Average customer rating:
- Amazing Josh Groban piano book
- Simple, but worth the money
- Where's the _real_ music
- I was surprised, both good and bad.
- Average..expecting more but got less!
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AWAKE JOSH GROBAN
Josh Groban
Manufacturer: HAL LEONARD CORPORATION
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 142342476X |
Book Description
Groban's critically acclaimed third CD features a great mix of classical, opera, and pop songs sung in both English and Italian. Our songbook offers all 13 tunes: February Song * L'Ultima Notte * Lullaby * Now or Never * So She Dances * Solo por Ti * You Are Loved (Don't Give Up) * and more, plus a special 4-page section of color photos.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing Josh Groban piano book.......2007-09-04
This book is amazing!!! Easy to play. Only thing that I was disappointed about was that the song "Awake" was not in this piano book. It is a beautiful song and ought to be printed in this book as well.
Simple, but worth the money.......2007-07-14
Although the arrangements are relatively easy and simple, they're accurate, and I found that it was easy to improvise, if you wanted to. For intermediates, in a few runs through, you could have it down.
The simplest ones are So She Dances, Solo Por Ti, and You Are Loved. In Her Eyes, February Song, Now Or Never, and Un Giorno Per Noi are a little more complicated, but not very. I'd still buy it because there's really no substitute for it and because I love the songs so much. It really isn't that bad.
Where's the _real_ music.......2007-05-15
Seriously, why do publishers do this. If you're going to release a book of music, release the REAL music. And where are the last 3 songs? I want to sing them. C'mon people.
I was surprised, both good and bad........2007-04-11
I was extremely excited when this book arrived. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the printed music contains most of the actual musical arrangement as recorded on the CD of the same name. My NOT-so-pleasant surprise was that nearly half of the songs are written in a different key than the music was recorded, thereby making "playing along" impossible for someone who can't transpose music in their head. (I notified the publisher of my disappointment, and suggested they not do this in the future.)
But the book is absolutely AWESOME!!
Average..expecting more but got less!.......2007-03-28
I was expecting that all the music from the same album will be on this music book, but unfortunately, as previously mentioned by the first person to comment on this product, "Awake", "Verita", and "Smile" were missing.
Musical notations are simplified [based on the comparison that i made on the two previous groban music books: Josh Groban and Closer]. Helpful for beginners but not quite fulfilling and helpful for advance music players.
In this regard, was expecting more but got less.
Book Description
Roger Ebert has been writing film reviews for the Chicago Sun-Times for nearly forty years. And during those four decades, his wide knowledge, keen judgment, prodigious energy, and sharp sense of humor have made him America’s most celebrated film critic. He was the first such critic to win a Pulitzer Prize—one of just three film critics ever to receive that honor—and the only one to have a star dedicated to him on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His groundbreaking hit TV show, At the Movies, meanwhile, has made “two thumbs up” one of the most coveted hallmarks in the entire industry.
No critic alive has reviewed more movies than Roger Ebert, and yet his essential writings have never been collected in a single volume—until now. With Awake in the Dark, both fans and film buffs can finally bask in the best of Ebert’s work. The reviews, interviews, and essays collected here present a picture of this indispensable critic’s numerous contributions to the cinema and cinephilia. From The Godfather to GoodFellas, from Cries and Whispers to Crash, the reviews in Awake in the Dark span some of the most exceptional periods in film history, from the dramatic rise of rebel Hollywood and the heyday of the auteur, to the triumph of blockbuster films such as Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark, to the indie revolution that is still with us today.
The extraordinary interviews gathered in Awake in the Dark capture Ebert engaging not only some of the most influential directors of our time—Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, Robert Altman, Werner Herzog, and Ingmar Bergman—but also some of the silver screen’s most respected and dynamic personalities, including actors as diverse as Robert Mitchum, James Stewart, Warren Beatty, and Meryl Streep. Ebert’s remarkable essays play a significant part in Awake in the Dark as well. The book contains some of Ebert’s most admired pieces, among them a moving appreciation of John Cassavetes and a loving tribute to the virtues of black-and-white films.
If Pauline Kael and Andrew Sarris were godmother and godfather to the movie generation, then Ebert is its voice from within—a writer whose exceptional intelligence and daily bursts of insight and enthusiasm have shaped the way we think about the movies. Awake in the Dark, therefore, will be a treasure trove not just for fans of this seminal critic, but for anyone desiring a fascinating and compulsively readable chronicle of film since the late 1960s.
Customer Reviews:
Awake in the Dark : Roger Ebert.......2007-09-09
Finished the book in just under two days - he's my favorite author on cinema and this one didn't disappoint!
Pleasurable prose from one of America's great underappreciated treasures.......2007-07-27
You know, there's a very good reason Roger Ebert won a Pulitzer. The man is an amazing writer. If you enjoy the pure pleasure of reading, and have a passion for the movies, you would be hard-pressed to find a better book than this to read.
The book is mostly a collection of writings by Ebert over the last several decades. There's some interviews with famous film folk, a collection of essays on subjects such as colorization, digital vs film, the need for a viable "adults only" rating, a few movie reviews, a discussion on the past, present and future of film review, and, most importantly, a serious love of the movies that comes through on every page.
