I bought both this book and the Lang Lang recording of the selections (also called "the Piano Book") together. Unless you're a fairly advanced piano student, you won't be mastering most of these selections for quite some time -- if ever. Certainly not at Lang Lang speed. But, don't let that discourage you.These selections are ALL worth working on at your own patient pace. And, thanks to "The Piano Book" recording, you'll know what they could really be sounding like -- a journey rather than a destination. And it's the journey that counts.There are some simpler selections included. And, there are also within most of the more advanced selections, some absolutely beautiful passages you CAN master even if you're not ready for the entire work. In my experience, working on those excerpts is far more rewarding than working on simpler pieces from beginner and intermediate books.Piano is not meant to be easy and not meant to provide instant gratification. But, it's also not meant to be difficult or humbling (though it sometimes is). It's meant to be a patient journey with slow but never-ending progression to a goal that, for most, is unattainable but worth the effort.Personally, I love listening to Lang Lang's playing as I follow along with the score sometimes marveling at how he or his mentors before ever figured out how to get to those sounds from the musical notation. You and I don't have to figure out that part of the journey. WE know where to aim from listening to the recording then trying our best to move toward it.The book, while not quite as manageable as a spiral-bound book, will lie flat with some encouraging. It gets more satisfactory as you use it. And, it's gorgeous in its own right -- a first-class publishing job.I don't know where you are in your piano abilities, but I've found the book far more inspiring than discouraging. The fastest way to work your way though it (NOT necessarily from the first to the last page) is to work through it slowly and with patience. My own piano skills are pretty close to minimal -- probably at the level of a not-talented 8-yr old who is learning at the hands of a competent teacher. I'm 75. My highest ambition as a pianist is to make it to the level of a moderately competent 10-year old who receives competent instruction. I probably won't quite get there but, hey, I'm enjoying the process immensely.