This is a novel I abandoned. Not for any dramatic reason, just because it didn't quite grab me. My favorite Ozeki remains "My Year of Meats." It's witty, surprising, and the protagonist's love of "The Pillow Book" led me to give that classic another honest try... and fall in love with it.
Happy New Year to you and Donna! I will take a pass on this as I have to cull some of my books. I am finding them overwhelming and I have bought duplicates. My goal for 2025 is to make my TBR manageable as well as my shelves.
Thanks, Kate! Happy New Year to you and yours, too! I have a similar goal. I just wrote out a list by hand of all the books on my various TBRs and it's over 60! Yikes! I didn't realize there were that many until I made a physical list. That needs to get whittled down for sure!
Like it that you don’t like some books. This one I can take a pass on. Happy New Year. I compiled a list of books I read last year and you have a number of hits on there—some of my favs.
Thanks for writing this, including about your hesitations. This book has been on my TBR for ages and as someone who is attempting to be a bit more of a minimalist, it definitely intrigues me.
P.S. Thanks for the shoutout! I clicked on / read this before the notification, so it was a nice surprise. :)
Thanks so much for reaching out and for sharing the link, Rev. Shōren Heather! I'm glad you got a kick out of the review. I'll definitely check out the conversation. Cheers!
And, if you like how Ruth weaves Zen into this book, her other novel A Tale for the Time Being is brilliant. It was short-listed for the Booker. Have a great day!
This is a novel I abandoned. Not for any dramatic reason, just because it didn't quite grab me. My favorite Ozeki remains "My Year of Meats." It's witty, surprising, and the protagonist's love of "The Pillow Book" led me to give that classic another honest try... and fall in love with it.
Thanks, Milena! I totally understand what you mean. I'll take a look at that other Ozeki book!
Thanks for the review. As always, you manage to be admirably funny and succinct.
Thanks! 🙏🏼 😊
Happy New Year to you and Donna! I will take a pass on this as I have to cull some of my books. I am finding them overwhelming and I have bought duplicates. My goal for 2025 is to make my TBR manageable as well as my shelves.
Thanks, Kate! Happy New Year to you and yours, too! I have a similar goal. I just wrote out a list by hand of all the books on my various TBRs and it's over 60! Yikes! I didn't realize there were that many until I made a physical list. That needs to get whittled down for sure!
Like it that you don’t like some books. This one I can take a pass on. Happy New Year. I compiled a list of books I read last year and you have a number of hits on there—some of my favs.
Thanks, Brian! Yes, alas we can't enjoy everything. I'm glad that we were able to steer some good books your way in 2024!
Thanks for writing this, including about your hesitations. This book has been on my TBR for ages and as someone who is attempting to be a bit more of a minimalist, it definitely intrigues me.
P.S. Thanks for the shoutout! I clicked on / read this before the notification, so it was a nice surprise. :)
Thanks, Alicia! I’d be interested to read your thoughts if you read it!
I’ll certainly let you know!
Justin won the raffle? I'm a Justin.
I assume you contacted THAT Justin, though. Congrats to another of my name on the win!
This book sounds bonkers, but in the best way. I think maybe I'll give it a go this year.
You are the winning Justin! I meant to write separately but yesterday got away from me! Will follow up shortly. Congrats!
Oh my gosh! Thank you! Turns out I'm not just A Justin. I'm THE Justin!
I love your reviews and the GIF's are the icing on the cake, thanks!
Thanks so much for the kind word Sonia!
Hi there, thank you for your thoughtful review of Ruth's book. I read a couple of years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it; Like Ruth I'm also a Zen priest and she and I are friends. She's a lovely human being and was generous enough to take that time to podcast with me when I first started my Substack Spark Zen. Here's a link to our conversation, just in case you're interested. https://open.substack.com/pub/sparkzen/p/the-book-of-form-and-emptiness?r=dx979&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
Thanks so much for reaching out and for sharing the link, Rev. Shōren Heather! I'm glad you got a kick out of the review. I'll definitely check out the conversation. Cheers!
And, if you like how Ruth weaves Zen into this book, her other novel A Tale for the Time Being is brilliant. It was short-listed for the Booker. Have a great day!
I’ve read it! It’s great!