Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom

tells the story of two clerics-  one Jewish, one Christian-- and how they came to be where they are.

The Stranger by Albert Camus

The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

Hoff uses the classic stories from A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh to explain the Asian philosophy of Daoism. This is a very good book. It is not difficult to read and it explains taoism in an entertaining and informative manner.

Hoff begins his explanation of Taoism by referencing an ancient Chinese painting, the Vinegar Tasters. The 3 tasters in the painting represent Confucious, Buddha, and Lao Tzu. Confucious saw the world as sour, Buddha bitter, and Lao Tzu sweet. This reflects the central tenets of each of these philosophies. (The painting can also be interpreted to mean that all three come from the same source.

One of the teachings of Taoism is that the dichotomy between good and bad is tenuous as represented by the yin-yang symbol. Dark and light wrap around each other and each contains the seed of the other.

Hoff notes that the Pooh character could be seen as emblematic of the Uncarved Block in Taoism. Pooh is simple, but not stupid. Owl, Rabbit and Eeyore are all thinkers, but they each also have flaws in their characters. Owl seeks knowledge for the sake of appearing wise. Rabbit represents knowledge for the sake of being clever, and Eeyore represents knowledge for the sake of complaining. (Owl could also represent Western academics.)

"he wise are not learned-- the learned are not wise." Lao Tzu in the Tao Te Ching

Hoff explains the principle of "Things are as they are" to mean that everything on earth has a function and should be valued for that function. Some people or things should not be looked down on as less important or valuable because of their function.

Hoff discusses the Wu Wei as "effortless effort", that is putting round pegs in round holes and not spending effort trying to put round pegs in square holes or figure out why round pegs fit in round holes. "Wu Wei doesn't try. It doesn't think about it. It just does it. And when it does, it doesn't appear to do much of anything. But Things Get Done." (This sounds a lot like "FLOW".)

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

In the introduction Gladwell tells the story of Italian immigrants who settled Roseto, Pa. These isolated people lived to old age with little disease and a Dr. Wolf finally concludes that they live so long because of their community. Gladwell says "the values of the world we inhabit and the people we surround ourselves with have a profound effect on who we are." His goal with this book is to "do for our understanding of success what Stewart Wolf did for our understainding of health."

Part I Opportunity

Chapter 1 The Matthew Effect.

When we asked about someone's success we usually want to know what the person is like. Gladwell says we mistakenly assume that personal qualities explain why a person is successful. Gladwell says, "I want to convine you that these kinds of personal explanations of success don't work. People don't rise from nothing. We do owe something to parentage and patronage. The people who stand before kings may look like they did it all by themselves. But in fact they are invariable the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in aways others cannot. It makes a difference where and when we grew up. The culture we belong to and the legacies passed down by our forebears shape the patterns of our achievement in ways we cannot begin to imagine. It's not enough to ask what successful people are like, in other words. It is only by asking where they are from that we can unravel the logic behind who succeeds and who doesn't."

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Stumbling on Happiness by Gilbert

The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson

Inside Delta Force by Eric Haney

The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans