Tag: Thich Nhat Hanh

#GetLit: A Libromance Round-up 

by Pia Cortez, posted in Muse if You Must

I started this blog in January 2016 and since then, I’ve posted over thirty book reviews, literary features and weekly lists. I’ve learned so much as I continue to devour the most fascinating and enlightening books, and it is my hope that I am able to impart what I learn through Libromance.

I am ever grateful to all my readers and subscribers — for you, for the time, generosity and love you’ve shown my little corner of the world. Thank you so much.

In the coming weeks (and months and years!), you can expect more book reviews, features and weekly musings. If you have any ideas or suggestions, say hello and drop me a line!

Here’s a round-up of the best Libromance reads:

The Rituals and Routines of Creatives A Sunday Spotlight piece featuring the habits of writers like Bob Ong, Stephen King and Annie Dillard.

A Personal Cartography with the Work of Junot Díaz A post on my personal experience reading Junot Díaz’s work — from Drown to This is How You Lose Her.

Can Buddhism & Activism Ever Co-Exist? Reading Thich Nhat Hanh’s book led me to question the possibilities of Buddhism and activism.

A Different Way of Looking with Marcel Proust and Alain de Botton This is a compendium of how I was inspired and influenced by the French author, through the eyes of British philosopher Alain de Botton.

Finding Time to Read An honest-to-goodness list of ways on carving out precious reading time.

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Charting the Inner Landscape of our Lives with Krista Tippett

by Pia Cortez, posted in Book Reviews, Soul + Spirit


It was a cold Saturday morning in a hospital in San Francisco and I was huddled on a desk, silently cursing the winter chill. I wasn’t supposed to be at work that day. The department was eerily quiet, too bright with all of the fluorescent light panels on. And then from a corner of my inbox, I noticed an email from Seth Godin that has illuminated my life since then: his interview with Krista Tippet, host of the podcast On Being.

I’ve been a fan of Seth for some time now, religiously devouring his daily emails (you should really subscribe if you haven’t), books, interviews and classes. Seth’s humbling brilliance, punctuated by Krista’s insightful wisdom stunned me. The hour flew by. Even though I was unfamiliar with Krista’s tone and style, it was easy for me to slide into the show’s rhythm.

That interview made me a Krista fan, as I relished episodes wherein she conversed with luminaries I’m both familiar and unfamiliar with: Pico Iyer, Maria Popova, Alain de Botton, Paul Muldoon, David Whyte, Elizabeth Alexander. It wasn’t until later, after ten episodes or so, that I finally started to grapple the depth of the show; I slowly felt its impact within the inner workings of my own being.

What is striking with these conversations is that although Krista’s guests/partners are not necessarily spiritual nor religious, she is always able to take them to a field where the heart, spirit and soul meet, bringing her listeners with her. Each episode always leaves me feeling a little more grounded, embracing the length of being human even more.

As soon as I found out that she was releasing a book, I knew that Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living would be just as generous as Krista was (also Seth’s words in the interview). Continue reading “Charting the Inner Landscape of our Lives with Krista Tippett” →

Life Lessons from Pixar’s President, Ed Catmull 

by Pia Cortez, posted in Art + Creativity, Book Reviews

My path to reading Ed Catmull’s Creativity, Inc. (Shop your local indie store) was through reading other books that quoted and referenced him, a process which I’ve come to love. This was how I read Joseph Campbell too as I’ve written in a post earlier. My fascination began with Steve Jobs, the late visionary leader of Apple; I read his biography last year by Brent Schlender’s Becoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart to a Visionary Leader.

At a pivotal point in Steve’s career after being forced out of the board of Apple, he started working with Pixar Animation and met Ed Catmull and John Lasseter. It was at Pixar where he was first humanized, and it was because of Ed’s style of leadership.

“I liked him from the moment I met him,” Steve told me (Schlender) once about Ed. He found him an intellectual match. “Ed is a quiet guy, and you could mistake that quietness for weakness — but it’s not, it’s strength. Ed’s really thoughtful, and really, really smart. He’s used to hanging around really smart people, and when you’re around really smart people you tend to listen to them.

Steve listened to Catmull. Though he could often come across as a know-it-all, Steve was constantly trying to learn. Trim and professional, Ed was ten years older than Steve, making him as much of a mentor as a colleague.

Theirs was a quiet, sincere friendship, enabled in great part by Catmull’s maturity.

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Ed Catmull, Steve Jobs and John Lasseter

It was at this point that I wanted to know more about the President of Pixar. At the first turn of the page you can already sense Ed’s humanism: the dedication on the third page simply writes “For Steve.” Continue reading “Life Lessons from Pixar’s President, Ed Catmull “ →

Can Buddhism & Activism Ever Co-exist? 

by Pia Cortez, posted in Book Reviews, Soul + Spirit

The wave does not need to die to become water. She is already water.

On my 29th birthday, some gifts to myself: saltwater, deep presence and a connection to the world around me.

I was finishing reading Thich Nhat Hanh’s (Thay, as he is referred to endearingly) You Are Here as this day came and it couldn’t have been perfect timing. As one gets older, certain things become clearer. In an age when social media and the connection it provides is prevalent comes a time when one feels even more distracted, frustrated and worse, isolated.

These things have prompted me to challenge and question not just how we consume social media but ultimately, how we spend our days. After all, writer Annie Dillard said it best: how we spend our days is how we spend our lives. Continue reading “Can Buddhism & Activism Ever Co-exist? “ →