Daemonwolfbooks ([info]daemonwolfbooks) wrote,
@ 2007-07-30 09:25:00
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Entry tags:! - !recommended, ! - autobiography, ! - humour, ! - personal missions, ! - philosophy, ! - self improvement

9/10 - How To Be Free by Tom Hodgkinson *Recommended*





Lessons of Loki


Category: Fact/Philosophy
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton Ltd (5 Oct 2006)
ISBN-10: 0241143217
ISBN-13: 978-0241143216


Inspired/Suggested by: A quirky impulse buy.

Synopsis: Have you ever wondered why you bother to go to work? Why so much of consumer culture is crap? Whether there might be a better, freer, happier way to live our lives? If so, this book is for you. Following up his cult bestseller "How To Be Idle", Tom Hodgkinson takes us on an inspirational journey towards true freedom and happiness. Read "How To Be Free" and learn how to throw off the shackles of anxiety, bureaucracy, debt, governments, housework, moaning, pain, poverty, ugliness, war and waste, and much else besides.


The kind of book you just don't want to put down since it makes you happy just reading it. It's not necessarily original or going to start a revolution but that isn't really the point. Nor are you supposed to do everything he suggests - if everyone took Hodgkinson's lessons seriously we'd all be playing ukeleles which would be silly. Fun, but silly. It's about making a life that celebrates what you believe in and doing away with the noise, chaos and dross of being sold things and ideas you don't want to buy into. And maybe causing a little bit of mischief and amusement along the way. No bad thing. I'll be re-reading this again soon. 9/10. (For a reminder of the scale used please see my profile.)

The link to bookcrossing where you can track where the book has been and is going.

(3 comments) - (Post a new comment)


[info]realrealgone
2007-07-30 11:03 am UTC (link)
again, very interesting.

that's a lot of things to 'throw off' though...!

I wonder how this guy's ideas compare to some of those in buddhism (also concerned with 'throwing off the shackles' of restrictive thought)?

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]daemonwolfbooks
2007-07-30 05:58 pm UTC (link)
His message is far more positive than Buddhism, more building a family and good friends and shutting the door to 'the medja' than trying to breakaway from everything.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]realrealgone
2007-07-31 09:08 am UTC (link)
hmm, I can't say 'family' and 'positive' are two words I normally associate with each other! over-involvement in family concerns is not a route to freedom for most, I fear. It is significant, I think, that Buddha had to leave his in order to take the first steps on the path to enlightenment...

but maybe this guy has suggestions for more positive, healthy family dynamics than generally tend to be the norm...

Friendship and filtering out 'the medja' are certainly good things, however! (and would not, I think, be discouraged by Buddhism).

(Reply to this) (Parent)

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