I confess I am somewhat biased. Until I began reading Roger Ebert's fine website, I'd never heard of films such as M - Criterion Collection (Special Edition), Nosferatu, The Third Man - Criterion Collection (2-Disc Edition), or The Grapes of Wrath (I knew about the novel, of course). I'd also never had any real interst in, or appreciation for, movies such as Dark City (New Line Platinum Series), "The Bride of Frankenstein", Citizen Kane, or The Adventures of Robin Hood (Two-Disc Special Edition).
Fool that I was.
Now thanks largely to Roger Ebert I've began to really develop a love and passion for movies in ways I never thought that I would. Just looking over my recent purchases on Amazon, I see things like Babette's Feast, Russian Ark: The Masterworks Edition, All About Eve, All Quiet on the Western Front (Universal Cinema Classics), the "Godfather" films, and many others. Roger Ebert really opened my eyes to the glory of film, and helped me to understand why something like "Sunrise", is a glorious movie and something like "White Chicks" is not (hint: the abscence of anyone named Wayans helps).
I cannot recommend this book enough. If you like movies, buy it. If you like reading good writing, buy it. If you even think you might like this book, buy it! You'll be doing yourself a favor.
Let Roger help you love the movies.......2007-05-14
Not only does Ebert thoughtfully review movies, he writes so well that each essay is a pleasure to read whether we saw or will see the movie or not. These are reviews of his "best" movies for almost thirty years, as well as an explanation of how he came to be exclusively a movie reviewer. Funny, literate, and informative.
A great writer writing about what he loves.......2007-04-16
Roger Ebert loves movies, and he is a wonderful writer. He can reveal the essence of a movie with a poet;s touch, and he can point out some elements of the great mystery that draws us to an actor we might love, but not know why (thinking of his piece on Tom Hanks).
In one of the last reviewed movies in the book, "Crash" his writing helped me understand why a movie that seemed to rely so much on the most unlikely of fates, really deserved to be seen as a great movie. In the review of "Million Dollar Baby" which precedes "Crash", he shines a light on the heart of a movie that touched my heart, and does so with such simple and elegant precision.
It is easy to think of Mr. Ebert giving a thumbs up sign, doing battle with one of his guest hosts, or trying to find some way to indicate how much better than that a movie might be by using a series of adjectives or modifiers. Sometimes this has seemed silly, and inaccurate. For my wife and I, an unmodified "Two thumbs up" these days is as likely to reveal a mild stinker as something worthwhile and entertaining. Yet, I appreciate that he even writes an essay about another writer who decries such kinds of "criticisms and rating systems", doing so elegantly and non-defensively.
Yet when you read these reviews and interviews and let yourself be touched by them you can feel the author's joy and appreciation of the movies as well as his great understanding of this art form. That he is able to do this with a complete lack of pretense allowed me to fully appreciate the stand he has carved for himself as falling between the critic's movie critic and the people's movie critic.
If this were the last major work that Mr. Ebert creates in his life, he has performed a great service to those of us fortunate to pick this book up and read it. Thank you Roger Ebert. Two Thumbs pointing to the stars!
Unveiling Roger Ebert.......2006-11-10
When you think of Roger Ebert you think of "movie critic". However, this book introduces us to the depth of this man's love of the cinema and his ability to understand it. The book covers forty years of reviews, essays and interviews. For the film lover it will be an exciting journey back to the darken theaters of yesterday, and to the present blockbusters. His engaging style of interviewing is tops. A great reference book..... highly recommended!
Book Description
“Nature deficit disorder” has become an increasingly challenging problem in our hyper modern world. In Awake in the Wild, Mark Coleman shows seekers how to remedy this widespread malady by reconnecting with nature through Buddhism. Each short (two to three pages) chapter includes a concrete nature meditation relating to such topics as Attuning to the Natural World, Reflecting the Rhythms of Nature, Walking with Compassion, Releasing the Inner Noise, Freeing the Animal Within, Coming into the Peace of Wild Things, Weathering the Storms of Life, and more. Incorporating anecdotes from the author’s many nature retreats, Buddhist wisdom and teachings, important nature writings by others, and nature itself, the book invites readers to participate in, not just observe, nature; develop a loving connection with the earth as a form of environmental activism; decrease urban alienation through experiencing nature; embody nature’s peaceful presence; and connect with ancient spiritual wisdom through nature meditations.
Customer Reviews:
Awake in the Wild.......2007-02-04
Mark Coleman's book "Awake in the Wild" provides a delightful and accessible means to explore meditation in the nature world. The exercises and stories provide simple and profound ways for the reader to experience a greater sense of attention and connection to the web of life, and an awareness of the divine. "Awake in the Wild" has become a faithful companion for me on hikes -- there is always something new to discover. I highly recommend this book for both aspiring and cultured meditators! Enjoy.
