Posted on behalf of Anne Powles [@Qyntara]
I recently read de Botton's book Religion for the Atheist and was discussing with my son, @jonpowles, the problem with it as I saw it. That problem was essentially that the author, has, I think, some extremely good ideas, but despite his rather nice style, he carries them far beyond what I view as convincing and this rather detracts from the force of his initial thesis. He also does not recognise that a lot of us non-combatant Atheists already do much of what he advises. (I am, however, considering holding an agape!!) Jon said that The Architecture of Happiness he considered was the best he has written, particularly from this respect. He gifted me an iPad copy.
I think that book review you pointed out reflected much of what I think so far about The Architecture of Happiness. He comes up with great ideas but over-talks and over-thinks them. I am therefore finding I can enjoy it more in short reads, which is not my normal way of reading. Meanwhile I have enjoyed an unusual Who-dun-it by James Patterson featuring narcissistic personality disorder.
@mazpow I know you are busy but some of those tomes you are currently reading about early childhood language development might indeed be relevant to adult book club development!!
I recently read de Botton's book Religion for the Atheist and was discussing with my son, @jonpowles, the problem with it as I saw it. That problem was essentially that the author, has, I think, some extremely good ideas, but despite his rather nice style, he carries them far beyond what I view as convincing and this rather detracts from the force of his initial thesis. He also does not recognise that a lot of us non-combatant Atheists already do much of what he advises. (I am, however, considering holding an agape!!) Jon said that The Architecture of Happiness he considered was the best he has written, particularly from this respect. He gifted me an iPad copy.
I think that book review you pointed out reflected much of what I think so far about The Architecture of Happiness. He comes up with great ideas but over-talks and over-thinks them. I am therefore finding I can enjoy it more in short reads, which is not my normal way of reading. Meanwhile I have enjoyed an unusual Who-dun-it by James Patterson featuring narcissistic personality disorder.
@mazpow I know you are busy but some of those tomes you are currently reading about early childhood language development might indeed be relevant to adult book club development!!
Anne Powles [@Qyntara]
Not sure if this crowd is too interested in 'Vocabulary Instruction for Struggling Students'. Seem to be pretty familiar with big words around here. But it's a good book. I always enjoy reading a well argued and carefully referenced explication of my own half-formed opinion.
ReplyDeleteAs expected, the reading room is rather quiet to begin with, but it may build up over time. My experience with blogs is that you never expect miracles and you never expect people to come visiting in droves – not at the start anyway, and not until there's a few meaty pieces.
ReplyDeleteI have just finished reading an exciting book by Paul Zak called "The Moral Molecule.". It is an exciting romp through the hormones which influence our moods, trust, happiness. While the author takes us through many of his interesting experiments it is not presented as an account in scientific terms (though he does provide sample numbers). It is a personal account, very amusing at times, roller coasting through vampires, New Guinea natives, Greek philosophers and religion, how to beat some of the problems of experimenting with humans. He comes over as a fascinating man. I recommend this book. It is available in hard copy or on Kindle. It is a very easy read despite its title. Anne Powles
ReplyDelete