Zen Pencils-Volume Two

This is one of those books that you give a friend when they are having a hard time in their life or are coming up on a huge life milestone (like going off to college). It is filled with inspirational thoughts, sayings, poems, etc from many different people. What is more fantastic is that they are illustrated. These illustrations help the reader understand the meaning behind these thoughts. They help give each thought more meaning.

I really appreciated this book. I would never have read any of these thoughts, poems, sayings, etc if it weren't for this. Some of them I found incredibly enlightening. I found each one more so than the last. All of them really build you up to the last one, which was my favorite of them all.

I read this one in one sitting! I loved it so much i couldn't let go of it.
This was a really nice surprise, as i hadn't read the first volume before, i wasn't expecting nothing in particular.

This is that type of Cartoon that makes you think. It is filled with famous poems, quotes, inspirational thoughts, from so many different persons, and all of them, in some way, talks to your heart or head. The last one, for me particularly, "The monster named fear", was perfect, so well imagined and so truthful to what really happens in real life. Made me really think about it. Was truly inspirational.

This is a great job from the author and artist. It's such a great idea. Trough this book, people can get to know a lot of famous (or not) quotes and their meaning is simplified through the illustration work, that in other circumstances would be difficult to get.

Is an incredibly well done cartoon book.
I'm definitely looking forward to read the first volume too.

This book is a collection of quotes illustrated with fun and thought provoking cartoons. Not only do I love the idea of this book, but the execution is perfect. I love how the author can create whole stories out of just a few lines of text and make you see the quotes in a whole new way.

Zen Pencils Volume Two: Dream the Impossible Dream is wonderful book filled with inspirational quotes from an interesting group of people (Maya Angelou, Issac Asimov, Chris Hardwick, Jim Henson, Amy Poehler, and William Shakespeare). Each is presented in a graphic format (like a comic or cartoon for those unfamiliar with this genre). The manner in which Gavin Aung Than represents each of the writer's words forces the reader to alter their personal perception of some of the most memorable lines of inspiration (Kahlil Gibran's "Work is love made visible." and Shakespeare's "All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players.").

I can see this book being used in a high school English class in order to help student's to visualize required reading assignments. I'm not a believer in requiring students to read certain books (I am all about free choice when it comes to reading), however I know it happens every year. I believe if students were given the task of representing a quote or portion of a reading in a creative manner, it might make the assignment more meaningful and more learning will occur.

It's funny how I've been reading Gavin Aung Than's cartoon quotes for a while, but didn't realize it was the same person. These are truly wonderful. They inspire and challenge the reader at the same time.

I have to be honest, I wasn’t expecting much when I picked this up at Netgalley. I found the cover intriguing and that was it… boy, I did not saw it coming.

So basically cartoonist Gavin Aung Than chose some motivational quotes from several interesting people – from the Dalai Lama, Shakespeare, Amy Poehler to Maya Angelou (etc) – and made inspirational cartoons that fit into the quote. He has done this before in Vol. 1, which I now have to read. The result is fantastic. It makes you look at these quotes, some that you have heard before, in an all new light. And what transpires is a message of acceptance, hard work and not giving up on your dreams… AMAZING!
I highly recommend this one! It’s a gorgeous fast to read book, and one that truly inspires you.

Authoring inspirational books is difficult. Creating inspirational comics is even more difficult. Putting across the idea with the perfect visualisation requires tonnes of creativity. But the Gavin has become so adept at illustrating for inspiring people that he has emerged as one of the best in the field.

Makes for a great present on any occasion!

This book is a really innovative way to get children interested in the wisdom of the past and present. I remember a particular English teacher I had that would put inspirational quotes on the walls of her classroom. They were nice and profound, but having the illustrations to go along with them would have given them more meaning and depth to my middle school brain. I also realized I had seen some of these online, around Tumblr and on my Facebook feed. And now I'm so glad I know where they're from so I can get a copy for myself and tack up the ones that mean the most to me around my home. I would definitely take this book, and the first volume of the series, to add them to my shelves for my daughter. I'd even get a second set for my sister, and I hope there are more to come. Many thanks to NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Loved it!
It's a wonderful book. Highly Recommend this as a must read!

This was a very creative way to explain some of the most important and intellectual quotes of our time. I really enjoyed the illustrations and the stories that were paired with each piece of wisdom. It would be an interesting piece to recommend to readers, but I feel like it would be especially helpful for kids in school to really get a better understanding of the meaning behind these sayings.

