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studiomikarts's reviews
81 reviews
Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching: A Book About the Way and the Power of the Way by Ursula K. Le Guin
challenging
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
2.0
It's hard to review this book, and especially to give it a fair star rating, because I am convinced that Ursula K. Le Guin did her utmost to bring Lao Tzu's work into the modern era. It is thoughtfully done, thoroughly explained, and soundly researched. But my final impression of the core material is that the reason Lao Tzu's work has endured for over two millennia is not due to its inherent wisdom but to its nonsensical nature. As the book's introduction suggests, one can flip to any random page, read an excerpt, and feel enlightened. However, unlike others' experience of these writings as a fountain of universal truth, at best I think the words are interpreted the same way as a tarot card. Yes, there are some thoughtful gems scattered throughout, but for the most part, the words can easily be twisted to suit whatever situation or position one likes. And in some extreme cases, the ideas presented are antithetical to those that most people associate this work with. For instance, I present my notes about a certain section:
I'm not on board with the idea of being against invention or progress. It's hypocritical for someone to be using writing to express such ideas. Writing and language are not natural, they are creations. According to the book's own philosophy, the book itself, its method of communication, and the messages it sends, are all deviations from the Way. When uncut wood is the ideal, we would be living naked in the open, just trying to survive to the next day. And if the argument becomes, "Well, a little progress is ok," everything that has been argued thus far disintegrates in hypocrisy.
Despite my overall negative impression of this book, I did find value in having read it. Not least of which was seeing how many of my favorite stories have been influenced by, and have even directly quoted, this material! To end this review on a positive note, here are a couple quotes that fellow film fans might appreciate:
I'm not on board with the idea of being against invention or progress. It's hypocritical for someone to be using writing to express such ideas. Writing and language are not natural, they are creations. According to the book's own philosophy, the book itself, its method of communication, and the messages it sends, are all deviations from the Way. When uncut wood is the ideal, we would be living naked in the open, just trying to survive to the next day. And if the argument becomes, "Well, a little progress is ok," everything that has been argued thus far disintegrates in hypocrisy.
Despite my overall negative impression of this book, I did find value in having read it. Not least of which was seeing how many of my favorite stories have been influenced by, and have even directly quoted, this material! To end this review on a positive note, here are a couple quotes that fellow film fans might appreciate:
This is the way.
Nothing in the world
is as soft, as weak, as water;
nothing else can wear away
the hard, the strong,
and remain unaltered.
Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman by Alan Rickman
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
2.5
For some time I had this book on my wishlist, as something I wanted to own, but then I spotted it at my local public library and decided to read it that way. Thank goodness I did. Although I loved Alan Rickman's work (particularly in Dogma and Harry Potter) reading his diaries ended up being a major chore. The foreword and introduction by the editor were excellent, but the meat of this massive tome was very hard to read, both logistically and cognitively. Until about 35% in, when the entries began to mention movies I was familiar with, it barely kept my attention. It wasn't all bad, I want to make clear. There were many moments when I laughed out loud, others that encouraged me as a storyteller, and still others that made me think (especially, seeing the way he lived his life, it's actually no surprise Alan Rickman succumbed to illness in the end. Rather than thinking he was taken from us too soon, I now think it's a miracle he lasted so long). All said, the final line in the afterword did make me tear up 🥲 Thank you for all the joy you continue to bring into the world, Alan Rickman.
Content Warnings
Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Medical content, Death of parent, and Alcohol
BECK:Mongolian Chop Squad Volume 1 by Harold Sakuishi
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
0.0
I was surprised by how disappointed I was in this manga. It (and the anime adaptation) had been highly recommended to me by several friends back at the height of its popularity in the US. I do always take recommendations with a grain of salt—often folks are thinking more about their own experience of a thing, than how my preferences might influence my experience—but this was well beyond the normal range of that disconnect. Still, in hindsight it is obvious that the people who loved this story so much shared a lot of personality traits that now make sense when thinking about their recommendation. To me, though, this was an extremely juvenile, whiny, and, as a female reader, degrading manga. I didn't enjoy it at all.
Natalie Portman's Fables by Natalie Portman
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.0
I selected this book as my reward for entering the Boise Public Library 2024 Summer Reading Challenge. I was enticed by the author's name—a vegan rewriting animal fables gave me hope for a more thoughtful depiction of the characters—combined with the beautiful illustration adorning the cover. I am happy to report that the illustration did not disappoint. It was expertly done, both as a storytelling tool and as a treat for the eyes. Unfortunately, the rewritten stories were not as thoughtfully penned as I hoped. There were still issues with the way the animals were written, more as symbols than characters. I think it was a big missed opportunity to help shift our culture toward a more empathetic view of our animal cousins. Despite my disappointment, for now I am keeping this book on my shelves, since it doesn't take up much room, and the illustrations are truly lovely.