Awake in the wildness.......2007-01-10
I have enjoyed reading this book as it reminds me that just being aware can bring peace. I like all of the specific meditation suggestions at the end of the chapters as it really helps to use and experience what Mark is suggesting.
loved it..........2006-11-23
This book is soothing to the soul, and is an inspiration to connect with this beatiful planet we live on. Mark Coleman, really captures the essence of what it is like to tune in to the natural world. This book is an encouraging reminder to look at all of the life happening around us, and to stop and smell the roses. Its an easy, sweet, and soothing read.
a breath of fresh air.......2006-11-15
This book is a must read. Mark Coleman reminds us of the importance of getting off our computers and into the wild, a place many of us are no longer familiar with. This book helps bring you back and many of the meditations are great for beginners. When you're feeling unbalanced, disconnected, and simply overwhelmed by the world, take this book to the ocean, into the woods, or your favorite park and find yourself again.
Product Description
This book reveals a time-tested, life-changing process. In addition to articles that explain the key concepts, there are exercises and journal entries to assist the reader in putting the core ideas to work in real life.
Customer Reviews:
A must-read - and must-live book!.......2005-02-05
CAUTION: Don't read this book if you're content with your current way of being. Following the techniques and ideas from this book will virtually assure you of a fuller, richer appreciation for life!
This book is not only transformational for the soul but beautiful to the sight. The breathtaking photos add to an already amazing publication.
The book is broken down into lessons and exercises which cause you to rethink your entire life, and guide you lovingly through uncharted soul territory.
Following the 12 Success Strategies promises you a great new start in your life, free from the constraints of your past.
I've used the meditations and exercises with groups and individually and they have been equally successful. I'm transformed ... and a huge Dave Ellis fan!
Start living the life of YOUR dreams today!!!.......2001-04-28
Do you sometimes feel as though you struggle through the day just trying to accomplish your "to do" list? Do the colorful dreams you once had for your life seem to have faded and paled under your perceived sense of "responsibility", "shoulds", "oughts", and "have to's"? Do you develop plans to make life changes such as clearing your office clutter, living a more healthy life style, and improving relationships with significant others only to lose track of these goals in the midst of daily living? If so, Falling Awake is the book for you!
Dave Ellis has prepared a wonderful collection of twelve practical, common sense, success strategies to help us "fall awake" to the wonderful lives we already have and the incredibly exciting futures we have the ability to create. Ellis is a masterful teacher, author and life coach. His writing style is collegial and fun to read. This book offers the reader strategies that not only make sense but they actually work and yield dramatic, positive, and lasting results. I've used them personally with great success and my clients love them. Lasting results is an important key here--this is not just any old set of tips that will fade away after you read them. These are strategies you can put to work TODAY and see the differences almost immediately. They just make good sense! If you choose to "fall awake" to the life of your dreams, your life will literally never be the same.
I especially love the way Falling Awake is laid out and the incredible photos that accompany the success strategies. It is a pleasure to read. The exercises, which allow for personal reflection, and access to the Falling Awake Website are two additions which enrich this book and make it an incredible resource.
I believe Dave Ellis has developed concepts and practical strategies that have the power to shape the lives of individuals, couples and communities. Order Falling Awake today if you really want to make the most of your life and are open to a potentially life-changing experience. Join me and the many others who are applying the Falling Awake strategies and celebrating the wonderful lives they've created.
Falling Awake: Creating the Life of Your Dreams.......2001-04-21
Falling Awake by Dave Ellis, has been the turning point in my life and only in three months. It rivals Simple Abundance;A Daybook of Comfort & Joy, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff(& all of Richard Carlson's great sequels), Kitchen Table Wisdom and The Roadless Traveled (all of which I loved.)
The difference is that Falling Awake is a valuable resource book full of tools that are broken down into 12 major success strategies that can be used interchangeably with relationships, families, finances or careers. These strategies are presented as tools that will pull you into the future you desire. You begin planning with a mind that has been fine tuned with your own self-determined wants based on what you have personally determined to be what you value through exercises early on in the book.
These success strategies are first explained with great clarity as to how they can change how you live your life. Each chapter is interspersed at appropriate breaks with guided invitations to journal or interact with exercises that are designed to integrate the content of Falling Awake with your own spirit.
What I loved most about Falling Awake over other self-enrichment content is Ellis' contention that you already "have it all" and with simply applying the 12 strategies you will finally wake up to in every action and moment of your day.
I have realized great success in the relationships, personal fulfillment and professional endeavors that I was either already in the middle of or have since created in the short three months since reading and living the strategies.
Falling Awake has been useful since as a resource book to facilitate habits of thought and action in whatever way you decide to reenact the strategies, while other self-enrichment concepts loose their luster after the newness fades.
Amazon.com
"Professional insomniac" John Wiedman isn't a doctor; he researched and developed this anti-insomnia program in order to overcome his own sleep problems. His recommendation is that people suffering from severe insomnia should actually restrict their sleeping time to the bare minimum they need to function during the day. Some may find this a difficult prescription, but judging from his readers' testimonials, it can work. Desperately Seeking Snoozin' also includes general information about sleep medications, lifestyle changes that can affect sleep, and how eating late at night can affect the sleep cycle. The book is rounded out with messages from insomnia chat boards on the Internet, which give a sense of the amount of genuine suffering sleep problems can cause. --Ben Kallen
Book Description
John Wiedman is neither a doctor nor a therapist, but the years he has spent in the trenches of insomnia, fighting for an elusive good night's sleep, has made him an expert in the war against sleepless nights. In conversational tones, John talks about how he has overcome a sleeping disorder that affects about one-third of the adult population in America and lays out a blueprint showing how sufferers don't have to spend their nights tossing and turning and their days struggling to stay awake. John uses his "on-the-job" experience to guide readers through a program that will help them develop healthy habits that promote a restful and peaceful night of slumber. Desperately Seeking Snoozing is the one book that can boast that it will put you to sleep.
