The Light: A Modern-Day Journey for Peace by Judith Lambert

In The Light, Judy, the author, chronicles her dreams and her search through various countries and cultures for their ultimate meaning. She calls this book, a memoir, with some pieces changed to protect the privacy of the people involved.

I found it to be an engaging look into the life of a spiritual seeker and a fascinating comparative study of all religions, their symbols, and common meanings.

Judy talks to a librarian named Bill about symbols: “I’ve been having some dreams with symbols that seem to be very powerful and consistent, and I’m wondering whether these symbols have a history or a larger meaning…” “Oh, yes, absolutely,” he broke in. “All symbols have a history and a commonality. There’s no question about that… Images are the means people must employ to understand ideas and feelings. Without them, we cannot reason… but, you see, we often don’t know where these symbols and images come from, do we? We forget their origin and the long history of their use, until we end by thinking that the symbol is the thing itself!”

I’ve heard it said that all symbols are mere pointers. It is like a man trying to draw our attention to the moon by pointing at it, but we mistake the moon for the finger doing the pointing.

A beautiful description of the chaos at the river, Ganges: “Over the course of the day, blessed pilgrims gathered at Mother Ganga to wash away their sins. Motionless holy men sat absorbed in rumination, their faces turned toward the sun in celebration of the endless cycle of mornings like this. The striking of wet clothing against the steps was accompanied by the distant ringing of temple bells, whose pitch and resonance varied with the preciousness of the material from which they were made- bronze, brass, or iron. And over it all hung a fetid haze smelling of smoke and of- well, I didn’t want to think what else.”

I enjoyedThe Light because Lambert made me feel as if I was there beside her in her spiritual wanderings. I enjoyed the travel parts of this book very much.

The City of Light: “…The Gita,” now he looked out at the Ganges, “speaks of a radiant river of light. Westerners.. well, they often see a surface, and then they have no idea how to look beyond that surface.” He gestured as if to indicate the whole city. “This is the City of Light. Is this not what you were looking for? I do not mean any disrespect, madam,” he hurried on before I could react, “but if one cannot see the Light here, then one has not looked long enough.”

A description of inner illumination: “Nothing changed. Or everything did, for though monk, mandala, walls, cushions, and robes all seemed to remain the same, I felt at last- and only for an instant- the sense of peace that had eluded me since my dreams began.”

The author changes immensely over the course of her journey: “I feel a reassuring contentment from all I’ve discovered and all that I’ve been privileged to learn. I am a Jew, a Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim, a Buddhist, everything else, and nothing, all at once. I am…whole… And I believe that all religions possess and have knowledge of the Light. By claiming the Light myself, I can also retain my own personal stories, my own place, and time, and history…” An empowering message and a timely one.

If you enjoyed The Light, you may want to pick up The Realization of Being by Eckhart Tolle (a lecture, any of his talks are along this subject line) or The Invisible Hand: Business, Success & Spirituality by David Green (a memoir about another spiritual seeker and how he found the “Light”).

Thank you to NetGalley and Ann Duran Productions for the opportunity to read and review a digital ARC of this book! And, thank you for reading.

The New Science of the Paranormal: From the Research Lab to Real Life by Carl Llewellyn Weschcke & Joe H Slate, PhD.

Carl Llewellyn Weschcke died last year- may he rest in peace. I eagerly looked forward to reading The New Science of the Paranormal, one of his last (I’m guessing) books that we will ever see from him.

The primary message in here is one of self empowerment and the potential for anyone to develop powers that could be considered “paranormal”. What an appropriate departing lesson from a man who ran a publishing firm dedicated to bringing the occult and mysterious to light.

The New Science of the Paranormal isn’t an “easy” read in that it includes a lot of tables and metaphysical philosophizing about the new age and levels of spiritual evolution.

To me, the most engaging bits were the accounts of students and researchers trying to swing a pendulum with their minds or use dowsing rods to predict the gender of unborn babies. The scientific experiments that were included are fascinating in their implications.

