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TL;DR: Joy is a sign of God's presence; Humor and Laughter can be found in the saint's lives, in the Church, and through your own personal spiritual life. This book was a joy to read, enlightening and quite funny. My experience of faith tends to be mixed. As a kid I remember it being repetitive; some times gloomy. To know that there is place for "not gloomy" things in this context is refreshing. Why should you read this book? It provides an understanding of Joy, Humor and Laughter in a place not usually associated with it. It pulls not only from the Catholics, but from the Protestants; Islam and Judaism are also represented. And it was surprising to see some of the recent concepts in Psychology in here also: "Savoring" and "Authentic Happiness". How can you use this information? It boils down to Gratitude. You see life and people differently. Every time you start to take yourself too seriously, don't. People screw up. L...

TL;DR: Stories from all over the world share a common structure; A hero's journey consists of a Departure, Initiation and Return; while stories of the Universe usually encompasses Emanations, Transformations and Dissolutions This took some getting used to. This comes often and highly recommended, and has been quoted by storytellers such as George Lucas and others. To the uninitiated such as myself, It felt encyclopedic. It represents stories and myths from all over the world. With a barrage of multiple characters and story lines; it was intimidating, overwhelming even.  It was surprising to know that myths from different time periods and different cultures, share a common structure. Joseph Campbell and others, were able to see these patterns and now the stories created in the modern times seems to show ancestry traces from their work, eg. Star Wars etc. Prologue The hero is the man of self-achieved submission. Dream is the personalized myth, myth the d...

TL;DR: Dad goes out to buy milk; gets abducted by green globby aliens; warps space and time; and bumps into pirates, jungle tribes, vampires and space dinosaurs This was fun! Having never read a Children's book by Neil Gaiman, this was wildly creative. The illustrations are great and the story is, I imagine, great for bedside reading with kids (and okay, adults too). This is one gateway book to enjoy Adventure and Fantasy

TL;DR: Aristotle talks about Life: Virtues, Friends and Happiness This was a slog to read. There is something intriguing about philosophy with its long passages and obscure words. It is hard to grasp and maybe that's why it's interesting. It seems like a challenge to overcome. At its core, it's an exploration of life or of the abstract. This book is no different. Aristotle discusses what makes a life well-lived, what makes people happy, what constitutes a good man. He talks about factors that lead people to have good or bad lives; and that good people have virtues that are nurtured in them. It can get way too abstract sometimes especially when he is differentiating two already abstract concepts. But he does seem like a well-rounded fellow. Book I: The Object of Life TL;DR: Life is activity. Happiness comes from virtuous activities The three types of life: the life of enjoyment, the political, and the contemplative Happiness, then, is found to be s...

TL;DR: Sherlock Holmes crosses paths with Dracula This was frightening, although a bit less so than the original material. I must say that the story fits quite well with Bram Stoker's original work. I chanced upon this book in one of those late afternoon excursion to a Book Sale. Talk about crossing fictional universes. It's not unusual for characters to have crossovers. But having seen this in that bookstore, this immediately piqued my curiosity. Can this work? And it appears it does.  To be fair, Sherlock seems out of place in this one. One, because he prides himself in being extremely rational and logical. With the infusion of the undead.. well, he seems a bit trapped. Another is it was more like a hunt or a chase, than a tale of detection. It's a good suspense/mystery story nonetheless. Other related books: Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897) Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde  by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886)   Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)