Christmas at Hogwarts by J.K. Rowling
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
What a beautiful way to breathe new life into a familiar passage from a beloved novel! While I did notice a few distracting shortcuts taken with the otherwise excellent digital illustrations (in particular, reusing supporting elements like goblets and plates) the impression is overall one of magic and warmth, with particularly good depictions of atmospheric light. The way the writing was divided among the images made it feel fresh and new, despite the fact that I've read and listened to these words truly countless times. I purchased this book with my Christmas money and it was very well spent! This is one I'll read every year at Christmastime. The only problem now is deciding whether to place it with my Christmas books or my Harry Potter collection!
The Complete Language of Flowers: A Definitive and Illustrated History - Pocket Edition by S. Theresa Dietz
informative
5.0
I've had this book on my wishlist for a year or two. It seemed like the perfect reference for my illustration work, in which I often incorporate plants based on their symbolic meaning, as well as their native location, scientific properties, etc. But looking up symbolic plant meanings online has always been a chore, with no source feeling definitive or complete—not to mention the annoyance of navigating popups and ads! So I used some of my Christmas money from last month to acquire this book and I'm pleased to report that it was everything I hoped and more!
The book itself is much smaller than I expected, but still jam-packed with hundreds (if not thousands) of entries, arranged alphabetically by scientific name. Each entry is well-organized with an extensive amount of information that makes this book seem, if not exhaustive, definitive enough for my satisfaction and purpose. The fact that everything is beautifully illustrated, layed out, and otherwise designed turns this tool into a treasure. The way one can look up entries in the indices by the plant's common name as well as by common meanings makes this book extremely useful, as well.
Although my main purpose was to equip myself with a reference for future illustration work, for my first reading, I very much enjoyed looking up my favorite plants, as well as all the known plants on my property. The book may be titled with the word flower, but it covers a wide variety of plants and plant parts, including root systems and rose buds. Ultimately, I am extremely pleased with this acquisition and I'm sure this small but mighty tome will see lots of use from this day forth!
The book itself is much smaller than I expected, but still jam-packed with hundreds (if not thousands) of entries, arranged alphabetically by scientific name. Each entry is well-organized with an extensive amount of information that makes this book seem, if not exhaustive, definitive enough for my satisfaction and purpose. The fact that everything is beautifully illustrated, layed out, and otherwise designed turns this tool into a treasure. The way one can look up entries in the indices by the plant's common name as well as by common meanings makes this book extremely useful, as well.
Although my main purpose was to equip myself with a reference for future illustration work, for my first reading, I very much enjoyed looking up my favorite plants, as well as all the known plants on my property. The book may be titled with the word flower, but it covers a wide variety of plants and plant parts, including root systems and rose buds. Ultimately, I am extremely pleased with this acquisition and I'm sure this small but mighty tome will see lots of use from this day forth!
Hojoki: a Buddhist Reflection on Solitude, Imperfection and Transcendence by Kamo No Chomei
inspiring
reflective
sad
4.0
This was an interesting book, providing the original Japanese text side-by-side with a new English translation of a 13th century Japanese hermit's writings. I loved how there were endnotes and interior figures adding historical context, making it easy to sympathize with the original author. As an intermediate student of the Japanese language, I first tried reading the Japanese as I went along, but the older pronunciations and unknown kanji made that difficult. That, on top of how interesting the story itself was--I just wanted to find out what happened next!
Happily, when I finished reading the English translation, at the end of the book there was a link for audio files, which were free to access! I immediately went through and listened to each chapter in Japanese, doing my best to read along. It's awesome that this resource is available because it's WAY easier to follow this old style of writing with a narrator to guide you. The inclusion of furigana would have been welcome to me, but I could see it being annoying for higher level Japanese readers (just how Romaji is annoying to me) so this seems like the best way to make the text accessible to all levels of Japanese language students.
As for the author and the text overall, it's not as deep or profound as I expected. It's actually quite pitiable. It's the experience of a man who saw countless horrors and turned his back on the world in despair. I feel sympathy, not inspiration, even when considering my own life of horrors. However, I did pluck a couple lovely and useful quotes from among the disaster and darkness, which I will share here:
Happily, when I finished reading the English translation, at the end of the book there was a link for audio files, which were free to access! I immediately went through and listened to each chapter in Japanese, doing my best to read along. It's awesome that this resource is available because it's WAY easier to follow this old style of writing with a narrator to guide you. The inclusion of furigana would have been welcome to me, but I could see it being annoying for higher level Japanese readers (just how Romaji is annoying to me) so this seems like the best way to make the text accessible to all levels of Japanese language students.
