Review: Everyday Enlightenment

Title: Everyday Enlightenment

Author: Luke McLeod

Publisher: 27th December 2024 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 305 pages

Genre: nonfiction, self help, meditation

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

Peace. Calm. Mindfulness. Enlightenment.

These are appealing concepts, but they never seem like they're within grasp of the everyday person. With all our responsibilities in life, most of us are doing our best just to keep up, let alone have time to find that elusive 'inner calm'.

Luke McLeod knows all about this. He's an everyday person. He's a son, a husband and a friend, trying to find some balance in his everyday life just like everyone else. There is one thing, though, he knows for sure has improved his quality of life every single day.

Meditation.

Luke used to believe meditation wasn't for him but has now become one of Australia's leading meditation experts helping thousands of 'everyday' people, just like himself, enjoy meditation in an easy, down-to-earth way.

Everyday Enlightenment contains encouragement, support, guidance, advice and short meditations to help you start, enjoy and embrace your meditation journey. Let Luke help you find some of that inner peace and calmness without having to move to the mountains and become a monk. Let him show you how the secret to living an enlightened life is hidden within the ordinary and the everyday - it will be one of the best things you ever do.

My Thoughts

Everyday Enlightenment is a breath of fresh air, your own personal mentor gently directing you on how to see things differently and get the most out of this precious life. 

‘ … real richness of life is found when the ordinary starts to become extraordinary.’

Luke divides the book into three stage, three steps to a better understanding of your life:

1. relief by developing inner calmness from our incessant thinking mind through observation 

2. healing and liberating inner restraints, clearing any emotional weights through introspection

3. happiness comes from expanding and uniting all of your senses - opening of awareness

‘It’s about working on yourself. Pulling back all the layers that have built up over time and getting yourself to a point that you feel calm, confident and content.’

Luke’s book is very easy going reading, accessible for all levels especially those who may be embarking on a mindfulness journey and wondering how to even begin. His style is very engaging, down-to-earth and accessible. Luke provides practical examples, good analogies (eg. our mind is like a gearbox - love that one!)  and usable introductory meditations.

‘ … never underestimate the power of what five to ten minutes spent in this neutral gear of the mind can do.’

Everyday Enlightenment is about finding a deeper meaning and understanding to life. Meditation helps lift the fog and provide more peace, calm and enlightenment for everyday living. 

‘Our purpose is not to work out what we are here to do, but to experience who we are.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: The House That Joy Built

Title: The House That Joy Built

Author: Holly Ringland

Publisher: 29th November 2023 by 4th Estate AU

Pages: 288 pages

Genre: nonfiction, self help, creativity

Rating: 3.5 cups

Synopsis:

An uplifting, powerful and inspiring book about breaking through fear and finding joy through creativity, from bestselling author, Holly Ringland.

The House that Joy Built is about how to give ourselves permission to be creative. It explores two big the fear that can block our creativity, and the permission we can meet that fear with - to not just create, but to revel in the life-changing wonder and joy of doing so. It offers a jump-start for the nervous heart of anyone whose desire to create is overruled by fear.It is a book for those people who yearn to write, as well as people who find their creativity gardeners, carpenters, sculptors, jewellery-makers, florists, songwriters, dancers, cooks, painters ... anyone who wants to make something but doesn't because they're afraid. Afraid of feeling vulnerable, of criticism and judgement from others, of not being good enough, of not having enough, of having 'bad' ideas, of being too much.It is for everyone who has ever felt stuck creatively, for those who don't know how to begin, for those who feel they have so much welling up inside and are just trying to find a way into themselves. This book is an openhearted clarion call to experience the joy and freedom of creating.

My Thoughts

Holly Ringland, author of The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart and The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding has penned her first nonfiction book, The House That Joy Built. Here Holly details a very personal recount of both the power and pleasure that comes from giving ourselves permission to create.  

This is a personal account in some respects, as Holly details her own steps through trauma, grief and even the seemingly simple self doubts surrounding daily living. She balances this with detailed ways of our innate need to create in whatever form that may take for each person. Holly speaks of the inner country of creativity and returning to the things you often loved to do as a child.

At times raw but also inspiring, Holly encourages readers to take back control of one’s creativity and carve both the time and space for it in this busy world. It is essential to a truly fulfilling life. 

Truth: at any age, at any time we can decide anew to return to the home of creativity inside ourselves.

Truth: it can be frightening to return.

Truth: the choice to create because we love to do it is ours.