Customer Reviews:
I can't BELIEVE this dopey book got so many raves! .......2006-03-05
As one other reviewer notes, it's incredibly poorly written. The info is not new, not helpful, not... well, let's just say I saw it a conventional (offline, independent) bookstore, thought it was a cute title, and, being as short on time that day as I almost always am short on sleep, I didn't leaf through it before buying it. MISTAKE!
I really resented paying money for this piece of self-congratulatory-ness. I'm glad the author found something that worked for him, I'm glad he suffered and then interrupted the cycle: hooray for anyone who does that, in any area of life. But it sure didn't do anything for me, and didn't tell me anything I didn't know.
Aggravating waste of trees.
Finally! A treatment program!.......2004-11-08
Wiedman has actually included a treatment program that an insomniac can follow and actually attain good results! This is not a book for snoring or sleep apnea. I would encourage those with insomnia to read this book and follow the instructions. You will be amazed at how much better you feel after a good night's sleep.
Poorly written but helpful........2003-12-12
Unbelievably poorly written but does have some good ideas.
In the appendix there is a comment from someone who claims they're a literary agent and that the writing is superb. I would surmise the person is not a successful literary agent.
great book for us insomniacs.......2003-11-12
I've had insomnia for many years & have taken many different anti-depressants for all those years. I received the book not long ago. I agree this is a book with both serious and humorous sides of sleep disorders. There are different things people can do to help with sleep problems-easy to understand and follow.
the absolute best of it's kind.......2003-01-19
I read this book in a desperate attempt to alleviate the chronic insomnia that had plauged me since the birth of my daughter. It was the only book of it's kind (I purchased two others) that made me feel genuine hopefulness about my condition. Mr. Wiedman does not make light of insomnia - to the contrary, he sincerely understands what you are going through. This man has been through some truly hard times and you can sense his compassion and desire to help others. This is what sets the book apart.
I both laughed and cried while reading this book; it is very cathartic and reads like a novel at times. Although you may find other books containing more technical information, this book will give you that human touch that no other can provide. My insomnia is gone, and even better, I no longer feel anxious about the occasional sleepless night.
THANK YOU Mr. Wiedman, you have helped me tremendously. I cannot reccomend this book highly enough to anyone struggling with sleep.
Customer Reviews:
Good Stuff.......2007-08-13
I received this journal book as a gift, and have throughly enjoyed it. My recent purchase of the journal was for me to give to a friend as a birthday present. I know she'll enjoy recording her goals, thoughts, fears and ideas in this clever journal as much as I have!
Publish yourself in color and creativity.......2007-05-11
this is your chance to see what your words look like while mingled with sark's.....journaling, i feel, is crucial to living a productive and positive life...if you don't have a lot of experience in being creative and/or journaling, this is the perfect starter for you...and it's great for any age, any sex!
Sparks your creativity.......2007-04-26
I love this book!
This was given to me as a gift. I've been looking for something to unleash my inner soul and creativity within, and this is just the book for that!!! My colorful pages and her carefree instructions brings you back to your childhood days where you're free to rant and write anything under the sun. Definitely not your typical journal.
A Nice Surprise!.......2006-02-25
I wanted a new journal to start off the new year and ordered Sark's Journal and Play!Book. When it first arrived I was a little disappointed because it was not a traditional Journal. But once I started using it and finding the inspiration within it's beautifully colored and drawn pages, I couldn't put it down. Sark prompts you to write of your hopes and fears, wishes, and desires, and memories of long ago. I bought some special Journal Markers and have had so much fun creating pictures while writing down my memories. If looking to have some fun whle journaling- and willing to not be rigid about keeping a "traditional" journal- then this book will provide a fabulously creative outlet!
Expensive Blank Book.......2005-11-20
I've bought a lot of 'blank journals' over the years and some as much or more as the $19.95 I paid for this book when it first came out, but I knew that I was buying a blank journal. In this case I thought I was buying something with a little more substance.
This book is basically a large blank book with some colorful drawings throughout and several pages with a few words written to give you suggestions of what to fill the pages with, but even the words are very simplistic and don't offer much in the way of prompts.
It was a huge disappointment and in my opinion a waste of twenty dollars.
Amazon.com
In his third novel, Lying Awake, Mark Salzman breaks the primary rule of fiction by creating a protagonist who has virtually no external life. Sister John of the Cross, a middle-aged nun cloistered in a Carmelite monastery in contemporary Los Angeles, languished for years in a spiritual drought--"her prayers empty and her soul dry"--until she suddenly received God's grace in the form of intense mystical visions. So vivid have her visions become that they burn a kind of afterglow into her mind that she transcribes into crystalline (and highly popular) verse. The only downside is that they are accompanied by excruciating headaches that cause her to black out.