As for the author and the text overall, it's not as deep or profound as I expected. It's actually quite pitiable. It's the experience of a man who saw countless horrors and turned his back on the world in despair. I feel sympathy, not inspiration, even when considering my own life of horrors. However, I did pluck a couple lovely and useful quotes from among the disaster and darkness, which I will share here:
If something needs doing,
Why not be your own servant?
True, it requires effort,
But it's better than being obliged to another.
When you need to go somewhere, walk.
I exert myself,
But never to excess.
So even when fatigued,
I'm not distressed.
Black Powder War by Naomi Novik
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
This was an excellent continuation of the Temeraire story but all I can think about after finishing it is how violent and abusive the story is to non-human, non-dragon animals. It makes it really hard to sympathize with the plight of the dragons (much less their human masters) when you see how horrific life is for the animals suffering at their hands. It wouldn't have been a problem if the book seemed to be trying to make a point about this, but I did not get that impression. This bad aftertaste has made it very hard to get myself to read the next volume. I wonder if this is why I ALWAYS end up quitting this series around this point. This is my third-plus attempt at a full read-through...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Violence, Blood, and War
This is Vegan Propaganda: And Other Lies The Meat Industry Tells You by Ed Winters
This book is so well-written, so deeply informed, it felt best to let it speak for itself before I begin my review. The author expertly managed the content so that it is relevant to existing vegans, veg-curious folks, and pre-vegan skeptics, all at once. It's the number one book that I recommend to anyone wanting to know more about veganism. It covers every topic, from the darkest and most harrowing why's, to the laugh-out-loud ridiculous why-not's, and no good-hearted and level-headed reader won't be moved by what they read. If you're wondering what the deal is with veganism, whatever your experience with it until now, please read this book. If nothing else, you will learn why it's the most important movement in human history and how our exploitation of animals affects everything from the animals themselves, to human health, the creation of pandemic diseases, our accelerating global climate catastrophe, and more. I'll end with another powerful quote, food for thought:
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Every time we eat, we have the power to radically transform the world we live in and simultaneously contribute to addressing many of the most pressing issues that our species currently faces: climate change, infectious disease, chronic disease, human exploitation, and, of course, non-human exploitation. Every single day, our choices can help alleviate all of these problems or they can perpetuate them.
This book is so well-written, so deeply informed, it felt best to let it speak for itself before I begin my review. The author expertly managed the content so that it is relevant to existing vegans, veg-curious folks, and pre-vegan skeptics, all at once. It's the number one book that I recommend to anyone wanting to know more about veganism. It covers every topic, from the darkest and most harrowing why's, to the laugh-out-loud ridiculous why-not's, and no good-hearted and level-headed reader won't be moved by what they read. If you're wondering what the deal is with veganism, whatever your experience with it until now, please read this book. If nothing else, you will learn why it's the most important movement in human history and how our exploitation of animals affects everything from the animals themselves, to human health, the creation of pandemic diseases, our accelerating global climate catastrophe, and more. I'll end with another powerful quote, food for thought:
Some people believe that to be vegan means you have to be an animal lover or be someone who goes out of their way to be kind to animals. But it's not an act of kindness to not needlessly hurt someone. If we walk down the street and don't kick a dog, that's not an act of kindness. In the same way, avoiding forcing animals into gas chambers and macerators and onto kill lines isn't an act of benevolence — it's an act of justice and respect for the basic moral consideration that all animals deserve.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
I admit I had my doubts about this book, based on my only experience reading Stephen King, Rose Madder, but so many other writing books, writers organizations, and writers that I admire recommended it that I finally gave it a shot. Thank goodness I didn't let preconceived notions hold me back! This book was awesome! For one, it was gut-bustingly funny and a total page-turner. I seriously didn't expect to be laughing out loud while reading this, especially not half the time! It was very easy to read, too, with the chapters focusing on the author's life being so riveting they could have been a book unto themselves. But the writing tips, sandwiched in the middle, completely lived up to the hype that led me to this book in the first place and were indispensable. In some ways, they reinforced things I was already doing, and in other ways, they opened my mind to new possibilities that made the occupation of writing long-form fiction seem even easier and freer than other writing books I had read before. More than anything, this book gave me confidence and affirmed my choice to become a professional novelist. Any writer will benefit from reading this book, and long-form fiction authors will feel it's especially relevant to them, but I think any reader would enjoy this book, even if they don't consider themselves a writer of any kind. There's very good reason this book is universally recommended! And as for Rose Madder? The author himself considers the story to be one of his weakest, which only encouraged me to give his fiction work another shot! I'm thinking The Green Mile next; it seems like a story I'd enjoy 🤔
To finish, here are some of my favorite quotes from On Writing:
To finish, here are some of my favorite quotes from On Writing:
The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time.
If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.
Description begins in the writer's imagination, but should finish in the reader's.
Writing isn't about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it's about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It's about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy.