Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Nov 09, 2011

mark rated it:

a mea culpa for me and Ruby!

once upon a time, a long time ago, i was an Entertainment Insurance Underwriter for AIG (well, a junior underwriter). i got to read a lot of scripts, i dealt with a lot of famous people, i got paid a lot of money. it was a time of much partying, much coke, an expense account, 1.5 assistants, and daily hangovers. one day i learned that i had written a movie policy that was so successful, so cleverly full of exclusions to coverage that it managed to cut off More...

59 comments like (35 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Prairie78 rated it:

I resent when a writer who has a lot of opinions about, ya know, stuff, decides that everyone should hear about all the stuff he's thinking about, but then realizes that maybe it would be boring as all get out, so then decides that if he turns all the stuff he's thinking into a novel, then maybe people will read it. This way he still gets to spout rhetoric at his readers, but couch it in "fiction." No, sir, you cannot bend fiction to your evil will. Just because you put something withi More...

2 comments like (30 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Bill rated it:

Someone gave my wife a hard cover copy of this book when she was in the hospital. I picked it up and read perhaps the first 50 or so pages while I was sitting in her hospital room, then I skimmed the rest of it and tossed it in the trash. What I saw was poor writing, misguided ideas, lack of structure and in general a waste of paper and ink, all in the guise of a novel of some sort. If I'd had anything else to read, maybe the back of a cereal box or the instructions for operating the medical equ More...

0 comments like (22 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Sam rated it:

I really hoped this book would be as good as "everyone" says it is. I was totally underwhelmed. Painfully jejune plot, paper-thin characters, pedestrian prose, and for what? A handful of ridiculous "insights" about how our expectations affect the physical world and how we fight for each other's "energy." Maybe if I sit down and meditate toward this book I can make it vanish permanently.

1 comment like (20 people liked it)

Dec 02, 2007

Tucker rated it:

This book encourages a spiritual-but-not-religious awakening. The flimsy, implausible storyline and the not-so-well-crafted dialogue is only a device to present the pillars of this New Age philosophy. There is no plot and no tension. It is apparent from the beginning that the Nine Insights will be revealed, one by one, in order, at a predictable pace, and will not be rigorously defined or defended. In one sense, they cannot be defined, because they represent non-propositional knowledge—-that More...

1 comment like (14 people liked it)

Aug 05, 2007

David rated it:

The only reason I own this piece of idiotic dreck is because QPBC sent it to me as the book of the month and I wasn't quick enough off the mark about sending it back - OK?

I just needed to make that perfectly clear. I do actually have a brain, and this book is clearly aimed at those who do not.

1 comment like (9 people liked it)

Dec 19, 2008

Tess rated it:

Utter rubbish from start to finish. This is the literary equivalent of a Ponzi scheme. He made loads of money based on fraud. Nothing there.

If you have a brain, use it, and don't go near this book.

2 comments like (17 people liked it)

Feb 04, 2008

Darby rated it:

I read this book at the end of 1996 or around beginning of 1997. I read about it in a magazine I used to get that I loved called, "Catalist." (The magazine went out of print - sorry to say - because I loved that magazine and still have all my issues - less then 2 years worth published.)

The Celestine Prophecy woke me up. I had been sleepwalking in the world. I woke up after I read this book and realized there was so much more I was suppose to be doing in this world. I realiz More...

0 comments like (13 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Xysea rated it:

I remember when this book was all the rage. Like it was telling people something new, like it was real! It was a giant hoax, wasn't it? The movie was some god-awful Lifetime movie-ish crap, too, wasn't it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Celesti...

This kind of book reminds me of The Secret, by Rhonda Byrnes. Rather hokey, new-agey philosophys that have a cultish vibe to them. Of course, this isn't technically a self-help book, but a lot of people treated it like one. More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Oct 13, 2007

Joe rated it:

Some relevent and feel good ideas rooted mostly in the more mystical and esoteric branches of various world religions are choked by a sugary new-age coating and a completely irrelevent "mystery novel" story line. There is no story, the characters walk along, find a page and read it. The relevent contents of this book could be handed out in a one page pamphlet.