The story hinges on Sister John's discovery that her visions are in fact the result of mild epileptic seizures. As she learns from her neurologist, temporal-lobe epilepsy commonly brings about "hypergraphia (voluminous writing), an intensification but also a narrowing of emotional response, and an obsessive interest in religion and philosophy." Dostoyevsky, the classic victim of this condition, wrote of his raptures: "There are moments, and it is only a matter of five or six seconds, when you feel the presence of eternal harmony.... If this state were to last more than five seconds, the soul could not endure it and would have to disappear." An exact description of Sister John's visions. The question she now faces is whether to go ahead with surgery--and risk obliterating both her spiritual life and her art--or cling to a state of grace that may actually be a delusion ignited by an electrochemical imbalance.
Using a very limited palette, Mark Salzman creates an austere masterpiece. The real miracle of Lying Awake is that it works perfectly on every level: on the realistic surface, it captures the petty squabbles and tiny bursts of radiance of life in a Los Angeles monastery; deeper down it probes the nature of spiritual illumination and the meaning and purpose of prayer in everyday life; and, at bottom, there lurks a profound meditation on the mystery of artistic inspiration. Salzman made a highly auspicious debut in 1986 with Iron and Silk, a memoir of his years in China, and since then he has dramatically changed key in every book--most recently from the absurdist American suburban chronicle of Lost in Place to the artistic-crisis-cum-courtroom-drama novel The Soloist. Lying Awake is quieter and more sober than Salzman's previous narratives, but it is also more accomplished, more thought-provoking, and more highly crafted. --David Laskin
Book Description
Mark Salzman's
Lying Awake is a finely wrought gem that plumbs the depths of one woman's soul, and in so doing raises salient questions about the power-and price-of faith.
Sister John's cloistered life of peace and prayer has been electrified by ever more frequent visions of God's radiance, leading her toward a deep religious ecstasy. Her life and writings have become examples of devotion. Yet her visions are accompanied by shattering headaches that compel Sister John to seek medical help. When her doctor tells her an illness may be responsible for her gift, Sister John faces a wrenching choice: to risk her intimate glimpses of the divine in favor of a cure, or to continue her visions with the knowledge that they might be false-and might even cost her her life.
Download Description
In a Carmelite monastery outside present-day Los Angeles, life goes on in a manner virtually unchanged for centuries. Sister John of the Cross has spent years there in the service of God. And there, she alone experiences visions of such dazzling power and insight that she is looked upon as a spiritual master.
But Sister John's visions are accompanied by powerful headaches, and when a doctor reveals that they may be dangerous, she faces a devastating choice. For if her spiritual gifts are symptoms of illness rather than grace, will a "cure" mean the end of her visions, and a soul once again dry and searching?
This is the dilemma at the heart of Mark Salzman's spare, astonishing new novel. With extraordinary dexterity, the author of the best-selling Iron & Silk and The Soloist brings to life the mysterious world of the cloister, giving us a brilliantly realized portrait of women today drawn to the rigors of an ancient religious life, and of one woman's trial at the perilous intersection of faith and reason.
Lying Awake is a novel of remarkable empathy and imagination, and Mark Salzman's most provocative work to date.
Customer Reviews:
a wonderful exploration of faith and forgiveness.......2007-10-03
I'm a huge Salzman fan and it's hard to pick a favorite. But if the subject matter seems abstruse, be reassured that this gem packs a lot of interest and yes, entertainment between the covers. Spoiler alert, plot give-away to follow. Readers are asked to consider if the spiritual visions of a nun are diminished because they are caused by a small tumor that gives her epileptic fits. As we follow Sister John's crisis of faith, Salzman's big-hearted depiction of spirituality inspires us think twice about what we "know."
Weaving in and out of the narrative are vignettes in Sister John's life that we can all identify with. "The real penance in cloistered life, most Sisters agreed, was not isolation; it was the impossibility of getting away from people one would not normally have chosen as friends."
While the author surely didn't don a habit for his research, this fresh-eyed look at life in a cloister and the very human struggles of its inhabitants feels authentic. Highly recommended.
A small gem of a book.......2007-05-17
In Lying Awake Mark Salzman has written a gem of a book about a nun in a monastery just outside of modern day Los Angeles who has been seeing visions and interpreting those visions in inspirational poetry that--in many ways--is a vital cog in keeping the monastery up and running. This "blessing" that Sister John of the Cross has experienced begins to become ever more frequent and intense to the point where fear for her health rises among her fellow sisters. When she is examined and found to have an epileptic disease that requires surgery she is faced with the choice of giving up her cherished "visions"--and her health--or being treated and gong back to "normal". Placed within the context of the introspective life of a monastery--and juxtaposed skillfully in a series of vignettes that reveal and debate various aspects of the "visionary" lives and works of earlier Christian notables--concepts such as "normal" take on new and heightened meaning.