Truth: it’s always fearful. Always joyful.

Welcome. 

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

 

Review: The Wisdom of Morrie: Living and Aging Creatively and Joyfully

Title: The Wisdom of Morrie: Living and Aging Creatively and Joyfully

Author: Morrie Schwartz edited by Rob Schwartz

Publisher: 26th April 2023 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 322 pages

Genre: nonfiction, self help 

Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

From the eponymous subject of the beloved classic Tuesdays with Morrie comes an insightful, poignant masterpiece on staying vibrant and connected for life. Who am I really? What have I done? What is important and meaningful to me? What difference does it make that I have lived? What does it mean to be truly human, and where am I on that scale?

Morrie Schwartz, the beloved subject of the classic, multimillion-copy number one bestseller Tuesdays with Morrie , explores these questions and many more in this profound, poetic, and poignant masterpiece of living and aging joyfully and creatively. Later life can be filled with many challenges, but it can also be one of the most beautiful and rewarding passages in anyone's lifetime. Morrie draws on his experiences as a social psychologist, teacher, father, friend, and sage to offer us a road map to navigate our futures.

 A great companion to Tuesdays with Morrie or the perfect introduction to Morrie's thoughtful philosophies, The Wisdom of Morrie is filled with empathic insights, stories, anecdotes, and advice, told in Morrie's reassuring, calm, and timeless voice. Let The Wisdom of Morrie be your guide in exploring deep questions of how to live and how to love. 

My Thoughts

‘Later life is a special period of development, with unique limitations and opportunities. And it may be the most important phase of your life. You can change a lot in later life - if you really want to.’

Many readers will be familiar or have heard of Mitch Albom's best-seller Tuesdays with Morrie - Morrie Schwartz, professor of sociology and therapist. The Wisdom of Morrie is a manuscript edited by his son, Rob, and looks at ways to live and age creatively and with joy. Rob edited his father’s manuscript that contains a range of essays and reflections on aging. 

This book provides wisdom, inspiration, case studies and ideas on how to live your best life as you age. It stresses the desire to rethink aging and learn to find joy even if faced with mounting challenges that may come with the territory. For readers who find themselves, or know of someone in this age bracket, this book offers insight on how to adapt and make the most of one’s life. 

A different book to the original in terms of the layout and style, it is still infused with trademark wisdom and a philosophy to adopt a more positive outlook with this precious time we have been given. 

‘…. take a broader view by looking into our entire life, accepting it as it was and as it is, to try to find its meaning and coherence. And who knows? We may come to a better understanding of who we are and what we've lived through. It is an attempt to … identify and use the wisdom we've acquired, the humanity we've developed, and the spirituality we've connected with, to improve the quality of our own and other lives.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the author in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: An A-Z of Jane Austen

Title: An A-Z of Jane Austen

Author: Michael Greaney

Publisher: 20th October 2022 by Bloomsbury Academic

Pages: 168 pages

Genre: nonfiction, Jane Austen

My Rating: 4 cups

Synopsis:

Jane Austen's richly textured worlds have enchanted readers for centuries and this neatly organised, playful book provides Austen enthusiasts and students alike with a unique insight into the much-loved writer's way with words. 

Using a lively A-Z structure, Greaney provides fresh angles on familiar Austen themes (D is for dance; M is for matchmaking), casts light on under-examined corners of her imagination (R is for risk; S is for servant), and shows how current social and cultural concerns are re-shaping our understanding of her work (Q is for queer; W is for West Indies). Through this approach, we learn how attention to the tiniest linguistic detail in Austen's work can yield rewarding new perspectives on the achievements of one of our most celebrated authors.

Sharply focused on textual detail but broad in scope it broaches questions that, like Austen's work, will intrigue, delight and inspire: Why are children so marginal in her storylines? Who is the best exponent of matchmaking in her fiction? Why are many of her female characters – but none of her heroines – called Jane? Providing a new close-up encounter with one of our most celebrated writers, this book invites a renewed appreciation of the infinite subtlety and endless re-readability of a body of writing in which every word counts.

My Thoughts

I love all things Austen -  books, retellings, movies, spinoffs etc. Therefore this book was obviously something I would be drawn to - especially given the delightful cover and I was not disappointed being the firm Austenite that I am. 

‘Be sure to have something odd happen to you’, Austen once wrote to Cassandra, ‘see somebody that you do not expect, meet with some surprise or other.’

