Awakening from the Daydream David Nichtern

Summary
Hell realms, gods, and hungry ghosts—these are just a few of the images on the Buddhist wheel of life. In Awakening from the Daydream, discover how these ancient symbols are still relevant to our modern life.

In Awakening from the Daydream, meditation teacher David Nichtern reimagines the ancient Buddhist allegory of the Wheel of Life. Famously painted at the entryway to Buddhist monasteries, the Wheel of Life encapsulates the entirety of the human situation. In the image of the Wheel we find a teaching about how to make sense of life and how to find peace within an uncertain world.

Nichtern writes with clarity and humor, speaking to our contemporary society and its concerns and providing simple practical steps for building a mindful, compassionate, and liberating approach to living. 

Impressions
In Awakening from the Daydream, I've been surprised as how the concepts and ideas are easy and clear to understand.

It has giving me a lot of food for my brain.

The explanations of the 6 realms are comprehensible and make you think of your own behaviours. It's perfect if you want to take a look at yourself and to change.

A really good book ! I've been amazed at its clarity and all the great thoughts it has awakened in me.
Very happy to have read it!

Quotes

"We are rarely, if ever, aware of how much our own mental habits fabricate and distort our experience of life. We do not see the situation clearly. It's as if we wear special glasses made of all of our thoughts, feelings, impulses, and so on, which color and distort how we see our lives. "

"In fact, every aspect of our lives, is governed by impermanence."

"When we lose something we want, we suffer. When we gain something we don't want, we suffer. When we vacillate between wanting to get something and wanting to get rid of something, we suffer. Underneath all of this is a vague feeling of uncertainty about the whole situation, which is another  kind of suffering - the suffering of existential stress or anxiety."

Source
*Arc provided by Netgalley
I received this book in exchange of a fair and honest review.

Lost Reaper by Shelley Russell Nolan

Summary
For twenty-five year old Tyler Morgan, being murdered was easy. Easy in comparison with working for the Grim Reaper.

Jonathon Grimm may have brought her back from the dead in exchange for working as a reaper for her hometown, Easton, but she has to find his lost reaper before she can enjoy her second chance at life.

Only … the lost reaper isn’t actually lost. He has a new body and a new life and no intention of turning himself in, even if it means giving Tyler her life back.

Tyler begins the grisly task of reaping the souls of Easton’s dead while searching for the reaper. He could be anyone – the intriguing detective, Sam Lockwood; the handsome, wealthy Chris Bradbury; or the serial killer stalking the women of Easton. Women who bear an uncanny resemblance to Tyler.

But what is the ancient secret, hidden from mankind, that has motivated Grimm to choose Tyler for the morbid task?

As the killer closes in and Grimm’s deadline draws closer, Tyler discovers she is fighting a much bigger threat than the Grim Reaper and time is running out for everyone.


Impressions
The plot is good, interesting and the flow is fluid.
I've appreciated my time with Tyler even if some parts of the story were a little too repetitive.

Would have loved more actions between Chris and Sam and not this back and forth dance.
Even if I understand that the reader needs to wait for the sequel to receive more answers.

An easy read to spend a nice evening. Just wish we will not have to wait until the end in the next opus to have all the adventures and actions.




Source
*Arc provided by Netgalley
I received this book in exchange of a fair and honest review.

The Order of the Eternal Sun: A Novel of the Sylvani by Jessica Leake

Summary
Lucy Sinclair’s debut will be a parade of everything opulent Edwardian London society has to offer. Most importantly, it will be nothing like her older sister’s dangerous experience—especially if her overprotective brother-in-law, Lord Thornewood, has his way. As if screening her dance partners isn’t enough, Thornewood insists that his brother, James, train Lucy in self-defense. She wouldn’t mind so much if her treacherous mind didn’t continue to replay the kiss they once shared.

But awkward defense lessons are the least of her problems. Her arcana, a magical talent that allows her to mentally enter any scene that she draws, grows stronger by the day. Again and again Lucy is compelled to draw a portal to her mother’s realm of Sylvania—and with each stroke of her pen, she risks attracting the attention of the Order of the Eternal Sun, the sinister brotherhood that steals the power of Sylvani blood for their own dark ends.

When a bold new suitor arrives from India, Lucy can’t help but be intrigued—though her family questions his mysterious past. But as Lucy’s own suspicions grow, and the threat of the Order looms larger, Lucy will have to learn to harness her unpredictable power or risk falling under the Order’s shadow forever.

Impressions
Fun with a fast original pace !

I've liked the characters...all of them! Jeassica Leake has created a great family with strong women who have mind of their own and are not afraid to take risks. It's intriguing, light and amusing.

Spending time with the personnages, I've discovered an interesting stories with powers and a fantastic world. I've also appreciated the description of England at the begin of the XXe century.
There is romance, betrayal, fights and drama. The perfect combinaison to enjoy a great adventure.

Since it was the second volume, and to be honest I didn't knew it and it has not perturbated my read, I will hapilly go back to the first one to know more about the lovely headstrong Katherine Sinclair.

Source
*Arc provided by Edelweiss
I received this book in exchange of a fair and honest review.

The Boy & the Bindi by Vivek Shraya

Illustrations Rajni Perera 

Summary
A beautiful children’s picture book that showcases a young Indian boy’s fascination with his mother’s bindi, the red dot commonly worn by Hindu women.

Rather than chastise her son, she teaches him about its cultural significance and doesn’t flinch when he asks for one himself. Wearing it allows him to joyfully explore and express his difference.

Impressions
A really poetic and well illustrated book!

Short and perfectly well created for children to ask questions and to understand the importance of a Bindi. This story is also great to talk about bonds between a mother and her child, curiosity, roots, beliefs, spirituality and differencies.

I've enjoyed the illustrations. They are colorful and full of positivity. They goes well with the rythm of the poetic words.
A really great surprise!

I've appreciated also the interview of the author who explained why he has decided to write a children book and the importance of introducing variety and differencies into our children's world from the start.

A real great discovery!

Source
*Arc provided by Edelweiss
I received this book in exchange of a fair and honest review.

The Possessions by Sara Flannery Murphy

Summary
In this electrifying literary debut, a young woman who channels the dead for a living crosses a dangerous line when she falls in love with one of her clients, whose wife died under mysterious circumstances

In an unnamed city, Eurydice works for the Elysian Society, a private service that allows grieving clients to reconnect with lost loved ones. She and her fellow workers, known as “bodies“, wear the discarded belongings of the dead and swallow pills called lotuses to summon their spirits—numbing their own minds and losing themselves in the process. Edie has been a body at the Elysian Society for five years, an unusual record. Her success is the result of careful detachment: she seeks refuge in the lotuses’ anesthetic effects and distances herself from making personal connections with her clients. 

But when Edie channels Sylvia, the dead wife of recent widower Patrick Braddock, she becomes obsessed with the glamorous couple. Despite the murky circumstances surrounding Sylvia’s drowning, Edie breaks her own rules and pursues Patrick, moving deeper into his life and summoning Sylvia outside the Elysian Society’s walls. 

After years of hiding beneath the lotuses’ dulling effect, Edie discovers that the lines between her own desires and those of Sylvia have begun to blur, and takes increasing risks to keep Patrick within her grasp. Suddenly, she finds her quiet life unraveling as she grapples not only with Sylvia’s growing influence and the questions surrounding her death, but with her own long-buried secrets. 

A tale of desire and obsession, deceit and dark secrets that defies easy categorization, The Possessions is a seductive, absorbing page-turner that builds to a shattering, unforgettable conclusion.

Impressions
I was very intrigued by the synopsis and decided to plunge into it. The beginning was good and has reminded me of Aldous Huxley's atmosphere as well as the movie Gattaca.

As readers, we are following Edie, who is able to let dead people reconnect with loved ones through her body. She is cold, distance and doesn't live if not for her work. Until she meets Patrick, a widower who is hiding secrets about his wife death.

To be honest, I was curious and eager until the middle of this book. Then, I've started to ask myself when action will really take place.
Sure the ending is not bad but the author wasn't able to pull me back into her story after she lost me. And believe me, I was really trying to stay hanging to Sylvia and Edie's adventures...

A bit dissapointed.

Source
*Arc provided by Edelweiss
I received this book in exchange of a fair and honest review.

The Literature Book by DK Publishing, Sam Atkinson

Summary
A global look at the greatest works of Eastern and Western literature and the themes that unite them, for students and lovers of literature and reading.

The Literature Book is a fascinating journey through the greatest works of world literature, from the Iliad to Don Quixote to The Great Gatsby. Around 100 crystal-clear articles explore landmark novels, short stories, plays, and poetry that reinvented the art of writing in their time, whether Ancient Greece, post-classical Europe, or modern-day Korea.

As part of DK's award-winning Big Ideas Simply Explained series, The Literature Book uses infographics and images to explain key ideas and themes. Biographies of important authors offer insight into their lives and other writings, and a section on Further Reading details more than 150 additional works to explore.

Discover masterpieces from the world's greatest authors, and explore the context, creative history, and literary traditions that influenced each major work of fiction with The Literature Book.

Series Overview: Big Ideas Simply Explained series uses creative design and innovative graphics, along with straightforward and engaging writing, to make complex subjects easier to understand. These award-winning books provide just the information needed for students, families, or anyone interested in concise, thought-provoking refreshers on a single subject.

Impressions
A mix between a history book, an encyclopedia and Santa's gift bags !

From Mythology to contemporary literature, you travel through time and discover authors from around the world. Of course, there is a lot of classics but I've enjoyed the diversity of the sources. You will find books from Asia, Russia, France, UK and the US.

I've also appreciaped the colorful construction of the pages. You always have a focus on a special book with a bio of it's author as well as the period where it was written. The historical background, the political, historical or social influences that lead to a specific literary current.

It's very well explained and if you want to know more you have a section called "further reading" to discover or rediscover new authors and books of this same movement or period.

Quotes are also used to illustrate a topic or to enhance the text.

It's a very pleasant book that can be read countless time. You will always find something for you in it if you are a book lover.
You can read it for the pleasure, to improve your knowledge about the classics or just to choose a good friends to go on adventures with.

Since I have already read "The Sociology Book" in the same collection, I may add that these books are easy to understand and perfect to keep around.

Great collection!

Source
*Arc provided by Edelweiss
I received this book in exchange of a fair and honest review.

Uptown & Downtown by Alan Bortman

Uptown & Downtown: Old Skool Paintings on NYC Subway Maps by Alan Bortman
Summary
New York graffiti writers who cut their teeth painting trains in the '70s and '80s transfer Old Skool street art to a more permanent, collectible medium in this book, using transit maps, instead of subway cars, as canvases. 

GHOST, T-KID, QUIK, REVOLT, BLADE, SHAME125, COPE2, SKEME, and others decorated ordinary 23" x 32" MTA maps with their personal tags and graphics echoing the heyday of New York train graffiti. 

Sixteen sections, one for each writer, feature a total of more than 100 maps, as well as brief statements about the painters' artistic evolution and style. Like a dynamic "piece book," or sketchbook, this collection is an exclusive sampling of the painters' signature strokes and tags in portable form. 

In fact, many of the artists featured here have used subway-map art as a springboard from the fleeting genre of train-tagging to the sturdier platform of the international art gallery circuit."

Impressions
Full of great graffitis !

If you like street art and graffiti, you will appreciate this book. It let a huge place to the art. Lot of pieces bought by private buyers are offered to your eyes and they are impressive.

If the art is well shown off, I would have liked to know more about the artists. Sure, there is a bio but a very short one. Like the sobriety of the design but I would have loved more words.
Idem for the introduction to the graffiti on the NYC transit system. I like to read, even if the illustrations are awesome.

Perfect, if you want to enjoy only the art.

Source
*Arc provided by Edelweiss
I received this book in exchange of a fair and honest review.