1 comment like (11 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Janine added it

I cannot express in words how much I hated this book. Only retching noises will suffice. Several people whom I love recommended this book to me and I resisted until I was backpacking through Brazil and had nothing to read except a few romance novels in Dutch (which I can neither speak nor read.)I should have made the best of the Dutch.

3 comments like (10 people liked it)

Jan 24, 2009

Dave rated it:

• This is the 2nd time I’ve read this book. And while I’m pretty sure most of it is fictional, I still think it carries some valuable insights…so I want to summarize them in the 9 insights of the book and my understanding of them:
o 1) Noticing the coincidences in life is the first step. The more I become aware of coincidences, the more I’ll become aware of a universal force behind them.
o 2) This is about putting my awareness into a longer historical perspective. Imagining myself as More...

1 comment like (7 people liked it)

Jun 29, 2008

Samantha rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 28, 2007

Tara rated it:

Favorite Quotes

...the basic stuff of the universe, at its core, is looking like a kind of pure energy that is malleable to human intention and expectation in a way that defies our old mechanistic model of the universe--as though our expectation itself causes our energy to flow out into the world and affect other energy systems.

...The human perception of this energy first begins with a heightened sensitivity to beauty.

...We humans have always sought to increase More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Luthien rated it:

This is the kind of book that has made me prejudiced against "best sellers." It's so terrible that I didn't even finish it, which is significant, because I virtually NEVER fail to finish a book, no matter how much I dislike it. The concept itself is not bad. In fact, I rather like it. But the book is written so poorly that it's insulting to the reader. Literature is art, and this book is the literary equivalent of dogs playing poker.

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Daniel rated it:

If you have never encountered primary Eastern literature and are willing to settle for the simplistic sales-pitchy New Age divinity, then by all means, subject yourself to this generic adventure in all its poorly written glory. Then again, I suppose books like this can be a wake-up call to some people, but seriously, after waking up, move on to something more artful and inspired.

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Oct 15, 2011

Chris rated it:

The first time I heard of this James Redfield book was in our English 13 class. We came across a paragraph which talks about “synchronicity”. Though I forgot the rest of that paragraph, I could remember that it explicitly mentioned this book’s name.

It was not until our psychology class months after that when I heard of this book again. Our psychology teacher told us how great this book is and advised us to read it. He even showed us his copy. The book was “The Celestine Prophecy”.
More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 02, 2011

Elliot rated it:

This is the kind of book that makes me feel guilty for assigning one star ratings for others books that aren't quite as bad.

To be brief, this book contains no more literary value than my gym bag. Had I not been recommended this book and had I not promised to finish it, I doubt that I would've made it past the first 10 pages before dropping the book and moving on - in fact, I did not even add this to my "currently reading" shelf, because I figured that I probably wouldn't be More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 21, 2008

Bryon rated it:

I thought I liked The Celestine Prophecy as I was reading it. The "insights" that Redfield describes are generally good news to a hungry soul. I think that he is right (writing in the early '90s) about the collaborative mindset shift humans are experiencing. Trying to explain exactly what is going on is, to say the very least, quite a daunting task. I think that some people are aware of themselves and their surroundings now more than ever. If we are more in tune with energy fields, the More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Feb 26, 2008

David rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 09, 2007

Jamie, rated it:

In many ways, The Celestine Prophecy was the book that opened the door to the New Age movement in books. Before this book, finding a book on spirituality meant reading "longhair" books that often spoke in ethereal terms. Finding any of these such books meant traveling to a large bookstore, or, by chance, coming upon a hide-away shop that specialized in such things. The Celestine Prophecy blew open the publishing door by staying on the bestseller lists for years. Why? Because it offered More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 29, 2009

Sammy rated it:

An unbelievable book, that can be read one of two ways, you can simply read it as an adventure story of a man struggling to understand what it is he wants from life, or, as I have done, you can read it as a self help book.

