PewDiePie's Literature Club discussion

Hey guys, thought we could do monthly checkups on how everyone is doing with this years book club?

Has everyone finished Tao Te Ching?

What did you all think of it?

Icke wrote: "Hey guys, thought we could do monthly checkups on how everyone is doing with this years book club?

Has everyone finished Tao Te Ching?

What did you all think of it?"

Hello! Thoughtful idea.

I finished Tao Te Ching, JOKES! I wish I did, I barely even started it. I intend to soon, and I am keen to hear your thoughts!

I've also just started it, but it's not that long so I'll be finished by the end of the month.

Adan wrote: "I've also just started it, but it's not that long so I'll be finished by the end of the month."

Yeah, it was surprisingly short.

Just finished it yesterday! It's very short but since I'm not used to reading (yet) it took me awhile to accomplish. Overall, it was a great and informative read!

Annie wrote: "Just finished it yesterday! It's very short but since I'm not used to reading (yet) it took me awhile to accomplish. Overall, it was a great and informative read!"

Nice! I definitely think (to my limited knowledge) it's one of the best ways to get introduced classic eastern philosophy

I finished and enjoyed the book, mine came with a commentary at the end where each “chapter” or poem had further explanation and I really appreciated that. Reading a few chapters daily like a morning treat helped digesting the ideas over time. The Dao being a state of being rather than a task or an action, the humility laced throughout, the simplicity of each chapter or poem, all worked so well together. It all felt relevant to today, which is the mark of remarkable literature!

Kylie wrote: "I finished and enjoyed the book, mine came with a commentary at the end where each “chapter” or poem had further explanation and I really appreciated that. Reading a few chapters daily like a morni..."

That was an excellent way to put it. What translation did you read?

I truly believe Tao Te Ching is one of, if not, the book to give to youngsters approaching adulthood. For first-time readers, it's very digestible and not one bit daunting!

I finished the book, I had to take breaks between chapters to digest what was said as my version didn't have an explanation after every poem.

While some of the poems sound not relatable to modern times, I felt with a little more thought, you can easily connect the lessons to your life which was so cool considering how old the text is.

My favourite chapter of the book was the one that mentioned how the greatest virtue is to be like water, adaptable and humble

Vasvi wrote: "I finished the book, I had to take breaks between chapters to digest what was said as my version didn't have an explanation after every poem.

While some of the poems sound not relatable to modern ..."

That's a good one.

My has to be: 'He who knows (the Tao), does not speak. He who is (ever ready to) speak about it, does not know'

It has always stuck with me that.

@vasvi I really like that about water.

I can definitely see how Pewds gravitated toward the feelings of chilled out vibes with the Tao, overlaps with Stoicism.

I love that Icke. The contradictions at the heart of the Tao is what I like the most. Like 18 saying "The Disordered society is full of loyal patriots".

It's like Christianity making the death of Christ (the cross) te symbol of its victory and resurrection. Something beautiful about our emptiness and defeat being ironically defeated in contradictory reappropriation.

What translations are people reading? I picked Ursy?

Just finished Tao in a day to make sure I am not shamed. Just joined the challenge today too.

My favourite part of this book was from 80: 4. They should think their (coarse) food sweet; their (plain) clothes beautiful; their (poor) dwellings places of rest; and their common (simple) ways sources of enjoyment.

Finally got through translator D.C. Lau's FORTY FIVE PAGE Introduction and going to read between the Penguin Classics and the Gia-fu Feng and Jane English translation(PICTURES) so I can balance the poetic and strict interpretations. Will finish today lads

Finished the Tao Te Ching earlier this month. I definitely see myself picking it back up and reading through it again in the future. It feels like a text that reveals something new with each reading.

Kevin wrote: "Finished the Tao Te Ching earlier this month. I definitely see myself picking it back up and reading through it again in the future. It feels like a text that reveals something new with each reading."

I agree. I will likely come back to it once I have read more books of its kind in hopes of gaining a deeper understanding of the content after being more literate in the field.