Salzman is a skilled and masterful writer. The book was both challenging and engrossing. The intertwining of past and present is skillfully rendered. The book is way short on plot but the characters are--for the most part--beautifully rendered. If I have any complaint it would be that the book could have benefited from a bit more biographical information on the various characters--several key cast members get short shrift on that score--yet it is a minor complaint. At a 170 odd pages--with many word free pages of woodcuts and whatnot between the many chapters, this is a short yet intense and moving read. A true gem of a book.
A story of faith.......2006-11-04
When Sister John of the Cross realizes her spiritual visions -- which have come after years of doubting her vocation -- are a result of epilepsy, she must decide whether to treat the condition and possibly lose her close relationship with God, or refuse treatment and risk her life.
In this spare novel, Salzman digs deep into questions of faith, humanity, sisterhood, and religious sacrifice. With not an extra word he addresses Sister John's dilemma. The reader doesn't know until the very end what Sister John will decide, and what the results will be.
A wonderful look at the true meaning of faith.
Thoughtful and moving.......2006-10-31
This is one beautifully written book and it is thought-provoking. It still lingers in your mind after the last page has been turned and you find yourself questioning the plot of this book as well as remembering the lyricalness of Salzman's words. It is a simple volume that packs a punch with its thoughtfulness, and simple statements. It offers up questions of faith and what it means to live in a cloistered world. Instead of it sounding stifling, it sounds liberating and sometimes, peaceful as well as tiring and hard. This book focuses on Sister John and her journey of faith.
Sister John was a young woman when she joined the convent and throughout her journey, she tries to find the meaning of faith, servitude to God and what it means to live among very strict rules. Then all of a sudden, she starts experiencing a new spiritual connection to God and finds that she needs to write all the time. Her poetry sells and brings a modest sum of cash to the convent to meet their needs. More importantly to her, she finally feels closer to God and feels the peace invading her bones. Sister John is deliriously joyous to have found the meaning of her life.
Or has she?
Cruelly and suddenly, she discovers her blinding headaches were the cause of a tiny tumor and now she questions her faith and purpose for her life. Then she experiences a deep shadow of doubts and feeling the absence of God in what she terms the deepest shadow of her soul. She fears the loss of her creativity but she also fears being a burden on her sisters. This is the dilemma she faces.
It is a very thoughtful book, which packs a lot to think about in such few pages. I have no idea how I manage to have this in my collection ~~ but I am glad to have it. It's a keeper especially since it is written beautifully and it does ask tough questions of faith that we all need to ask every once in awhile.
10/30/06
Mental illness in religion and art.......2006-05-26
This is the story of a middle-aged nun with temporal lobe epilepsy, a condition which creates ecstatic seizures and hypergraphia (prolific writing) in the sufferer. The nun has to decide whether to let the malady progress (she is disrupting the life of her monastery) or to have an operation which may halt her successful writing career and stop her ecstatic seizures, which she interprets as being direct communication with God.
Sympathetic to the religious impulse as refuge from pain and abandonment, Lying Awake explores the nitty-gritty of contemplative aspirations without romance, sensuality or metaphysical mumbo-jumbo. Well-written and compelling, it touches on many interesting topics such as religion as refuge, the face and purpose of faith, spiritual maturity, and the role of mental illness in religion and art. The book is completely unbiased, which is pleasant. A very empathetic and seemingly objective view of convent life.
Book Description
Many of today's teenagers are tired of the pressure to compete and consume-and are looking for a different way to live their lives. This book offers an alternative: the 2,500-year old practice of Buddhism.
Written in a style that will have immediate appeal to young "seekers" and those wanting to understand the ancient teachings, this book addresses such relevant topics as peer pressure, emotional difficulties, stress, fostering peace, and even protecting the environment. For everyone looking for self-help, self-esteem, and self-awareness, this book offers advice on:
€ Discovering truth in a world of hype
€ Finding peace amid the ups and downs of life
€ Accepting ourselves
€ Working with difficult emotions
€ How to meditate
€ Dealing with temptations and making the right decisions about sex and drugs
€ Advice on volunteering, working for peace, and protecting the environment
Customer Reviews:
Start with chapter one!.......2006-02-28
This book is pretty much as the Booklist review describes. It is worth noting that the book begins with lengthy forwards and prefaces which I found wordy, ponderous, and a bit moralistic. I began to fear the book would be the same. Not so! when you finally get to chapter one, the pace picks up and the tone and diction become lighter and much friendlier to a high-school level of reader. Far from being moralistic, the author deals with a variety of real issues that young people have to face, and does it in a frank, sensible, easygoing and very constructive fashion. The book should be a help and a comfort to many in its target audience.
Great, great book!.......2005-01-15
I have been learning about Buddhism for a couple of years now and bought this book for my teenage daughter, in hopes that it would inspire her to join me. She hasn't read it yet, but I decided to pick it up off her shelf one day and read it myself. This book changed my life. It is written in very simple, easy to understand terms. I felt like Diana Winston was a good friend, walking the path with me and explaining things along the way. I loved it. And I am still hoping my daughter will join me!
