Category Archives: Books

BOOK: “Yoga Makaranda” by T.T. Krishnamacharya [Trans. by Lakshmi and Nandini Ranganathan]

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Yoga MakarandaYoga Makaranda by Tirumalai Krishnamacharya
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Online — Centre for Yoga Studies

This was supposed to be the first in a series of books put out by T.T. Krishnamacharya, a teacher called by many the “Father of Modern Yoga.” However, Krishnamacharya lost the patronage of the Maharaja of Mysore when Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV passed away and the heir to the throne proved much less interested in Yoga than in modernization. I mention this because as a stand-alone volume, the book might strike readers as a bit oddly organized — e.g. the book abruptly ends with the discussion of one of the yogasana and one can imagine many topics that were either to be introduced or fleshed out in later volumes.

The book is about two-thirds a manual of yoga asana (postures,) some forty-two poses ranging from basics to fairly advanced postures. The first one-third of the book presents a basic overview of yoga practice and delves into topics such as yogic ethics (yama and niyama,) dietary considerations, shatkriya, and mudra.

The book has many photos in the section about asana. These photos are large enough and clear enough that one can get the gist of the asana. The book also has a short glossary and index.

I’d recommend this book for yoga practitioners and teachers. Krishnamacharya was one of the most pivotal figures in the history of yoga and arguably shaped the practice of Hatha Yoga as we know it more than any other person.

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PROMPT: Genuinely Scared

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What’s a book or movie that genuinely scared you?

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The Holocaust by Martin Gilbert

BOOK: “Humor, Seriously” by Jennifer Aaker & Naomi Bagdonas

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Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life (And how anyone can harness it. Even you.)Humor, Seriously: Why Humor Is a Secret Weapon in Business and Life by Jennifer Lynn Aaker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book Site

This book aims to bring humor into the workplace — kicking and screaming, if need be. (Or back to the workplace, depending upon to whom one talks.) The authors jointly teach a grad seminar at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business that addresses questions such as: Why is the corporate world so utterly devoid of a sense of humor? What are the benefits of bringing humor into a corporation? And, how can humor be introduced into a corporate setting without undermining other objectives — like taking over with suitable hostility and profitability and decent coffee in the breakroom (or, whatever, corporations are stoked about?)

This book addresses those questions along with more rudimentary questions such as what makes for funny and how can one be funnier than the average internal audit accountant. It also deals with more niche topics, such as the pitfalls of joking around — if you’re the boss — and how to make levity a component of corporate culture.

Like most books about humor that are designed for some other task than tickling the funny bone, one shouldn’t expect a laugh-riot. That said, neither is this a dry text on corporate communications. As I read, I sometimes felt the book tried too hard to throw in a joke and that a number of them didn’t land, but it also occurred to me that one of the book’s intended lessons is that one doesn’t have to be at a Chris Rock or Jim Gaffigan level of funny to engage in (and benefit from) a bit of corporate levity. (Ergo, some of the Dad Joke caliber groaners may have been on purpose and in that spirit.)

I enjoyed this book and felt it was a beneficial read. I’d recommend it for anyone interested in humor, particularly in the workplace.

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BOOK: “Reinventing the Bazaar” by John McMillan

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Reinventing the Bazaar: A Natural History of MarketsReinventing the Bazaar: A Natural History of Markets by John McMillan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site – Norton

This is a highly readable overview of markets: how they work, how they fail, what they’re good for, and what they aren’t. It’s an objective accounting of markets that neither cheerleads nor condemns but rather seeks to get at how markets form a system that is at once both the best of worlds and the worst.

The key to this book’s success is the selection of case studies, many of which are fascinating. While the subtitle, “A Natural History of Markets,” might lead the reader to think that this is a much bigger and more boring book than it is, McMillan actually picks a case or two to illustrate each of the seventeen topical chapters. Topics include: the peculiarities of markets for information, approaches to auctions, issues around intellectual property, inequality, governance and policy interaction with markets, etc.

It’s not easy to enjoy reading a book about economics, but this one certainly draws the reader into its web. I’d highly recommend this as a go-to guide for anyone who wants a compelling and objective introduction to markets.

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BOOK: “Dear Lovely Death” by Langston Hughes

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Dear Lovely DeathDear Lovely Death by Langston Hughes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Second Story Books Page

This, Langston Hughes’ fourth poetry collection — published in 1931, consists of twelve short poems about (or touching upon) death. Originally, Hughes only had a small run of this collection self-published, so it isn’t always listed among his works.

These poems are short and lyrical. The last few poems are not so explicitly about death as the early ones. However, given that old chestnut (variously attributed to Robert Graves and Samuel Delany) that all poems are about love, death, or the change of seasons, these would definitely hit the second category.