Finished Tao Te Ching within a few days in early January. I may be one of the few who did not love the book. It was less than average to me. It was extremely surface-level and felt like it was constantly repeating itself. I knew it would be fundamental philosophy but I suppose I still expected to get more out of it. Felt like I was reading about common sense turned into poetry. Anyway, I am hopeful for the future philosophy books as this one was very catered to beginners/new readers.

Avery wrote: "Finished Tao Te Ching within a few days in early January. I may be one of the few who did not love the book. It was less than average to me. It was extremely surface-level and felt like it was cons..."

What is common sense to you might not be for a lot of people. That is why we have so many political ideologies, for example. "Common sense" varies across communities, countries, generations, etc.

I finished it and really enjoyed it. Some of philosophy is still current and could even be applied today.

Very easy to read.

Hi everyone! So glad to have found this community.

I read Tao Te Ching and really enjoyed it. I found some concepts hard to grasp so I found it more meaningful when I talked about it with a friend who was also partaking in Felix's book club.

Has anyone started on the second book? I just borrowed it from my local library today.

Noah wrote: "Kevin wrote: "Finished the Tao Te Ching earlier this month. I definitely see myself picking it back up and reading through it again in the future. It feels like a text that reveals something new wi..."

I also did not love it. There were a few poems here and there where I thought I was approaching a level of 'this makes sense to me', but on the whole, it felt a little strange. I paced myself well, too, so it's not like I rushed through it.

I think maybe I've been reading too much Romantic poetry recently, so reading something that's so simply written gave me a bad first impression, perhaps. And the fact that a lot of it feels like something I might find in a fortune cookie didn't help. But maybe this is one of those things where it feels simplistic because it was the first one to do it. Like, watching the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and thinking 'these jumpscares suck'. Yeah, cuz that movie INVENTED THEM, and we've since iterated on them infinitely.

Excited for the challenge, though! Happy to have found this group~

Stacey wrote: "Hi everyone! So glad to have found this community.

I read Tao Te Ching and really enjoyed it. I found some concepts hard to grasp so I found it more meaningful when I talked about it with a friend..."

About 100 pages in so far. It's a pretty decent read, definitely something that needs a lot of time dedicated to compared to Tao Te Ching. If you are into any sect of Buddhism, it's worth a read!

(I promise I read this book in January lol, I just found out about this forum)

I liked this book. some of the poems went over my head a bit. my biggest takeaway is that everything is and isn't always, which, I like the concept, but hard to put into real world action yaknow?

I looked up the commentary on YouTube because my translation was so difficult to grasp lol but I got the gist of it

Tao te Ching was an interesting and short read. But at the same time it felt like something you listen to while you meditate. I found an hour long reading of the book and could easily see people using it for morning mantra rituals to get ready for the day. Not my favorite read so far.

Just joined the group and thought of adding my review, even though I already finished the book in January :)

Some parts of the text were a bit confusing, but the edition I read (Penguin Group) included historical context and analysis that really helped me understand it better. Even though this text was written over 2000 years ago, I was able to appreciate its content, and much of the philosophy still feels surprisingly relevant today. A thoughtful and timeless read!

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)

Marta wrote: "Just joined the group and thought of adding my review, even though I already finished the book in January :)

Some parts of the text were a bit confusing, but the edition I read (Penguin Group) inc..."

Very much agreed! I too feel that no matter what point you are at in the universe, it's very much relevant!

I read "Hell's Paradise," a Japanese manga by Yuji Kaku, while also immersing myself in the profound wisdom of "Tao Te Ching." This experience allowed me to draw connections between the themes of the manga and ancient Chinese philosophy, deepening my understanding and appreciation of Taoism. I'm grateful to Felix for recommending it at the time of reading.

kyosei wrote: "I read "Hell's Paradise," a Japanese manga by Yuji Kaku, while also immersing myself in the profound wisdom of "Tao Te Ching." This experience allowed me to draw connections between the themes of t..."

Wow, that's quite the journey. I am glad you enjoyed it. It's an excellent book!