Also, many of the techniques like water gazing and hand prints in the sand are not ones that I had been exposed to. I’ll definitely be trying some of this out on my own.

“The objective study of paranormal power can dispel many of the myths and “stories” surrounding the topic, including the belief that very few individuals possess paranormal powers. Although certain individuals, often called “advanced beings” or “gifted psychics”, may appear to be extraordinarily empowered, everyone to some degree possesses paranormal potential. Not unlike intelligence, the distribution of paranormal potential within the general population seems to occur in a so-called “normal curve”…

Empowerment: “We are more than we think we are, but we don’t know we are until we develop that level of awareness and related sense of perception. We must grow to become more than we are and all we can be.”

Water gazing, who knew? : “Validated in the lab setting and successfully applied beyond the lab, water gazing is among the most effective self-empowerment techniques known. Whether to increase creativity in writing and art, activate telepathic sending and receiving, facilitating clairvoyance, improve memory, promote successful goal attainment, or generate a state of mental, physical, and spiritual attunement, the powers of water gazing appear to be without limits.”

Photo by Anastasia Shuraeva on Pexels.com

The Crumpled Paper technique was also surprising in its incredible amount of potential uses. Actually, this whole book kind of blew my mind. Perhaps I was dreaming too small.

A bit reminiscent of Abraham Hicks: “…one simple self-administered procedure is: Pay Attention to Your ‘Feelings.’ By that, we don’t mean to get all emotional when ‘feeling’ an idea, concept, event, situation, person, etc., but rather to analyze: what your feelings are telling you, what is it you are sensing, what is the basis for your emotional reaction, etc. And then let yourself explore the ‘answers’ to those questions.”

Know thyself. A message as old as the Delphic oracles.

I’ll close with a quotation included in Chapter Twelve: “Not in the clamor of the crowded street, Not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, But in ourselves are triumph and defeat.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “The Poets” (1876)

Thank you to NetGalley and Llewellyn Publishing for a free digital ARC of this book! And, thank you for reading!

Unshelved Vol. 1 by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum

I enjoyed Unshelved, a comic about a public library, its librarians, and the ridiculousness that goes on when the library is open. But, sometimes the cartoon hit too close to home. I’ve been treated and spoken to like Dewey at the information desk, tons of times. So, librarians beware. Some of these are almost too true to be funny. On the other hand, I like my job, so I’ve never responded like Dewey. It’s cathartic, reading his sarcastic responses to ridiculous questions and situations.

My library has this book classified as young adult and I feel that it is an appropriate categorization. There’s nothing in here that I would find objectionable for a younger teen to read but some of the interpersonal problems may go over the head of a 12 year old.

Favorite character: Buddy the Book Beaver! Of course.

Favorite cartoons: The one where Merv writes a brochure to get more teens to come to the library pg 33 (My department is responsible for the young adult room, so I really appreciated the humor).

When the patron asks Dewey if he has any pens when he’s standing next to a pile of pens (Happens to me all the time). bottom of pg 41

And finally, when Dewey starts dispensing Eastern philosophy to the library patrons: “Search without searching. Look for nothing and find everything. Read the book but don’t look at the words.” top of pg 103. That’s probably me in about thirty years.

If you enjoyed Unshelved, you may want to pick up Rex Libris, Volume I: I, Librarian (Rex Libris, #1-5) by James Turner (another librarian themed comic) or The Black Belt Librarian: Real-World Safety & Security by Warren Graham (non-fiction book on how to deal with difficult patrons or security risks at the library). Thank you for reading!