I’d recommend this collection for poetry readers.

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BOOK: “The Negro Mother: And Other Dramatic Recitations” by Langston Hughes

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The Negro Mother: And Other Dramatic RecitationsThe Negro Mother: And Other Dramatic Recitations by Langston Hughes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Google Books Site

This short volume consists of just five intermediate length lyric poems. The poems included are: “The Coloured Soldier,” “Broke,” “The Big-Timer,” “The Negro Mother,” and “Dark Youth of the USA.”

This collection stands out from Hughes’ others. Each poem is a character sketch, a snapshot of tribulations suffered by black Americans in Hughes’ day (published in 1931.) The poems are longer and more biographic than most of Hughes’ work.

This is a powerful collection of poems, and I’d highly recommend it for poetry readers.

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BOOK: “Facets of Taoism” ed. by H. Welch & A. Seidel

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Facets of Taoism - Essays in Chinese ReligionFacets of Taoism – Essays in Chinese Religion by Holmes and Anna Seidel (Eds.) Welch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Google Books Site

This is a collection of nine scholarly essays written for a conference. As such, it won’t be of interest to most readers because it gets deep in the weeds. For readers unfamiliar with this type of book, the problems for a general reader are numerous. First, the book was assembled with a readership of experts in mind, and — therefore — assumes a fairly in-depth understanding of all aspects of Taoism. Second, the contributors are “inch wide & mile deep” specialists and often focus on topics that will only be of interest to a niche readership (topics like, “how the Taoist canon is organized”) and there is no attempt at systematic coverage to achieve a complete overview of the subject — i.e. it’s siloed. Finally, at times one feels as though one is reading as much footnote as text — i.e. it’s not organized for smooth intake.

That said, as scholarly books go, the readability is reasonably high. Also, it does have the advantages of a scholarly book (e.g. every source is clearly cited.)

If you have some depth of understanding of Taoism and are seeking niche insights, you may find this book is for you. If you don’t, it will probably give you headaches.

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PROMPT: Absolute Worst

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Which book’s world would be the absolute worst to live in?

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Neither the Orwellian nor the Atwoodian dystopia (1984 nor The Handmaid’s Tale) is for me. (To live in… I enjoyed reading both. Strange thing, that is.)

(Don’t judge me that I didn’t include Huxley’s Brave New World with all its drugs and promiscuous sex.)

BOOKS: “Poems, 1965-1975” by Seamus Heaney

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Seamus Heaney: Poems 1965 1975Seamus Heaney: Poems 1965 1975 by Seamus Heaney
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site – McMillan FSG

This book gathers the poetry of the four Seamus Heaney collections that come out during the titularly referenced decade. This is his early work, his first four published collections, and includes: Death of a Naturalist, Door into the Dark, Wintering Out, and North.

I enjoy reading Heaney’s work. His poems tend to have a country influence and have a physicality that give them heft. Though in the latter half of the collection, there is increasing political influence — i.e. regarding the issue of Northern Ireland. Heaney’s poems often remind me of those of Robert Frost, though Heaney wrote much more free verse. Heaney had a love of words that some will adore while others find it distracting for the frequent visits to the dictionary with arcane words.

I’d recommend this collection for all poetry readers — especially if you love Frost (particularly for content, not form,) you’ll really enjoy the poems of Seamus Heaney.

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BOOK: “Bruce Springsteen’s America” ed. by Robert Coles

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Bruce Springsteen's America: The People Listening, A Poet SingingBruce Springsteen’s America: The People Listening, A Poet Singing by Robert Coles
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Publisher Site

This book assembles ten reflections upon the role that Bruce Springsteen’s songs have played in the lives and thoughts of everyday Americans. It’s presented as the views of Harvard Psychiatrist and Pulitzer Prize winner, Robert Coles, but while Coles contributed both front- and back-matter as well as editing, the bulk of the book consists of the thoughts of a diverse assemblage of Americans — a lawyer, a teacher, a police officer, a grandmother, a student, a salesman, etc.

The degree to which Bruce Springsteen’s music is central to the book varies both in Cole’s contributions and in those of his contributors. Sometimes, it’s heavily about those songs, but other times it drifts into territory in which Springsteen seems to have little relevance. That’s okay… unless one bought the book primarily to read about Springsteen’s cultural influence, and one might easily be forgiven for thinking that’s the book one was getting.

Few, if any, musicians have images more intertwined with what it means to be American than Bruce Springsteen. This is, therefore, an interesting topic, though it may have been more interesting with a bit more focus.

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