Monday, October 08, 2007

A book MEME

Actually I don't understand so well this thing specially because the word "meme" sounds to me very childish. But now I can understand it better.. so click here if you want to expand your vocabulary :)

Total number of books: I have many books and that is one of the best things I like to spend my money on. I have some 100 books at home in Peru but at home in Slovenia I must have some 250 more. From science, religion, history, technology, design, minerals, spirits, crystal healing, to novels, visual guides and of course many classics. One day I will count them. I have also some 20 audiobooks.
Last book read: I can't imagine that this one is a difficult question! Actually I'm reading many books at the same time... but It must be a finished one... ok, let me see. I have 4 books I finished reading recently:
  1. The Children of Hurin, J.R.R. Tolkien. It is a bit difficult to read book but talks about many interesting human values from the negative experience of a person living in a constant contradiction.
  2. Ideas that changed the world, Felipe Fernandez Armesto. It is a really interesting collection of chronologically organized ideas. The secuency of their presentation is one of the most important things on the book because it helps the reader to understand the "need" of having that idea in a particularly special part of our History. It helps to understand how the Human is and how we invented many "ideas" to facilitate our understanding of the world and life.
  3. Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance. This one I started many months ago but I finished the last part no so long ago. It is a great book that explains the intricate and complex mind we have. The way of explaining philosophy using a motorcycle trip is a great idea. This is the kind of book that can change the way we live... you must read it ;)
  4. The Last Elf, Silvana De Mari. A fantasy book full of innocence and messages of hope. The perfect book for a long plane trip. The story is so simple to read that makes it irresistible! I wanted to read it again as soon as I finished and I read it again because it holds many beautiful messages.
Last book bought: The tipping point. I'm already at the half of the book. It is super interesting and I'm using it to try to motivate my coworkers to think how to make our sales more effective. It explains about the little things that are important in order to make a message to ring in the audience. I can send many advertising messages but not necessary get answers; this books helps me to find that I don't need so many advertising messages, it is better to think on who is key to receive the message.
I would like to mention other book that is very interesting because it is made to tell you in what you are good! Its name is Strength Finder.
Five meaningful books: They are not in order of interest or importance and please don't try to think that I'm comparing them. They are just books that made me think and get interesting conclusions.
  1. The Bible
  2. The Zahir, Paulo Coelho
  3. The Sacred Depths of Nature by Ursula Goodenough
  4. Night, Elie Wiesel
  5. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Thanks Matt for making me think more about my beloved books! that was great!

5 comments:

Matthew May said...

LOL Jose, I actually thought the same thing. Meme does sound childish .. and blog sounds terrible - Someone really should come up with different names for these things :)

I can see by your list that you are also a fan of Epic Fantasy. Tolkien is one of my favorites.

Great list. I think memes are good in the sense that they allow everyone to get to know us a little better, since it is unlikely we would share all this information otherwise. :)

Thanks for participating

Anonymous said...

Hello!
I'm also a big Paulo Coelho fan and I don't know if you’ve heard about his blog
http://www.paulocoelhoblog.com
I started as a fan and now I'm collaborating with him and thought that you would like to enter his universe.
Check out the blog, if you want, or subscribe to his newsletter
http://www.warriorofthelight.com/engl/index.html

You'll see a community of warriors of light sharing ideas, dreams and most importantly following their personal legend.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"Life always waits for some crisis to occur
before revealing itself at its most brilliant."

See you there and have a great day!
Aart

Anonymous said...

Hi Jose,

nice blog you're having here! Good news is something we really can't have enough of!
There are some interesting sites you might like, like Gimundo (http://www.gimundo.com/), the Good News Network (http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/), and the TED blog (http://blog.ted.com/).
Take care,

Ellen

Jose Antonio said...

Hello Aart!
I can share with you that Paulo Coelho's books really helped me to make a positive turn in my life. Not because of the books themselves but because of what I was able to think and conclude. His books are just a reflex of wisdom, and that is why many critics think his books are simple and not "original". But the critics forget that remembering the common sense is in fact one of the most effective ways of developing ourselves effectively, with responsibility and respect. Paulo helps to present and spread Human wisdom.
Thanks for the links and comment!

Jose Antonio said...

Dear Ellen,
Thanks for your words. I'm using an important percentage of each day reading news of all kind. I try to find the good news because they are the only ones making me to feel good and proud.
Some times takes time for me to find a good new because in many cases I need to "process" the information I get, compare it with reality and my personal experience and then I try to get a conclusion. Sometimes I see the information and I just post it because its impact is evident.
Blogs like yours and the links you included in your post are very important and helpful. I like very much TED Blog. I can tell you that I have downloaded all the TED videos! they are just amazing!
Thanks for sharing and hope to see you more often around here :)