Overview:

I chose this book because I’m interested in religion in general, and my wife sparked my interest in Buddhism by taking me to visit the beautiful His Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights CA. I wanted to learn more about Buddhism’s practices and principles, and how the founder of the religion lived his life, what inspired him and how he was able to lead such a large following.

Here is what the book was about:

The main point of the book is that Buddha was a special person who founded a truly remarkable religion, his teachings are timeless and one can benefit spiritually by following them.It is not really a biography in the traditional manner as you might expect by the title of the book. Upon closer inspection of the book synopsis on the back, the author, Venerable Master Hsing Yun calls it an “imaginative retelling of the life of Buddha.” This phrase captures what the book really is. The book covers the birth of Buddha, upbringing, through to becoming enlightened, stories and lessons from his 45 year teaching career, and final thoughts after his passing.

NOTE: According to wikipidia, Buddha’s given name is Siddhattha Gotama.

Rating: (1 low to 10 high)

Initially, my goal was to find out about the life of Buddha, his challenges, and how the religion got started. Based on my original interest and engagement while reading, I give this book a 10 out of 10. The book gave me things to think about in my own life and helped me understand my wife’s upbringing and habits better. For example, for years I noticed that my wife likes to go to bed later than me. From a Buddhist perspective, the wife is responsible for the household and takes time in the evening to make sure everything is cleaned and ready for the next day. Additionally, the book was a very easy read as there are not a lot of historical dates and events to memorize. The focus is on the life of Buddha, his teachings and principles.

Overview:

I chose this book because I’ve owned it for a very long time and never actually read it. I was always intimidated by the colors, and having people see me studying a book about power. I first heard about the 48 laws of power as a college student; after reading this book now as an adult, I wish I had read it earlier in life! This is an excellent well written book that analyzed the successes and failures of great leaders throughout history. History buffs will find it highly entertaining, and those of us working in a corporate environment will find useful principles that can be applied in real-world situations that deal with power.

What the book was about:

All about power; attaining it, manipulating it, and of course maintaining it once you have it. Robert Green explains historical anecdotes from the power perspective. The ideas in this book are not good or bad; the book just explains the laws of power, and from my perspective most of them are very true. Something that stood out for me was how similar this book is to the Game of Thrones  books; its sort of like an instruction guide that explains the rationale of the characters.

The main point of the book is that the laws of power can be explained, and power can be attained manipulated and maintained by following the rules of power. Robert Greene was actually criticized for this book; people said that some of the laws contradict themselves. I disagree – the book explains each law, and gives examples of historical situations when the law was followed, and when it was not followed.

Rating: (1 low to 10 high)

I rated this book an 8 based on overall readability and desire to continue reading continuously. I found the laws entertaining, accurate, and applicable to my life.

Key Learnings

I wanted to understand people who play power games intentions, motivations, and their rationale for doing the things they do. Many of the laws are actually human nature, and can be used as a way to understand corporate behavior. My favorite laws are:

Law #1: Never outshine the master
Law #3: Conceal your intentions
Law #4: Always say less than necessary
Law #5: So much depends on reputation – guard it with your life
Law #6: Court attention at all costs
Law #13: When asking for help, appeal to people’s self-interest, never to their mercy or gratitude
Law #30: Make your accomplishments seem effortless
Law #46: Never appear too perfect
Law #48: Assume Formlessness

Overview:

This is a book about the life of Stan Lee, creator of the Hulk, Iron Man, Spider man, and many of our favorite comic book characters. If you’ve ever been interested in the background and history of Marvel, you must check out this book! This was actually a Christmas gift that my wife gave me in 2019 and it took me over a year to finish reading it, despite the short length. I just couldn’t find time to read it because it was a physical book, and I typically read electronic books.

What The Book Is About

The life of Stan Lee; how he started his career as a writer, early life, marriage, move from NY to LA, and anecdotes from his illustrious career. The main point is that Stan Lee was a fun, light-hearted individual, who had some ups and downs in life and his career. Stan Lee is actually one of the authors of the book, and he wanted to have the book come across that way. Stan Lee’s real name is Stanley Lieberman.

Rating: (1 – 10, where 1 is low 10 is high)

I gave this a 10 because it answered all the questions I ever had about Stan Lee, including, where the phrase “Excelsior” came from, as well as its overall readability and entertainment value.

Key Learnings:

I was surprised how much I could relate to Stan Lee; I can apply much of his self-discipline to my own career situation. He was fortunate to find his passion early in his career and be adaptable enough to survive the challenges that face many writers. I also did not realize that he was married to the love of his life, Joanne. They seem like a beautiful couple. At the time of this writing, he and his wife passed away. I believe his wife passed, then about a month later he did. Sad but they had a beautiful life together.