More Than This by Patrick Ness

I picked up More Than This because I recently enjoyed A Monster Calls. This book, like Monster, is about a young man learning how to handle life’s major hurdles. That, though, is where their similarities end. More than This opens with Seth drowning in the ocean and the story really begins when he opens his eyes after death…

More Than This is darker than A Monster Calls in many ways. For readers who are concerned about the maturity level of themes in this book: there are some (short) scenes of physical abuse, non-graphic GLBT teen sex, teen suicide, brief moments of bullying, extremely brief nudity (both male and female), and a short masturbation bit. On the other hand, there’s a lot of empowering elements in here too. There’s a very strong, young, black female heroine, a plucky, brainy, Polish sidekick, and some really trippy depictions of reality itself. The GLBT relationship is healthy and non-abusive. The friendships that develop between the main characters are real and beautiful.

Depending on the young adult reading the book, I’d say 14+ might be a good age for this one.

I loved the ambiguity of Seth’s situation in the afterlife. No spoilers here, but that was my favorite part, the “what the heck is going on here” moments that Ness kept handing to me. Read it and you’ll see what I mean in mere pages.

Patrick Ness is at his strongest when he’s writing his way around painful emotions, which there are piles of in this book. He’s at his lowest during the first part of More Than This because of the pacing. This starts out seriously slowly, but if you can make it through the first section, things pick up considerably afterwards.

Some of my favorite moments: “Is this a dream? he thinks, the words coming to him slowly, thickly, as if from a great distance. The last dream before death?” pg 13 ebook

“He looks out toward the darkened sitting room and wonders what he’s supposed to do here. Is there a goal? Something to solve? Or is he just supposed to stay here forever? Is that what hell is? Trapped forever, alone, in your worst memory? It makes a kind of sense.” pg 31 ebook

Seth’s relationship with his parents is pretty messed up, which is very sad, really: “His mother made a sign with her hands of sarcastic surrender, then stared firmly at the ceiling. His father turned to look at him, and Seth realized with a shock how rare it was for his father to look him straight in the eye. It was like having a statue suddenly ask you for directions. pg 97 ebook

My favorite character was Tomasz. He has wisdom far beyond his age:“Tomasz shrugs. “People ask for what they need in different ways. Sometimes by not even asking for it at all.” pg 149 ebook

The heroine: “People see stories everywhere,” Regine says. “That’s what my father used to say. We take random events and we put them together in a pattern so we can comfort ourselves with a story, no matter how much it obviously isn’t true.” She glances back at Seth. “We have to lie to ourselves to live. Otherwise, we’d go crazy.” pg 159 ebook. Very true.

One last passage, for my husband, who argues with people on the internet far too much and who came to mind here: “And that’s what the Internet age has done for us,” his mother says, sitting down. “Anything you don’t like is automatically disgusting and anyone who may like it themselves is an idiot. So much for a world full of different viewpoints, huh?” pg 319 ebook.

If you enjoyed More Than This, you may like A Monster Calls even more (I know I did) or try The Last One by Alexandra Oliva (a book written for adults, but a mature young adult would probably enjoy it too). Thank you for reading!

What if This is Heaven?: How I Released My Limiting Beliefs and Really Started Living by Anita Moorjani

I was so excited to read What If This Is Heaven?: How I Released My Limiting Beliefs and Really Started Living. Moorjani’s first book, Dying to Be Me, was one of the first accounts of near death experience that I read. In it, she details how she was on her death bed, experienced the world beyond, and then came back to fulfill her life’s purpose.

When she came back, the tumors in her body disappeared and she’s been fine ever since.

It’s an astonishing and uplifting reminder of who we are as eternal beings and why we’re all here. What If This is Heaven is a continuation of this message in that, now, Moorjani is a teacher and lecturer on the topics of spirituality, healing, and self actualization. It’s wonderful.

And, it’s different enough from the first book that readers don’t feel like they’re re-reading the same messages. Moorjani has evolved and I’m very interested to see where life takes her from here.

Here are some passages that I loved:
“A major reason why I chose to return to this life during my NDE (near death experience) was because I understood that heaven is a state and not a place, and I wanted to experience, firsthand, the heaven that this life could actually be.”

“Remember, your only work is to love yourself, value yourself, and embody this truth of self-worth and self-love so that you can be love in action. That is true service, to yourself and those who surround you.”

“On the physical plane, we see love as an emotion, something we have for some people and not others. But the truth is that unconditional love is a state of being, and it’s our birthright. Once we begin to tap into that, we realize is has the power to transform all of our relationships simultaneously- including our relationship with ourselves- for the better.”

“… illness is our body’s way of communicating with us and showing us a better path. Yes, we may die from cancer- or from countless other things- and each of us will die from something at some point. But death is not the enemy. What often is the enemy is the way we view illness…”

Some fascinating teachings about the positive aspects of the ego are included in here: “The ego gives us our sense of identity, our individuality. It’s what allows us to know who we are as individuals and to express our uniqueness. If our ego weren’t necessary, we wouldn’t have been born with it.”

There’s so much more to enjoy in What if This is Heaven beyond these small bits. I highly recommend this read for spiritual seekers and those who are interested in self actualization. If you enjoyed this book, you may want to read Moorjani’s other book, Dying to Be Me or Co-creating at Its Best: A Conversation Between Master Teachers by Wayne Dyer and Abraham Hicks.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Hay House for the opportunity to review this book! They sent me a free digital ARC for review purposes. And thank you for reading!

Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart by James R. Doty

This book is James Doty’s memoir. He had a tragic childhood with parents who, for various reasons, were not present for him. Then, after an encounter with a total stranger, James was taught meditation, creative visualization, and positive thought practices that changed his life.

As he comes of age, he dismisses the compassion related portions of his childhood training and focuses instead upon the money and prestige that it brings as he pursues a career as a neurosurgeon. It’s a fascinating and educational account.

Photo by Vidal Balielo Jr. on Pexels.com

I was particularly taken with the near-death experience portion of the book. James approached that experience as an atheist so I felt that made his opinion on it rather different than other accounts I’ve read.

Some of the bits that I want to remember (advance reader’s copy cited so the final published book may contain slightly different wording):
“Some of the wisest patients and people I have ever met have been children. The heart of a child is wide-open. Children will tell you what scares them, what makes them happy, what they like about you and what they don’t. There is no hidden agenda and you never have to guess how they really feel.” pg 3

Photo by Juan Pablo Serrano Arenas on Pexels.com

“Everyone has a story, and I have learned that, at the core of it, most of our stories are more similar than not.” pg 60 But not everyone tells their story. Thank you, Dr. Doty, for telling yours.

“When our brain changes, we change. That is a truth proven by science. But an even greater truth is that when our heart changes, everything changes. And that change is not only in how we see the world but how the world sees us. And how the world responds to us.” pg 151 I think that this is one of the great mysteries of life.

About his near death experience: “At the time I felt the warmth of a light and a sense of oneness with the universe. I was enveloped in love, and while it didn’t transform my religious beliefs, it informed my absolute belief that who we are today doesn’t have to be who we are tomorrow and that we are connected to everything and everyone.” pg 203

“There’s a reason stock traders are using meditation techniques; these techniques help them become not only more focused but, sadly in some cases, more callous. This is what Ruth warned me about before she taught me to visualize. Yes, we can create anything we want, but it is only the intelligence of the heart that can tell us what’s worth creating.” pg 231 A powerful lesson, but one, I think, that can only be learned through personal experience.

If you enjoyed this book, try Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife by Eben Alexander or The Power of the Heart: Finding Your True Purpose in Life by Baptist de Pape.

Thank you to the Goodreads First Reads program for an advance reader copy of this book. And, thank you for reading!

Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse

Girl in the Blue Coat is a beautifully written, young adult book about a terrible moment in history- the German occupation of the Netherlands. Hanneke is a young woman who runs black market goods to people in her town not only so that her family can eat, but also to thumb her nose at the Nazis who have taken so much from her and her people. The mystery portion of the book begins when one of Hanneke’s clients asks her to find a Jewish girl who disappeared from the safe house where she had been hiding.

