Books

This is what you do when you aspire to read a lot but in reality you are a slow reader–make an ambitious plan to make yourself feel good and then … Continue reading March TBR

Read before you think. Somebody said this, but I don’t remember who. I don’t think it is achievable. For many of us, we think and make decisions long before we … Continue reading Before You Think

Dawn starts from 6AM to a little before 7AM–a wonderful period of twilight that I usually miss except when attacked by insomnia, like today. I like dusk better, which stretches … Continue reading Long Twilight

of Virginia Woolf? I really like that movie, but I don’t really like Virginia Woolf’s writing. Long time ago, when I was young and fervent, torturing myself through reading something … Continue reading Who’s Afraid

I dislike writing reviews, but I also dislike not saying anything after reading a book. So what to do? Which one I dislike more? Those people trained in writing workshops … Continue reading Something In Between

There should be a complete idiot’s guide to commonly used terms and slang. The book “Black Rednecks and White Liberals” by Thomas Sowell really makes this guide more necessary than … Continue reading Clueless

“Aria Da Capo” by Edna St. Vincent Millay. I somehow suspect that this one act play with an incomprehensible title is based on the infamous Stanford psychology experiment. Once people … Continue reading January 2021 Book List

“Aria Da Capo” is a very short play by Edna St. Vincent Millay. I somehow suspect that this one act play with an incomprehensible title is based on the infamous … Continue reading Misbehavior

There are no good books about Asia in English. I just can’t find any good books. If anybody read a good one, please let me know. I am so desperate … Continue reading Good, Bad And Things In Between

“The History of Sexuality, Vol. 1: An Introduction” By Michel Foucault. The first two chapters are exhilarating, but for the rest I just can’t understand. Maybe philosophy is just not … Continue reading Finished And Unfinished In December

Click Here For Wrap Up 1 What’s the point of making a to-be-read plan, but leaving most of the list unread in the end. I knew I was not going … Continue reading November Reading Wrap-up 2

“Pangs of Love” by David Wong LouieI suffered a lot while reading “The Barbarians Are Coming”, but as soon as I finish it, I take on this book. Do I … Continue reading November Reading Wrap-up 1

I am completely and probably irreversibly blocked right now after reading a book about blogging, which says what one wants to write is not what others want to read. It … Continue reading Blocked And Unblocked

“Nine Horses” by Billy CollinsEven his complaints are delightful to read. I wonder why? “Forgotten Wars: Freedom and Revolution in Southeast Asia” by C.A. Bayly, Tim HarperThe end of WWII … Continue reading I Know I Won’t Finish These In November

It’s different from what I planned a month ago, but several lovable books have made it all worthwhile. “If I Had Your Face” by Frances Cha– This is the first … Continue reading Unfinished October Reading

Reading often goes hand in hand with misreading. Being an immigrant and reading English as a second language have taught me this fact. At first this made me rather uncomfortable–the … Continue reading Read And Misread In October

I shouldn’t read this book, “We Wanted to Be Writers: Life, Love, and Literature at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop” by Eric Olsen. I knew I shouldn’t but I still did. … Continue reading Finished With A Sigh

For about half a year or so, I wrote book reviews devotedly for books I read, but then I felt that I didn’t really enjoy doing that. I guess the … Continue reading The October Book Plan

It’s the peril of persistence. I was brought up on the principle of finishing what you started and now I am suffering the consequence. I can’t go on with this … Continue reading The Peril Of Persistence

This is not for me. I mean the book, “Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue”. It’s obviously for those native speakers. The magnificence described by the book must be felt by a … Continue reading Magnificent In Different Ways

is a word that I cannot handle. No matter how many times I’ve encountered it and looked it up, I have to look it up again for the next encounter. … Continue reading Foist

There’s always this table, on which books pile up high, in one of the local grocery stores, the ShopRite of Edison township. Sometimes one or two precariously perched books on … Continue reading The Cauldron

At first I thought it means awning and then I realize it is not spelled canopy, but rather canape, for which Firefox’s quick search shows it means those little bite … Continue reading Canopy And Canape

I can’t believe how good this book is, “Writing With Intent”. I’ve bought this book for a year and haven’t gone around to read it until now. I think it’s … Continue reading Memories of Girlfriends

“Understanding Japan” starts slow but getting more interesting as it progresses towards the modern era. I have always been interested in Japan but haven’t read books about it–so much for … Continue reading Another Misunderstanding

I am finishing up this book #2 in the Bridget Jones series. The best parts of the book are those conversations between the girls, which can be even more biting … Continue reading Finishing Up

I feel groggy and listless today, most likely due to the fact that I finished the book “Bridget Jones Diary” yesterday. For many years, I’ve tried to refrain from reading … Continue reading Catnip

Isn’t it strange that there will be a new film “Martin Eden” made by an Italian-French team? The reason “Martin Eden” is very important to me is because it is … Continue reading The New Film

I stayed up until 4AM last night to finish “A Girl With Seven Names” and I’ve been groggy the whole day today, even when I was out grocery shopping. What … Continue reading Sleepless

I only finished five of the lectures of “The Great Trials Of World History”, but already I feel that most of these trials are bad trials, not great trials. I … Continue reading Great Trials Or Bad Trials

Just to follow the trend, I got one book by Mary Trump and two by Ta-Nahisi Coates. Which one to read first? Coates’ books are obviously better written and I … Continue reading Following The Trend

I can’t go through “Crashes and Crises: Lessons from a History of Financial Disasters” without thinking what I would do if I were involved in any of the disasters listed … Continue reading Cries and Crises

Who is Mencken and why haven’t I heard of him before? One of Mencken’s fans claims online. Same here. I want to make the same claim, but I know why … Continue reading Why Haven’t I Heard Of Him

I can’t believe I’ve read “The Descent Of Man And Other Stories” before. This was the first impression I had when I read the “Quicksand” and “The Mission of Jane”. … Continue reading Memory

Amazon recommends me something at least once a day in my email; it sends me advertisements disguised as login screen on my Kindle Fire. But I’ve never bought anything through … Continue reading Amazon Recommends

There’s always at least one alternative interpretation to events and stories of a philosophy book or a psychology book. I mean a book like “Emotional Intelligence”. I wonder what will … Continue reading Alternative Interpretation

I am completely lost. I don’t know what “Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained” is talking about. Is there even a plot for this long endless poem? I bought this book … Continue reading Incomprehensible Paradise

“The Philanderer” is the best play from Shaw that I’ve ever read, as good as “Man of Destiny”, better than “Mrs Warren’s Profession”, Arms and The Man, You Never Can … Continue reading My Favorite

I like “The Happiness Hypothesis” a lot although I don’t always agree with the author. His elephant metaphor is very apt and I too have often felt that I am … Continue reading Happy and Happier

I thought it would be more suitably titled “Crucial Exploration” rather than “Crucial Instances”. I like everything Wharton wrote, almost indiscriminately, even if when she’s exploring different possibilities with her … Continue reading Crucial Exploration

I really don’t know what to say about “The Greater Inclination”, but I know I have to say something, just to tell myself that I’ve read the book and leave … Continue reading New Inclination

I finally finished “No Exit” after starting it almost a year ago. It’s a short play in writing and in performance. I read a little bit first, gave up, then … Continue reading No Exit

I watched the movie by Oliver Stone, but the movie only piqued my interest to know more about Snowden. “Permanent Record” is the answer. It’s a passive narration without much … Continue reading Hero Or Villain

“The Undoing Project” is almost a companion to “Thinking, Fast and Slow”. I wish I had read these two together. Or better still, I should have read this book in … Continue reading Doing and Undoing

The figurative mountain exists in the book “Three Tigers, One Mountain”, which is obviously referring to the East Asia. How about adding Russia as another tiger to the tree since … Continue reading The Figurative Mountain

I like the books “Liar’s Poker” and “Boomerang”. So when audible offers a discount of “The Fifth Risk”, I have to take it. I don’t know what’s 1st, 2nd, 3rd, … Continue reading From Boring To Interesting

I’ve never seen anybody use the word canny, but uncanny makes regular appearance here and there. However this is the first time I see a book with such a title, … Continue reading Canny and Uncanny

This book, “The Decisive Battles of World History” is almost a sequel to “History’s Great Military Blunders and the Lessons They Teach”. When I finished one, I have to finish … Continue reading All Those Unknown Battles

My interest in the book, “No Excuses: Existentialism And The Meaning Of Life“, stems from my fascination with the philosophical feud between Camus and Sartre. Can rebels rebel without violence? … Continue reading No Excuses

I really think this book, “History’s Great Military Blunders”, is one of the best among the “Great Courses” series, as good as “Modern Political Tradition”. This is an audible book … Continue reading Regrettable Battles