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Just read this today:



Unlike the book on Hinduism I posted about yesterday I can actually recommend this book - even to those who have no prior knowledge of Buddhism... It provides a very detailed account of Siddhārtha Gautama's (The Buddha) life, philosophy and legacy as well as the key differences between the two major branches of Buddhism (Theravada and Mahayana, including prominent Bodhisattva in the latter).

It also covers additional sub-groupings like tantric (Vajrayāna) and Chan/Zen Buddhism, but I found these sections to be somewhat superficial... (only 5 pages about each in a 399 page book )

The last chapters about regional practices in Thailand, Japan and Tibet also seem somewhat less relevant, especially since it does not include the Buddhist tradition in Burma/Myanmar (and the controversies surrounding Buddhist violence, which ought to be anathema to the religion).

Next up:

Finished "The Fair Maid of Perth" and "Count Robert of Paris" and onto "The Surgeon's Daughter & Castle Dangerous" (vol25!) all by Sir Walter Scott - reading all twenty five volumes of the Waverly Novels back to back has been a terrific time.

De Vluchteling by Pramoedya Ananta Toer

Not finished reading it. I thought it would be boring, because lots of things were predictable in a gut feeling way, it gets better. Hopefully even better.

Dark Tide. Looking forward to getting the final book in the series, Sea Spell, in about a week and a half.

The War Of The Worlds by HG Wells.

Read this today:



Seriously... if you are only going to read one book about Judaism... this (and not the Bible!) would likely be it... When the title says "complete" guide, the author means it...

I especially liked the sections on the role and interpretation of the Talmud and the discussions about the Orthodox-Conservative-Reform differences in Judaism, as these are probably not widely known to a non-Jewish audience...

The only real criticism I can level against the book is that it fails to address the controversy over male circumcision in Judaism... This may not be an (entirely) deliberate omission, however, as the author is from the US, where the practice is widespread even outside the Jewish community...

Mentats of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson

My wife and I are reading The Complete Jewish Bible.
I'm also reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret.
I finished most of it in ine sitting last night. My dreams were moving pictures from the book. It was a great read & dream.

Just read this today:



It was interesting to see how many elements of church design are in fact ways of working around limitations of building materials prior to the invention of steel manufacturing...

Anyway, I've now read 1,140 pages this weekend.

Izzy Willy-Nilly, by Cynthia Voigt

Pre-reading for my tweenaged daughter, whose reading level exceeds her emotional maturity by about six years. It's...an interesting read, a sort of 1980's YA study in ableism.

Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut