A series of test cases to measure the quality of the content recommendations algorithm.

The passing rate at the bottom is a general indicator of the algo’s recall rate. It’s not meant to be 100%.

Test Name Status Notes
The Drop Off” should recommend “The Raincoat
You may also be interested in: To the Woman at the United Airlines Check-in Desk at Newark (2019) – Nick Laird and Tracy K. Smith The Raincoat (2019) – Ada Limón and Tracy K. Smith Loneliness (2019) – Kurzgesagt (In a Nutshell) This conversation will change how you think about trauma (2021) – Bessel van der Kolk and Ezra Klein Power (2020) – Maureen McLane Famous (2023) – Naomi Shihab Nye and Shira Erlichman Invariances in the Architecture of Pride Across Small-Scale Societies (2018) – Daniel Sznycer, Dimitris Xygalatas, Sarah Alami, Xiao-Fen An, K I Ananyeva and others How (2023) – Heid E. Erdrich and Major Jackson For the Woman on Main Street Stopping to Pull Up Her Pantyhose (2020) – Kristene Kaye Brown and Tracy K. Smith Citizen: An American Lyric (2014) – Claudia RankineOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet” should recommend “Timefulness
You may also be interested in: Model Organism (2021) – Emmett FitzGerald The animals that may exist in a million years (2021) – Mandy Nguyen Fish Poop (2021) – Benji Jones How Mosquitoes Changed Everything (2019) – Brooke Jarvis Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World (2018) – Marcia Bjornerud Material World: A Global Family Portrait (1994) – Peter Menzel Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future (2021) – Elizabeth Kolbert Living at the End of Our World (2021) – Daniel Sharrell, Dorothy Fortenberry, Sam Adler-Bell, and Matthew Sitman This Ciliate Is About to Die (2020) The Idea of Nature in America (2008) – Leo MarxOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
Baraka” should recommend “Repetition
You may also be interested in: history of the entire world, i guess (2017) – bill wurtz How to Hold the Heavy Weight of Now (2022) – Dana Levin and Ada Limón Buddhism and environmental protection (1994) – Master Sheng-Yen John Muir, A Dream, A Waterfall, A Mountain Ash (2022) – Robert Hass and Ada Limón Beautiful Adornment of the Earth (1906) – Mipham Rinpoche Into the Woods (1989) – Stephen Sondheim A Weird, Wonderful Conversation (2022) – Kim Stanley Robinson and Ezra Klein The Wheel (2012) – SOHN Culture in Change: Akha People of Northern Laos (2004) – Martin Gronemeyer and Rachel Clarke Locations for Cultivating Samādhi (2000) – Longchen RabjamOr A Random Item from the Library...
FAIL ❌ of 10
Sapiens” should recommend “The World Until Yesterday
You may also be interested in: Some Other Sign that People Do Not Totally Regret Life (2012) – Sean Cole Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity (2012) – Katherine Boo Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future (2021) – Elizabeth Kolbert A Short History of Nearly Everything (2003) – Bill Bryson history of the entire world, i guess (2017) – bill wurtz Should Trees Have Standing: Toward Legal Rights for Natural Objects (1972) – Christopher D. Stone The Art of Being Human: A Textbook for Cultural Anthropology (2018) – Michael Wesch The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) – The United Nations Into the Woods (1989) – Stephen Sondheim How to Hold the Heavy Weight of Now (2022) – Dana Levin and Ada LimónOr A Random Item from the Library...
FAIL ❌ of 10
Citizen” should recommend “Carlos Doesn’t Remember
You may also be interested in: Notes of a Native Son (1955) – James Baldwin 1619 (2019) – Nikole Hannah-Jones Talking While Black (2022) – Emanuele Berry and Chana Joffe-Walt Poor Black Women (1968) – Patricia Robinson Just Us: An American Conversation (2020) – Claudia Rankine Every Mourning (2022) – Michael Kleber-Diggs and Ada Limón The Raincoat (2019) – Ada Limón and Tracy K. Smith Power (2020) – Maureen McLane Snp 3.9: The Discourse to Vāseṭṭha (2018) The Drop Off (2022) – Molly Twomey and Pádraig Ó TuamaOr A Random Item from the Library...
FAIL ❌ of 10
Just Us” should recommend “1619
You may also be interested in: Citizen: An American Lyric (2014) – Claudia Rankine 1619 (2019) – Nikole Hannah-Jones The Wrong Question More Than Once (2022) – Matt Donovan and Ada Limón Notes of a Native Son (1955) – James Baldwin Into the Woods (1989) – Stephen Sondheim Talking While Black (2022) – Emanuele Berry and Chana Joffe-Walt Small Talk Has a Point: How to Get Better at the Much-Maligned Conversational Form (2022) – Rebecca Jennings Besaydoo (2021) – Yalie Saweda Kamara and Ada Limón The Trojan Horse Affair (2022) – Brian Reed and Hamza Syed The Personal is Political (1969) – Carol HanischOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
Lao Buddhist Women” should recommend “The Traffic in Hierarchy
You may also be interested in: Fulfilling Buddha’s Vision (2021) – Warangkana Chomchuen Mahāpajāpatī’s Going Forth in the Madhyama-āgama (2011) – Bhikkhu Anālayo Social Inequalities and the Promotion of Women in Buddhism in Thailand (2018) – Manuel Litalien Lives of Early Buddhist Nuns (Interview) (2020) – Alice Collett Love, Unknowing, and Female Filth: The Buddhist Discourse of Birth as a Vector of Social Change for Monastic Women in Premodern South Asia (2021) – Amy Langenberg Tilling the Fields of Merit: The Institutionalization of Feminine Enlightenment in Tibet’s First Khenmo Program (2020) – Jue Liang and Andrew S. Taylor A Voice for Nepali Nuns (2018) – Ani Choying Drolma Birth in Buddhism (Interview) (2018) – Amy Langenberg Coming Into Our Own: Discipline, Agency and Inquiry Amidst the Renascent Theravada Bhikkhuni Sangha/s (2017) – Ayya Tathālokā An Imperfect Alliance: Feminism and Contemporary Female Buddhist Monasticisms (2018) – Amy LangenbergOr A Random Item from the Library...
FAIL ❌ of 10
The Oral Transmission of Early Buddhist Literature” should recommend “Oral Dimensions of Pāli Discourses
You may also be interested in: The Historical Authenticity of Early Buddhist Literature: A Critical Evaluation (2006) – Alexander Wynne What is Pāli? (2019) – Learn Pāli Hoary Past and Hazy Memory: On the History of Early Buddhist Texts (2006) – Oskar von Hinüber The Mātikās: Memorization, Mindfulness and the List (1992) – Rupert Gethin Arahants, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas (2010) – Bhikkhu Bodhi Early Buddhism: A Conversation with Kalupahana (1991) – Richard K. Payne and David J. Kalupahana Early Buddhist Texts (2013) – Bhante Sujato and Ajahn Brahmali Footprints in the Dust: The Life of the Buddha from the Most Ancient Sources (2022) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika The Chinese Āgamas vis-a-vis the Sarvāstivāda Tradition (1993) – Chandra Shekhar Prasad In Praise of Devāvatāra, Site of Buddha’s Descent from Heaven (1956) – Dzongsar Khyentse Chökyi LodröOr A Random Item from the Library...
FAIL ❌ of 10
Mindfulness in Plain English” should recommend “How to Meditate
You may also be interested in: Surrender Yourself to the Present Moment (2004) – Thích Nhất Hạnh Being Nobody, Going Nowhere: Meditations on the Buddhist Path (1987) – Ayya Khema The Miracle of Mindfulness (1975) – Thích Nhất Hạnh How to Meditate: A Beginner’s Guide to Peace (2009) – Bhante Yuttadhammo How Meditation Can Reshape Our Brains (2011) – Sara Lazar A Special Teaching on Mindfulness (2018) – Bhante Gunaratana Mental cultivation (meditation) in Buddhism (1994) – Kedar Nath Dwivedi Buddhist Life, Buddhist Path (2015) – Bhikkhu Cintita AN 5.71 Paṭhama Cetovimutti Phala Sutta: The First Discourse on How Freedom of the Heart is the Fruit (2018) Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind (1970) – Shunryū Suzuki RoshiOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
How to Meditate” should recommend “Instructions to Insight Meditation
You may also be interested in: The Miracle of Mindfulness (1975) – Thích Nhất Hạnh Mindfulness in Plain English (1991) – Bhante Gunaratana Why Meditate? (2009) – Bhante Yuttadhammo Satipaṭṭhāna Meditation: A Practice Guide (2018) – Bhikkhu Anālayo Surrender Yourself to the Present Moment (2004) – Thích Nhất Hạnh A Second Life Meditation (2013) – Bhante Yuttadhammo Comprehensive Practice (2011) – Bhante Yuttadhammo Difficult Attachments (2009) – Bhante Yuttadhammo Instructions to Insight Meditation (2010) – Mahāsi Sayadaw This Opportunity (2009) – Bhante YuttadhammoOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
What Work Is” should recommend “You Can Have It
You may also be interested in: You Can Have It (1991) – Philip Levine Men Explain Things to Me (2008) – Rebecca Solnit Snp 3.9: The Discourse to Vāseṭṭha (2018) Out of the Ordinary (2021) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika MN 58: The Abhaya Rājakumāra Sutta (2018) The Hummingbird (2021) – Blas Falconer and Ada Limón How to Cultivate Concentration (2018) – Mipham Rinpoche My Mind to Me a Kingdom Is (1988) – Sir Edward Dyer Giving money away makes us happy. Then why do so few of us do it? (2014) – Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson Purity of Heart (2006) – Ajahn Geoff ṬhānissaroOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
When Does Human Life Begin?” should recommend “Rebirth and the In-between State in Early Buddhism
You may also be interested in: Smoking and the Fifth Precept (2008) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika Bhavaṅga and Rebirth According to the Abhidhamma (1994) – Rupert Gethin You Can Have It (1991) – Philip Levine The Infantorium (2019) – Katie Thornton Out of the Ordinary (2021) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika Origins of Buddhism (2003) – Ajahn Brahm AN 5.249: A Charnel Ground (2018) The Simile of the Cloth and The Discourse on Effacement: Two Discourses of the Buddha (1963) – Ven. Nyanaponika Thera Dependent Origination (2002) – Ajahn Brahm Can Killing a Living Being Ever Be an Act of Compassion?: The Act of Killing in the Abhidhamma and Pali Commentaries (2004) – Rupert GethinOr A Random Item from the Library...
FAIL ❌ of 10
On Ordaining and Renunciation” should recommend “Going Forth
You may also be interested in: A Garland For the Bhikkhunis of Perth (2010) – Jacqueline Kramer Twelve and a Half Crippled Verses (2020) – Lama Zhang Tsöndrü Drakpa Wrong Livelihood (1996) – Ajahn Brahm The Vinaya: Legal System or Performance-Enhancing Drug? (1996) – Andrew Huxley Anti-Catholicism and Protestant Reformism in the History of Western Imagery of the Buddhist Monk: Some Roots of the Modernist Monk (2011) – Laura Harrington The Bhikkhu’s Rules: A Guide for Laypeople (1998) – Bhikkhu Ariyesako MA 80: The Rough Cloth (2020) Shedding Skins (2019) – Scott Tussa The Monk in the Pāli Vinaya: Priest or Wedding Guest? (1995) – Richard Gombrich Virtual Orientalism (2013) – Jane Naomi IwamuraOr A Random Item from the Library...
FAIL ❌ of 10
PTSD in the Slaughterhouse” should recommend “You Can Have It
You may also be interested in: Ten Unwholesome Actions (2000) – Ajahn Suchart MN 41: The Brahmins of Sālā (2009) The Five Precepts: The Buddhist Golden Rule (1912) – Somdet Vajirañāṇavarorasa Ten Ways to Make Merit (2000) – Ajahn Suchart Buddhist Approach to Economics (2008) – Ajahn Jayasaro The Green Pill (2018) – Melanie Joy My Mind to Me a Kingdom Is (1988) – Sir Edward Dyer On deeds of war both bright and dark (2022) – Bhante Sujato Extramarital affairs (1994) – Master Sheng-Yen AN 4.62: Freedom from Debt (2005) – Kamala MastersOr A Random Item from the Library...
FAIL ❌ of 10
Behave” should recommend “Just Think
You may also be interested in: Depression (2009) – Robert M. Sapolsky The Power of Cutting Off and Letting Go (2018) – Br Phap Dung Burden of Proof (2018) – Malcolm Gladwell A Short History of Nearly Everything (2003) – Bill Bryson Serotonin (Exploded) (2021) – girl in red and Hrishikesh Hirway This Ciliate Is About to Die (2020) Selections from John Dewey’s Experience and Nature (2000) – Glen Pate Somatics of Early Buddhist Mindfulness and How to Face Anxiety (2020) – Bhikkhu Anālayo Just Think: The challenges of the disengaged mind (2014) – Timothy D. Wilson and others On Science Religion and Culture (2013) – Bhante YuttadhammoOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
Feasibility of a mindfulness-based intervention to address youth issues in Vietnam” should recommend “A First-Person Account of Using Mindfulness as a Therapeutic Tool in the Palestinian Territories
You may also be interested in: A First-Person Account of Using Mindfulness as a Therapeutic Tool in the Palestinian Territories (2010) – Alessandra Pigni Thoughts on Practice and Why We Do It (2013) – Pascal Auclair AN 5.71 Paṭhama Cetovimutti Phala Sutta: The First Discourse on How Freedom of the Heart is the Fruit (2018) SN 22.101: The Adze Handle Simile (2006) – Joseph Goldstein Mindfulness in Plain English (1991) – Bhante Gunaratana Psychological Aspects of Theravāda Buddhist Meditative Training: Cultivating an I-less Self (1997) – Peter Harvey Why Meditate? (2009) – Bhante Yuttadhammo What is Meditation? (2010) – Bhante Yuttadhammo Surrender Yourself to the Present Moment (2004) – Thích Nhất Hạnh This Opportunity (2009) – Bhante YuttadhammoOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
In Search of Schrödinger’s Cat” should recommend “A Brief History of Time
You may also be interested in: A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes (1988) – Stephen Hawking Michael Faraday’s The Chemical History of a Candle (2016) – Alex Black, Don DeCoste, and Bill Hammack The Map of Particle Physics (2021) – Dominic Walliman Navy UFO Videos (2020) – Mick West A Short History of Nearly Everything (2003) – Bill Bryson Is the Future Predetermined? (2020) – Space Time Why Don’t Animals Have Wheels? (2012) – Michael Stevens The First Scientist (2023) – Carlo Rovelli Experiments on the Sense of Being Stared At: The Elimination of Possible Artefacts (2001) – Rupert Sheldrake The Great Indoors (2020) – Emily AnthesOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
Venerated Objects and Symbols of Early Buddhism” should recommend “The Lotus as a Symbol in the Pali Tradition
You may also be interested in: The Symbolism of the Early Stūpa (1984) – Peter Harvey Beliefs Made Visible: Buddhist Art in South Asia (2009) – Brian Hogarth The Lotus as a Symbol in the Pali Tradition (1980) – Carl Olson Arahants, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas (2010) – Bhikkhu Bodhi Vv 1.1: Paṭhama Pīṭha Sutta (2020) In Search of the Real Buddha (2019) – Peter Harvey The Buddhist Wheel Symbol (1969) – T. B. Karunaratne Ancestral Stupas of Shwedagon (2010) – U Win Maung (Tampawaddy) AN 10.81: With Bāhuna (2018) Early Buddhism: A Conversation with Kalupahana (1991) – Richard K. Payne and David J. KalupahanaOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
Altruism in Classical Buddhism” should recommend “The Cultivation of Virtue in Buddhist Ethics
You may also be interested in: The Cultivation of Virtue in Buddhist Ethics (2013) – Charles Fink Ethics in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism (2017) – Charles Goodman Iti 26: Generosity (2020) On deeds of war both bright and dark (2022) – Bhante Sujato The Monk in the Pāli Vinaya: Priest or Wedding Guest? (1995) – Richard Gombrich Right View, Red Rust, and White Bones: A Reexamination of Buddhist Teachings on Female Inferiority (2012) – Allison Goodwin MN 3: Heirs in the Teaching (2018) Ten Unwholesome Actions (2000) – Ajahn Suchart MN 41: The Brahmins of Sālā (2009) AN 8.40 Duccarita Vipāka Sutta: The Results of Misconduct (2012)Or A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
Against the Defilements” should recommend “Kammaṭṭhāna
You may also be interested in: Beyond Birth: An Autobiography (2022) – Ajahn Suchart Living in Peace: A Conversation with Laypeople from India (2017) – Ajahn Suchart Kammaṭṭhāna: The Basis of Practice (1994) – Luangta Maha Boowa Morality (2020) – Bhante Yuttadhammo Aspects of Early Buddhist Sociological Thought (1998) – Ven Pategama Gnanarama MN 39: Mahā Assapura Sutta (The Greater Discourse at Assapura) (2008) A Life of Inner Quality (1989) – Luangta Maha Boowa MN 2 Annotated (2016) – Bhante Suddhāso Effects of mindful-attention and compassion meditation training on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative state (2012) – Gaëlle Desbordes and others MN 125 Dantabhūmi Sutta: The Level of the Tamed (2020)Or A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
The Buddhist Wheel Symbol” should recommend “Venerated Objects and Symbols of Early Buddhism
You may also be interested in: Without and Within: Questions and Answers on the Teachings of Theravāda Buddhism (2013) – Ajahn Jayasaro Narratives of Buddhist Relics and Images (2019) – Stephen C. Berkwitz Introduction to Buddhist Art (2018) – Doug Smith Venerated Objects and Symbols of Early Buddhism (1990) – Peter Harvey Lay Buddhist Practice: The Shrine Room, Uposatha Day, Rains Residence (1974) – Laurence Khantipālo Mills Common Buddhist Text: Guidance and Insight from the Buddha (2015) The Lotus as a Symbol in the Pali Tradition (1980) – Carl Olson The Buddha on the Alter of Drepung Loseling Monastery (2020) – Dadul Namgyal Korean Buddhist Art (2009) On Science Religion and Culture (2013) – Bhante YuttadhammoOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
Understanding the Chinese Buddhist Temple” should recommend “Popular Deities of Chinese Buddhism
You may also be interested in: The Art of Making Buddha Statues: Cause and Condition (2018) – Dharma Realm Buddhist Association Popular Deities of Chinese Buddhism (1985) – Kuan Ming Chinese Pure Land Buddhism (2019) – Charles B. Jones The (Chinese) Buddhist Liturgy (1993) Footprints in the Snow: The Autobiography of a Chinese Buddhist Monk (2008) – Master Sheng-Yen Drums and Bells (2013) – Qing De Monastery Buddha Beads (1994) – Master Sheng-Yen Why take refuge in the three jewels? (2007) – Master Sheng-Yen The Sūtra of the Heart of Transcendent Wisdom: A Tibetan Heart Sūtra Liturgy (2019) Map of the Taisho (2015)Or A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
The Connected Discourses of the Buddha” should recommend “Linked Discourses
You may also be interested in: Transcendental Dependent Arising (1980) – Bhikkhu Bodhi In the Buddha’s Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon (2004) – Bhikkhu Bodhi Saṃyutta Nikāya: An Anthology III (1984) – Maurice Walshe Saṃyutta Nikāya: An Anthology I (1981) – John D. Ireland Selections from the Majjhima Nikāya (2018) – Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli Thera and Bhikkhu Bodhi SN 12.65 Nagara Sutta: The City (1997) The Buddhist Path to Liberation: An Analysis of the Listing of Stages (1984) – Roderick S. Bucknell Linked Discourses (2019) – Bhante Sujato The Discourse on Right View: The Sammādiṭṭhi Sutta and its Commentary (1986) – Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli Thera SN 55.1: A Wheel-Turning Monarch (2018)Or A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha” should recommend “The Numbered Discourses
You may also be interested in: Aṅguttara Nikāya Anthology (2007) – Ven. Nyanaponika Thera and Bhikkhu Bodhi A Thematic Guide to the Numerical Discourses (2019) – Bhikkhu Bodhi Selections from the Majjhima Nikāya (2018) – Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli Thera and Bhikkhu Bodhi The Numbered Discourses (2019) – Bhante Sujato AN 10.48 Pabbajita Abhiṇha Sutta: Ten Regular Reflections for a Renunciate (1999) AN 10.67 Paṭhamanaḷakapāna Sutta: At Naḷakapāna (1st) (2018) The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Saṃyutta Nikāya (2000) – Bhikkhu Bodhi Where’s that sutta? (1985) – Laurence Khantipālo Mills AN 6.19 Maraṇassati Sutta: Mindfulness of Death (1997) AN 2.130-140 Āyācana Vagga: Aspiration (2018)Or A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
The Buddhist Layman” should recommend “A Simple Guide to Life
You may also be interested in: A Simple Guide to Life (1994) – Robert Bogoda Buddhism and Sex (1975) – Maurice Walshe The Chithurst Story: Before and Beyond (2018) – George Sharp Cultural Buddhism (2013) – Bhante Yuttadhammo The Cushion or the World? (2013) – Bhikkhu Cintita Mary Foster: Patron of Buddhism (2019) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika Lay Buddhist Practice: The Shrine Room, Uposatha Day, Rains Residence (1974) – Laurence Khantipālo Mills Everyman’s Ethics: Four Discourses of the Buddha (1959) – Ven Nārada Mahāthera The Art of Power (2007) – Thích Nhất Hạnh My Mind to Me a Kingdom Is (1988) – Sir Edward DyerOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
Buddhist Hybrid English” should recommend “A Philological Approach to Buddhism
You may also be interested in: caveat lector: the next 125 years of the Pāli Text Society (2007) – Margaret Cone A Philological Approach to Buddhism (1997) – K. R. Norman Reshaping Timelessness: Paradigm Shifts in the Interpretation of Buddhist Meditation (2017) – Florin Deleanu On Translating from Pāli (1982) – K. R. Norman Pāli Script Converter (2019) The Rationalist Tendency in Modern Buddhist Scholarship: A Reevaluation (2002) – Sungtaek Cho Councils as Ideas and Events in the Theravāda (1992) – Charles Hallisey Buddhist Ethics and the Bodhicaryāvatāra (2021) – Jay Garfield The Historical Turn: How Chinese Buddhist Travelogues Changed Western Perception of Buddhism (2018) – Max Deeg Bodhi and Arahattaphala: From Early Buddhism to Early Mahāyāna (1981) – Karel WernerOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
Tracing Thought Through Things” should recommend “The Authenticity of the Early Buddhist Texts
You may also be interested in: The Oldest Known Pali Texts, 5–6th century: Results of the Cambridge Symposium on the Pyu Golden Pali Text from Śrī Kṣetra, 18–19 April 1995 (1995) – Janice Stargardt On the Very Idea of the Pali Canon (1990) – Steven Collins Ancestral Stupas of Shwedagon (2010) – U Win Maung (Tampawaddy) Tuṇḍilovāda: An Allegedly Non-Canonical Sutta (1990) – Charles Hallisey Oral Dimensions of Pāli Discourses: Pericopes, Other Mnemonic Techniques and the Oral Performance Context (2007) – Bhikkhu Anālayo The Dawn of Abhidharma (2014) – Bhikkhu Anālayo The Early Buddhist Oral Tradition (2022) – Bhikkhu Anālayo The Mātikās: Memorization, Mindfulness and the List (1992) – Rupert Gethin Theriya Networks and the Circulation of the Pali Canon in South Asia (2018) – Alexander Wynne Last Days of the Buddha: The Mahāparinibbāna Sutta (1964) – Sister Vajirā and Francis StoryOr A Random Item from the Library...
