Mary Lambert (1)

I picked this up on a whim at work because I'm embracing minimalism...or at least, getting rid of things. I'm not sure that reducing to 100 personal items is really how I want to do that, though, and I'm not convinced that minimalism in your personal effects = minimalism overall, since the plan doesn't force you to reduce furniture, art, kitchen things, etc (although it encourages you to ponder what you do own). 100 items also feels like an arbitrary goal (although I suppose the author says you can be flexible with the number you end up at); should I really purge the shoes I only wear three times a year, if those three times are important and call for shoes like these? I don't want to re-buy every time I have an occasion to need something that usually seems neglected. I get the point: get rid of things you don't use. Since I'm not a clothing-hoarder, though, I'd prefer a softer approach to some things.

What made me especially meh about this book were the overarching assumptions about gender, lifestyle, and habits. Women all have too many shoes! Men love gadgets! Women buy things to feel better! Men don't! Women wear too much black! And need to mix up their shoe choices more! Black makes you depressed!

Besides that, every example laid out a basic formula for items women should own: the same types of clothes (mostly work, some workout), makeup, and sports or musical gear. Everything else is clutter.

And finally, even when the book made sense to me, I kept being irritated by liberal use of words like "cherished," "treasured," and "beloved."

So anyway, I'll continue my purging, but I'll do it on my own.… (mehr)

The book is mostly about first degree Reiki, for beginners. The book discusses the Reiki symbols, but doesn't show them. There are no advice for distant healing.

The best part of the book are clear, good-looking colour photographs of Reiki hand positions, with explanations. The book gives hand positions for treating other person, and for self-treatment.

The Reiki history in the book is mostly fiction. People in the West had very inaccurate ideas of it until the late 1990s. The book was first published in 2000. The book explains the human energy body with chakras. I am fine with it, but the author incorrectly believes that Mikao Usui taught chakras, too.

The book has a list of body ailments and "likely emotional causes" for them. For example, teeth problems should come from "indecisiveness over a long period". My physical ailments don't correspond with my emotional problems. The list is unreliable, and, at worst, victim-blaming.

There are small but disturbing inaccuracies sprinkled around the book. Although the book says otherwise, you can safely send Reiki to a person who is anaesthetized. Reiki isn't electromagnetic, so it doesn't harm a pacemaker.

The author is too adamant about touching the recipient. Reiki doesn't get weaker when you send it eg. from 10 cm above a lying person.

The book gives basic information on colour and crystal healing because you can give Reiki together with them. It recommends laying crystals in the sun for a day to energize them. This is bad advice. The author reminds not to put amethyst or rose quartz in sunlight, but also many other crystals can change colour in sunlight, over time. According to the author, crystals can't release negative emotions like Reiki does. I have different experiences.

There are much better Reiki books out there. This one is fluffy.… (mehr)

Written primarily for young women, the book has some useful suggestions for des femmes de certain age. My wardrobe isn't my biggest problem (as the author assumes) since I have a "uniform" that I wear to work, and a "uniform" that I wear at home. Many of the photos are inspiring, however, and take minimalism beyond the usual black and white, to include other colors (even pink!). The author includes installments from her blog, which were not interesting to me. I don't need to read about someone else's angst about clearing out their T-shirts and crystal jewelry. Also, this is a misleading title because the author likes to "group" her possessions so that many of the 100 personal possessions are actually "one" group of multiples (e.g., multiple pairs of shoes and multiple purses). The "100 personal possessions" claim becomes invalid. Still, the book is worth a skim - get it from the library!… (mehr)