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375 reviews for:
For Small Creatures Such as We: Rituals for Finding Meaning in Our Unlikely World
Sasha Sagan
4.11 AVERAGE
375 reviews for:
For Small Creatures Such as We: Rituals for Finding Meaning in Our Unlikely World
Sasha Sagan
4.11 AVERAGE
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
I always have a hard time writing reviews for non-fiction, so I’m gonna keep this short.
This was written by Sasha Sagan, daughter of the late great, [a:Carl Sagan|10538|Carl Sagan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1475953320p2/10538.jpg]. This book is part biography, part autobiography, part history and part philosophy. Sasha does a great job talking about her family without making it the subject of the book. Still, there are several parts that made me a little sniffly.
The actual subject of the book is the topic of celebrations, anniversaries, and traditions. Sasha approaches this topic from her own secular life, with brief touches of Judaism and Christianity (as inherited through her ancestors and marriage). She points out the various commonalities that religions around the world have shared for hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of years, and the importance that they’ve had for both individuals and societies.
Since realizing I was an atheist, I’ve given up on a lot of traditions that I grew up with. But this book was a friendly reminder that most of those traditions had their roots in non-religious celebrations. Sasha does a great job describing how many of these traditions affect her life and this got me thinking that I may revisit some of these for my own secular life.
This was written by Sasha Sagan, daughter of the late great, [a:Carl Sagan|10538|Carl Sagan|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1475953320p2/10538.jpg]. This book is part biography, part autobiography, part history and part philosophy. Sasha does a great job talking about her family without making it the subject of the book. Still, there are several parts that made me a little sniffly.
The actual subject of the book is the topic of celebrations, anniversaries, and traditions. Sasha approaches this topic from her own secular life, with brief touches of Judaism and Christianity (as inherited through her ancestors and marriage). She points out the various commonalities that religions around the world have shared for hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of years, and the importance that they’ve had for both individuals and societies.
Since realizing I was an atheist, I’ve given up on a lot of traditions that I grew up with. But this book was a friendly reminder that most of those traditions had their roots in non-religious celebrations. Sasha does a great job describing how many of these traditions affect her life and this got me thinking that I may revisit some of these for my own secular life.
I would not call this book life changing, but it was very enjoyable to read.
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
A sweet, kind-hearted book that’s a mix of memoir, anthropology and contemporary philosophy. I’ve never heard Sasha Sagan speak but her energetic enthusiasm and passion for the world shines through. For me it wasn’t life-changing but perhaps life-affirming.
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
A nice light read. Some of the chapters are a little repetitive but I liked it.
Part anthropology, part memoir, part gentle manifesto to find wonder and pleasure in the very fact that we exist.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
A hopeful and informative little book about human rituals. Secular but not at all cynical, it’s a celebration of the natural world and what makes us human. It’s full of the same sense of wonder and awe of the natural world that I so love in Carl Sagan’s books. It’s part autobiography, which some didn’t like, but I liked hearing bits and pieces of the author’s life where they were relevant. And of course, I love that the title comes from one of my favourite quotes: “For small creatures such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love.”