Baltasar Gracian: The Art of Worldly Wisdom

Baltasar Gracian was a Jesuit monk and advisor to the King of Spain. This collection of maxims is a great read and can be recommended to any reader.

Some of them you might have heard before, like:

"It takes more to deal with one man today than in the ancient times with an entire country."

Zeitraffer Verdict: 7 out of 7, Top Ten Book

Paulo Coelho: The Alchemist

RUMPELSTILTSKIN IS TURNING PAPER INTO GOLD.

Now, this is an extremely popular book that I've known about for like 30 years and read about 3 years ago.

According to Wikipedia it has sold some 65 Million copies helped make Paulo extremely popular and the best known South American writer.

It's the story of a young shepherd who goes through a lot of travel and pain to find out that the "treasure" he is looking for had been buried exactly at the place where he originally started of his looong journey.

Now, maybe I don't get it but for me that's a total anti-climax and the worst ending I EVER read in my entire life. I remember exactly the feeling of total, unbelieving disappointment when reading the last pages of this book.

It makes you feel totally empty inside and so I reckon the only alchemic action experienced is the rumpelstiltskin-like activity of turning ordinary paper and printing ink into gold.

If I missed or misunderstood something, let me know.

ZEITRAFFER VERDICT: 1 out of 7. A dumb book by a brilliant author.

The Bad Place by Dean Koontz

That's an old favorite of mine and maybe the most interesting story by prolific writer Dean Koontz in my opinion.

It's a clever mix of science fiction & horror with a beautiful love story, the usual dense writing and full of fun & frightening ideas.

I particularly like how Dean includes depiction of themes like weather and music into the story.

I'm not going to spoil this one AT ALL in this review. So stay away from Google and Wikipedia. Just trust me and buy the book and enjoy it completely fresh from scratch.

Note to self: This a review with practically NO INFORMATION about the story of the book. Interesting concept.

Zeitraffer Verdict: Go get it

Zeitraffer Rating: 6 out of 7

The Lucifer Principle by Howard Bloom

The long and short of this truly enlightening book is simple: There's a Pecking Order.

We all knew it but .... did we know it's a universal concept rather than our personal problem?

Pecking works from top to bottom and it's the force behind everything violent from the school bully to mass murderer from unfriendly post office man to ... you name it.

If you want to understand humankind and humanity and humans, you simply have to read the book.

Zeitraffer Verdict: Sweet dreams are made of this. Some of them want to peck you, some of them want to be pecked by you. Check out other peoples verdicts at Howard Blooms web site.

Check out some of the contents at Amazon. Check out the Wikipedia entry. I also loved Alex Burns Review at Amazon.

Zeitraffer Rating: 8 out of 7 (that means it's part of my Top 10)

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

This book will bring you to tears. I've seen it at airports literally millions of times before I finally got myself to buy it. Usually I don't like romances – but this is a romance of a very special kind. An old man who is dying shares his inner world with a young man.

I don't want to give away to much but if you don't mind the spoiler, go to the Wikipedia entry about this book.

I loved the book and gave one to my dad. He loved it and bought a few to give to other people.

So if you see this book around and haven't read it yet: Pick it up, I am sure you will not regret it. If you have extra time check out the author's web site: MITCH ALBOM.

Zeitraffer Verdict:

I give it 7 out of 7 (a romance with life and love you shouldn't miss).

What other people say:

“Every page of this beautiful moving little book shines with the warmth of unembarrassed love.”

—Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People

"A wonderful book, a story of the heart told by a writer with soul."

—The Los Angeles Times

"As sweet and nourishing as fresh summer corn...the book begs to be read aloud."

— USA Today

"Mitch Albom's book is a gift to mankind."

— Philadelphia Inquirer

“So rare are these books, which mirror in such fascinating clarity and natural simplicity what life is really all about. Here speaks the Little Prince after reaching adulthood.

—Hamburger Abendblatt (Germany)

“This is a rare book that draws various and unique emotional impressions from each person who reads it.”

—Yoshiko Sakurai (journalist), from Weekly Diamond (Japan)

“A movingly sincere and truly touching book.”

—Galey Zahal (Israel)

The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

This review was originally posted at Tobias Kaisers' Books & Games Blog

Fish & Chips

Everybody knows this one I guess: It's the story of the little fish with the shiny scales. He is so beautiful that all his friends (?) get jealous and want him to give them one. Of course he doesn't like it, so all the friends turn away and he is all alone and very sad.

Later he finds the big wise octopus in a hole deep down in the water who tells him to give up his nice scales and distribute them to his friends so they would like him again. Wow, what a message!!!!

Thanks for Sharing!

So little Rainbow Fish goes back up and shares all his scales among his friends and everybody loves him but he ends up with only one scale at the end to keep for himself.

Lucky Rainbow Fish: If he had just one more friend, he would have ended up with NO SHINY SCALES at all. Ummm...

The pictures are quite soft and sweet but the message isn't a real world story.

My comment: Fish & Chips, please!

My rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Chaos: Making a New Science by James Gleick

I like popular science books and will present one every Sunday.

Chaos is not a new book but nevertheless a very fascinating read which I first consumed 15 years ago during a holiday in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil – a very suitable location indeed.

Gleick explains that Chaos lurks beneath what looks "organized" and explains the theories behind it (and why chaos itself is also structured and organized).

Chaos is great because it is an extremely relevant read and although it's not a brand new book, it is not outdated at all. In fact Penguin is just publishing a 20th Anniversary edition. This edition will also include some new thoughts and a new afterword.

Even if you are not a "popular science person" you could still check it out. Everyone can read and understand this book – there's no need for a degree in mathematics. Also James Gleick's style is quite entertaining.

I recommend you just get yourself a copy and start reading and enjoy the 'ride', but if you want more details on the content (spoiler alarm), check out the reviews on Jedigirl or Amazon. The book is very popular so if you google around you will find a lot of other references. You can also check out the author's own page AROUND. Gleick has written lots of other stuff but Chaos is his most popular piece.

Zeitraffer Verdict:

I give it 7 out of 7 (just a insanely great popular science book).

Farang by Iain Corness

"Thailand – the only country in the world where you can get run over by a shop"

This is the opener to a beautiful little book written by Dr Iain Corness (The Doc) – miles apart and above the usual "Pattaya Literature" that is so ubiquitously available at book stores.

The Doc, who is practicing at Bangkok Hospital Pattaya, describes his voyage into Thailand and getting accustomed to this beautiful and amazing country. Stories include encounters with cobras, maids, Thai kitchens and (my personal favourite) the installation of spirit houses (purchased at the "Spirit House Supermarket) and many other events.

What makes this book beautiful is the relaxed style of writing, uninhibited, curious and full of respect for both his subject and the readers.

If you follow the link at the title above you will be at Google and able to preview about 40 pages.

Zeitraffer Verdict:

Highly Recommended, I give it 6 out of 7 Stars.

This is the first post – a new book will be presented everyday on this blog.