Welcome to Litsy!

All told, I found Religion For Atheists thought-provoking and highly readable (this time around, anyhow). I‘d heartily recommend it to anyone who‘s curious about how stuff works, in general, and society/religion in particular. Plus, I‘ll now forever use it as my example of why it‘s important to revisit a book you did not finish the first time... Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/religion-for-atheists-alain-de-botton/ #NonFiction

"modern şehrin yalnızlığın hüküm süren kanyonlarında en saygıdeğer duygu aşktır. ölene kadar sürecek gerçek bir hayat ortaklığı kurmak isteyeceğimiz, başka insanlara duyduğumuz gereksinimi tamamen ortadan kaldıracak o tek kişiyi aramak için, bizi delicesine zorlu bir yolculuğa çıkaran romantik aşk.."

I don't know who was the first to say: read something about a subject every month and you'll be a specialist very soon as nobody sticks to reading the latest on his subject. Well, I know this is not the community where that kind of statements would be tue, but point taken. I'm planning on adding more non fiction about religion to my reading list. Bought this and finished the first chapter. A lit to ponder (and a slightly uncomfortable read for me)

Starting my first reading challenge while trying to improve my english! 😀#A-Z. 15 new words, expanding my english vocabulary. Day 1

Just started. I often envy religious people for their ability to be spiritual, sit in a breathtaking Church and be uplifted by beautiful organ music while being consoled through their fate. So I'm looking forward to de Botton's take on how we might be able to enjoy some of that as Atheists, too.

A look at the human needs left unmet by modern secular life and the ways we can learn from religions (primarily Christianity and Judaism) to fulfill them. Not perfect, but thought-provoking in a way that will stick with me.

"Those of us who hold no religious or supernatural beliefs still require regular, ritualized encounters with concepts such as friendship, community, gratitude and transcendence."

"We seem unable to resist overstating every aspect of ourselves: how long we are on the planet for, how rare and unfair are our professional failures, how rife with misunderstandings are our relationships, how deep are our sorrows."

Really enjoying this book and shocked by how much it reflects back on my last read, Butler's Parable of the Sower. Both are insightful about religions, the human needs they serve, and the mechanisms they employ. Fascinatingly unexpected readalike!

"While for long stretches of our lives we can believe in our maturity, we never succeed in insulating ourselves against the kind of catastrophic events that sweep away our ability to reason, our courage and our resourcefulness...and throw us back into a state of primordial helplessness."

"It is more bearable to own up to our follies when the highest authority has told us that we are all childishly yet forgivable demented to begin with"

"Dreams of meeting one person who will spare us any need for other people"

Excited to be starting this book. Loving that cover.