Today was a very good book day. I finished Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse,
and I bought five books – five books! – at Chapters. Details in the vidcast (10 minutes), short notes follow.

• Siddhartha: Nice novel, well-written. Insightful.
  

  Listen, Kamala, when you throw a stone into the water, it finds the quickest way to the bottom of the water. It is the same when Siddhartha has an aim, a goal. Siddhartha does nothing; he waits, he thinks, he fasts, but he goes through the affairs of the world like the stone through the water, without doing anything, without bestirring himself; he is drawn and lets himself fall. He is drawn by his goal, for he does not allow anything to enter his mind which opposes his goal. That is what Siddhartha learned from the Samanas. It is what fools call magic and what they think is caused by demons. Nothing is caused by demons; there are no demos. Everyoe can perform magic, everyone can reach his goal, if he can think, wait and fast.

• How to Win Friends and Influence People: Useful, classic. Packed with examples, although harder to read now.
• How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in
  Relationships. Don't get put off by the weird title and even worse
  self-helpy blurb at the back; actually sounds like a practical,
  useful book.
• Right to Write: Haven't really browsed through this, but inclined
  to trust the author because my mom likes her other book.
• Chicken Soup for the Canadian Soul: about as sappy a collection as
  you can get of heart-tugging awwww kind of stories.
• Five Good Minutes: Sweet! Good for me _and_ superbusy friends.

Also, some thoughts on my now-depleted book budget, the importance of books, and my new need for bookshelves…

On Amazon:

On Indigo/Chapters: (for Canadians)

• Siddhartha, Herman Hesse. CAD 8.99 (also, really cheap: CAD 3.00)
• How to win friends and influence people, Dale Carnegie. CAD 11.99.
• How to talk to anyone: 92 little tricks for big success in relationships: Leil Lowndes. CAD 21.95
• The right to write: an invitation and initiation into the writing life, Julia Cameron. CAD 18.99
• Chicken soup for the Canadian soul, Mark Victor Hansen, Janet Matthews and Raymond Aaron. CAD 19.95
• Five good minutes: 100 moring practices to help you stay calm and focused all day long, Jeffrey Brantley, MD and Wendy Millstine

Comment from my mom:

did you know I read Siddhartha when I was in college? and that I have
been looking for “Right to Write” since last year? Try to find “Sound
of Paper,” also by Julia Cameron. I've read Carnegie's book and even
took their executive course. Love, Mom