Buddhist BootCamp

Buddhist Boot Camp by Timber Hawkeye
Published by HarperOne on February 19, 2013
Pages: 160
Goodreads

A collection of short journal entries and letters sent to friends over the course of an eight-year journey to mindful living. Buddhism is all about training the mind, and boot camp is an ideal training method for this generation's short attention span. The chapters in this small book can be read in any order, and are simple and easy to understand. Each story, inspirational quote, and teaching offers mindfulness-enhancing techniques that anyone can relate to. You don't need to be a Buddhist to find the Buddha's teachings motivational. As the Dalai Lama says, "Don't try to use what you learn from Buddhism to be a Buddhist; use it to be a better whatever-you-already-are."
So whether it's Mother Teresa's acts of charity, Gandhi's perseverance, or your aunt Betty's calm demeanor, as long as you're motivated to be better today than you were yesterday, it doesn't matter who inspires you. Regardless of religion, geographical region, race, ethnicity, color, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability, flexibility, or vulnerability, if you do good you feel good, and if you do bad you feel bad.
Buddhism isn't just about meditating. It's about rolling up your sleeves to relieve some of the suffering in the world. If you are ready to be a soldier of peace in the army of love, welcome to Buddhist Boot Camp!

Hey!
I’m back with yet another book review and I might be getting closer to my book goals for the year. I’m also working on my physical TBR list, which is also good news.

I’ve had this book on my TBR list for a long time in both a physical and list form for a long time. Which is unfortunate because when I met Timber Hawkeye in 2016 or so I had intended on reading his book then. I had also heard him speak at a reading of his book before that too. That only brings us here to the review and reading of this book.

This book is a collection of essays that Timber Hawkeye wrote during his time in Hawaii and some of it after. I loved that each essay can stand on its own or together with several others as shown in the book. The book is broken down into chapters dealing with life and giving the reader practical advice based on the writer’s experience.

I would recommend this book for someone looking for a quick easy to read book that might be interested in Buddhism or are trying to supplement their faith a bit more.

Let me know if you have read this book or have read something similar. How are your reading goals going this year since we are now about halfway through? Are you going to make it? Did you set a reading goal for the year? I’d love to know all your thoughts. I hope to see you again soon.

The Oracle Code

7 / 7 / 207 / 2 / 20

The Oracle Code by Marieke Nijkamp, Manuel Preitano
on March 10, 2020
Format: Paperback
Goodreads
three-half-stars

The #1 New York Times bestselling author Marieke Nijkamp (This Is Where It Ends) and artist Manuel Preitano unveil a graphic novel that explores the dark corridors of Barbara Gordon's first mystery: herself.
After a gunshot leaves her paralyzed, Barbara Gordon enters the Arkham Center for Independence, where Gotham's teens undergo physical and mental rehabilitation. Now using a wheelchair, Barbara must adapt to a new normal, but she cannot shake the feeling that something is dangerously amiss. Within these walls, strange sounds escape at night; patients go missing; and Barbara begins to put together pieces of what she believes to be a larger puzzle.
But is this suspicion simply a result of her trauma? Fellow patients try to connect with Barbara, but she pushes them away, and she'd rather spend time with ghost stories than participate in her daily exercises. Even Barbara's own judgment is in question.
In The Oracle Code, universal truths cannot be escaped, and Barbara Gordon must battle the phantoms of her past before they swarm her future.

Hello Everyone!
I’m back with yet another book review. Overall this year has been a slow reading year for me, but we are still pushing through in hopes that I will be able to make it to my reading goals at the end of the year. Today’s review is on The Oracle Code. This is another book in the DC Icons series, which I have been reading through in the past year. Overall I like that YA authors are trying their hands at writing for graphic novels though there are a few out of the series that are less than stellar.

This book was an average book for me, it was overly flashy in the way they handled the story of Barbara Gordon because if you know anything about DC this story can be a bit controversial. It was a bit unpleasant that Barbara spends most of the book not being believed for how she feels about the hospital. In a stereo typical fashion it comes out with a nice ending. I hope that we get a few more graphic novels about Barbara Gordon because I would like to see what she does next.

Let me know what you have been reading lately and if you read graphic novel. I hope to see you again in another post soon! 🙂

Shadow of the Batgirl

6 / 18 / 206 / 12 / 20

Shadow of the Batgirl by Sarah Kuhn, Nicole Goux
on February 4, 2020
Pages: 208
Format: Paperback
Goodreads
four-half-stars

Out Spring 2020.

Hey!
I’m here with yet another book review. I might actually be catching up with my reading goals for the year, but we will see if that actually happens. It has been hard year so far so I hope that things are beginning to look up.

Today we are here to discuss a graphic novel that I have read recently. If you followed me for the last year, you will know that I have gotten into the graphic novel series that DC began publishing. You can read a review of a few of the other graphic novels here, here, here, and here. This is another graphic novel in the series though none of the books are connected, so feel free to read them in any order you want.

In this novel, we meet Cassandra Cain and she struggles to identify who she is and her role in society for most of the novel. It takes her a while but she identifies with the stories of Batgirl and wanting to save people though she might not know who Batgirl is.

I love that in this graphic novel you get to see Cassandra Cain portrayed as asian and to see how that adds to her struggles with her identity. I also loved the illustration throughout the novel being a little more sketchy and the panels a little more disjointed at times as it appears that Cassandra’s thoughts are also disjointed.

