bad moments in your life, from eating to relating and everything mundane. Each chapter has an introductory list of topics to be discussed, and ends with a summary with the most important things learned in the chapter, which comes handy if you want to re-read the book. Along the book, there are some informative text boxes: Zen-Speak, devoted to explaining the meaning of the most common Zen words (Chinese or Japanese); One Hand Clapping, with pearls of Zen wisdom; Nirvana Notes, offering tips and techniques helpful to live your life the Zen way; and my fav ones, the Monkey Mind boxes, which are warnings about ways of thinking or being that should be avoided and do not help you to Zen.

The book as a list of recommended readings and websites that needs updating as the book was written in 2001, but they are still useful. There is also a glossary with all the nitty-gritti words just in case you forget them (they are also introduced and explained in the text boxes). The book ends with an alphabetical word index with links to references in the body of the book, like old printed books! If this wasn't enough there is a list of linkable contents at the beginning and the end of the book, which is very thoughtful and helpful.

Most recommended and most enjoyable.

There is a hole in my sidewalk is a mix of diary, "poemary", aphorisms and self-deprecating jokes about relationships of different sorts, with another person, your self, or an object. The book is perfect when you are going through a break-up, divorce or just having problems with your partner. I see it more about human relationships, but the book can be used for relationships with your addiction of choice.

The book is full of wisdom but very witty, VERY!, and you will find yourself laughing out loud at most sentences in it! You'll want to re-read it for sake of the wisdom, for the sake of the humour, for the sake of feeling yourself understood and less weird when your life is full of confusion.

As a female, I think the book captures what the female psyche perfectly. However, a male will probably think the same! That is so, because the book departs from universal human experiences and ways of relating that go way beyond gender and nationality.

The book is extremely short, and it will last you about two coffees. Less if you are a fast reader. Being so, the book is perfect to re/read on the bus, on the toilet, on a trip, on a coffee break, lunch break. Anytime you do, it will be wonderful.

I read this book when I was about 13-14y.o. and is still one of my favourite fiction books ever. It is supposedly a book for children, but it is not. It is a book that looks at the world from the point of view of adults and children at the same time. The story might be simplistic, but it is actually embedded with so much wisdom that one needs to be blind or deaf not to hear it.

The Little Prince is about the hidden magic hidden within ourselves, and I agree with other reviewers that it is very Zen, in the "ridiculous" nonsensical meaning of its wisdom. If you read it to a child be ready to the surprise, the multitude of questions, or perhaps none, as a child will get it more easily than an adult. As the Little prince would say, perhaps you have to explain it to an adult, as adults need anything explained to them otherwise they don't understand anything.

Especially in books like this the translation really makes the difference, not at translating what the book says, but what the book oozes, the feeling, the lyricism. I think the translation is decent, and the reading enjoyable the same. If you can read French, well, grab you Kindle copy instead of this.

There are other versions of the Little Prince in Kindle format, but I find this great for the quality of the translation, the quality of the illustrations, and the bargain price it has.

A classic of the World Literature

This is a perfect audio-book for any person starting zen practice. It lasts about one hour. It gives the listener the basics of zazen regarding basic approach, posture, breathing, bowing and mental attitude and philosophical understanding. The book is very practical but it has many pearls of wisdom that make you understand what zazen is, and how you can apply it to your daily life.

Peter Coyote does a great job a reading the book. I love his voice, intonation, speed, conviction, and the feeling he gives to what he reads.

The short length of the book, about one hour, makes it a perfect tool for spare time listening.

A Classic.

The book is abridged, and it is pity. The hard copy is barely 181 pages, and a longer book would have not bothered anybody. Quite the contrary.

22 Books, 660 Illustrations, Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny and Many More!

What is not to like about this collection? Having Beatrix Potter's 22 books all in one, in electronic format, with the original illustrations is just a treat for any reader, child or adult might be. One of those authors that you want to read to yourself to remember your childhood, or to read to your own children, or anybody else's.

The stories are charming and adorable, but without the illustrations the book would lose a bit of its soul. You will enjoy them if you have a Tablet, Kindle Fire or you read your books in your computer, therefore the illustrations display in its original wonderful colours.

Each story starts with the cover of the original book in it.

To the delight of the reader, the book offers the possibility of downloading a narration of the stories in mp3 audio-book format (thanks to Timeless Reads). What at treat!

Mind

+ If you have a normal Kindle, the images display in black and white, not as neat as the colour ones, but acceptable in neatness and quality image.

+ The downloadable audio-book is compressed in zip format. Therefore, you will need to have a Zip app in your mobile device to extract the files and listen to them.

Price of the book (plus audio-book) not even 4 bucks. Go and grab your copy!

I have the audible version of the book narrated by Chopra himself. It is over 1 hour and really easy to listen anywhere any time, while commuting, doing house chores or just lying on the park. So you will be listening to it quite often, and the "laws" eventually sink in

The book is simply organized and well narrated, right pace, and details these spiritual laws (more principles than anything else):

1/ Law of pure potentiality. 2/ Law of giving and receiving. 3/ Law of Karma 4/ Law of least effort. 5/ Law of intention and desire 6/ Law of Detachment. 7/ Law of Dharma or Life Purpose

I especially liked his definition of the Law of Detachment, which I have found explained too confusedly elsewhere, while Chopra goes right to the point and does so effortlessly. I also loved his definition of Success, and, especially, the conclusion of the book, which is really inspiring and the more spiritual part of it.

I agree with other reviewers on the fact that some of the talking is a bit flashy but too vague, as if Chopra intended this book just for lazy new-agers. Still, the book has many pearls of wisdom and items of advice that are easy to implement in your daily life and to infuse your mind with.