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Journal Entry 1 by KansasKiwi on Saturday, October 08, 2005
 Trade-size paperback.
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From amazon.com
Arguably one of the most profoundly important essays ever written on the nature and significance of "quality" and definitely a necessary anodyne to the consequences of a modern world pathologically obsessed with quantity. Although set as a story of a cross-country trip on a motorcycle by a father and son, it is more nearly a journey through 2,000 years of Western philosophy. For some people, this has been a truly life-changing book.
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Journal Entry 5 by potok-fan from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Monday, December 05, 2005
"Zen by airmail"! This was waiting in the mailbox today - a great find after leaving work early feeling tired and iffy. Walked home through light snow, which lifted my spirits a little, but the walk and the cold also tired me out even more. Then in the post was a parcel so well wrapped it puts my lifetime best efforts to shame, and not just the RABCK of a book off my wishlist but a new edition (25th anniversary edition) with an interview and other extras at the back. Also a cheery Kansas postcard and a BC bookmark - thanks so much, KansasKiwi!
I may save this for Christmas reading, or may dip into it already this afternoon(!) - I'll let you know by journal entry, at the latest when I finish the book. Oh- one other thing to mention: just two days ago my husband commented that he'd like to read this (we were talking about this list of recommended reading for programmers: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/navLinks/fog0000000262.html), and was amazed when I said, "No problem! There's a copy coming in the post from another bookcrosser!" :)
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Journal Entry 6 by potok-fan from Turku, Varsinais-Suomi Finland on Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Thank you KansasKiwi for giving me the chance to finally read this classic.
What I liked best: Reading this at the end of the semester and over the Christmas holidays reminded me that what I do for a living (college teaching) is what I've "always wanted". I need to get away from thinking of what I’m doing as rushing around to meet deadlines, or as a job, and instead focus on the fact that I’m paid to do something I love, and to focus on doing it really well. A person who sees Quality and feels it as he works is a person who cares. A person who cares about what he sees and does is a person who’s bound to have some characteristics of Quality.
What most upset me: The information at the end about Pirsig’s second child. It sounds like a heavy load for that girl to carry. I hope she can stand up as an individual underneath it.
In between that I felt a lot of high praise and faint criticism. I found the ending disturbing, unsettling, but then I’m sure it was meant to be so. I regretted reading the “Introduction to the Twenty-fifth Anniversary Edition” before reading the rest of the book, since it contained spoilers. It took a lot of discipline to read slowly and carefully enough (or re-read, when I just couldn’t resist speeding ahead) to follow the philosophical arguments... and in the end for me they just didn’t seem necessary. I understand that they’re necessary for some people, but not for me. I’m convinced in other ways.
The paragraph I've re-read the most: p.145, chapter 13. How can any teaching colleges still exist after Pirsig’s damning definition? You really have to read the whole paragraph, but it ends, this is a very clever way of running a college on the cheap while giving a false appearance of genuine education. I don’t get any sabbaticals, but I do at least get some hours in my contract officially designated as being for research, and I do get to vary the courses I teach. Phew!
My husband would like to read this, too, so I'm leaving it TBR. I'm not sure when he'll get around to it, could be some months ...
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Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Enquiry into Values
