This week I’m reading Waking from Sleep which explores various higher states of consciousness and awakening experiences and how to induce them. Our normal state of day-to-day consciousness is a kind of sleep and this book explores the ways we can wake from our slumber into a more intense, present reality. There are sections on the… Continue reading Review: Waking from Sleep by Steve Taylor
More Than This is a mind-blowing YA science fiction novel by Patrick Ness that’s so good it’s hard to believe. This is one of my all-time favourite books and just thinking about it makes me want to read it again. “Whatever happened to you down there, whatever the world looks like now, that’s not how… Continue reading Fantasy Reading List: More Than This
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel is about a travelling Shakespearean theatre company set in post-apocalyptic America. You could call it speculative fiction or literary sci-fi, although Mandel herself calls it “literary fiction that’s set partly in the future.” Whatever the category, it’s an extraordinary book; compelling and spellbinding. I couldn’t stop reading, and… Continue reading Fantasy Reading List: Station Eleven
This week I’m reading What Makes you Not a Buddhist, a brilliant and lucid book from a Tibetan Buddhist master who doesn’t pull his punches. Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse gives it to us straight: so you think you’re a Buddhist? Think again! This book challenges common misconceptions about Buddhism, particularly those held by practitioners, and demonstrates… Continue reading Review: What makes you Not a Buddhist
This week I’m reading Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind: a Zen classic from a brilliant master. The book is drawn from a series of talks given by Shunryu Suzuki on Zen Mind and how to practise. They’re divided into three sections that cover Right Practice, Right Attitude, and Right Understanding. The beginner’s mind of the title is… Continue reading Review: Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki
Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch is the first of his Urban Fantasy series set in London. The books feature Peter Grant, a mixed race policeman and apprentice wizard with an eye for the ladies and an inquiring mind. The series is hugely enjoyable and funny, each book has a case to solve and the… Continue reading Fantasy Reading List: Rivers of London series
This week I’m reading The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts – a classic and essential reading in the Age of Anxiety. This was the first of Alan Watts’ books that I read so it has a special place on my bookshelves. I’ve returned to it many times and always find it illuminating and entertaining –… Continue reading Review: The Wisdom of Insecurity
This week I’m reading Feeding Your Demons by Tsultrim Allione which offers a powerful technique for liberating yourself from negativity and fear. The book guides you through the five step process of feeding your demons which is based on the ancient practice of Chöd from Tibet. Your demons are your fears and blind spots, negative… Continue reading Review: Feeding Your Demons
“The first time an Ashaninca man told me that he had learned the medicinal properties of plants by drinking a hallucinogenic brew, I thought he was joking. …But he was not smiling.” The Cosmic Serpent is a fascinating exploration of the links between DNA and molecular biology by anthropologist Jeremy Narby. While doing fieldwork in… Continue reading The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge
The Sun of Wisdom is a commentary on one of the classics of Buddhist literature by one of the great Tibetan masters, Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso. Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way was written by Nagarjuna in the 2nd century and is a commentary on the Buddha’s teachings on the nature of appearance and emptiness. The… Continue reading The Sun of Wisdom: Teachings of the Noble Nagarjuna – Review
“I thought the cancer was killing me, but actually I was killing myself before I got cancer. The cancer saved my life.” – Anita Moorjani Dying To Be Me is an inspiring account of Anita Moorjani’s near-death experience and recovery from lymphoma. She begins with a description of her life growing up as an outsider… Continue reading Dying To Be Me: Review
A selection of recommended books on Writing. These are some of the books I’ve found particularly helpful over the years. There are longer reviews attached via links, and more to come… Christopher Booker – The Seven Basic Plots This fantastic and fascinating book provides a comprehensive answer to the age-old question of whether there are… Continue reading Writing Bookshelf
Jessica Davidson 