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Summary: It's one of the few books that's changed my life.
Review: A magnificent introduction to an aesthetic sensibility I was always aware of, and appreciated, but didn't imagine had a name. Thanks to this small but finely-honed book I now understand the intellectual underpinnings of a profound way of looking at the world. Wabi-sabi--the name of this beauty/mindset--is the perfect antidote to my frenetic, digital life. I've given this book as a gift to friends and have received many heartfelt thanks.
Rating: 
Summary: Here's why it's for "artists and designers"
Review: As a graphic designer, I was very intrigued by the title of this book, and the philosophies contained inside, so I decided to give the book a shot. This is the type of book you blaze through in about 30 minutes, but will most likely want to keep for a lifetime as inspiration. Reason? Because there simply isn't another book of it's tone or mission.The essence of Wabi-Sabi is that true beauty, whether it comes from an object, architecture or visual art, doesn't reveal itself until the winds of time have had their say. A cracked pot, for example, has an essence that a perfectly round pot is lacking. Beauty is in the cracks, the worn spots, and the imperfect lines. As a graphic designer, Wabi-Sabi is the antithesis of what I pursue every day -- perfection in my typography, layout, tight invisible Swiss inspired gridlines, etc. Mathematical symmetry is an unshakeable mission for many in my profession, and the ancient philosophies of Wabi-Sabi rip a hole in the side of it. I enjoy owning the book as a reminder that nothing in life, or design, is perfect. The very essence of life, work, art and nature is free of right angles, and chaos reigns supreme.
Rating:
Summary: Appreciation vs Creation
Review: I agree with all the good things said about this book; it is a deceptively short, simple book with potent content. However, I feel something should be mentioned. This is a book primarily about appreciating wabi-sabi (about finding it or seeing it out in the world), not so much about creating it. Koren describes wabi-sabi almost as a result of karma, or at least as a process in which the artist/designer has little impact. You can perhaps record it, but there's very little direct discussion of how to create wabi-sabi objects yourself (other than mention of sweaters made with randomly placed holes). This certainly doesn't take away from the book or reduce its value to artists and designers (seeing wabi-sabi and appreciating it is key to understanding, which in turn helps you use the concepts in your own work). I just feel the book's title is a bit misleading. What I would like to see (because I feel it is lacking in this book) is ideas on how artists might cultivate mistakes and accidents. Or take advantage of time and wear-n-tear. Or how artists use becoming/decaying metaphors. Just in general I would like to see more on wabi-sabi as it applies to the creation of things, rather than the appreciation of wabi-sabi in things that already exist. So this is a great book, but I think there's another great book on this subject that needs to be made.
Rating:
Summary: Appreciation vs Creation
Review: I agree with all the good things said about this book; it is a deceptively short, simple book with potent content. However, I feel something should be mentioned. This is a book primarily about appreciating wabi-sabi (about finding it or seeing it out in the world), not so much about creating it. Koren describes wabi-sabi almost as a result of karma, or at least as a process in which the artist/designer has little impact. You can perhaps record it, but there's very little direct discussion of how to create wabi-sabi objects yourself (other than mention of sweaters made with randomly placed holes). This certainly doesn't take away from the book or reduce its value to artists and designers (seeing wabi-sabi and appreciating it is key to understanding, which in turn helps you use the concepts in your own work). I just feel the book's title is a bit misleading. What I would like to see (because I feel it is lacking in this book) is ideas on how artists might cultivate mistakes and accidents. Or take advantage of time and wear-n-tear. Or how artists use becoming/decaying metaphors. Just in general I would like to see more on wabi-sabi as it applies to the creation of things, rather than the appreciation of wabi-sabi in things that already exist. So this is a great book, but I think there's another great book on this subject that needs to be made.
Rating:
Summary: A Guideline for Living
Review: I have studied Japanese tea ceremony in Kyoto for 23 years and during that time read almost everything published in English on the subject. This book is a real pearl, and covers in all its shortness the subject so well, that you hardly need any other information to transform your life into something more beautiful and meaningful. It is a must for people directly involved with tea and Japanese aesthetics. It is a clear spring of sweet water that will quench the thirst of everyone. It is a source of inspiration, that can be integrated into any culture and be actively expressed in your own life style. Read it and feel inspired to do something great and good, not only for yourself, but for all you know, for nature and our common future on this earth.
Rating:
Summary: Pure delight
Review: I love this book! It reminds me of the scene in "Brideshead Revisited" when Charles Ryder looks at the Van Gogh prints and travel posters decorating his room, and says, "I detected a jejune air which had not irked me before ... only the golden daffodils seemed to be real." Be warned: after you read this book, everything in your rooms will "irk" you except some wildflowers in a jam jar, an unpainted wooden table and one black futon. And you'll go insane if forced to stay at a Holiday Inn! Just carry some acorns and chestnuts in the pocket of your old sweater, and you'll survive.
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Summary: On Using This Book in Every-Day Life:
Review: In my office building there is a small room used as a refreshment station. Today, when I was in there, I noticed that the florescent light in a vending machine was flickering -- like they do when they are about to burn out. It's a small detail but in the context of my office it was an existential slap in the face. There, in the midst of symmetrical, beige cubicles and sparkling countertops, I found a flaw. It was almost pretty -- a reminder that the fractal forces of nature had not been fully arrested by my employer.
I stood for almost a full minute watching, half expecting a white-suited maintenance team to rush in and execute emergency repairs. The rows of candy, cookies, and gum danced a little as the light flickered on their perfectly-printed Mylar surfaces. With an empty coffee cup in my hand, I cocked my head to the side and was reminded of the way sunlight plays in tall grass when the wind is blowing. If you do not already see things like this, Koren's observations may not be useful; but if you do, allow yourself to be absorbed by this book.
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Summary: wabi sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers
Review: In translation, wabi originally meant solitude in nature or withdrawal from society, and sabi meant chill or withered. Wabi sabi today is understood as a combination of a spiritual path or philosophical construct with an aesthetic ideal (of things imperfect, impermanent and incomplete).
The book compares wabi sabi with modernism and outlines a brief history of wabi sabi (in three stages pre-Rikyu, Rikyu and post-Rikyu).
For the philosophical aspect, the writer touches on the metaphysical, spiritual, mental and moral precepts of wabi sabi. For the aesthetic aspect, the writer touches mainly on material qualities. Here, I thought he could have discussed Zen paintings and calligraphy, but this might require too much depth and detail for a small handbook like this one.
Overall, this is an excellent handbook for an introduction to wabi sabi. The photographs chosen illustrate the writer's points well and are interesting.
This handbook is strongly recommended for all interested in aesthetics and Zen philosophy, or even the pedestrian for light reading while waiting for friends or on board a train. It will change your way of seeing (as opposed to knowing) or looking at things.
Rating:
Summary: This book is quiet and beautiful
Review: It brings to light a new way of seeing in an ancient way of being. It is a small simple book, fitting for its content, that allows you to open your senses as you read it. Wabi-sabi in a word explains what many know already, life is all there in nature. It also shows us the wonder of decay and the beauty concealed therein.
Rating:
Summary: A Real Gem
Review: Leonard Koren consistently brings a fresh, unjaundiced eye to design and aesthetics. Lucid and unpretentious, Koren never fails to go directly to the heart of the matter.
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