Category: Books

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 #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 #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 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” →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →

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 →