This is an A-Z dictionary or mini encyclopedia of matters to do with Jane Austen. The author has taken each letter of the alphabet and selected a word that is somehow connected to Jane Austen’s world. There might be places such as Bath, themes such as Kindness or activities such as Dance. These twenty six key words are the prompt for an essay on each taken from not only Jane's books but also her letters, unfinished novels and other observations. 

‘Nowhere in Austen are relations of status, hierarchy and precedence more formally paraded and stringently enforced than on the dancefloor.’

The book can be read from cover to cover, used to cross reference or simply to browse through certain themes. This fresh structure and thematic approach lends itself to new and thought provoking perspectives. It would be a wonderful addition to any lover of Jane Austen’s collection or, given its academic approach, those seeking to study deeper into her books, reflections and writing. 

‘Letter-reading is a significant social activity in Austen, one that frequently reveals as much about those reading as it does about the text under consideration.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Papyrus

Title: Papyrus

Author: Irene Vallejo

Publisher: 11th October 2022 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 384 pages

Genre: nonfiction, history, books about books

My Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

An enthralling journey through the history of books and libraries in the ancient world and those who have helped preserve their rich literary traditions 

Long before books were mass-produced, those made of reeds from along the Nile were worth fighting and dying for. Journeying along the battlefields of Alexander the Great, beneath the eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, at Cleopatra's palaces and the scene of Hypatia's murder, award-winning author Irene Vallejo chronicles the excitement of literary culture in the ancient world, and the heroic efforts that ensured this extraordinary tradition would continue. 

Weaved throughout are fascinating stories about the spies, scribes, illuminators, librarians, booksellers, authors, and statesmen whose rich and sometimes complicated engagement with the written word bears remarkable similarities to the world today: Aristophanes and the censorship of the humorists, Sappho and the empowerment of women's voices, Seneca and the problem of a post-truth world. 

Vallejo takes us to mountainous landscapes and the roaring sea, to the capitals where culture flourished and the furthest reaches where knowledge found refuge in chaotic times. In this sweeping tour of the history of books, the wonder of the ancient world comes alive and, along the way, we discover the singular power of the written word.

My Thoughts

‘The papyrus scroll represented an extraordinary amount of progress. After centuries of searching for the right format, of humans writing on stone, mud, wood, or metal, language had finally found its home in organic matter. The first book in history was born when words - as ethereal as air - found refuge in the pith of an aquatic plant.’

What’s not to love when you come across a rare and fascinating book about books. Where the love for the written word is poured into every page. Papyrus is such a book that will take readers on a special journey. Author Irene Vallejo’s ode to books/reading and her knowledge of literature, particularly with regards to history of the written word, is wonderfully written. A definite must-read for anyone who loves books.

‘I suspect that as they searched for traces of every book as if they were pieces of scattered treasure, without knowing it, they were laying the foundations of our world.’

Irene has done her research and provides a smorgasbord of goodness. Readers will learn a little of the history of how books started and complemented with facts, philosophy, thoughts and ideas. It is a wonderful reference that will see you coming back time and again. A plethora of anecdotes and personal notes from the author surrounding the emergence of books - precious moments from the history of literature. 

‘This account is an attempt to continue the adventure of those book hunters. I would like somehow, to be their unlikely travel companion, on the scent of lost manuscripts, unknown stories, and voices in danger of being silenced.’

This is neither a complete academic essay or personal reflection but the successful melding of the two. I thoroughly enjoyed Irene’s writing and thought the weaving of both fiction and nonfiction was well done. The history of papyrus and books is reflected on through personal retellings that results in a rich tapestry for book lovers to delight in. 

‘Let's talk about you for a moment, the person reading these lines. Right now, with the book open in your hands, you are engaged in a mysterious, unsettling activity, though habit prevents you from being amazed. Think carefully. You are completely quiet, eyes moving over rows of letters made into meaning, that deliver ideas independent from the world now surrounding you. In other words, you have withdrawn to an inner chamber where absent voices speak; where there are ghosts only you can see ….  and where the pace of time's passage is the measure of your level of interest or boredom. You have created a parallel world …. a world that depends on you alone. At any moment, you can avert your gaze from these lines and return to the action and movement of the outside world. But in the meantime, you remain on the edge, in the place where you've chosen to be. There is an almost magical aura to the act of reading.’

