Category: Books
Quote Of The Day #21
Quote Of The Day #19
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. I love them all.
Quote Of The Day #18
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 my shelf is filled with books I don't feel like reading and my closet full of clothes I hardly ever wear. And Chesterton is rambling … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #18
New Word #38: Recently Learned
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 are from Princess & Pages' posts here and here zany: amusingly unconventional and idiosyncratic.harping: talk or write persistently and tediously on (a particular topic).quibble: a … Continue reading New Word #38: Recently Learned
The Great Escape
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 bloody and horrid that I would be depressed after reading it, but I turn out to be stronger than I thought. There are only two … Continue reading The Great Escape
Quote Of The Day #17
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Quote Of The Day #16
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, in which the author describes a student of her workshop who criticized her unfairly or heartlessly. People who ask you to ‘educate’ yourself while not … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #16
Resilient But Divided
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. He's been to Russia and several other countries for business and had some beautiful souvenirs on display, which were covered under a piece of embroidered … Continue reading Resilient But Divided
Life And Existence
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 look it up. It's like watching all the seasons of "Frasier", but never really figuring out the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist. Still … Continue reading Life And Existence
Quote Of The Day #15
Quote And Review–“An Introduction To Existentialism”
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 From Underground" by Dostoevsky and "Words" by Sartre, which I love to read and hopefully to reread sometime. You don't need any philosophical background to … Continue reading Quote And Review–“An Introduction To Existentialism”
Quote Of The Day #14
May TBR
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 May TBR post since I know I probably won't read these books at all. Reading is a whim. If I don't feel like reading certain … Continue reading May TBR
Quote Of The Day #12
An American Marriage
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 terrible injustice done to the main character, Roy, who's handsome, well educated, married. He's wrongly accused of rape and is jailed for five years before … Continue reading An American Marriage
Words And Childhood
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 with his grandparents. It's a happy childhood, and Sartre repaid the love he received with penetrating comments. He couldn't have been so sharp as a … Continue reading Words And Childhood
Quote Of The Day #9
The Premonition
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 Project"--I only read fifty pages of "The Big Shot", and I like it very much. Somehow I feel that the author's usual style--a bit ironical … Continue reading The Premonition
Quote Of The Day #8
The Coming Storm
"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 a habit I have tried to get rid of for years, but... What I try to achieve have never be matched by what I actually … Continue reading The Coming Storm
Witchcraft And Cat Woman
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 more. That's until I read this book "Witch, A Tale Of Terror". Suddenly my happy witch meal becomes un-chewable and unappetizing when I know that … Continue reading Witchcraft And Cat Woman
Quote Of The Day #7
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 party is willing to accept the order. And willingness can be hard to define and often the line between willingness and unwillingness is blurred and … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #7
New Word #14: Is There A Word For This?
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 of other words that should have existed but for one reason or another don’t exist in English. Conversationer. This is not a word, but I … Continue reading New Word #14: Is There A Word For This?
Advise Her, Please
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? Sometimes I think she just wants to ask me to make it look like she has consulted others. Or she just wants to poke holes … Continue reading Advise Her, Please
Past, Present And Future
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 will make people sick--diarrhea, vomiting, shock and death quickly followed. The tsar imposed quarantines and travel restrictions and cordons guarded by the military on many … Continue reading Past, Present And Future
Merry Month Of May
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, I feel deliriously happy. As a slow reader, I need all the encouragement from an unhinged delusion of my reading capabilities. The fact is I … Continue reading Merry Month Of May
Conflict
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 defeat by the little kingdom on the Korean Peninsular--the Mongolians were dumbfounded and couldn't believe what had happened. For the next 40 years, Mongolians invaded … Continue reading Conflict
Quote And Review
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, she could nurse her neurosis, build resentments of slights and imagined slights, brood on our growing estrangement, and make it worse with arbitrary assertions of … Continue reading Quote And Review
March Reading
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 I wrote. I know what's in her mind: my review is too much about my own memory triggered by the reading, and my own life … Continue reading March Reading
Quote Of The Day #3
Kitchen Drama
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 the cleaning and tidying up happen in there; most of the curses and regrets are uttered there. Mistakes happen that can ruin a favored dish; … Continue reading Kitchen Drama
Quotes Of The Day #2
"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 happy. Birds eyes, on the other hand, are not so sorrowful. They are very astute.
Quote Of The Day #1
March TBR
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 turn a blind eye to your inability to finish your plan. This is me. It's like continuously imagining yourself being beautiful and then trying hard … Continue reading March TBR
Before You Think
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 read something about it since we have little time to read every day. Sometimes it is a delay of ten years. Finally we read something … Continue reading Before You Think
Long Twilight
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 from a little before 5PM to a little after 6PM. The nice one hour twilight. My favorite time, but I didn't realize it is more … Continue reading Long Twilight
Who’s Afraid
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 I dislike was part of my duty. So I thought. That's when I took on Virginia Woolf but I dislike everything, from "Night And Day", … Continue reading Who’s Afraid
Something In Between
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 or master programs know how to criticize without offending anybody, but I'm unschooled in this direction. The compromise will be to read books written by … Continue reading Something In Between
Clueless
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 ever, for me at least. What is a redneck, a liberal, a conservative, a Quaker, a Methodist, an abolitionist, a New Englander etc.? I vaguely … Continue reading Clueless
January 2021 Book List
"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 get into a situation, in this case an artificial wall and in Stanford's case an artificial prison, people tend to act according to the new … Continue reading January 2021 Book List
Misbehavior
"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 Stanford psychology experiment. Once people get into a situation, in this case an artificial wall and in Stanford's case an artificial prison, people tend to … Continue reading Misbehavior
Good, Bad And Things In Between
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 for some good books in this direction that I have to read books about the Pacific Theater of WWII. I dislike books on wars, but … Continue reading Good, Bad And Things In Between
Finished And Unfinished In December
"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 my thing. I have to re-read it one day when I have the energy. I miss my days as a teenager and twenty something when … Continue reading Finished And Unfinished In December
November Reading Wrap-up 2
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 to follow the list anyway. When it turned out just as I predicted, I felt vindicated of my own wisdom. "Knowing yourself, that's knowledge." An … Continue reading November Reading Wrap-up 2
November Reading Wrap-up 1
"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 ever learn? Am I an incorrigible self torturer? The first story "Birthday" is like "The Barbarians Are Coming" (BAC), deja vu all over again. The … Continue reading November Reading Wrap-up 1
Blocked And Unblocked
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 sounds really true. Just think about our own life experiences--what we really want to say is often not what other people want to hear. The … Continue reading Blocked And Unblocked
I Know I Won’t Finish These In November
"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 is just an opening for new battles. It's as thick as two books, but I hate speed reading, which takes all the fun away. "Where … Continue reading I Know I Won’t Finish These In November
Unfinished October Reading
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 book I read about South Korea. Isn't it strange that I used to watch many South Korean movies, but never think of reading a book … Continue reading Unfinished October Reading
Read And Misread In October
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 sense of uncertainty and self doubt following me like a shadow in a bright sunset, which means the shadow is much bigger and longer than … Continue reading Read And Misread In October
Finished With A Sigh
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. A lot of things I did in my life, I only did for conformity and convention and survival, which take up huge amount of time … Continue reading Finished With A Sigh
The October Book Plan
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 main reason is that it feels like I'm still in school, trying to come up with something to say while worrying that what I am … Continue reading The October Book Plan
The Peril Of Persistence
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 book, but my habit of persistence doesn't allow me to give up in the middle. What to do? I can't stand "The Barbarians Are Coming" … Continue reading The Peril Of Persistence
Magnificent In Different Ways
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 lot of people, but as a non-native speaker I feel differently. If I feel the magnificence, it's a different kind of magnificence. Mencken and Orwell … Continue reading Magnificent In Different Ways
Foist
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. Same for words like flout, flounder, flaunt. F for failure to remember. I don't know about native speakers, but for non-native speakers like me such … Continue reading Foist
The Cauldron
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 top would fall off when an inattentive shopper passes by and inadvertently brushes against the table. I've seen the books forever but never noticed them … Continue reading The Cauldron
Canopy And Canape
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 sized dim sum like food. For Asian immigrants like me, hors d'œuvre is a type of dim sum no matter what you say otherwise. Somehow … Continue reading Canopy And Canape
Memories of Girlfriends
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 because I got it at the end of my feverish obsession with Atwood's work--finally the enthusiasm waned and I didn't finish Testament and another book, … Continue reading Memories of Girlfriends
Another Misunderstanding
"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 my interest. I hope you don't see me as a fraud. The people who are really into Japan would learn the Japanese language, immersed in … Continue reading Another Misunderstanding
Finishing Up
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 if the author is not intentionally toning it done to suit her romantic theme. They are wonderful. I gave the first book five stars due … Continue reading Finishing Up
Catnip
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 it. For one thing, I've read too many fan novels; for another, I've seen the movie. Still, for some unexplained reason, I borrowed it from … Continue reading Catnip
The New Film
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 the first book I've ever bought and read completely in English. I still remember on the first page, there's a word "smack", for which when … Continue reading The New Film
Sleepless
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 a story. I've read "A Thousand Miles To Freedom", and "In Order To Live" before. There are a lot of similarities between the three books, … Continue reading Sleepless
Great Trials Or Bad Trials
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 think the author did this deliberately and "great" means "famous" rather than "good". The trials of Socrates, Giordano Bruno, Thomas Moor are so bad that … Continue reading Great Trials Or Bad Trials
Following The Trend
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 am itchy to know more about him ever since his very public dispute with Cornel West--why can't they continue to debate, like Sartre and Camus, … Continue reading Following The Trend
Cries and Crises
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 here. One can do nothing but cry, though tears sound so futile in face of crises like these. This may sound very naive and laughable--my … Continue reading Cries and Crises
Why Haven’t I Heard Of Him
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 I haven't heard of him before. I am a sloth and I usually won't go out of my way to try to know a book … Continue reading Why Haven’t I Heard Of Him
Memory
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". I remember where I read the "Quicksand"--in an online Wharton fan site, where the short story is truncated and the last chapter is not included. … Continue reading Memory
Amazon Recommends
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 its recommendations. Not that I'm impervious to marketing campaigns. Also I am not devoid of common human weaknesses which are usually cleverly explored by ads. … Continue reading Amazon Recommends
Alternative Interpretation
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 happen if the author change his angle a little bit and add the cultural and ethnic differences in his interpretation of emotional intelligence. For example, … Continue reading Alternative Interpretation
Incomprehensible Paradise
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 because it is on sale at Audible. Time and again, such a preference for discount has led to my not liking or even understanding a … Continue reading Incomprehensible Paradise
My Favorite
"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 Tell, The Devil's Disciple, Caesar and Cleopatra, Man and Superman, Don Juan in Hell, Major Barbara, Pygmalion, Heartbreak House, The Apple Cart, The Millionairess. I … Continue reading My Favorite
Happy and Happier
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 riding an elephant which has a mind of its own. The thing is I want to let the elephant be natural and unforced and inspiring, … Continue reading Happy and Happier
Crucial Exploration
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 writing in her "Crucial Instances". Some people say "Crucial Instances" are better than her first short story collection "The Greater Inclination", but I have no … Continue reading Crucial Exploration
New Inclination
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 a record of it, no matter how reluctant. I really like each of the stories, especially the first one about a muse' complaint--she's not a … Continue reading New Inclination
No Exit
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 read a bit more, gave up, then watched a video of it, gave up, before finally completing it today. The problem is it is too … Continue reading No Exit
Hero Or Villain
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 attention for interesting details or humor. I'm surprised that I have been fully engaged in listening from the beginning to the end. The last three … Continue reading Hero Or Villain
