The Book of Form and Emptiness, Timecode of a Face 2 Books Collection Set By Ruth Ozeki

by Ruth Ozeki

Please Note That The Following Individual Books As Per Original ISBN and Cover Image In this Listing shall be Dispatched The Book of Form and Emptiness, Timecode of a Face 2 Books Collection Set By Ruth The Book of Form and After the tragic death of his father, fourteen-year-old Benny Oh begins to hear voices. The voices belong to the things in his house and sound variously pleasant, angry or sad. Then his mother develops a hoarding problem, and the voices grow more clamorous. So Benny seeks refuge in the silence of a large public library. There he meets a mesmerising street artist with a smug pet ferret; a homeless philosopher-poet; and his very own Book, who narrates Benny's life and teaches him to listen to the things that truly matter.Timecode of a What did your face look like before your parents were born? Who are you? What is your true self? These are the questions in Ruth Ozeki's mind as she challenges herself to spend three hours gazing into her own reflection, recording every thought and detail. What follows are a lifetime's worth of meditations on race, ageing, family, death, the body, self-doubt and, finally, acceptance. In this profound encounter with memory and the mirror, Ozeki weaves together personal history, professional experience.

Genres: Book Club

704 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2022

About the author

Ruth Ozeki (born in New Haven, Connecticut) is a Japanese American novelist. She is the daughter of anthropologist Floyd Lounsbury.

Ozeki published her debut novel, My Year of Meats, in 1998. She followed up with All Over Creation in 2003. Her new novel, A Tale for the Time Being, was published on March 12, 2013.

She is married to Canadian land artist Oliver Kellhammer, and the couple divides their time between New York City and Vancouver.

Reviews

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook….read by Ruth Ozeki
….1 hour and 51 minutes

The relationship with our face as we age is — if you think about this much at all — varies from person to person.
But …
as I contemplate my own face — and body through the ages, I admit it’s easier to draw a blank - go numb- avoid - avoid - avoid!

I ‘remember’ photos of myself at my ‘Sweet 16’ birthday party — my all white V-neck halter top -barely covered much of my skin at all — and those all white pants …
I remember the day and looking back at those photos now — I can say, I was pretty cute….
It was my first stab at trying on the natural mature aloof sexy thing…
But…
I don’t think on ‘that day’,
I looked in the mirror and said, “gee, your skin is smooth and your tight little body beautiful”…
No….
I’m sure I found flaws — I’m ‘sure’!
…knowing how my mind worked…
even back ‘then’ …
before skin cancer took 1/2 of my nose— in my 60’s —before my eyebrow hairs were thinning—before my head-hair was thinning—(now at age 70), before muscle loss—before an ounce of flab—
my inner critic was ‘still’ — at every age and stage systematically judgmental.

It’s funny how age reflects our inner thoughts with our relationship with ‘the mirror’.
How’s your buddy? The Mirror? Friend or foe?

I related to Ruth when she said at some point she noticed she stopped looking in the mirror very much. She would take a quick glance when she brushed her teeth or washed her hands. But she looked away more than she looked directly at herself.
I tend to do the same.

Ruth Ozeki’s 2 hour memoir/essays/meditation/type self- reflective audiobook…(literally and figuratively)…
is an interesting exploration of ‘thyself’ — through observation of her face and through the ages…..
becoming more aware of the changes in her face, her body, our bodies, race, culture, racism, family, and society.

She is a Zen Buddhist Priest…
who took on an experiment— to meditate on her face for three hours (then wrote about it). She did take coffee breaks.
But mostly - for three hours she looked at her face in the mirror.
Could you do it?
I’d need a reward! (you know - give me, give me, give me…a present if I’d succeed).
Such a baby !

Okay… laugh’s aside…
It’s not easy to describe Ruth’s books. Any of them. (fiction or non-fiction)…
But I sure love her!
With every book I’ve ever read by her — I have found myself thinking about things she wrote for days after.

Face obsession? Avoidance? Concerns about hair loss, eye brows, crows feet, heredity concerns, childhood lingering painful memories?…..
Forget therapy…
Try looking at your face in the mirror for three hours!
Ha….
Then report back to me — what the process was like?
I’d be curious as I was with Ruth’s experiment.

Or…
just listen to this book.
A freebie (I think) on Audible …(or at least it was when I first got a copy)…
There is a full - deeper explanation about this ‘FACE” ‘Time Code’ project….
But basically all one has to do is LOOK IN THE MIRROR… then record your thoughts and feelings.

Great memorable quote:
“Your face before your parents were born, is your true face, your originally enlightened Buddha nature”
—Eihei Dogen, a 13th century zen master.

An ideal audiobook for those who have pimples, not on an acid trip,
have age spots,
dimples on your tush,
hair loss,
and enjoy looking at the pitfalls of our human existence on the hazards and fascination with YOUR AGING FACE…..
….and the greater world at large!
🙂🙃🤨🧐☹️😳🥳

[Shaun Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

My third immersion into the works of Ruth Ozeki and I was not disappointed. I cannot resist humor tinged with philosophy (or the other way around). Thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book Club Aug 2025. These are my notes. Interesting book about a family- Father Kenji ( who was drunk,walking home, laid down in alley and a truck ran over him), mother Annabelle, (who went downhill after husband died, struggling with her job and the fact her rental was turning into a trash heap ( my favorite quote of hers " my stuff isn't junk, it's an archive" ) and her concern over her son). Benny was 12 when Dad died and household items started talking to him. He struggled, skipped school, went to psychiatrist, met some interesting people. Won't go into the story about the 'crows' but that was interesting. Book was a little hard to read as the'book' narratived its own story. That's a great thing about book clubs - all books are different

[izzy coombes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed! It was pretty thought provoking and I enjoyed the insight into the mind of a young boy with severe mental health problems. It kind of made his behaviour make complete sense. Not sure how accurate it was. It was an interesting but rather extreme expression of grief from both Benny and Annabelle. I could relate to the hoarding because of my mum. There were so many similarities.

[Jennifer Hakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, poetic and one of the most depressing things I have ever read. I probably wouldn't have finished it if it wasn't fir book club because it was so well written it affected my mood. I'm scouring my shelves for something fun and lighthearted to read now.

[Claire Davey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love the concepts. I read book of form and emptiness at just the right time.

[Matt Barritt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it I now have more of an appreciation for everyday objects, how they have been made and where they have come from

[Kerry Radden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. It's quirky and ultimately for me is an exploration of grief.