Books

Quotes about love are my favorite. Good or bad, funny or boring, idealistic or cynical, common sense or crazy, sentimental or logical, passionate or insipid. I don’t mind what kind. … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #19 →

Image by Elena Tishkova from Pixabay “Orthodoxy” by G. K. Chesterton is on sale at Audible.com and you know me, who cannot resist a discount, which is the reason why … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #18 →

shiv: a knife or razor used as a weapon.kryptonite: an alien mineral that has the property of depriving Superman of his powers. (It’s only used in fantasy novels or movies.)These … Continue reading New Word #38: Recently Learned →

I should have read “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave” long time ago, but I didn’t. Mostly because I was afraid that the description is so … Continue reading The Great Escape →

Please also visit me on Instagram and Twitter. https://twitter.com/Haoyandohttps://www.instagram.com/haoyando/

I just read the essay “It Is Obscene” from https://www.chimamanda.com/ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, whose book “Americanah” I bought but haven’t read yet. And it is such a wonderful essay, … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #16 →

When I was young, there’s an old guy in our neighborhood who was rumored to have a colorful life–a farmer turned bandit, a bandit turned soldier turned small business owner. … Continue reading Resilient But Divided →

I’ve never known the difference between the word freedom and the word liberty–I think the two are interchangeable but most likely they are not. However I am too lazy to … Continue reading Life And Existence →

This book is so easy to read and so good that I can’t tell you how much I love it. It’s almost beyond my power of praise, just like “Notes … Continue reading Quote And Review–“An Introduction To Existentialism” →

A lover who continues to labor for a doomed relationship, knowing that the effort is futile and she is being irrational. I feel like this lover when I do a … Continue reading May TBR →

This is the first book I read by the author Tayari Jones. I really like the book. In many places, it is very funny although the plot is about a … Continue reading An American Marriage →

There are so many quotes from this book that I don’t know where to start. It’s Sartre’s autobiography–the first 10 years of his life–when he and his widowed mother lived … Continue reading Words And Childhood →

Although I am about to finish this book, I don’t feel that I like it as much as I like the author’s other books like “Liar’s Poker”, “Boomerang”, “The Undoing … Continue reading The Premonition →

“The coming storm” is a very short audible book I listened to from Michael Lewis. It is included in my audible plan and I just can’t resist the freebie. It’s … Continue reading The Coming Storm →

Although I didn’t grow up reading science fiction or fantasy books, I’ve always loved TV shows about witchcraft or cat woman. They are quirky, fun, frightening, charming and a lot … Continue reading Witchcraft And Cat Woman →

Really? Giving orders and being obedient are the same? I thought they are the opposite. Wait, let me think. They are the same only under the condition that the obedient … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #7 →

I encountered the word “Tsundoku” in heterodoxbuddhism’s post here. Tsundoku is a Japanese term that means one who buys books but don’t read them. And this inspires me to think … Continue reading New Word #14: Is There A Word For This? →

Have you ever had a friend who always ask you for advice but never take any of your advice? I have such a friend. So why does she ask then? … Continue reading Advise Her, Please →

In the summer of 1830, Russia was experiencing one of its worst pandemics. Cholera spread far and wide. A sip of contaminated water or a little unwitting touch of sewage … Continue reading Past, Present And Future →

Plans are made to be changed; reading lists are drawn to be unfinished. That’s my motto for May. When I don’t have to be ashamed of my own “grand” plan, … Continue reading Merry Month Of May →

In 1231 AD, the Mongolians–my ancestors–invaded Korea. The mighty Mongolian army, which at the time occupied a big region stretching from Middle East to East Asia, met with a resounding … Continue reading Conflict →

She was one of those people who enjoy poor health and she was always threatening to die, though in fact she lived onto her nineties. With time on her hand, … Continue reading Quote And Review →

Once I did a book review for a friend who published a Jane Austen fan novel. I sent my review to her, but she ended up deleting most of what … Continue reading March Reading →

Food is the star of the family drama; kitchen is where the star is born and worked on. Most of the family actions happen there–the rinsing, chopping, stir-frying. Most of … Continue reading Kitchen Drama →

“Using someone else’s map.” I’ve been doing that 99% of the time. No wonder I see inexplicable landmarks and confusing sites. Mammals have mournful eyes, even if when they are … Continue reading Quotes Of The Day #2 →

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 →