From My IPhone Quote Of The Day #49 Wilkie Walker is a 60-year-old professor, writer, and naturalist. He thought he had cancer and didn't want to go through the indignity of radiation treatment and the painfully slow progress of declining health. He wants a quick solution. So he convinced his wife Jenny to go for … Continue reading Quote Of The Day: The Last Resort
Category: Books
Quote Of The Day: Love And Friendship
Quote Of The Day #48 Emmy lives happily with her husband Holman Turner and their five-year-old son Freddy near Convers College in Upstate New York, where Holman is an assistant professor. As the husband is busy with his teaching and research, the wife is left alone, feeling isolated, unfulfilled, and unloved. Holman is unsympathetic to … Continue reading Quote Of The Day: Love And Friendship
Quote Of The Day: Weekend Reading
Quote Of The Day #47 I've tried to read a scary book like "Dead Zone", "1922", or "Full Dark, No Stars" by Stephen King, but I ended up reading "11/22/63", "Different Seasons", and "On Writing". None of the three books are scary. The last one is not intended to scare people, but rather it is … Continue reading Quote Of The Day: Weekend Reading
The School Bully (Flash Fiction Part 2)
This is the 2nd part of the story. The first part is here. Nali thought about how to get those books from Sulang, but it was just a thought. An obsessive thought, but still it's only a thought. It would never be put into action if it was not for the newcomer Meiru, who's parents … Continue reading The School Bully (Flash Fiction Part 2)
Somewhere And Nowhere
Paul and Katherine, the loving couple, fly from Boston to Los Angeles. Paul is a thirty-year-old historian who finds a wonderful job at a big corporation in the West Coast. Paul is so excited since this is a career boosting opportunity. Katherine, on the other hand doesn't want to leave Boston, where she has her … Continue reading Somewhere And Nowhere
Quote Of The Day: Complicated and Unexpected
Quote Of The Day #46 Alan and Jane had a perfect marriage--he's a professor, architect, and writer in a university in upstate New York while she's a capable senior administrator in the same place. One day Alan played sports with his students twenty years his junior, fell to the ground, and hurt his back. At … Continue reading Quote Of The Day: Complicated and Unexpected
Quote Of The Day: Contradicting Views
Quote Of The Day #45 Why shouldn't she, like Polly, have made at least one serious mistake in a rush of passion. In the absence of happiness, pleasure and power are the best the world has to offer. Both of us were fools, trusting people to whom in the end we didn't mean all that … Continue reading Quote Of The Day: Contradicting Views
Quote Of The Day: Know Yourself
Quote Of The Day #44 When her husband left eighteen months ago, Polly hadn't expected her life to turn out like this. Miserable and angry though she was, she had looked forward to the adventure of being single again. But as her friends and the media had already warned her, there weren't any good men … Continue reading Quote Of The Day: Know Yourself
Quote Of The Day: Campus Controversies
Quote Of The Day #43 Other wars end eventually in victory, defeat or exhaustion, but the war between men and women goes on forever. Sometimes I think wanting to be good is just another form of vanity. Probably he isn’t taking proper care of himself because of self-hatred… He could see no way out: it … Continue reading Quote Of The Day: Campus Controversies
Quote Of The Day
Quote Of The Day #42 I read this author's "The Loyal Son" about Ben Franklin and his son, and really like it. I have to say our local grocery store really has nice biographies and nice WWII books. Anyway, I went online to see if the same author wrote other biographies and found this one … Continue reading Quote Of The Day
Quote Of The Day: Not Scary
Quote Of The Day #41 I read three of Stephen King’s book before: “1922”, “The Dead Zone”, “Full Dark, No Stars”. And I like all of them. And this is why I bought “11/22/63”, thinking that it is simultaneously entertaining and educational since it is about JFK assassination and 1963. However, the book is not … Continue reading Quote Of The Day: Not Scary
Quote Of The Day: Better Than Middlemarch
Quote Of The Day #40 "Scenes Of Clerical Life" by George Eliot I was surprised to find that this book is better than "Middlemarch", which I read long time ago. And I am sorry to say that the only reason I read "Middlemarch" was that it is recommended in many reading lists from google search, … Continue reading Quote Of The Day: Better Than Middlemarch
Quote Of The Day: Life In The 18th Century
Quote Of The Day #39 I've got this habit of picking up books from the local grocery store. They are very good sleep aids--reading several pages can put me to sleep much quicker than watching videos on my cell phone. Then last week I picked up "The Loyal Son" by Daniel Mark Epstein and surprisingly … Continue reading Quote Of The Day: Life In The 18th Century
Quote Of The Day #38
Image by Jerzy Górecki from Pixabay I have an Audible plus membership and it gives free audio books. Even though I know I often don't like these free books, I can't resist a freebie. So I downloaded an anthology of poems "She Walked In Beauty". It turns out better than I thought. Most of these … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #38
Quote Of The Day #37
Image by StockSnap from Pixabay "The Thing Around Your Neck" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is the first book I read that's written about immigrants' life from an immigrant's point of view. The struggle and the hustle and the opinions expressed have that special effect that I can identify with. Other books I've read on similar … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #37
Quote Of The Day #36
Image by virin000 from Pixabay I was reading "The Collected Poetry Of Dorothy Parker". These poems are too sad and despondent for my taste. I think probably the author can really release her feelings of being unloved and abandoned through writing these lines, but it feels awful to read it. Actually it's not only the … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #36
February Festivities
Image by Lubov Lisitsa from Pixabay February is the month with the most festivities because it has four holidays. This happens almost every year, except when the Lunar New Year falls in January. For 2022, Feb 1st is the Lunar New Year; Feb 13th, The Super Bowl; Feb 14th Valentine's day; Feb 21st, President's Day. … Continue reading February Festivities
Quote Of The Day #35
Image by Erin East from Pixabay I stumbled upon a YouTube video, which is also a book “Political Philosophy” by Steven B. Smith. It's posted by YaleCourse and it is part of the Yale Open Course series. I instantly thought that the view in this course would be too conservative for my taste since I … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #35
Quote Of The Day 34
