Geek Syndicate Issue 8 | Page 12

Geek Syndicate
Image © BBC Worldwide, 2013

this company that makes furniture specifically
for geeks!
Book - The Tao of Pooh
Overview: Benjamin Hoff uses Winnie the
Pooh and his friends to explain Taoism in a
simple way to those who may not know much
about it. Hoff uses Pooh as an analogy, as he
seems to exemplify the ideas and principles of
wei wu wei, the Taoist concept of “effortless
doing,” and pu, the concept of being open to
but unburdened by experience. Hoff uses both
excerpts from Milne’s Winnie the Pooh books
and Taoist texts to reinforce his ideas and
analogies.

Image © Picador, 2001

Why I love it: I’m not religious, but books on
various religions fascinate, and the weirder
the better. Using childhood book characters
to explain an Eastern belief system largely unknown to me? Perfect. It’s simple, informative, and everyone loves Winnie the Pooh. The
companion book Te of Piglet further explains
Taoist principles using Pooh’s lovable little
friend Piglet.

Winnie the Pooh - Philosophy made simple

Jess
Book- Bridget Jones Diary (Helen Fielding)
Overview: The life of a single thirty-something
single woman living in London. Bridget’s diary shows her life over the course of a year or
so, looking at her work life, love life and the
frequent trips she makes to various relative’s
houses for parties, dressed in wonderful twopiece suits her mother wore in the sixties that
resemble a pair of curtains.
Why I love it: Bridget Jones is hilarious and
one of the few books I can read over and over
again without getting bored of it! I read it on a
loop during my first year at university.

Have you met Miss Jones?

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