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When the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master, Mr Jones, and take over the farm themselves, they imagine …
When the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master, Mr Jones, and take over …
Audiobook loan from the Vancouver Public Library
The blurb was very promising, some of which I was interested in - " this book shows how to enjoy the inescapable solitude that is at the heart of human life" - and a bunch of which I'm not very enthusiastic about - "spending time in remote places, appreciating and making art, practicing meditation and participating in retreats, drinking peyote and ayahuasca."
I understand that when Huxley published his accounts of psychedelics, Bachelor's generation ate that like hot cake because it was a brave new world to behold. We're just in a different zeitgeist now, and I could not be less interested in personal accounts of someone experimenting psychedelic rituals. I admire his secular buddhism, but that admiration wasn't enough to color this reading with anything of interest to me.
Another big chunk of the book is dedicated to indirectly reading Montaigne, which is not something object because I do …
The blurb was very promising, some of which I was interested in - " this book shows how to enjoy the inescapable solitude that is at the heart of human life" - and a bunch of which I'm not very enthusiastic about - "spending time in remote places, appreciating and making art, practicing meditation and participating in retreats, drinking peyote and ayahuasca."
I understand that when Huxley published his accounts of psychedelics, Bachelor's generation ate that like hot cake because it was a brave new world to behold. We're just in a different zeitgeist now, and I could not be less interested in personal accounts of someone experimenting psychedelic rituals. I admire his secular buddhism, but that admiration wasn't enough to color this reading with anything of interest to me.
Another big chunk of the book is dedicated to indirectly reading Montaigne, which is not something object because I do enjoy "reading" all sorts of buddhist teachings via Batchelor's lenses, but it was not as engaging as I hoped. We know a lot more about Montaigne than we know about masters of the distant past, and the fallibility of a real person does a real number on how impactful their teaching is. I cannot reconcile with a man who alleges radical agnosticism a la Socrates and uses that as a basis to defend social norm conservatism, the cognitive dissonance is too violent. I don't know why Batchelor would include such a section in the book if not to undermine the virtues of Montaigne. Was it just the fruit of collage randomness?
Audiobook loan from the Vancouver Public Library
As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with …
This book is a golden opportunity to get to know a bit of First Nations world view and relationship with the environment, their mythology, traditions, even nuggets of linguistics. For this reason alone I'd recommend this as a read for anyone who hasn't made such contact before.
Some parts are definitely very emotional and touching, specially regarding the sorrows brought upon the land and people subject to such destruction brought by colonizers. I can't say it was a very engaging read, though. Some chapters felt very loosely connected, some sections read like rambling or very superficial criticism, borderline naturalistic platitudes. Reminded me a lot of the idealistic Brazilian Indian Romanticism, but in a modern essayist format with a touch of scientific backing special to the author.
As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As …
Gathering Moss is a series of personal essays introducing the reader to the life cycle, the ecology, and the natural …
As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with …
Audiobook loan from the Vancouver Public Library. Another attempt at reading this author, after a mixed feelings experience with Gathering Moss. Trying to come in with a bit more effort on open-mindedness.
Gathering Moss is a series of personal essays introducing the reader to the life cycle, …
I wanted to love this book but unfortunately the way I read and think is completely dissonant from it. Probably one of those books that I should not have picked up as an Audiobook, because I also did not particularly enjoy the narration style.
It's hard to put into words something so subjective, but I think I grew weary of the fairy-tale tone - which I'm sure comes naturally to the author. My skeptic and perhaps unfortunately cynic world view made it hard to go through a whole chapter without discomfort whenever the author speaks of "plants come when they're necessary" and other traditional ways of thinking about the ecosystem. I appreciate very much getting more contact with the thought process of different cultures, but I was incapable of enjoying this particular opportunity. Maybe I was just too eager to learn the science on mosses and subconsciously grew impatient any …
I wanted to love this book but unfortunately the way I read and think is completely dissonant from it. Probably one of those books that I should not have picked up as an Audiobook, because I also did not particularly enjoy the narration style.
It's hard to put into words something so subjective, but I think I grew weary of the fairy-tale tone - which I'm sure comes naturally to the author. My skeptic and perhaps unfortunately cynic world view made it hard to go through a whole chapter without discomfort whenever the author speaks of "plants come when they're necessary" and other traditional ways of thinking about the ecosystem. I appreciate very much getting more contact with the thought process of different cultures, but I was incapable of enjoying this particular opportunity. Maybe I was just too eager to learn the science on mosses and subconsciously grew impatient any time I got anything different; I had the wrong expectations about what this read was going to be.
I'm deliberately speaking of me in this review because I don't think these are problems that lie in the book. We are simply not meant for each other, at least not as I am today. Maybe books are like mosses and this one will show up again whey it's necessary and I'm ready for it.
Gathering Moss is a series of personal essays introducing the reader to the life cycle, …
Audiobook loan from the Vancouver Public Library
"A bold new approach to how we gather that will transform the ways we spend …
I picked up this book out of a genuine desire to become a better host, but also a better guest. There are some nuggets of domain expertise in the book, but the point is lost on me when the case study is a socialite doing fundraising gala. So much of the book is bourgeoisie thinking - I don't need to give my friends the night of their lives, not all my memories need to be unforgettable. Sometimes I want dinner to be as pleasant as having comfort food in pyjamas, an uneventful night to wash away "excessively interesting" times.
"A bold new approach to how we gather that will transform the ways we spend our time together--at work, at …
"A bold new approach to how we gather that will transform the ways we spend …
Audiobook loan from the Vancouver Public Library