This book is so cool. It's a collection of comics set to words from famous people like Ghandi, Jim Henson, Amy Poehler, Amelia Earhart, Shakespeare, and many more. Each comic takes the inspirational quote and turns it into a story that leaves the reader feeling rejuvenated and comforted. Highly recommended! This book is a must-have for any classroom, of students of any age. It is accessible to younger readers as well as adults. Perfect discussion starters and many lesson ideas can springboard from this collection of comics. Very well done.

This is a very sweet book, focusing heavily on the Arts and living a complete life. Each story revolves around one famous inspirational quote, from people such as Albert Camus and the Dalai Lama.

I did not enjoy the first story very much, but I may not have been understanding the point at that time. By the second story things started becoming much more thought-worthy, and I really enjoyed the messages of giving more importance to the arts, raising young artists, and living your life to the fullest.

It would be a great book to give a child entering high school, or upon graduation from school or college. It would be especially meaningful for anyone who is studying the arts, or wishing to teach children.

I don't think a day goes by when I don't have two dozen inspirational messages, quotes, etc, on my Facebook feed, and, like I imagine most people do, you tend to tune them out. Zen Pencils makes you stop and think about what they're actually saying - and possibly laugh while you're doing it, too.

Skillful cartoonist Gavin Aung Than adapts inspirational writings of a wide variety of people into cartoon vignettes in this collection of his comics. The writings come from Isaac Asimov to Sir Ken Robinson, from The Dalai Lama to William Shakespeare. For each of the stories, Than subtly shifts his drawing style to match the theme as well as the setting.

His poignant depiction of Albert Camus's love story in 'The Middle of Winter' contrasts with persistent effort of George Mallory in 'Because It's There'. Percy Shelley's famous poem 'Ozymandias' leaps out of the page as does Kahlil Gibran's 'Work is Love Made Visible'. With each story, Than rapidly draws us into each world, and breathes life into the text with his original drawings. Than is able to entertain while at the same time reinforcing the messages from the authors.

The themes of many of these episodes overlap and blend with Than's autobiographical stories. They call upon us to be true to our own nature, to set out on our own and to make a difference in the world.

I can't remember when I first discovered Zen Pencils. Just like most other things I've discovered on the internet, the discovery is lost in the sands of time.

But I really love the concept. Gavin Aung takes well-known (and not-so-well-known) quotes and turns them into short stories by illustrating them in comic form. The description of what he does is really simple but to actually see a quote being brought to life in a story is really awesome to see.

I haven't seen his first book but I imagine it takes a large portion of the work he posts on his site, plus new work, and brings it together into book form. This is similar. I would say this book is perfect as a present for a recent grad or just someone who needs inspiration to go out there and do the damn thing.

I would definitely recommend this book. And of course, check out his site as well!

A really, really good book. In converting the sort of self-help poems, speeches and impassioned pleas for change, resilience, education and encouragement you find from different speakers (Maya Angelou, the Dalai Lama, Amy Poehler…) into comics the artist has only done a service. Whereas he literally puts Ozymandias into imagery, the rest is his own – tiny people fighting dragons, or leaving brainless servility behind on a fantasy world, and the results are short visual stories to accompany the pure words of the text he's using. I would never have thought this book would have the variety, conviction and craft it has, nor that it is a sequel – yes it lags a little at the end with Shakespeare, but surely the first was not much better. Amusing, positive, a delight to look at and very, very well made, this has all the hallmarks of a great gift book.

'Dream The Impossible Dream: Zen Pencils' by Gavin Aung Than proved to me that comics can be really inspiring. It felt like comics meeting TED talks.

Gavin Aung Than takes poems and inspirational quotes, some are famous, some are less so, but all are inspiring, and draws a cartoon based story around it. The book opens with an original one by Gavin about struggling for art. Among the others are Isaac Asimov, Maya Angelou, Kevin Smith, Chris Hardwick, William Shakespeare and many others. The cartoons are whimsical. Some are straightforward, some are fantastical (like a guy chained without a brain trying to regain his life). All are the kind of things you'd want to share with people around you that need inspiration.

I was so glad I got to read this book. I absolutely love the concept, and I love the art style too. It's not heavy handed. The whole thing put a smile on my face and made me feel inspired.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to read this amazing graphic novel.