A Brief Book Review: Hermann Hesse's 'Steppenwolf' (1927)

Book: Steppenwolf (1927)

Author: Hermann Hesse

5/5 Stars *****

Today's brief book review is on an extraordinary piece of German literature that you may or may not have heard of, and that I personally consider to be a classic. The book is Steppenwolf (originally published in German in 1927, and translated to its English-publication first in 1929), and its author was German-born Swiss poet/novelist/painter Hermann Hesse. Now I wasn't around pre-1980's but I have heard from my elders that this book quickly became a staple in many personal-libraries following its publication in 1927. The Steppenwolf is one of Hesse's alter-ego's (so to speak), and we discover the tale of a man who is past his prime, single, and struggling to find a reason to keep living in Germany as it is clearly ramping up for World War II. Hesse explores his animalistic side, his spiritual side (although if you read the book you know that is a gross over-simplification) where he is gripped by a constant internal struggle as his consciousness awakens and the dying egoic self becomes more and more dysfunctional with its approaching collapse. I can relate to Hesse's writing as it becomes clear to me, as the reader, that much of his story comes out of personal-spiritual-psychosomatic experiences. If I go into it too much it starts to become abstract, and so I will tell you now that if you enjoy the writings of Aldous Huxley or Carlos Castaneda, then you will find that Hesse and Steppenwolf come from a similar exploration of existential-existence and experience that somehow connects the trans-personal to the personal in a brilliant manner. Also, Hesse's biographic is quite interesting but I will keep it brief. Now I am just trying to be a fancy-pants here, but seriously, check out this book, and if you are confused after reading it, do not fret, because you are not alone in that experience...it is after all exquisitely existential!

Brief Book Review for 'A Course in Miracles' by Dr. Helen Schucman (1976)

Book = A Course in Miracles (1976)

Author = Dr. Helen Schucman

5/5 Stars *****

Today I am briefly reviewing a course/curriculum (just one part of a Universal Curriculum) called A Course In Miracles (ACIM) (first published in 1976), which includes not only the preface and text, but also the workbook for students, manual for teachers, clarification of terms, and supplements. This book/course is for those seeking a structured path and curriculum to find inner-peace in their daily life. I just finished the entire course, which took me over a year, as the workbook has 365 exercises, to be completed one a day over the course of a year. This book has helped me tremendously and in ways that are hard to describe with words or mental concepts. The course is really geared towards those of a judeo-christian background, and much of the language in the book is written in judeo-christian terms, however, you don't have to be of this background to benefit from this course. I was better able to understand the course after watching Eckhart Tolle's review and introduction to the book on the January 2011 issue of Eckart Tolle TV, which I would recommend watching first if you are considering doing this course. There really isn't that much else to say other than the course really speaks for itself and is one of the many pathways to discovering at least a few first inklings of stillness within yourself, although if it doesn't work for you then it doesn't work for you, and vice-versa. That all being said, the course is also available in digital formats etc, so head on over to the ACIM website HERE if you fancy more information. I highly recommend this course and give it 5/5 Stars!! Enjoy!

A Brief Book-Series Review for 'The Belgariad' by David Eddings (1982-1984)

