"The Hitchhikers Guide the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams (1952-2001)

Publisher: Pan Books

Copyright: 1979

ISBN: 0330258648

It started off as a BBC Radio program and has since grown into a phenomena that millions have heard about and read.

The story for those who haven't read it revolves around Arthur Dent who woke up one morning to find his house was going to be demolished, this was generally speaking the least of his worries, as a few minutes after it happened the Earth ceased to exist as it was in the way of a hyperspatial bypass.

Dent along with a friend by the name of Ford Prefect hitch a ride off Earth just in time and have a number of rather amazing adventures as they do their utmost to survive.

This book has been described by some as the blueprint for humorous science fiction, and I believe this designation is well deserved.

So grab your towel, get yourself a nice hot cup of tea, and sit back and relax.

But Don't Panic!

"Minimalism: live a meaningful life" by Joshua Fields Melbourne and Ryan Nicodemus

 

Publisher: Asymmetrical Press

Copyright: 2016

ISBN: 9780615648224

I stumbled across the concept of minimalism while on YouTube and it seemed like an interesting concept and one that has worked for many people. With this in mind I picked up the book minimalism by Joshua Fields Melbourne and Ryan Nicodemus to see what it was all about.

While this book does address the concept of minimalism to a point it is not the main focus of the book at least as far as I can tell. It is more of an explanation and an exploration of how these two men became minimalists. Both were were employed in the corporate world and earning six-figure incomes but we're extremely unhappy with their lives, and this book details how they made changes to their life. Unfortunately it doesn't really have a whole lot to do with minimalism for somebody who is trying to investigate the concept. They do refer to their website a fair bit minimalists.com and I think this is where you should go to find more in-depth information.

It was however a very interesting book to read, and I would recommend it to anybody who is searching for a change in their life, or possibly their career etc.

"Sacred Origins of Profound Things: The stories behind the rites and rituals of the world's religions" by Charles Panati

 

Publisher: Penguin 

Copyright: 1996

ISBN: 0140195335

Sacred Origins is an interesting book to read that goes into a lot of detail about the origins, rights, rituals and general beliefs of the various major religions in the world. It concentrates primarily on Christianity with Judaism second and a little bit of Islam thrown in for good measure.

The detail covered in this book is quite amazing actually it starts off with talking about popular piety which are things such as prayer postures, etc. It goes on to talk about the various heavenly hosts, then wise words which is all about moral codes. Mr. Panati then talks about the actual rights and rituals, feasts and festivals, the saints and their bones, celestial persona, marriage, evil, things you shouldn't shouldn't do, the various religious realms, and acts of faith.

As I said earlier it is an interesting book to read, but i believe it could do with a second edition as it is 27 years old. Since this time we have gone through many events such as 9-11 and other crises that have stemmed from religion.

All in all an excellent book, and one that should be more widely read by a lot of people I believe.