A. Bowler

Hard not to love but a little resume heavy.

Revisado: 06-20-24

I love Patrick Stewart! I was obsessed with Star Trek TNG and always enjoy seeing him in movies. His performance is heartfelt and engaging and I loved following along the adventures in his life.

My one criticism is that the book leans too heavily on his resume. At times it seems like he has listed every single play and role he has done in his long career. He certainly skips some at the end but man those early years, it's every one. And that's not necessarily a bad thing, I was enjoying it. But then towards the end I started to want more of him and his overall thoughts on his life. He throws in that he has a strained relationship with his kids and it seems like a pretty big deal that doesn't get much attention. I don't need him to open that up if it's not right for his family but those moments revealed that there were probably parts of his life that could use a little more examination in place of detailing jobs.

But that criticism aside, its a delight to listen too even at almost 19 hours. They breezed by.

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Beautiful book - all time great audio performance

Revisado: 06-20-24

I missed this book in high school and college but was blown away by how heartbreaking and beautiful it is. The prose are straight forward and clear which I personally enjoy in a book. But it's especially helpful when there is so much deep wisdom about the nature of our world woven in there. It's sad but enlightening to see so many of the same principals of our system that are alive and well today, detailed so movingly in this book from 1939.

This also has the the best audio performance I've ever heard in long library of audio books. Dylan Baker creates individual voices for all the characters big and small (and there has to be more than 20) while never dipping into caricature or any thing that could distract from the book. And he does such an amazing Peter Fonda impression for Tom Joad that at first I wondered if it was somehow taken from the movie.

I think this is my new favorite book.

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A very enjoyable and moving book.

Revisado: 02-06-24

This book has a simple and tight story that believability brought me into a setting I've never seen represented before. It's funny and thrilling and in the end very poignant. The main character and his very specific world feel so well drawn you are left wondering how the author was able to make it work as beautifully as it he does.

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Mind blown!

Revisado: 02-06-24

This is my new favorite book. It should be required reading for anyone who thinks of themselves as a member of the human race. It's a nice touch that the author reads the book since his own personal identity is the starting point for the book's exploration. And although the work has real academic credibility, it's also totally accessible and down to Earth.

I can't recommend this enough. Buy it!

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It grew on me.

Revisado: 08-23-22

I had heard a lot about this book when it first came out but never got around to reading it. Seeing it in audio form finally pushed me over the edge. It was a hard book to get into but I'm glad I stuck with it. There is some great wisdom in there.

In the beginning, it seemed like Warner was trying too hard to be edgy so that stuff just fell flat. Also, sometimes Zen teachings just feel cold and intellectual to me, like the teacher would rather you be confused and in your head about a concept, instead of connecting to something with you heart. I know that's a lot to put on a very old, noble tradition but I just have trouble with that school of Buddhism sometimes. Just me.

Also, I have to say that the chapter on Gene Simons and "celebrities" is one of the silliest, most non-sensical things I've ever seen in a dharma book. So much of this book comes off as so wise and thoughtful but that whole chapter is complete gibberish, built on incredibly flimsy logic.

But again, the book really grew on me and by the end, when I had gotten used to Warner and his writing, I really dug it. He knows his stuff (with the exception of chapter 9) and has great things to say about meditation, Buddhism and the point of it all. I also feel like I understood Zen better after listening to this.

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It's okay, lots missing.

Revisado: 09-18-21

Although the introduction says this book is for anyone, it's not. It's a book for people profoundly sruggling with weight who need lots of help. So for those folks, maybe it will be great.

I was looking for more details on different lengths of fasts and what's happening with your body at different times during a fast. it gets into that a little but only in pieces here and there. It's also pretty repetitive at times which highlights the idea that other "how to" elements are missing.

Also, it leans pretty heavy on the low sugar low carb front which again, is fine for some people but if I was gonna switch to that kind of diet I wouldn't be fasting as well. Maybe many readers will that double approach but not me.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Helpful but not edited.

Revisado: 01-23-21

This guy clearly knows his stuff and it's a very short but good overview of the basics of bond investing.

The audio file is not edited so all the natural stumbles and repeated words are left in. It's very distracting and makes it hard to take in the info presented.

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Great talk.

Revisado: 08-03-20

Although this is just a speech and then an interview, it is some of the most personal stuff I have heard from PM, whom I have loved and admired for years.

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I love Thich Nhat Hanh

Revisado: 05-02-20

Although this book is centered around questions of death, it is also just a great book for any interested in TNH and his views on Buddhism and how to live.

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A great way to experience the genius of DFW!

Revisado: 08-21-19

As much as I admired and enjoyed Infinite Jest, I could not make it through. It was just too dense and hard to follow. Especially in audio form where you cannot just flip back pages to remind yourself of characters and things.

But I feel like this book has lots of the wisdom and humor that you get in Infite Jest while being much more accessible.

Ill admit setting this aside for a bit during the very long MCCain piece but I am so glad I went back to it.

The Consider the Lobster piece alone is worth the time investment. Wow, what a great essay, or whatever it is.

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