I would recommend this novel if you like any of the DC characters and are a bit familiar with Gotham City. I would also recommend this book if you are familiar with any of Sarah Kuhn’s work in literature. I definitely think that this is a fun read and adds to the beautiful work that DC is creating in their ink series.

I hope to see you soon in another post.

All Fall Down

6 / 16 / 206 / 10 / 20

All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner
Published by Atria Books on June 17, 2014
Pages: 384
Goodreads
three-half-stars

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner
Allison Weiss got her happy ending—a handsome husband, adorable daughter, a job she loves, and the big house in the suburbs. But while waiting in the pediatrician’s office, she opens a magazine to a quiz about addiction and starts to wonder…Is a Percocet at the end of the day really different from a glass of wine? Is it such a bad thing to pop a Vicodin after a brutal Jump & Pump class…or if your husband ignores you?
The pills help her manage the realities of her good-looking life: that her husband is distant, that her daughter is acting out, that her father’s Alzheimer’s is worsening and her mother is barely managing to cope. She tells herself that they let her make it through her days…but what if her increasing drug use, a habit that’s becoming expensive and hard to hide, is turning into her biggest problem of all?
With a sparkling comedic touch and a cast of unforgettable characters, this remarkable story of a woman’s slide into addiction and struggle to find her way back up again is Jennifer Weiner’s most masterful work yet.

Hello!
I’m finally back with another book review. It has been a hot minute since I posted a book review here in real time. Lately, I have been doing more posts prepping for Scaretober, which is coming in October. I fully intended on being WAY more prepared than I have been in years past. Let’s get back to real reason that you are here.I recently finished Jennifer Weiner’s All Fall Down .

You can read from the synopsis what the book is generally about. As an older fan of Jennifer Weiner I thought that this book was about average, but not as good as some of her older books. I found that this book was good and I could get into the storyline because it was a big deal at the time. I wasn’t impressed at some of the character development in the book, I felt that it could have been better and deeper. It seemed that the majority of the plotline was rushed and at times a bit un-relatable. It seemed a bit unrealistic to introduce that Allison’s mom was an alcoholic to the story at one point and yet never continue with it. It was also a bit unrealistic that her daughter would immediately begin behaving better after Allison got back from rehab and that they moved away from suburbia.

If you like Jennifer Weiner books it was good to get back to her writing, but this book was definitely a more borrow book than a buy book. While I still love Jennifer Weiner as an author I wouldn’t rank this book very high in the books that I would recommend you to read from her though it would still be read.

I hope that you enjoyed this review and that you will come back again for more reviews and more posts. Hope to see you soon.

Rich People Problems

4 / 3 / 203 / 31 / 20

Rich People Problems (Crazy Rich Asians, #3) by Kevin Kwan
Published by Doubleday on May 23, 2017
Pages: 398
Format: Paperback
Goodreads
four-half-stars

Kevin Kwan, bestselling author of Crazy Rich Asians and China Rich Girlfriend, is back with an uproarious new novel featuring a family driven by fortune, an ex-wife driven psychotic with jealousy, a battle royal fought through couture-gown sabotage, and the heir to one of Asia's greatest fortunes locked out of his inheritance.
When Nicholas Young hears that his grandmother, Su Yi, is on her deathbed, he rushes to be by her bedside—but he's not alone. The entire Shang-Young clan has convened from all corners of the globe to stake claim to their matriarch's massive fortune. With each family member vying to inherit Tyersall Park—a trophy estate on sixty-four prime acres in the heart of Singapore—Nicholas' childhood home turns into a hotbed of backbiting and intrigue. As Su Yi's relatives fight over heirlooms, Astrid Leong is at the center of her own storm, desperately in love with her old sweetheart Charlie Wu but tormented by her ex-husband—a man hell-bent on destroying Astrid's reputation and relationship. Meanwhile, Kitty Pong, married to China's second richest man, Jack Bing, still feels upstaged by her new stepdaughter, famous fashionista Colette Bing.
In this sweeping tale that takes us from the elegantly appointed mansions of Manila to the secluded private islands in the Sulu Sea, from a kidnapping at Hong Kong's most elite private school to a surprise marriage proposal at an Indian palace that is caught on camera by the telephoto lenses of paparazzi, Kevin Kwan hilariously reveals the long-buried secrets of Asia's most privileged families and their rich people problems.

Hello!
I’m back with another book review. One good thing about being stuck in quarantine times is that I now have uninterrupted time to read which is great for my book reading goals for the year.

I’m glad that I finally had a chance to finish this book, since I had started the series at the end of the year. This series was recommended to me, by my best friend who said that she has read the series multiple times last year. If you haven’t read my reviews on the other books in the series feel free to read the reviews here and here.

As you can read from the synopsis, we catch up with Nick Young and his family a few days before his grandmother Su Yi Young passes away. Luckily, his mother and Rachel convinced him to make up with his grandmother before she passed. In this book, we also see what happens to Nick Young’s family home Tyersall Park in the later chapters and what happens in the coming year.

I loved how the series came to an end and how each of the characters ended up. It seemed that nearly everyone seemed to end up with their own happy ending, which was a lovely way to end the book. I would highly recommend this series if you loved the movie and would like to follow the characters for a bit longer. I also found that I related to this book on as a person of Asian decent and I am glad that someone from that background wrote a book series that got such recognition.

I hope that you are doing well and staying safe. I hope to see you soon in another post!