This book worked miracles for our 15 years old teenager.......2004-05-28
Our son was in very hard times, struggling to come to terms with the low values (if values) of modern society, modern music and his own background and values. With 14 he went into extrem aggression and anger. He sought refuge in hard rap, which on one side helped to work anger off, but fueled it from another side.
Since he started to read (and practice) this book, he changed tremendously.
I highly recommend this book to any teenager (or parents who wish to find help) with the wish for help.
10 stars!
wake up sleepyhead!.......2003-09-29
This is a wonderful introduction to Buddhism. I have been sitting for several years and I am closer to middle-aged than teen-aged, but this book has a concise yet scholarly nature that presents Buddhist practice beautifully.
I want to buy this book for everyone I know, from my 13 year old god-daughter to my 93 year old grandfather. Diana Winston illuminates the beauty and difficulty of living honestly in the world. If I were to change one thing, I would make the subtitle read; "a Buddhist guide for teens and those who were once teens"
Thanks Diana!
Fantastic Book!.......2003-08-23
I was so excited to read a book that really speaks to me. I am a teen who is interested in spirituality and when I found this book I felt like I could learn so much about Buddhism and how it really applies to my life. I learned about meditation and am trying it in my home, and I see ways I can be less judgemental and live with higher integrity.
Book Description
A gripping portrait of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake by Laura Ingalls Wilder Award winner Laurence Yep.
When the quake subsides, Chin and Henry and their families are lucky to be alive. But now they must escape the fires that have broken out and find their way to safety–before it's too late.
Based on actual events and told from the alternating perspectives of two young friends, The Earth Dragon Awakes is a suspenseful novel about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake by Newbery Honor author Laurence Yep.
Customer Reviews:
Earth Dragon Awakes.......2007-09-24
This is an excellent young adult book. It is one of our Georgia Book Award Nominees for 2007-2008. It is a great way for kids to learn about what the earthquake was like from a young person's view point. The language of the book was very descriptive. You felt like you were there.
Everyday Heroes..........2006-08-01
THE EARTH DRAGON AWAKES features parallel narration from two young boys...one American, one Chinese-American. Two different neighborhoods, but one terrifying crisis overwhelms them all.
Ah Sing is the houseboy to the Travis family, his son, Chin, is friends with Henry Travis. They both share a common passion: secretly reading 'penny dreadfuls' adventure stories full of heroes and action-packed adventures. But little do they know that the true heroes are much closer to home.
When the earthquake strikes, the young boys see their fathers revealed as true heroes. Fighting for survival, the city brings out the best and worst of everyone. Some see an opportunity to make profit, and others devote their time to helping strangers.
It is an exciting read for young readers.
An exciting story that will appeal to children ages 8-12 .......2006-05-31
Chin and his father, Ah Sing, live in Chinatown with thousands of other Chinese immigrants. Ah Sing is a houseboy for Mr. Travis, a well-to-do banker who lives in a very nice San Francisco neighborhood with his wife and son, Henry. Henry and Chin are good friends; Henry shares his comic books with Chin, who is using them to learn how to read. Henry's parents and Ah Sing don't approve of the comic books their boys find so interesting.
Henry's dog, Sawyer, is very upset. He's whimpering and afraid, sensing that something is terribly wrong. Even the chickens in Ah Quon's butcher shop are skittish and frightened. What could be scaring the animals?
Over one-third of a million people are sleeping or just waking up around 5 A.M. on April 18, 1906 in the San Francisco area when the earthquake begins. Author Laurence Yep describes what it's like: "It is as if more than 18 million sticks of dynamite explode beneath them. That is more force than the atom bomb that struck Hiroshima."
At the Travis house Sawyer begins to howl. Henry hears a low rumble, then his books bounce off their shelves. Plaster drops off the walls and windows shatter. The house across the street falls apart.
Over in Chinatown the floor in Ah Sing's little apartment actually rolls under his feet. Boxes fall. Possessions are scattered everywhere. Windows shatter, and walls crack and crumble. Then the ceiling falls.
Imagine the chaos and destruction as houses tumble like flimsy paper cards. Water mains break. Thousands of people are trapped under falling rubble --- bricks, wood and plaster. Cable-car tracks are twisted and contorted. Fires are breaking out and spreading rapidly because there aren't enough firemen to fight that many fires. Those who are able to are helping rescue people, pets and a few belongings. Everyone is desperately trying to find a safe place.
This disaster is bringing out the best in most people, but also the worst as some folks are charging outrageous prices for the few supplies and what little transportation is available.
Henry and Chin's families experience many hazards and great uncertainty, but they do survive the earthquake and the fires. Both Henry and Chin are very proud of their fathers for the way they overcame the hardships and kept their families safe during the disaster.
--- Reviewed by Carole Turner
Book Description
When we think of work, we often think of drudgery, frustration, and stress. For too many of us, work is the last place in our lives we expect to experience satisfaction, fulfillment, or spiritual growth. In this unique book, Michael Carroll—a meditation teacher, executive coach, and corporate director—shares Buddhist wisdom on how to transform the common hassles and anxieties of the workplace into valuable opportunities for heightened wisdom and enhanced effectiveness. Carroll shows us how life on the job—no matter what kind of work we do—can become one of the most engaging and fulfilling areas of our lives.
