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justspencer's review against another edition
4.0
I thought it was a pretty easy read. I believe the conversations with the characters could have been a little smoother, but that's just strictly personal preference. Some good quotes are able to be found in this.
kortdub's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
futuretreeman's review against another edition
medium-paced
2.75
Now maybe it's just my lack of understanding of Taoism and some misplaced assumptions about Taoist philosophy, but I have some serious mixed feeling about this book.
Here is what I enjoyed:
- I love the way Hoff brought the Winnie-the-pooh characters into real life. He didn't just talk about them but also to them. Pooh, Piglet, Owl, etc. were all in the room with him while he was writing. It was cute.
- I loved the anecdotes from historical Taoist writers. I particularly enjoyed Lao-tse's writing. But I think my favorite addition was the story of the man who caught cicadas by Chuang-tse.
- I also appreciated the love Hoff showed Piglet.
Here is what I did not:
- He seemed to share a lot of his own political opinions. Obviously, I don't know how much of that was based in Taoism and how much was just his personal interpretation and bias. Still it felt way to personal for a book marketed as an informational about Taoism.
- He talked about Eeyore, Tigger, and real people who exhibit similar behaviors as though negative thoughts and feelings, difficulty concentrating, and hyperactivity are a choice. Just completely disregarding mental health.
- Plus the bit about Piglet having a bodyguard made no sense. What was the point you were trying to get at with that?
Essentially my qualms were about how much of the book felt so negative towards other people.
I also don't think I walked away with much knowledge about Taoism. If you asked me what I learned I would just be pointing to the excerpts from Chuang-tse and Lao-tse because I more from them than I did from the actual author of this book.
The parts of the book that I did not agree with did not turn me away from learning more about Taoist philosophy though. I am curious now to explore more, perhaps read more text from Chuang-tse or Lao-tse.
Here is what I enjoyed:
- I love the way Hoff brought the Winnie-the-pooh characters into real life. He didn't just talk about them but also to them. Pooh, Piglet, Owl, etc. were all in the room with him while he was writing. It was cute.
- I loved the anecdotes from historical Taoist writers. I particularly enjoyed Lao-tse's writing. But I think my favorite addition was the story of the man who caught cicadas by Chuang-tse.
- I also appreciated the love Hoff showed Piglet.
Here is what I did not:
- He seemed to share a lot of his own political opinions. Obviously, I don't know how much of that was based in Taoism and how much was just his personal interpretation and bias. Still it felt way to personal for a book marketed as an informational about Taoism.
- He talked about Eeyore, Tigger, and real people who exhibit similar behaviors as though negative thoughts and feelings, difficulty concentrating, and hyperactivity are a choice. Just completely disregarding mental health.
- Plus the bit about Piglet having a bodyguard made no sense. What was the point you were trying to get at with that?
Essentially my qualms were about how much of the book felt so negative towards other people.
I also don't think I walked away with much knowledge about Taoism. If you asked me what I learned I would just be pointing to the excerpts from Chuang-tse and Lao-tse because I more from them than I did from the actual author of this book.
The parts of the book that I did not agree with did not turn me away from learning more about Taoist philosophy though. I am curious now to explore more, perhaps read more text from Chuang-tse or Lao-tse.
chrisrin's review against another edition
1.0
I am very interested in Taoism and I thought I would like this book but I just didn't. I was disappointed with the book and thought the author shared a bit too much of his own personal political opinions. I am a liberal as well and I did agree with some of his points, but I do not think all of his arguments or points should been included and I think that they detracted from the actual focus of the book.
13delathauwere's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
bimbum's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
3.75
The Te of Piglet is a great ride back to Hundred Acre Wood with Benjamin Hoff diving in to the perspective of each major character. These characters being Eyeore, Rabbit, Owl and of course, Piglet.
Hoff picks apart their mindsets while comparing and contrasting each to Piglets and provides more Taoist approaches to situations and life. While I did enjoy this read, I couldn’t help but feel that the philosophies given in this book fell short from what we learned in The Tao of Pooh. The simplicities of Taoism is what makes the way of living so fascinating and implementable in almost any scenario. In short, this book felt unnecessary when compared to its predecessor. Everything covered here is covered in the Tao of Pooh, only through the perspective of a more simple minded being, rather than a Piglet.
What is interesting, however, is the perspective of the Eye-ore, Rabbit and Owl, and how these animals can change to be kinder to the Piglet.
The Te of Piglet remains to be an interesting read, most notably in its final chapters, and serves the reader a positive outlook on life in every shape and form. For even the Piglets of the world can be the greatest, most unlikely hero everyday.
Hoff picks apart their mindsets while comparing and contrasting each to Piglets and provides more Taoist approaches to situations and life. While I did enjoy this read, I couldn’t help but feel that the philosophies given in this book fell short from what we learned in The Tao of Pooh. The simplicities of Taoism is what makes the way of living so fascinating and implementable in almost any scenario. In short, this book felt unnecessary when compared to its predecessor. Everything covered here is covered in the Tao of Pooh, only through the perspective of a more simple minded being, rather than a Piglet.
What is interesting, however, is the perspective of the Eye-ore, Rabbit and Owl, and how these animals can change to be kinder to the Piglet.
The Te of Piglet remains to be an interesting read, most notably in its final chapters, and serves the reader a positive outlook on life in every shape and form. For even the Piglets of the world can be the greatest, most unlikely hero everyday.
zap_1101's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
If you have read the Tao of Pooh a lot of these stories seem repetitive and eventually you will wonder why the first book is in the second book so much. He does eventually get to his point but I do think that the second book could have been paired down a bit more to focus on the second subject a whole lot more.