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emmareadstoomuch's review
4.0
welcome to: THE PENGUIN GREAT IDEAS PROJECT!
as you all know, i'm:
a) addicted to projects (and my book club, my long classics project, and my genius project are all on pause)
b) mildly behind on my reading challenge (see: months-long reading slump and corresponding existential crisis)
c) very into short books that make me look smart (much like the penguin great ideas collection).
i have acquired a couple dozen penguin great ideas installments, and i will be attempting to read one a day until i get bored, catch up, or reach spiritual fulfillment!
find past books here:
WHAT IS EXISTENTIALISM?
REFLECTIONS ON THE GUILLOTINE
let's do this!
immediately the very first try of this took longer than a day, but i'm going to chalk it up to the remnants of my reading slump and not question whether this is an overwhelming and kind of annoying idea that will send me right back into it.
this book was way more readable than the others i've read (or started and abandoned) in the collection. a lot of the time they're so dense as to almost balance out how short they are. but this was lovely both in reading experience and in language, and i can see myself returning to it.
4 stars!
as you all know, i'm:
a) addicted to projects (and my book club, my long classics project, and my genius project are all on pause)
b) mildly behind on my reading challenge (see: months-long reading slump and corresponding existential crisis)
c) very into short books that make me look smart (much like the penguin great ideas collection).
i have acquired a couple dozen penguin great ideas installments, and i will be attempting to read one a day until i get bored, catch up, or reach spiritual fulfillment!
find past books here:
WHAT IS EXISTENTIALISM?
REFLECTIONS ON THE GUILLOTINE
let's do this!
immediately the very first try of this took longer than a day, but i'm going to chalk it up to the remnants of my reading slump and not question whether this is an overwhelming and kind of annoying idea that will send me right back into it.
this book was way more readable than the others i've read (or started and abandoned) in the collection. a lot of the time they're so dense as to almost balance out how short they are. but this was lovely both in reading experience and in language, and i can see myself returning to it.
4 stars!
translator_monkey's review
4.0
A wonderful book for reading and pondering, but not what you'll want to pick up if you want to learn about basic Buddhist fundamentals. The writings by the three monks - Saigyō, Chōmei and Kenkō - were (for me) more a glimpse into Japan's past (12th century) and a look at their reflections of Buddhism at the time. Very interesting reading.
Many others who have read the book before me point to how readable and relatable these musings were, some 800-900 years after the ink dried. I think in this regard, much must be said of Meredith McKinney's outstanding research and translation to bring us this slim but important artefact.
I would happily recommend this book to anyone with a background in Buddhism and an interest in contemplative writing.
Four out of five stars.
Sincerest thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC. This in no way impacted my review or rating.
Many others who have read the book before me point to how readable and relatable these musings were, some 800-900 years after the ink dried. I think in this regard, much must be said of Meredith McKinney's outstanding research and translation to bring us this slim but important artefact.
I would happily recommend this book to anyone with a background in Buddhism and an interest in contemplative writing.
Four out of five stars.
Sincerest thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC. This in no way impacted my review or rating.
tititi's review
4.0
Wow this book got me thinking. The sharings of the first two monks really resonated with me and I agreed with pretty much everything they said. However the thing is because I agreed so much with them I find it hard right now to recall what they said. However the third monk on the other hand… His writings are so blunt and straight-forward it got me questioning if it even was a correct representation of Buddhist values and beliefs. Do I agree with him? Not in any way, shape or form. But I absolutely loved reading him because it got me thinking and arguing with him in my head and in my head I recall most of his thoughts. What an important revelation it is to realize the more you read things you don’t agree with the better.
a_eterno's review
slow-paced
3.75
"What a glorious luxury it is to taste life to the full for even a single year. If you constantly regret life's passing, even a thousand long years will seem but the dream of a night."
"In all things, the beginning and end are the most engaging. Does the love of a man and woman suggest only their embraces? No, the sorrow of lovers parted before they met, laments over promises betrayed, long lonely nights spent sleepless until dawn, pining thoughts for one in some far place, a woman left sighing over past love in her tumbledown abode– it is these, surely, that embody the romance of love"
overall an interesting collection of musings. what was lovely to see were that these musings are so fundamentally human and relatable– they talk about many of the things we still talk about today. some of it was a slog perhaps but overall enjoyable.
"In all things, the beginning and end are the most engaging. Does the love of a man and woman suggest only their embraces? No, the sorrow of lovers parted before they met, laments over promises betrayed, long lonely nights spent sleepless until dawn, pining thoughts for one in some far place, a woman left sighing over past love in her tumbledown abode– it is these, surely, that embody the romance of love"
overall an interesting collection of musings. what was lovely to see were that these musings are so fundamentally human and relatable– they talk about many of the things we still talk about today. some of it was a slog perhaps but overall enjoyable.
abbeysullivan96's review
3.0
"All desire is delusion." tbh i needed to hear that :/
I really enjoyed reading this with a pen - next time I want to remind myself of the nuggets in here I can flip through and find them quickly. The rest was just ok.
can i just say...the third guy sometimes was kind of a hater. he'd describe people having fun at a party and be like how disgraceful! but then describe the way he likes to party as being ok. hater behavior unfortunately.
I really enjoyed reading this with a pen - next time I want to remind myself of the nuggets in here I can flip through and find them quickly. The rest was just ok.
can i just say...the third guy sometimes was kind of a hater. he'd describe people having fun at a party and be like how disgraceful! but then describe the way he likes to party as being ok. hater behavior unfortunately.
redsunyubin's review
3.0
The writings by chomei and saigyo were a pleasure to read and deserve five stars.
I bought this book not knowing it would be mostly essays by kenko. Personally his writings are rarely to my liking so I sadly can’t rate the book as a total higher than 3
I bought this book not knowing it would be mostly essays by kenko. Personally his writings are rarely to my liking so I sadly can’t rate the book as a total higher than 3