Image by Kristine Lejniece from Pixabay I found some quotes on "hope" that I think are very interesting. We can't live without hope, but hope can sometimes lead us astray. “It’s not the despair... I can take the despair. It’s the hope I can’t stand.” This is from Blackthorn's post here. The post describes a … Continue reading Quote Of The Day 34
Irrational Man
Image by Sarah Richter from Pixabay I just finished "Irrational Man" by William Barrett, with only an hour of appendix to go. I have to say I still don't understand existentialism more than before even if I've finished this book. However, this is not to say the book is not entertaining. There are many quotes … Continue reading Irrational Man
December Reading
Image by FETHI BOUHAOUCHINE from Pixabay I've been reading these books for at least two months, but the progress is rather slow. Life has too many distractions and reading is usually the first thing to be sacrificed. And inevitably the regret will come later, "why didn't I read books instead of watching that silly video … Continue reading December Reading
November Unfinished
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay Unfinished Story I can't come up with an ending for the "The King And The Thief" post of yesterday. And right now I don't know what to do. I know my own weakness--the stage fright. I can come up with reasonably good ideas when not under stress. However when … Continue reading November Unfinished
Quote Of The Day #33
Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay Finally finished the book "Utilitarianism/On Liberty". I already read "On Liberty" before, but this combined book was on sale on Audible. I just can't resist a discount. So I bought it. Also I have always wanted to know if the concept "the pursuit of happiness" is really from utilitarianism. … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #33
Veterans Day Favorite
Image by azboomer from Pixabay I was too busy yesterday, Veterans Day, to finish this post. I often watch a documentary or a movie on wars for this day. All of these shows are interesting, and I guess the reason for that is because there are so much action. The plot moves quickly and the … Continue reading Veterans Day Favorite
Shelf Life
Image by Ylanite Koppens from Pixabay I am cleaning up my bookshelf and getting rid of books I have no intention of rereading, and books that I haven't read and don't want to read. A lot belong to the last category. The reason is that I got them on sale. Yes, it is true. I … Continue reading Shelf Life
Quote Of The Day #32
Finally, I am finishing reading this very entertaining and very pessimistic book. And the last 20% of the book is even more fun to read than the previous chapters. One funny thing about Mencken is that he is against all the major wars. He doesn't like the Civil War and he thinks the South should … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #32
Quote Of The Day #31
Finally I am at the last quarter of this book. Here Mencken is getting more pessimistic and more entertaining. We can't take him too seriously and his ideas are often stretched for comedic effects. Mencken thinks that hard working can kill inspiration. …the observed hopelessness of trying to pump up inspiration by mere hard industry—the … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #31
Quote Of The Day #30
Image by Yuri_B from Pixabay More Mencken. I don't have much time to read every day and now I feel that I am stuck with this Mencken book forever. He is very pessimistic about almost everything, himself included. I think probably his only pleasure in life is to voice his pessimistic views. Still, whatever he … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #30
Quote Of The Day #29
Photo by Suzy Hazelwood from Pexels I've been reading "Chrestomathy" for a month, but still I haven't finished it. It is so interesting that I really don't want to skip. However I also don't have much time for reading recently, being caught in the year end rush to get things done. The result is I … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #29
Quote Of The Day #28
Image by Gerhard G. from Pixabay He is chronically and unescapably deceived, not only by the other animals and by the delusive face of nature herself, but also and more particularly by himself—by his incomparable talent for searching out and embracing what is false, and for overlooking and denying what is true. The capacity for … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #28
Quote Of The Day #27
Image by Laci Döme from Pixabay I dislike Nietzsche very strongly when he talks about women or marriage--he is quite mad and biased and unfair. However when he talks about education, I do feel that there's some truth in it. "Whether his work be done in a primary school, a secondary school or in the … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #27
Quote Of The Day #26
Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay I think these quotes should be called anti-quotes rather than quotes since they sound downright ridiculous. I like H. L. Mencken a lot but still whenever the topics of relationship and women come up, he talks like a mad man--a very entertaining mad man but still a mad man. … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #26
Ode To Bookworms
Image by Pexels from Pixabay I'm often annoyed when bookworms are mocked or criticized in books. Around the world, little bookworms are often unfairly ostracized and isolated from their relatives or friends due to their choice of entertainment. Being misunderstood by people surrounding you is hard enough, and being misunderstood by authors who write books … Continue reading Ode To Bookworms
Quote Of The Day #25
Image by Gerhard G. from Pixabay I vowed that I would never buy another book on sale at Audible.com, but here I was, once again, bought something just because of the discount. I knew I don't like Emerson very much--his English is a little too archaic for my non-native ears--but I couldn't resist the temptation … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #25
Quote Of The Day #24
Image by Pexels from Pixabay Talking with an old friend, I suddenly felt the urge to find some quotes about friendship. These are several I found from books. I tried to find a quote by George Orwell, but he didn't write about friendship much. Still reviewing several pages of his essays, my love for his … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #24
Quote Of The Day #23
Image by Willgard Krause from Pixabay I don't agree with what H. L. Mencken says, but still what he says is very entertaining. His ideas of relationship between men and women are too exaggerated to be taken seriously, too caricatured to be considered real. Or probably because he's from a different time--those days before or … Continue reading Quote Of The Day #23
Quote Of The Day #22
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
Please also visit me on Instagram and Twitter. https://twitter.com/Haoyandohttps://www.instagram.com/haoyando/
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
Haoyan Do 