FAIL ❌ of 10
The Authenticity of the Early Buddhist Texts” should recommend “Hoary Past and Hazy Memory
You may also be interested in: The Historical Turn: How Chinese Buddhist Travelogues Changed Western Perception of Buddhism (2018) – Max Deeg In the Forest of the Blind: The Eurasian Journey of Faxian’s Record of Buddhist Kingdoms (2022) – Matthew W. King Early Buddhist History (2013) – Bhante Sujato and Ajahn Brahmali In the Footprints of the Buddha: Ceylon and the Japanese Quest for the Origin of Buddhism (2019) – Fabio Rambelli Was the Buddha a Hindu? (2014) – Bhante Sujato The Buddha’s Truly Praiseworthy Qualities: According to the Mahāsakuludāyi-sutta and Its Chinese Parallel (2009) – Bhikkhu Anālayo Study of Buddhist Tantra: An Impressionistic Overview (2018) – Richard K. Payne SuttaCentral (2007) – Bhante Sujato The Āgama Research Group Mailing List (2012) Evidence suggests Rāmpurwā as the place of Buddha’s Mahāparinirvāṇa (2020) – Deepak AnandOr A Random Item from the Library...
FAIL ❌ of 10
Buzz Buzz Buzz” should recommend “Should Trees Have Standing
You may also be interested in: Bhramarotpītādharaḥ: Bees in Classical India (2009) – Klaus Karttunen Beautiful Adornment of the Earth (1906) – Mipham Rinpoche How ‘Being Animal’ Could Help Us Be Better Humans (2023) – Melanie Challenger Unraveling the Evolution of Uniquely Human Cognition (2016) – Evan L. MacLean Locations for Cultivating Samādhi (2000) – Longchen Rabjam Should Trees Have Standing: Toward Legal Rights for Natural Objects (1972) – Christopher D. Stone Are well-intended Buddhist practices an under-appreciated threat to global aquatic biodiversity? (2019) – Mark Everard, Adrian C. Pinder, Rajeev Raghavan, and Gaurav Kataria Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (2011) – Yuval Noah Harari The Green Pill (2018) – Melanie Joy Baraka (1992) – Ron FrickeOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
Twenty-three percent of women report sexual assault in college” should recommend “Sexual Consent
You may also be interested in: The Widows of Everest (2021) – 101 East Someday I’ll Love Ocean Vuong (2015) – Ocean Vuong Sexual Consent (2019) – Milena Popova Cindy Comes to Hear Me Read (2019) – Jill McDonough and Tracy K. Smith history of the entire world, i guess (2017) – bill wurtz It’s okay to suck when you try something new (2023) – Allie Volpe International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) (2001) – The World Health Organization How to Hold the Heavy Weight of Now (2022) – Dana Levin and Ada Limón Karma and Female Birth (2014) – Bhikkhu Anālayo The Infantorium (2019) – Katie ThorntonOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
Sexual Consent” should recommend “What Every Body is Saying
You may also be interested in: Buddhism and Sex (1975) – Maurice Walshe Transcending Five Fears (2013) – Ayya Santussikā Bhikkhunī What Every Body is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People (2008) – Joe Navarro Everyman’s Ethics: Four Discourses of the Buddha (1959) – Ven Nārada Mahāthera The Five Precepts: The Buddhist Golden Rule (1912) – Somdet Vajirañāṇavarorasa Extramarital affairs (1994) – Master Sheng-Yen The Exposition of Non-Conflict: MN 139 (1979) – Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli Thera MN 41: The Brahmins of Sālā (2009) AN 5.172: Assured (2018) My Mind to Me a Kingdom Is (1988) – Sir Edward DyerOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
Can Killing a Living Being Ever Be an Act of Compassion?” should recommend “The Trolley Car Dilemma
You may also be interested in: War and Peace (2014) – Bhikkhu Bodhi and Ajahn Geoff Ṭhānissaro On deeds of war both bright and dark (2022) – Bhante Sujato Cosmology and Meditation: From the Aggañña-Sutta to the Mahāyāna (1997) – Rupert Gethin Putting Cruelty First (1982) – Judith Shklar Ten Ways to Make Merit (2000) – Ajahn Suchart The Cessation of Suffering and Buddhist Axiology (2015) – Daniel Breyer On Love (2010) – Ajahn Jayasaro The Mātikās: Memorization, Mindfulness and the List (1992) – Rupert Gethin AN 10.54: Serenity (2012) AN 8.40 Duccarita Vipāka Sutta: The Results of Misconduct (2012)Or A Random Item from the Library...
FAIL ❌ of 10
The Historical Authenticity of Early Buddhist Literature” should recommend “The Authenticity of the Early Buddhist Texts
You may also be interested in: The Oral Transmission of Early Buddhist Literature (2004) – Alexander Wynne Hoary Past and Hazy Memory: On the History of Early Buddhist Texts (2006) – Oskar von Hinüber The Mātikās: Memorization, Mindfulness and the List (1992) – Rupert Gethin A Reader’s Guide to the Pāli Suttas (2019) – Bhante Sujato What is Pāli? (2019) – Learn Pāli Buddha and the Political Events of His Times (2016) – Alexander Berzin The Buddha Smiles: Humor in the Pali Canon (2015) – Ajahn Geoff Ṭhānissaro The Life of the Buddha (1972) – Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli Thera Dhammapada Introduction (2008) – Gil Fronsdal A Map of Jambudīpa (2023)Or A Random Item from the Library...
FAIL ❌ of 10
Did the Buddha Exist” should recommend “In Search of the Real Buddha
You may also be interested in: The Life of the Buddha (1972) – Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli Thera In Search of the Real Buddha (2019) – Peter Harvey Original Versions of Some Entries for the Encyclopedia of Buddhism (2013) – Peter Harvey The Oral Transmission of Early Buddhist Literature (2004) – Alexander Wynne The Buddha as a Teacher (2020) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika Footprints in the Dust: The Life of the Buddha from the Most Ancient Sources (2022) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika The Buddha You Never Knew (2015) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika The Historical Authenticity of Early Buddhist Literature: A Critical Evaluation (2006) – Alexander Wynne Buddha: True Genius (2013) – Ajahn Brahmali Early Buddhism: A Conversation with Kalupahana (1991) – Richard K. Payne and David J. KalupahanaOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
Giving money away makes us happy. Then why do so few of us do it?” should recommend “Are We Morally Obligated to Meditate?
You may also be interested in: Buddhist Life, Buddhist Path (2015) – Bhikkhu Cintita How to Love Your Problems (2017) – Robina Courtin Are We Morally Obligated to Meditate? (2020) – Samuel Sigal Putting Cruelty First (1982) – Judith Shklar Generosity First (2003) – Ajahn Geoff Ṭhānissaro Buddhism and Modernity (1997) – Douglas Powers Happiness (2016) – Ven Hong Ci Morality (2020) – Bhante Yuttadhammo AN 8.53: In Brief (2018) The Science Delusion (2014) – Curtis WhiteOr A Random Item from the Library...
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Kids These Days” should recommend “Debt
You may also be interested in: Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (1997) – Jared Diamond The Revolutionary Thoreau (2020) – R. H. Lossin On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs: A Work Rant (2013) – David Graeber Material World: A Global Family Portrait (1994) – Peter Menzel Bill Gates tweeted out a chart and sparked a huge debate about global poverty (2019) – Dylan Matthews Bullshit Jobs (2018) – David Graeber Stories of resistance and protest from around the world (2020) – The History Hour Debt: The First 5000 Years (2011) – David Graeber School Among Glaciers (2004) – Dorji Wangchuk Buddhism and Social Action (1981) – Ken JonesOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
MN 44” should recommend “Chos sbyin gyi mdo
You may also be interested in: MN 44: Culavedalla Sutta Study (2009) – Ajahn Brahm MN 105: Sunakkhatta (2018) Chos sbyin gyi mdo: Bhikkhunī Dhammadinnā Proves Her Wisdom (2011) – Bhikkhu Anālayo MN 86: The Aṅgulimāla Sutta (2018) MN 43: The Great Classification (2018) MN 29: The Greater Discourse on the Simile of the Heartwood (2009) MN 26: Ariyapariyesanā Sutta (The Noble Search) (2009) MN 62: Mahārāhulovāda Sutta (2020) MN 140 Dhātu-Vibhaṅga Sutta: The Exposition of the Elements (2009) SN 56.21: The Paṭhamakoṭigāma Sutta (2020)Or A Random Item from the Library...
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Teardrops of Time” should recommend “I Lost You
You may also be interested in: Buddhist on Death Row (2021) – The History Hour I Lost You (1980) – Angkarn Kalayanapong How ‘Being Animal’ Could Help Us Be Better Humans (2023) – Melanie Challenger Creatures of Cain (2019) – Erika Milam Night-Time and Refugees: Evidence from the Thai-Myanmar Border (2015) – Pia Jolliffe Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter, and Our Search for Meaning (2020) – Brian Greene Why Adults Lose the ‘Beginner’s Mind’ (2021) – Alison Gopnik and Ezra Klein Why Do We Work So Much? (2021) – James Suzman and Ezra Klein The Argument Against Colonizing Space (2020) – Daniel Deudney and Michael Robinson The Word For Man Is Ishi (2023) – Ben Naddaff-HafreyOr A Random Item from the Library...
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The Renouncing Royals of Videha” should recommend “The Story of the Horse-King and the Merchant Siṃhala, in Buddhist Texts
You may also be interested in: Nuns, Laywomen, Donors, Goddesses: Female Roles in Early Indian Buddhism (2001) – Peter Skilling Evolving Portrayals of Sāriputta and Moggallāna: Psychic Potency vis-à-vis Wisdom and Concentration (2021) – Tse-fu Kuan The Karma-vibhaṅga: The Analysis of Deeds (2020) Arahants, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas (2010) – Bhikkhu Bodhi Evil Creatures (2014) – Bhante Sujato The Story of the Horse-King and the Merchant Siṃhala, in Buddhist Texts (2007) – Naomi Appleton The Evolution of the Bodhisattva Concept in Early Buddhist Canonical Literature (2013) – Bhikkhu Anālayo SN 2.20: Anāthapiṇḍika (2018) Yasodharā in Jātakas (2018) – Sarah Shaw MN 50: The Rebuke of Māra (2018)Or A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
The Politics of Tourism in Asia” should recommend “Battling the Buddha of Love
You may also be interested in: Battling the Buddha of Love: A Cultural Biography of the Greatest Statue Never Built (2018) – Jessica Marie Falcone Architects of Buddhist Leisure: Socially Disengaged Buddhism in Asia’s Museums, Monuments, and Amusement Parks (2017) – Justin Thomas McDaniel The NBA, China, and the Hong Kong protests (2019) – Matthew Yglesias Under the Gaze of the Buddha Mega-Statue: Commodification and Humanistic Buddhism at Fo Guang Shan (2020) – Edward Irons The Navel of the Earth: The History and Significance of Bodh Gaya (1996) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika Corporate Nature: An Insider’s Ethnography of Global Conservation (2022) – Sarah Milne A River in Peril: The Mekong Under China (2016) – Radio Free Asia Where Are You Going: A Pilgrimage on Foot to the Buddhist Holy Places (2005) – Ajahn Sucitto and Nick Scott Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (1997) – Jared Diamond Buddhist Pilgrimage (2002) – Chan Khoon SanOr A Random Item from the Library...
