Too shallow to really make a difference

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

This book is not bad, but just too shallow and simplistic to make a real difference. Many points the writers make seem to be explained either too little, or seem to be woven into the Japanese culture too much for a member of Western society to be able to adapt it so quickly. For example, the writers tell the listener there is no Japanese word for ''retirement''. How do the writers then expect a Western reader to immediately understand and adapt to the Japanese idea of never retiring when they have grown up with retirement all embedded in their life? There's also a much too optimistic description of how ''every Japanese person has a passion they follow'' and how this keeps them going. Why not tell the reader the whole story, about the crushing pressure the Japanese society holds on people, the pressure to succeed, to get a good job, to behave perfectly and be humble and agreeable and whatnot? Perhaps the people of a 100 years old did not feel this pressure yet in their youth, but the current Japanese society is definitely not as ideal and full of ''passion'' as these writers try to make it seem. This book is written like an unrealistic, idealistic fairytale that just does not hit the right spot. A real shame.

What about Naoko Mori’s performance did you like?

The voice of Naoko was very nice to listen to. It was soft and the Japanese words came out so perfectly, they made a welcome change to the English.

3 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Great book, new found love for Japanese culture

I find this book quite relaxing to listen to, plenty of little information on how to make your life better but small changes that we can do right now.

2 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Illuminating

Beautiful and insightful principles to live a long and happy life. I want to listen to this book all over again, and I’ve only just finished it!

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Good Read

Its a good book to read. It gives you insight about Japanese technique of living a long and healthy life "Ikigai".

Wonderful narration and Writing

The author gets to the point beautifully. The art of living and discovering your ikigai has been explained with ample examples. The narrator has a soothing voice which matches the tempo of the book.
Highly recommended.

Really Fascinating

Loved it, easily finished it.
Fantastic narrative & narration.
Highly recommend re-reading/re-listening many times.

loved it

I need to find my ikigai now. wonderfully compiled and really well structured with data

A good book to listen in a day

The message is interesting, specially when focused on the purpose and meaning if one’s life. This is the focus of the first chapters, and what gives the book its name. However, I felt that the last chapters were less interesting, as the focus shifts to diet and exercise, drifting away from the main idea.
The narrator’s voice is soft and gentle, good to calm you down. It’s interesting to listen to her accurate pronunciation of Japanese words. It might cause you to get a bit sleepy though, so listen when you are in the right mood.

Handbook for life

Ikigai is an amazing handbook for life. I would highly recommended it to anyone wanting to live a long & meaningful life.

Inspirational and life changing

Written beautifully and simply. This book will change the way you look at life if you allow it do. A must read for anyone wanting more in their lives