As in all of his books, Richard Bach is sharing his life philosophy with us in "Illusions". It is a deceptively simple book, one that makes you somehow warm & fuzzy inside, but leaves you thinking about life in general and your life in particular. It may sound preachy or cheesy at times (especially to us cynics), but try to give it a chance anyway.

RELEASE NOTES:

Left it at the Official FRI BookCrossing Zone.

This is just great, the official FRI BC-Zone being so frequented all of a sudden. Thanks to vexter, of course.
And I am excited about this book. I am so much wiser now. Richard Bach, here I come. Up up up.
This will be my reread as well.

This journal entry concerns the author, Richard Bach.

He will be 70, June 23. That's him in the picture on the left as he was illustrated on the cover page of Time Magazine, Issue: November 1972 (two years after the release of Jonathan).
Jonathan Livingston Seagull is his most famous work. I like it too ... more, I love it! I can't get enough of it, I've developed a deep intimate relationship with it, never going a year by without rereading it for three times. I wrote some thoughts on it on my bookish blog, however in Slovene.
Bach's books are said to be semi-autobiographical. I guess that helps him a lot in better illustrating his philosophy. Here is a list of his works (with release years). I colored gray those that don't interest me in particularly at the moment, crimson those that do, and those strike-through are the ones that I've already read:

- Stranger to the Ground (1963)
- Biplane (1966)
- Nothing by Chance (1969)
- Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1970)
- A Gift of Wings (1974)
- There's No Such Place As Far Away (poems, 1976)
- Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (1977)
- The Bridge Across Forever: A Love Story (1984)
- One (1988)
- Running from Safety (1994)
- Out of My Mind (1999)
- Flying (2003)
- Messiah's Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul (2004)

It's funny with the strike-through ones, for I would like to read them again. And as for Illusions I will. Ye-ah.
Richard Bach always reminds me of Bach the composer. And that's also funny, for Richard is Sebastian's distant descendant!

When I went a bit deeper into his life facts I found out that he's been leading quite an interesting life. Since he has done so much in his life, it's natural to assume that he's made a lot of mistakes along the way, and seek for them too. But that's not really on me to discuss. I don't want to be recovering such facts. I just want to read his books, because they resonate with me.

"Writers should be read, but neither seen nor heard."
-- Daphne Du Maurier

There's a great sentence in the book:

"Live never to be ashamed if anything you do or say is published around the world even if what is published is not true."

Since I'm kind of a web geek, a relatively many of my words are scattered over the Internet, there are also some in newspapers, and I can't do anything but to agree with Richard Bach and the quote above. One really shouldn't be ashamed of that. If he's an honest man, what he says is honest too. That should be understood or at least not instantly rejected as unworthy or even intolerant. But people can get so mean!
Sometimes it feels like everybody is perfectly content if everybody else is just quiet, but as soon as one speaks his mind and forms some opinion, people turn their heads towards him, read or don't read what he's said, try to understand it or don't, and just - fire right away, taking their turns at clobbering. Mean mean mean. Critiques come pouring from all sides on the poor guy who wanted to express his belief and ultimately just wanted to share. He put out his little finger and the mass cut off his hand. People demand explicit contents: nude pictures, action, and blood.

In the end, our beliefs are merely words, for crying out loud!

There is another great quote and a response in the book:

"He was going to suck my blood!"
- "Which is what we do to anyone when we tell them we'll be hurt if they don't live our way."

This is a completely different thing, and I hope that someone else ("per chance the next bookcrosser of the book?") will enlighten it.

RELEASE NOTES:

The main box office is below ground in Pasaža Maximarket. Outside and left of the door stands a holder for informational material. There in one on the highest level.