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Venerated Objects and Symbols of Early Buddhism” should recommend “The Lotus as a Symbol in the Pali Tradition
You may also be interested in: The Symbolism of the Early Stūpa (1984) – Peter Harvey The Lotus as a Symbol in the Pali Tradition (1980) – Carl Olson Beliefs Made Visible: Buddhist Art in South Asia (2009) – Brian Hogarth Vv 1.1: Paṭhama Pīṭha Sutta (2020) In Search of the Real Buddha (2019) – Peter Harvey Arahants, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas (2010) – Bhikkhu Bodhi The Buddhist Wheel Symbol (1969) – T. B. Karunaratne AN 10.81: With Bāhuna (2018) Ancestral Stupas of Shwedagon (2010) – U Win Maung (Tampawaddy) Mudra: What Do Buddhist Hand Gestures Mean? (1996)Or A Random Item from the Library...
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The Authenticity of the Early Buddhist Texts” should recommend “Early Buddhist Texts
You may also be interested in: The Historical Turn: How Chinese Buddhist Travelogues Changed Western Perception of Buddhism (2018) – Max Deeg In the Forest of the Blind: The Eurasian Journey of Faxian’s Record of Buddhist Kingdoms (2022) – Matthew W. King Early Buddhist History (2013) – Bhante Sujato and Ajahn Brahmali Was the Buddha a Hindu? (2014) – Bhante Sujato In the Footprints of the Buddha: Ceylon and the Japanese Quest for the Origin of Buddhism (2019) – Fabio Rambelli The Buddha’s Truly Praiseworthy Qualities: According to the Mahāsakuludāyi-sutta and Its Chinese Parallel (2009) – Bhikkhu Anālayo SuttaCentral (2007) – Bhante Sujato Study of Buddhist Tantra: An Impressionistic Overview (2018) – Richard K. Payne The Early Buddhist Oral Tradition (2022) – Bhikkhu Anālayo The Āgama Research Group Mailing List (2012)Or A Random Item from the Library...
FAIL ❌ of 10
In Search of the Real Buddha” should recommend “Early Buddhism
You may also be interested in: Early Buddhism: A Conversation with Kalupahana (1991) – Richard K. Payne and David J. Kalupahana The Buddha You Never Knew (2015) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika The Buddha as a Teacher (2020) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika Arahants, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas (2010) – Bhikkhu Bodhi SN 22.86: Anuradha Sutta (2006) – Joseph Goldstein Original Versions of Some Entries for the Encyclopedia of Buddhism (2013) – Peter Harvey Refuge (1996) – Ajahn Geoff Ṭhānissaro Biography of Shakyamuni Buddha (2013) – Ven Master Hsing Yun The Life of the Buddha (1972) – Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli Thera I Wonder Why (1988) – Ven Thubten ChodronOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
Birth of the Global Insight Meditation Movement” should recommend “Saving Buddhism
You may also be interested in: Where are the Women Monastics? (2012) – Susan Pembroke Living Buddhist Masters (1977) – Jack Kornfield Anti-Catholicism and Protestant Reformism in the History of Western Imagery of the Buddhist Monk: Some Roots of the Modernist Monk (2011) – Laura Harrington Bridging the Two Vehicles (2016) – Bhikkhu Bodhi Meditation en Masse: How colonialism sparked the global Vipassana movement (2014) – Erik Braun Mary Foster: Patron of Buddhism (2019) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika The Many Voices of Buddhaghosa: The Commentator and Our Times (2019) – Oscar Carrera The Buddha Comes to Sussex (1979) – David Thompson Mindfulness or Sati: An Anthropological Comparison of an Increasingly Global Concept (2021) – Julia Cassaniti Virtual Orientalism (2013) – Jane Naomi IwamuraOr A Random Item from the Library...
FAIL ❌ of 10
A Philological Approach to Buddhism” should recommend “Buddhist Hybrid English
You may also be interested in: Buddhist Hybrid English: Some Notes on Philology and Hermeneutics for Buddhologists (1981) – Paul J. Griffiths Theravāda Buddhism and Brahmanical Hinduism: Brahmanical Terms in a Buddhist Guise (1992) – K. R. Norman Pāli Script Converter (2019) Why Are the Four Noble Truths Called “Noble”? (1990) – K. R. Norman External Sandhi in Pāli: with special reference to the SuttaNipāta (1993) – K. R. Norman Historical Consciousness and Traditional Buddhist Narratives (2014) – Rita Gross The Early Buddhist Oral Tradition (2022) – Bhikkhu Anālayo caveat lector: the next 125 years of the Pāli Text Society (2007) – Margaret Cone The Four Noble Truths (1982) – K. R. Norman The Authenticity of the Early Buddhist Texts (2014) – Bhante Sujato and Ajahn BrahmaliOr A Random Item from the Library...
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Outpost Buddhism” should recommend “He’s Still Neutral
You may also be interested in: He’s Still Neutral (2019) – Phoebe Judge The Art of Making Buddha Statues: Cause and Condition (2018) – Dharma Realm Buddhist Association An Inquiring Mind’s Journey Into Wisdom, Compassion, Freedom and Silence (2004) – Bhante Kovida Virtual Orientalism (2013) – Jane Naomi Iwamura Happiness (2016) – Ven Hong Ci Mary Foster: Patron of Buddhism (2019) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika Anagārika Munindra and the Historical Context of the Vipassanā Movement (2006) – C. Robert Pryor We’ve Been Here All Along (2017) – Funie Hsu It’s not weird or foreign: the Ugandan monk bringing Buddhism to Africa (2020) – Samuel Okiror and Eugénie Baccot Incognito: The Astounding Life of Alexandra David-Néel (2023) – Dianne HarkeOr A Random Item from the Library...