At its heart, Awake at Work offers thirty-five principles that we can use throughout our day to revitalize our work as well as our understanding of ourselves and others. Carroll invites readers to contemplate these slogans and to use them on-the-spot, in the midst of work's chaos, to develop clarity, wisdom, and inspiration. Along the way, Carroll presents a variety of techniques and insights to help us acknowledge work, with all its complications, as "a valuable invitation to fully live our lives." In an engaging, accessible, and often humorous style, Awake at Work offers readers a path to rediscovering our natural sense of intelligence, confidence, and delight on the job.
Customer Reviews:
Thirty-five principle slogans that are presented in well-formed essays.......2007-06-27
Caroll's book cultivates mindfulness on the job via thirty-five slogans (or principles) designed to provide natural wisdom, openness, and poise in the workplace. The slogans in the book are derived from the spiritual practice of lojong described in the Tibetian Buddhist text The Root Text of the Seven Points of Training the Mind. Carroll recommends a four-step approach of identifying four primary slogans, randomly selecting others to study at your leisure, looking for spontaneously applicability of slogans throughout your day, and deliberating contemplating a slogan a day through meditation, a journals, or an index card system.
The slogans are presented as much more than simple maxims. Each chapter is a well-formed essay with historical perspective, practical modern day applications, and the benefits of each principle. Many chapters encourage the reframing of our thoughts and acceptance of what factors are within and beyond our control. The reader is repeatedly encouraged to meditate and reflect to explore specific aspects of work. The appendix includes practical instructions for conducting a meditation session, strategies for contemplating the slogans, and tips for cultivating li (the social rituals of decency and goodness).
Applying Practical Spirituality at Work.......2007-05-28
Most of us spend a third of our adult lives at work, and for many it is not much fun. It becomes something that we do to pay the bills, rather than being a fulfilling activity in which we can be fully engaged. Even for people in the professions that require a lot of thinking, work often becomes a bit of a hindbrain activity that people can do in their sleep.
For the last three decades I have been asking three questions:
"Why do so many people sleep walk through life?"
"Would they thank us if they woke up?" and
"What could we do to help them wake up?"
The author of this important book helps provide some answers. He founded Awake at Work Associates, a consultancy that specializes in helping organizations and individuals apply mindfulness awareness in the workplace, to help both recover balance and well-being in work. Michael Carroll is both a practicing Buddhist who is an authorized teacher in the lineage of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and has over two decades experience in human resources in several large companies. He teaches mindfulness meditation at the Omega Institute, New York Open Center, and the Wharton Business School in Philadelphia.
Michael encourages us to explore our relationships to work and his book is full of practical and uplifting suggestions that are grounded in his work in meditation.
One good example is this: he points out that if we are going to be awake at work, we need to understand how we fell asleep. In Tibetan Buddhism, meditators study the six confusions or "mindsets that describe how we imprison ourselves at work." He then applies these six confusions in the workplace:
Work as drudgery
Work as war
Work as addiction
Work as entertainment
Work as inconvenience
Work as a problem
As he says, "recognizing that we, not work are imprisoning ourselves is critical if we expect to discover well-being in our livelihoods." So he provides precise ways of "letting go" of the imbalances that work can introduce into our lives by cultivating authenticity and a right code of conduct.
He also describes a practice that he calls "enrichment," that can be used to used to resolve conflicts. The idea is that in an adversarial situation, we should not try to defend our own truth or position, or to find some way in which we can benefit, but to act with good will to produce an outcome that is mutually beneficial. This is more than just trying to find the win/win in a situation: it is a broader concept that goes beyond personal gain to try and find the greater good. This may sound like something easier said than done, but the book contains good advice on how to attain this.
What I particularly like about this book is that it is an exercise in practical spirituality. A spirituality that we visit for an hour or two a week may be fine for some people, but the real value of a spiritual life is that it can be something that can inform all of our actions, from education, to work, sex and politics.
Highly recommended.
Good quick read.......2007-02-08
As a lifelong Buddhist I learned to meditate before I learned to crawl, but this book brings the lessons that I daily use into a language that I think most people can understand.
Waking Up: A Lasting Work Benefit.......2006-09-26
This well-written, sane and skillful book is helping me to work and be better, a very satisfying reward in itself.
So Good I've Worn Out Two.......2006-07-18
This book was a godsend for me. I read a section of it EVERY morning before I go to work. I've worn out two copies and just ordered more. If your job gets under skin in any way, shape or form, do yourself a large favor and get this. And by the way, you can swap the word "work" with "life" and the wisdom becomes even broader. GREAT BOOK.
Books:
- Bliss: A Novel
- Blood Done Sign My Name: A True Story
- Blues by the Bar: Cool Riffs That Sound Great over Each Portion of the Blues Progression
- Bobbi Brown Living Beauty
- Bright Lights, Big City
- Bunny Tales: Behind Closed Doors at the Playboy Mansion
- Consider the Lobster: And Other Essays
- Crooked Little Vein: A Novel
- Death Sentence: The True Story of Velma Barfield's Life, Crimes, and Punishment
- Divided Kingdom
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