I found myself drawn into this story for many reasons. First, Hanneke is a strong, female protagonist who doesn’t wait for other people to solve her problems- I liked that. Also, Girl in the Blue Coat does an excellent job of keeping the reader guessing. Just when I thought I had things figured out, Hesse changed it up. In addition, I cared about the characters in the story and I wanted them to succeed. It reminded me a lot of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak- same time period, different country.

The strength of Hanneke: “I can feel myself getting sucked into this mystery… Maybe because it’s another way to flout the rules. But maybe because, in a country that has come to make no sense, in a world I cannot solve, this is a small piece that I can. pg 45-46

The complexity of Hanneke’s emotions in a world divided by war: “Here is the thing about my grief: It’s like a very messy room in a house where the electricity has gone out. My grief over Bas (young man she lost to the war) is the darkness. It’s the thing that’s most immediately wrong in the house. It’s the thing that you notice straight off. It covers everything else up. But if you could turn the lights back on, you would see there are lots of other things still wrong in the room. The dishes are dirty. There is mold in the sink. The rug is askew. Elsbeth (former best friend) is my askew rug. Elsbeth is my messy room. Elsbeth is the grief I would allow myself to feel, if my emotions weren’t so covered in darkness.” pg 104

Hanneke’s growing self awareness because of her struggles: “I watched a whole afternoon unfold under my nose, and I misread everything that was happening, from start to finish. All the clues were in front of me, but I still didn’t see them.” pg 125

How Hanneke’s country has changed because of the occupation: “The prisoners follow, carrying suitcases, disheveled and tired like they haven’t slept in days. The crowd is big, maybe seventy people, and the soldiers march them down the middle of the street. It’s a lovely winter day in Amsterdam, and though there are other people on the street, couples like me and Willem, nobody acts like the forced parade of people is out of the ordinary. Our sense of ordinary has become horrifying.” pg 212

If you enjoyed Girl in the Blue Coat, you may want to pick up The Book Thief by Markus Zusak or The Bishop’s Wife (Linda Wallheim Mystery, #1) by Mette Ivie Harrison. Thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the advance reader copy of this book. And, thank you for reading!

The Last One by Alexandra Oliva

Twelve contestants go on a survival reality show. It’s a brutal competition and the only way off the show is to say the safe word. While the filming is taking place, something terrible happens in the real world… and no one tells the contestants. Will any of them survive? And, if they somehow survive, will they have a home to go back to?

In the book blurb, The Last One is compared to Station Eleven and The Passage neither of which I liked very much. I thought Station Eleven was boring and The Passage is the Game of Thrones of dystopian literature, it goes on and on and on… Unlike the other two titles, I think that The Last One got the mix of action to number of characters just right. If I had to pick the book that I think it’s most like, I would compare it to Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood but with far more like-able characters and a much more optimistic world view.

The Last One is told through a first person, present narrative and a third person flashback, alternating viewpoints between chapters. I was a bit frustrated with that set up until the timelines began to converge towards the end of the book, because Oliva kept putting in foreshadowing, but then not delivering on it until a couple chapters later- just long enough for me to completely forget about it. I’m much more of an instant gratification kind of reader, but I managed to push through it and really started to enjoy the novel despite the style of storytelling.

Mixing reality television with the end of the world was brilliant because the mind set of the people in the reality shows is already in survival of the fittest/game mode. I completely believed the mental breakdown that Zoo suffered when she tried to figure out where the game ended and reality began. She was put in a situation where she wasn’t supposed to know what was going on and then, she didn’t even know when exactly, no one knew what was going on. This type of world ending felt much more believable than the descent into chaos in World War Z or Station Eleven because of that slow transition to a different world provided by the reality tv show setting.

Also, anyone who’s ever watched reality tv will immediately grasp the archtypical roles that Oliva uses to label her characters and it makes it simple to keep a rather large group of people straight in your mind. Fans of Big Brother, Top Chef, The Jersey Shore, and any of the countless other offerings of that genre will eat this up.