What a self help book it is. It really encourages you to look at yourself and how you see your life both its past present and future.

It gives you insights on how to take a more positive and active approach to your life. This book can change your li More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Nov 05, 2008

Cassie rated it:

I was told to read this passed down book from a good friend of mine. As she gave this book to me she said, "This book changed my outlook on life and I hope it does for you too." The Celestine Prophecy is a book that is not only inspirational but also motivational too. As I read the uniquely written passages about how one can percieve things differently in life, I felt that this book can turn a negative perspective into a positive by just reading the first Insight. This book is about di More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Mark rated it:

I started off really liking this book and thinking that I agreed with a lot of what it had to say. Sure, the story itself might not be true, but the author has some good ideas about why we should be good to each other.
Then it made a severe left turn not only into very religious territory, but also made some pretty wrong assumptions as to why a civilization "disappeared"...when they really kind of didn't.
Like Dan Brown's books, it has some interesting things to say, but, ult More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 14, 2008

Brandi rated it:

This was an awesome book to read in high school. A very easy read, and the spiritual insights can be applied to any faith or religion.

The crappy part is how incredibly commercial the book has gotten. The movie was ridiculously bad, the following insights are contrived, and all the experiental guides and meditation books are a waste of money.

This book was more relevant and special when it stood alone, before James Redfield recognized it for a money-making machine.
More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 14, 2008

Reed rated it:

WTF? This book is the worst kind of sci-fi/pseudo-spirituality. There are enough real awesome things in the world; we don't need this. This book presents itself as non-fiction, and although the author repeated stated after the fact that is purely invented, hoards of people began following the "teachings" in this book. It's nearly unreadable, but it will give you insight into what the masses are loooking for: a way to make your life better and change the world. Too bad it's fake. More...

1 comment like (7 people liked it)

Nov 18, 2010

Isairon rated it:

Ingredienti:
L’avventura di “Indiana Jones”
Il misticismo degli Jedi di “Guerre Stellari”
Il complotto de “Il codice Da Vinci”
Una spruzzata di trattato di psicologia for Dummies
Una bella Shakerata. Servire freddo con noccioline tostate.
Questa è la ricetta per il cocktail più richiesto dagli elettricisti. Perché questo romanzo si basa sulla illuminazione. Chi meglio dei nostri cari, in senso economico, elettricisti possono capire le 8 + 1 fondamentali regole per diventare Jedi! No, aspetta mi sto co More...

0 comments like

Jan 28, 2009

Ten rated it:

I found this book when I was 14, and got really excited about it. Finally, a book which looked like it could bring me a challenging, new worldview and a greater understanding of the universe.
I was young, and naive.
As I read, I began to notice gaps in the logic of the "key insights to life itself". Each one seemed OK at first, but it soon became clear that they were almost completely random subjective interpretations. The only reason they seemed to hold any form of persuas More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 19, 2008

Margaret rated it:

Note: My review is based on the story through the film, not by reading the book.

DH and I received this movie via Netflix and when it arrived neither of us remembered ordering it. DH assumes that perhaps it was a "suggestion" from other movies we chose. It was a really interesting film that causes one to think.

I am a little caught, because for an idea of a story it is interesting and does keep a captive audience. The acting was fairly good although the green scr More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 01, 2008

Shayna rated it:

I picked up this little gem at a thrift store, but I threw it away when I was done just to make sure that other bargain-hunters didn't suffer as I did. Cultish, New-agey garbage akin to "The Secret," Scientology, or Madonna's version of Kaballah. Coincidentally, I purchased "Left Behind" on the same day. I would need to flip a coin to determine which was worse. On the upside, there is something truly satisfying for me about the sense of superiority I get from reading an incre

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

reviews