The following are my favourite books

Music (Piano)

Piano Pieces by Russell Sherman
Comments: This book is an excellent piece of music in itself! I find Russell Sherman's Piano Pieces to be one of the most inspiring books on piano performance I have ever read. It is non-prescriptive and does not conform to conventional didactic approaches or methodologies. (So, if you want a self-help manual or detailed instructions on how to play the piano, this is not the book!) Instead, the book is a collage of a series of "pieces" of thoughts - concerning the hand, the piano, the music, the student,the parent, the mindset to musical apprenticeship, and a plethora of other significant issues confronting the life of a developing musician. Piano Pieces is poetically and eloquently written. The metaphors bring to life the essence of the experience of music apprenticeship and performance. Russell Sherman's poetic language reaches the soul of the reader, engaging the reader in an intellectual and philosophical journey to the inner realities of musical performance. This book also brings to light certain ethereal qualities, the "je ne sais quoi" properties of a moving performance - which is so difficult to communicate through the conventional objectively reductive (Cartesian)thinking. "Piano Pieces" would serve as an excellent inspirational guide for the practicing musician. I would recommend this book to all readers - from the serious musician to neophytes, and to parents of budding musicians as well.

The Beauty of Gesture: The Invisible Keyboard of Piano & Tai Chi By Catherine David

The Art of the Piano by David Dubal


Literature

The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach

Life is Beautiful by Robert Benigni
Life is Beautiful touches my heart, so deeply. It shows how the most beautiful can emerge from a heart filled with love even though one might be placed under a most threatening situation. Love is unsurpassed - it transcends fear. Roberto Benigni's story is one to be savoured again and again - in multiple dimensions. This is simply one of the best movies/books I have ever watched/read. If I could give it 10 stars, I would have done so.



Creativity

Free Play by Stephen Nachmanovitch


Sociology / Philosophy

The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould


Comical

Mr. Bean's Diary by Rowan Atkinson

The Definitive Biography of P.D.Q. Bach by Peter Schickele


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This page will be updated as often as possible. (Last updated by Angela Chan on 11th April, 1999 Sunday).

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