What I loved most about this book is that it was so easy to put myself in Zoo’s shoes. In this passage, she’s talking about her reluctance to go on the show: “It didn’t used to be so difficult to leave, but it was different before I met my husband. Before- leaving Stowe for college, that summer hiking hostel to hostel across western Europe, six months in Australia after graduating from Columbia- my fear was always tempered by excitement enough to tip the scales. Leaving was always scary, but it was never hard. But this time I not only left familiarity behind, I left happiness. There’s a difference, the magnitude of which I didn’t anticipate.”advance reader, pg 24-25

Cooper, aka Tracker, was also so relatable. He reminded me of various people that I have known in my real life: “Cooper was kind of like that at first. Standoffish. I don’t know what drew me to him so strongly from the start. No- I do. His air of almost freakish competence. The way he scanned each of us, assessing without looking for allies, because from the moment he leapt into that tree it was clear he didn’t need anyone but himself. I bet his entire adult life has been like that: needing no one, being needed by no one- existing without apology and accomplishing wonders. I’d never been around someone so supremely independent before and was fascinated.” advance reader, pg 38

The reality show mentality begins: “Waitress’s animosity doesn’t surprise Exorcist, but Rancher’s agreement does, as do the many nodding heads around the campfire. Briefly, he looks into a camera lens, as though accusing the device of having put the others up to this. Indeed, that’s exactly what he’s doing; he thinks they’re performing- like he is. But the truth is most of the contestants have in this moment forgotten that they’re being recorded. An ancient instinct is kicking in, not so much a survival-of-the-fittest mentality as an unwillingness to carry an able but lazy individual.” advance reader, pg 174

Zoo’s confusion between reality and reality television makes for some really intense, introspective moments: “I wonder how I’m being portrayed now. I know what my role was when we started. I was the earnest animal lover, always cheerful and up for a Challenge. But now? Will they cast me as off my rocker? Probably not; that’s Randy’s role, with his stupid gold cross and his tales of possessed toddlers. But whoever I am now, I’m no longer who I was. I wonder if I can even do that anymore, be that person grinning until her cheeks ache. It was exhausting, as exhausting as this endless trekking, in its own way.” advance reader, pg 185 After awhile, I started to wonder if Zoo would ever accept what was really happening to her or choose to keep soldiering on and never come back from the world that she was building in her head. I liked her enough though, that I was cheering for her sanity, every step of the way. That’s the sign of a good book, I think.

Finally, I loved this moment, when Zoo’s happy mask begins to crack on the television show and how she’s received: “Waitress is shocked, as are Rancher and the camerman. The producers will be shocked too, and the editor, who will work so hard to explain away this moment. But there is at least one viewer who won’t be shocked: Zoo’s husband. He knows this secret competitive side of her, her impatience for wallowing and delay. He also knows how fear can turn her mean.” advance reader, pg 221. Ah marriage, the ultimate reality show.

There’s a lot more to The Last One that I’m not going to talk about here because I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone. It’s a great book. I recommend it for readers who enjoy dystopians, for television watchers who enjoy reality shows, and for anyone who has ever wondered about their capacity to survive the end of the world. Could you be as strong as Zoo? Could I? I wonder…

Thank you to the Goodreads First Reads and NetGalley for advance reading copies of this book. And, thank you for reading! The full text of this review has also appeared on my public library’s blog : ofplblog.info

Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Hamilton: The Revolution is a musical that uses hip-hop to tell the story of Alexander Hamilton, one of the founders of the United States. This book is not just the libretto, but also the story behind the musical.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

I have not heard this libretto performed, yet, so the part of Hamilton that stuck out the most for me was not the music (which might change after I hear it live) but the enormous amount of research that Miranda put into the creation of it.