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Piranesi” should recommend “No One Belongs Here More than You
You may also be interested in: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (2004) – Susanna Clarke The Cheese and the Worms: The Cosmos of a Sixteenth-Century Miller (1980) – Carlo Ginzburg Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands (2022) – Kate Beaton No One Belongs Here More than You (2007) – Miranda July Full Moon (2021) – Elinor Wylie and Ada Limón A Thousand Cardinals (2022) – Julian Randall and Ada Limón To Offer Sweet Fruit to the Ghost (2021) – John Paul Martinez and Ada Limón To be of use (2020) – Marge Piercy and Tracy K. Smith Basic Needs (2020) – Vanessa Jimenez Gabb and Tracy K. Smith Klara and the Sun: A Novel (2021) – Kazuo IshiguroOr A Random Item from the Library...
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Writing Yasodhara and the Buddha” should recommend “Did the Buddha Really Have a Wife and Son?
You may also be interested in: Did the Buddha Really Have a Wife and Son? (2018) – Matthew Gindin Buddhism Beyond Modernity (2019) – Ann Gleig Learning to Listen to the Voices Only You Hear (2022) – Ruth Ozeki and Ezra Klein What a Poetic Mind Can Teach Us About How to Live (2023) – Jane Hirshfield A Weird, Wonderful Conversation (2022) – Kim Stanley Robinson and Ezra Klein After Buddhism (2016) – Stephen Batchelor In the Forest of the Blind: The Eurasian Journey of Faxian’s Record of Buddhist Kingdoms (2022) – Matthew W. King The Life of the Buddha (1972) – Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli Thera MN 89 Dhammacetiya Sutta: Monuments to the Dhamma (1977) MN 87: Piyajātika Sutta (2009)Or A Random Item from the Library...
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Rewriting Buddhism” should recommend “On the Very Idea of the Pali Canon
You may also be interested in: Nibbānasutta: An Allegedly Non-Canonical Sutta on Nibbāna as a Great City (1993) – Charles Hallisey The Many Voices of Buddhaghosa: The Commentator and Our Times (2019) – Oscar Carrera Learning to Read Buddhist Texts (2021) – Maria Heim Dhammapuja (2018) – Mark Tutton Angkor Wat (2022) – Piphal Heng, Ashley Thompson, Simon Warrack, and Melvin Bragg Until Nirvana’s Time: Buddhist Songs from Cambodia (2022) – Trent Walker Ancient Sri Lanka through the Eyes of a Chinese Monk (2009) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika On the Very Idea of the Pali Canon (1990) – Steven Collins Until Nirvana’s Time: Buddhist Songs from Cambodia (2023) – Trent Walker Crossing to the Farthest Shore: How Pāli Jātakas Launch the Buddhist Image of the Boat onto the Open Seas (2012) – Sarah ShawOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
The Chithurst Story” should recommend “The Buddha Comes to Sussex
You may also be interested in: The Buddha Comes to Sussex (1979) – David Thompson The Cushion or the World? (2013) – Bhikkhu Cintita Cultural Buddhism (2013) – Bhante Yuttadhammo The Role of Silence at the Retreats of a Buddhist Community (2016) – Orsolya Huszár Thich Nhat Hanh’s Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism (2009) – William Edelglass Stillness Flowing: The Life and Teachings of Ajahn Chah (2017) – Ajahn Jayasaro You Just Need to be Hungry (2014) – Margo Mallar Understanding Young Buddhists: Living Out Ethical Journeys (2017) – Andrew Kam-Tuck Yip and Sarah-Jane Page The Lotus and the Lion: Buddhism and the British Empire (2008) – J. Jeffrey Franklin Ajaan Mahā Boowa in London (2012) – Luangta Maha BoowaOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
The Kalmyks” should recommend “Buryatian Buddhists
You may also be interested in: Europe’s First Buddhist Temple (2009) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika Mary Foster: Patron of Buddhism (2019) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika The First Yellow Robes in the West (2019) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika James Prinsep and the Discovery of King Asoka (2012) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika Buryatian Buddhists (1995) – Chris Clark Review of Peoples of the Buddhist World (2013) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika Debates on Atheism, Quietism, and Sodomy: the Initial Reception of Buddhism in Europe (2005) – Jürgen Offermanns Encounters with Buddhism (1990) – Bhante Shravasti Dhammika The Lotus and the Lion: Buddhism and the British Empire (2008) – J. Jeffrey Franklin Cultural Buddhism (2013) – Bhante YuttadhammoOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
Understanding Comics” should recommend “Picturing Our Thoughts
You may also be interested in: Duty Free Art: Art in the Age of Planetary Civil War (2017) – Hito Steyerl Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma (2023) – Claire Dederer Picturing Our Thoughts (2008) – Jonah Lehrer The Camera People (1992) – Eliot Weinberger True Crime’s Deceits: The Genrefication of Tragedy (2021) – Gabriella Gage Heroes versus Celebrities in the Age of Social Media (2022) – Ayya Santussikā Bhikkhunī Branding Buddha: Mediatized and Commodified Buddhism as Cultural Narrative (2016) – Jørn Borup Frontier Psychiatrist (2001) – The Avalanches The Moral Economy of High-Tech Modernism (2023) – Henry Farrell and Marion Fourcade Virtual Orientalism: Asian Religions and American Popular Culture (2011) – Jane Naomi IwamuraOr A Random Item from the Library...
Pass ✅ of 10
Totals: 38 Pass and 14 Failed 520 total recommendations