If you delight in books and reading, you are in for a treat. Looking to learn a little more of the evolution of ancient literature, this proves a most accessible read. It does not adopt a linear approach, or have pages filled with high end vocabulary. What it does offer is an entertaining history of books with interesting back stories and reflections. From the first attempts on clay tablets, to papyrus, to paper books, to ebooks, Irene has written a tale of past, present and future that I highly recommend to lovers of literature.

‘I'm so amazed by the true and recorded history I discover that it seeps into my dreams and acquires, without my volition, the shape of a story. I'm tempted to step into the skin of those who traveled the roads of an ancient, violent, tumultuous Europe in pursuit of books.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

Review: Atlas of Abandoned Places

Title: Atlas of Abandoned Places

Author: Oliver Smith

Publisher: 11th October 2022 by Hachette Australia

Pages: 220 pages

Genre: nonfiction, travel, world, history

My Rating: 5 cups

Synopsis:

Explore the wonders that the world forgot with award-winning travel writer Oliver Smith - from breathtaking buildings with a dark past to decaying reminders of more troubled times.

The globe is littered with forgotten monuments, their beauty matched only by the secrets of their past.

A glorious palace lies abandoned by a fallen dictator. A grand monument to communism sits forgotten atop a mountain. Two never-launched space shuttles slowly crumble, left to rot in the middle of the desert. Explore these and many more of the world's lost wonders in this atlas like no other.

With remarkable stories, bespoke maps and stunning photography of fifty forsaken sites, The Atlas of Abandoned Places travels the world beneath the surface; the sites with stories to tell, the ones you won't find in any guidebook.

Award-winning travel writer Oliver Smith is your guide on a long-lost path, shining a light on the places that the world forgot.

Locations featured in the book include:

Europe: Maunsell Forts, Aldwych Station, Paris Catacombs, La Petite Ceinture, Craco, Teufelsberg, Beelitz-Heilstatten, Red Star Train Graveyard, Pyramiden, Salpa Line, Buzludzha Monument, Pripyat, Wolf's Lair, Project Riese, Sarajevo Bobsleigh Track, Albanian Bunkers, Rummu Quarry

The Americas & the Caribbean: New Bedford Orpheum Theatre, City Hall Station, Bodie, The Boneyards of Western USA, Bannerman Castle, Palace of Sans Souci, Montserrat Exclusion Zone, Ciudad Perdida, Humberstone and Santa Laura, Uyuni Train Cemetery, Fordlandia

The Middle East & the Caucasus: Kayakoy, Burj Al Babas, Varosha, Tskaltubo, Palaces of Saddam

Asia: Ryugyong Hotel, Buran at Baikonur, Mo'ynoq Ship Graveyard, Aniva Lighthouse, Ho' Thuy Tien Waterpark, Fukushima Red Zone, Hashima

Oceania: Wittenoom, Wrecks of Homebush Bay, Port Arthur, MS World Discoverer, Second World Remains of Papua New Guinea

Africa: Shipwrecks of the Skeleton Coast, Kolmanskop, Mobutu's Gbadolite, Mos Espa, Sao Martinho dos Tigres

My Thoughts

‘To step into an abandoned place is to cross a kind of threshold into the past - to time travel from the present day to the instant that people departed.’

This is an absolutely fascinating book! A trip not only through time but around the world with proverbial windows into abandoned places. This book features maps and interesting photography of ghostly places - some lost to nature, others to supposed progress. Each location has a compelling tale about the people and society it reflects.

Atlas of Abandoned Places details a range of abandoned locales throughout the world -  ‘some are fallen monuments to impossible dreams. Others are ordinary houses and apartments.’ Featured locations include palaces, mines, trains, planes, hotels, theme parks, theatres, stations and military installations. 

‘We emerge … with questions: who lived here, worked here? What were their dreams? And, selfishly, what would our own world look like decades from now, if it too suddenly became frozen in this instant? What would survive of us? What would wither and decay?’

Oliver Smith has spent years travelling the faraway corners of the world. A four-time Travel Writer of the Year award winner, he has appeared in Lonely Planet, National Geographic, the BBC, The Sunday Times and many more. Here, Smith writes beautifully and thoughtfully and I loved it. Each location includes informative descriptions that are both insightful and thought provoking. Also included is map coordinates, summary sentence, two page story, maps (world location and country specific) and multiple impressive photos. A fascinating and thought-provoking read that I highly recommend for not just coffee tables but also the brilliant discussions that are sure to ensue. 

‘They serve as a postscript to cemeteries: a vision of our deaths not as individuals, but as communities, as a species.’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.