I also enjoyed the copious details of his creative process. Every artist takes a different route to produce a masterpiece. Miranda credits the love for his wife as the foundation of this work, even calling Hamilton: The Revolution a “love letter” to her.

Love seems to be the driving force behind most creative endeavors, doesn’t it?

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich on Pexels.com

Back to the history behind Hamilton: I loved that Miranda included photographs of the actual documents and direct quotations from the figures of the period. This isn’t just a fun musical that uses hip hop to tell its story. This is history being retold in a way that appeals to modern sensibilities.

About Hamilton’s ambition that is highlighted in the song My Shot, Miranda says: “A character needs to want something pretty badly to sing about it for two and half hours… Alexander Hamilton lived hard, wrote fast, and hustled his a** off. “For to confess my weakness, Ned,” he wrote to a friend at age 14, “my Ambition is prevalent.” This man was born to perform an “I want” song. pg 21

I don’t know that I knew what the word ‘ambition’ meant at 14… a sign of things to come perhaps.

I loved all of the information about the set construction and having New York itself as the background: “The founders tended to be country boys. Washington, Jefferson, Adams, and many other key figures of the revolution hailed from, and frequently returned to, estates and farms out of town… It’s no wonder that John Adams, who despised Hamilton, also despised the town and its citizens: “They talk very loud, very fast, and all together,” he complained…” pg 38

Still rather true today, yes? I tease… 🙂

Photo by TheUknownPhotographer on Pexels.com

I didn’t know about Hamilton’s actual love poem to Eliza about which, Miranda says, “(she) wore it in a necklace for the rest of her life”:

“Before no mortal ever knew, A love like mine so tender, true, Completely wretched- you away, And but half blessed e’en while you stay. If present love (illegible) face, Deny you to my fond embrace, No joy unmixed my bosom warms, But when my angel’s in my arms.” pg 69

He wooed her with poetry- smart man.

I enjoyed the introduction to Angelica Schuyler, an incredibly bright woman in a time when she couldn’t really use that intellect in a constructive way.

In this passage, Miranda talks about how difficult her brilliant character is to portray and how hard her lines are to say: “Renee was the first one who came in and made us say, ‘Oh, she thinks exactly that fast,” he recalls. Her whirring brain made Angelica come alive in a new way… Renee acknowledges that she does indeed think pretty fast- “too fast to have good handwriting.”pg 79

That must be why I have bad handwriting too. 🙂

I loved the empowering message of Hamilton: “There are plenty of debatable lessons to be drawn from Alexander Hamilton’s life, but that one is clear. The poor bastard orphan from the islands ought to have died a dozen times but somehow lived to help to found the nation…”There are strong minds in every walk of life that will rise superior to the disadvantages of situation and will command the tribute due to their merit,” Hamilton wrote in The Federalist No. 36. Look no further than his own life for proof of that statement.” pg 149

One of the rules of fostering creativity is to not be afraid to make mistakes. They were very brave in the development of Hamilton: “Lin, Tommy, and their collaborators shared an eagerness to try things- to try everything- to find what worked best. “New discoveries, new mistakes” was the daily goal that Tommy had announced for the company at their first rehearsal the previous November.” pg 206

The pages of this book are packed with the stories, anecdotes, and behind-the-scenes hijinks of the creators, actors/actresses, and historical figures behind Hamilton: The Revolution. Pick it up and treat yourself to the newest Broadway sensation- winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It’s amazing and well worth the time.

Thanks for reading!

The Help Desk Book Blog

Sharing reviews and deep thoughts about life.

Category: Reviews

The Light: A Modern-Day Journey for Peace by Judith Lambert

The New Science of the Paranormal: From the Research Lab to Real Life by Carl Llewellyn Weschcke & Joe H Slate, PhD.

Unshelved Vol. 1 by Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum

More Than This by Patrick Ness

What if This is Heaven?: How I Released My Limiting Beliefs and Really Started Living by Anita Moorjani

Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart by James R. Doty

Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse

The Last One by Alexandra Oliva

Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda

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