This brief book review is for the entire Belgariad series, which consists of 5-books written by author David Eddings, and which was published in its entirety between the years of 1982 and 1984. This includes the five books in order as follows: Pawn of Prophecy (1982), Queen of Sorcery (1983), Magician's Gambit (1983), Castle of Wizardry (1984), and Enchanter's End Game (1984). This series is my personal favorite fantasy-adventure-series of all time, bar-none! In my opinion the film-industry is crazy for not doing something with these books. While reading these books one gets the idea that they were written in a screenplay format, in that they could quite easily take every line and scene and quite easily transform it into a film or tv-series if some director/producer desired to do so (Peter Jackson, this one is calling to you!). The most amazing part about these books in my opinion are the human interactions which involve rich details of all the different cultures and lands, their rich histories and socio-cultural-economic nuances. You will leave this series feeling as if you knew each one of the characters intimately, which in my experience not many authors are able to do as well as David Eddings, in fact many sci-fi-fantasy-adventure authors seem to focus most of their attention and energy on producing a compelling or formulaic storyline. While the basic plot of the books may be similar to others there is a richness in the small details that makes them so compelling. To top it all off there is a lot of real-world style politics that goes in this epic series, and it is a great series for young readers to dig into as it will actually teach them something about human interactions, basic politics and economics, as well as the glory and terror of war. That may sound like I have really over-rated this series, but I tell you this, I have hardly just begun. Definitely check this series out, even if you are not into sci-fi or fantasy-adventure books, everyone has something to get out of these books. Also, before I go I would like to add that according to his Wikipedia Page David Edding's wife Leigh Eddings was actually an un-credited co-author on several of his earlier books (including the entire Belgariad and his companion series the Mallorean), and so I would just like to acknowledge her contribution to this series of books as well. For those of you who have read it I just stumbled across this video of someone's own animated-interpretations of settings in these books, and its always good to have a video on a vlog-post. Enjoy!

Brief Book Review for 'Creating Money' (1988) (book by Author's Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer)

Book = Creating Money: Attracting Abundance (1988)

Authors = Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer

5/5 Stars ***** 

Ok, so I just finished reading this book, titled Creating Money by authors Sanaya Roman and Duance Packer for the 6th time!! I read somewhere that advertising company research over the years has revealed that if you are exposed to a commercial or an idea/set of ideas 5-6 times or more that the ideas and their underlying assumptions/suggestions start to absorb subconsciously in the viewer/reader. That is exactly why I have read this book for the 6th time (all in the last 2 years), as it really contains so many new beliefs about money and abundance and how all that works in life that I now choose to have as my own thoughts and beliefs. I am also writing this review in the hopes of inspiring at least a few of you to at least check the book out and thus have a real opportunity to change some things, as well as to shake loose some of the more unhappy rigid structures/patterns in your live's. Now, don't get me wrong here, this book isn't going to guarantee you will get rich or anything so common like that. What this book might do, and has done for me, is help you begin to think of money and material abundance as well as spiritual abundance in new ways that can help you to evolve out of your old life-long patterns/habits surrounding money and everyday living (particularly those that you would deep down love to change). So there is my sales-pitch if you can call it that, but I must say that this book is really just a beginning, as there is a lot of work to be done to re-program your own deep-seated beliefs and stubborn patterns, and it requires that you actually be open to new ideas and new possibilities instead of thinking that you already know it all. For me, it has been a long process, but I have started to see small changes here and there, and in real life, and in my own experience that is how it seems to work, small forward steps here and there that add up to larger changes over a period of time. So, with all of that said, I highly recommend this book to all of you who are open to expanding your reality and to opening up to new ideas. I believe that William Shakespeare said it best: "There are more things in heaven and earth...Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." -Hamlet Act 1, scene 5, 159–167

Click here to check out Sanaya Roman and Duane Packer's website for more information about them and their works.

Brief Book Review for 'The Dark River' by John Twelve Hawks (2007)

The Dark River (2007
  by Author John Twelve Hawks
My Rating:  4/5 Stars ****

I just finished the second book in this Fourth Realm Trilogy, titled The Dark River (published in 2007) by mysterious author John Twelve Hawks. This book is a continuation of the first (titled The Traveler (2005)), and now I have just started to read the third. I highly recommend these books to anybody, though you may come out of reading them just a bit paranoid and worried about loss of privacy in the modern world we are ever-creating and expanding with all of the new technologies that allow one's every move and decision to be monitored, evaluated, and judged by artificial intelligence programs (great, just great!). This book, like the first, and I presume the 3rd as well, is an action-thriller and you will have trouble putting it down once you get into the story a bit, as you will constantly want to know what is going to happen next. There is a bit of a sci-fi touch to this book as well and the style is reminiscent of Dan Brown, although I am not sure author's like to be compared like that but that is my take after reading the first two books. Nonetheless, like Dan Brown's books, I can easily see this series being made into a movie trilogy. For more info on this book check out the wikipedia page HERE, and remember, its just a story....really......!