The Zen Monkey and the Lotus Flower: 52 Stories to Relieve Stress, Stop Negative Thoughts, Find Happiness, and Live Your Best Life by Tenpa Yeshe
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a collection of parables about how to approach living your life. It provides guiding principles and meditations on improving your mindset. There are 52 stories, which is perfect for reading one a week. I don’t think this was meant to be read in like a few sittings, front to back. I think it would have a bigger impact and make more sense to choose one to read at the start of the week. This would be a good book to have as reference material so that when you are preparing for the day or need a pick me up you can just grab it and find a story that would apply to your present situation. It has some helpful and useful guiding thoughts, but it does not have any new mind-blowing reveals. It is wisdom that we have all heard before but it is nice to hear it again. The stories are cute and they frame it in a way that helps it sink in. I did end up taking many notes. However, there were a couple things that bugged me. First, there is a lot of repetition regarding the topics. More than one story revolved around being one with nature, gratitude, letting go, change, and being in the present moment. Granted, it might help to hammer home the points, and this highlights the fact that reading a story a week would be the way to go but it caused some eye-rolling. Even some of the names of characters repeated in different stories. Also, there were some rehashing of story beginnings. Tons of characters were dissatisfied or restless. There might have been a type or complete nonsense in one story. I think there is one huge takeaway that can sum up how to go forth from this book. “It is in our hands to shape ourselves and determine who we really want to be.” I think this should be a must read for billionaires and people in power.
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Tag: learn
Intrigue, Codes, and Fun at Bletchley!
The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a very fun read! I do start out a little annoyed by one of the characters. I get the typical precocious young person character, but I did find myself saying shut up and listen in my head once or twice. Maybe it is because I am getting older or something. She did grow on me, and I definitely found myself on her side through the remainder of the book though. The mystery of finding out the truth and following clues/riddles is a genre I like. Can I figure it out? Do I want to figure it out? Code breaking and the intelligence aspect is intriguing. It is a quick and enjoyable read. It kept me engaged and I wanted to keep going to find out what happens. I finished it within a day. The bones of the setting and story are based in truth including Bletchley Park and Alan Turing with World War II going on. I love when books do that. They add fictionalized elements to something historical that is interesting already. There were many topics I had to look up and get some more real-life information on including buildings and people. I love learning which is one reason I love to read. The sibling relationship was relatable and believable. There were several supporting characters who I enjoyed such as Colin, the local boy, and his mom. The author created a couple characters to create obstacles and it helped create tension. It is definitely a young reader novel but it is still worth it as an adult. It is easy and entertaining.
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