The Bibliophilism: Category-Non Fiction

Book Title: Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination
Author: J.K. Rowling
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Source: Purchased
Genre: Non Fiction, Self Help
Year: 2015
Page Count: 70
ISBN: 9780316369152
Find it at: J.K. Rowling's Official Website
Add to your Goodreads shelf.
My Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0

Goodreads' Blurb:
In 2008, J.K. Rowling delivered a deeply affecting commencement speech at Harvard University. Now published for the first time in book form, Very Good Lives offers J.K. Rowling’s words of wisdom for anyone at a turning point in life, asking the profound and provocative questions: How can we embrace failure? And how can we use our imagination to better both ourselves and others?

Drawing from stories of her own post-graduate years, the world-famous author addresses some of life’s most important issues with acuity and emotional force.

This is a mini review which does not really discuss the content, just an act of fondness toward this lovely lady whose works have been accompanying my life since I was 10 years old and some quotes I found in this book and would really like to share with you guys.

Also the sales of this book will benefit Lumos, a charity organization founded by J.K. Rowling that works to transform the lives of disadvantaged children, and university-wide financial aid at Harvard University.

"There is an expiration date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you."

"Failure means a stripping away of the inessential."

"Some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all-in which case, you fail by default."

"Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way."

"The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that is painfully won, and it has been worth more than any qualification I've ever earned."

"So given a Time-Turner, I would tell my twenty-one-year-old self that personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a checklist of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone's total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive to its vicissitudes."

"Unlike any other creature on this planet, human beings can learn and understand without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people's places. One might use such an ability to manipulate or control just as much as to understand or sympathize."

"Those who choose not to empathize enable real monsters. For without ever committing an act of outright evil ourselves, we collude with it through our own apathy."

"If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages..."

"...then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped change. We do not need magic to transform our world; we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better."

"As is a tale, so is life; not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters."

One of my most favourite parts of this book is on page 48, when Ms. Rowling recounts the young man from Africa. Truly heartbreaking, yet inspiring. Thank you very much for sharing this precious wise words to the whole world. Ms. Rowling!

Image Source: Goodreads

Book Title: The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier
Author: Thad Carhart
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperback
Source: Purchased
Genre: Non Fiction, Memoir, Music
Year: 2002
Page Count: 268
ISBN: 9780375758621
Find it at: Thad Carhart's Official Website
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My Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0

Goodreads' Blurb:

Walking his two young children to school every morning, Thad Carhart passes an unassuming little storefront in his Paris neighborhood. Intrigued by its simple sign — Desforges Pianos — he enters, only to have his way barred by the shop's imperious owner.
Unable to stifle his curiosity, he finally lands the proper introduction, and a world previously hidden is brought into view. Luc, the atelier's master, proves an indispensable guide to the history and art of the piano. Intertwined with the story of a musical friendship are reflections on how pianos work, their glorious history, and stories of the people who care for them, from amateur pianists to the craftsmen who make the mechanism sing. The Piano Shop on the Left Bank is at once a beguiling portrait of a Paris not found on any map and a tender account of the awakening of a lost childhood passion.

Some of you might still remember all the hype from me on how I really wanted to read this book. And voila! I'm now finished with this baby ;)

So how to put it...

This book is an autobiography of Thad Carhart, using first-person narration from his perspective, recounting on his long lost passion to piano. The book begins when he comes across a unique atelier in his neighborhood and thus tries to enter the place, even though he is unwelcome at first. Then luck is on his side, one of his acquaintances is a customer at the atelier and at the acquaintance's recommendation, he gains the permit to find what cryptics are inside the place.

The book is mainly brought in present, with some flashbacks to Carhart's past on how he first found his interest and love in piano. The writing style of this book is intriguing, thus made me feel like I was not reading a non fiction, but a fiction one. Sometimes the author will put in some antics and joke that will make the readers laugh.

I admit that this book is a little bit tough to read since there are copious musical terms, particularly those pertaining to pianos. But I enjoyed them as it broadened my knowledge on music (I should mention to that I'm a huge fan of music and being able to play piano is one of my unachievable dreams) and I got to learn some French too!

Pour conclure, je l'aime ce livre :P This book also teaches me to never let your deepest passions just go away like that and you don't have to live that passion to become your professional life, instead you can just keep it as your hidden pleasure. That doesn't make you love that thing less than a professional does.

If you are a pianist or have a hidden passion for piano, this book is a must for you to read. Don't miss it!