The Book of Joy: Finding Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Dalai Lama XIV, Desmond Tutu and Douglas Abrams

"Joy is much bigger than happiness. While happiness is often seen as being dependent on external circumstances, joy is not."
              -Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Wow! This book is a treasure of insight and inspiration, chock full of profound thoughts and pithy statements. I have read it electronically, borrowed from the library, and now have to give it up. I will be buying a copy to "have and hold" because I have a feeling I should read it at least once a year. Such beautiful life lessons!

The meeting of these two ultimate religious and moral leaders took place in Dharamsala, India on the occasion of the Dalai Lama's 80th birthday. Author Douglas Abrams facilitated a weeklong discussion of joy---essentially how to find it and keep it. Both of these holy men have won the Nobel Prize and are respected and loved by most of the world. Both are extremely wise and have had to overcome great adversity in their lives.

At the beginning of the book, there is discussion of the obstacles to joy such as sadness, fear, anger and frustration. Later much of the conversation between the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Tutu centers around "The Eight Pillars of Joy": perspective, humility, humor, acceptance, forgiveness, gratitude, compassion and generosity. The two friends are excellent examples of all these traits. Each has a wonderful sense of humor and they love to tease each other and laugh together.

I learned the term Ubuntu from the Archbishop. It means humanness or "I am what I am because of who we all are." The necessity of connections with others is stressed numerous times. There are also many Buddhist terms explained along the way.

I chose a brief quote to begin this post, one I think points to a major theme and one of the first I highlighted. However, I marked something deeply significant on almost every page!

I am rating this book a 5. There is a good chance it is already changing my life! I can't wait to hear what the group thinks tomorrow.

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Page Turners met today to discuss The Book of Joy. We enjoyed lovely refreshments specially themed to the book by two of our members. One friend who belongs to 3 other book clubs (How DOES she do it?) had already read the book. She was able to supply discussion questions specific to the book where I had only found generic ones. Turns out we didn't really need a printed list since everyone had things they wanted to talk about! Our conversation lasted about an hour but could have gone much longer.

The group gave an average rating of 4 with more than half voting 5's. Some said they really did not want to read the book and only did because it was the September selection. Most thought it was so much more than they expected and very worthwhile. The lowest ratings were given by a member who found it repetitive and another who said the content was important but she didn't find it compelling.

Our discussion was very enjoyable as folks shared opinions of the Dalai Lama and the Archbishop, favorite parts of The Book of Joy, personal experiences, related books and ideas about applying some of the Eight Pillars of Joy. I wasn't the only one who is determined to buy a hard copy.

By the way if you search YouTube with the book title you can find several interesting ones, a few including dialogue between these two great leaders.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

"I wish this story were different. I wish it were more civilized. I wish it showed me in a better light, if not happier, then at least more active, less hesitant, less distracted by trivia. I wish it had more shape. I wish it were about love, or about sudden realizations important to one's life, or even about sunsets, birds, rainstorms, or snow."
            -Offred's thoughts from the novel

When my husband and I see a play that he thinks is confusing or pointless, he describes it as
STEE-range (strange)! Well, in my opinion this book is truly STEE-range! The next time I see the word dystopian in the description of a novel, I will not even begin. I must admit I started this one because it was free on my Kindle and then continued because I became morbidly curious about the outcome. In reading The Handmaid's Tale, one can't help but be reminded of George Orwell's novels 1984 and Animal Farm.

At the outset, it is obvious that the Republic of Gilead has taken over what was the United States and life for the protagonist and narrator, Offred, has changed tremendously from "the time before." The Gileadean regime is totalitarian and supposedly theocratic though I could not see Godliness anywhere. As a matter of fact, it seemed more satanic. The reader is kept guessing as to how this revolution came about but through Offred's flashbacks it becomes a little clearer.

The plot reveals the evils of this government's total control and subjugation of people, especially women who have become valued only for their abilities to reproduce. (There is a very low birth rate and diminishing population.) There is so much violence with practices such as salvaging and particicution. (You'll have to read the book to figure those out.) Those in authority, like Offred's Commander, are extremely hypocritical since they secretly drink, smoke and even visit a Playboy-type club (All are illegal for the masses). Since many do not approve of the new regime, there are underground organizations---the group called Mayday, a word I learned comes from the French m'aidez, or help me, and the Underground Femaleroad. Sound familiar?

There is a bit of a mystery when Offred finds the words Nolite te bastardes carborundorum carved in her closet by her predecessor. Who was she? What happened to her? What does it mean?

The author's style is mostly stream of consciousness with numerous sentence fragments, not a favorite of mine, but at times she is almost poetic. I must surely give her credit for a vivid imagination and creativity. I will rate the book a 3 and though the story is dark and disturbing, I guess I am glad I read it. At least I learned to steer clear of dystopian fiction!

P.S. From Paris by Marc Levy

"Perhaps that's what it means, in the end, to truly love someone. Forgiveness, without reservations and above all without regrets. Hitting the delete key and erasing the gray pages so that you can rewrite them in full color. Better still, maybe love is fighting tooth and nail to make sure the story has a happy ending."
             -Mia, from the novel

Why did I end up reading this novel? Two reasons: it was one of six offered free from Amazon Prime and the title indicated the story setting is Paris. It made enjoyable reading but is not memorable. Some would call it "chick lit" but then I AM a chick, after all. It was a fluffy romance so not very satisfying in the long run. I will rate it a 3+.

Marc Levy, according to Goodreads, is the "most-read French author alive today." This book is actually translated by Sam Taylor, an author in his own right. I noticed some reviews on Goodreads were in French. Interesting.

Paul, an author from California, moves to Paris hoping to kick-start his writing career. He is baffled that his books are selling well in Korea but not in Europe or the U.S. About the same time, popular British actress Melissa, aka Mia----visits her friend in Paris to escape publicity and a troubled marriage. A dating website instigates the plot which, with its secret identities, almost reminded me of some Shakespeare comedies. The budding romance was certainly predictable but one disclosure toward the end did actually surprise me.

Having visited Paris last year, I loved the references to landmarks in the City of Lights. What a perfect setting for a love story!