Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Khaled Hosseini writes good stuff!
For some strange reason, I stay away from books about Asia but this author was recommended to me by a good friend and I trust his taste.
Thoroughly enjoyed the book, good writing, good story. Makes you feel for the characters.
I strongly recommend reading The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.
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Tuesday, October 02, 2007
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
"This is the extraordinary love story of Clare and Henry who met when Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-two and Henry thirty. Impossible but true, because Henry suffers from a rare condition where his genetic clock periodically resets and he finds himself pulled suddenly into his past or future. In the face of this force they can neither prevent nor control, Henry and Clare’s struggle to lead normal lives is both intensely moving and entirely unforgettable."
I had heard about how good this book was but somehow never got around to reading it. Now that I’ve bought it and read it, I give it my two thumbs up too.
I thought it was well-written and engaging. Beautiful piece of work. Read it!
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Monday, September 10, 2007
Hot books
Here’s a list of books for you people who like reading… apparently the books coming out this fall are looking good.
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Monday, August 06, 2007
Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet
Daniel sees numbers as shapes, colors and textures and can perform extraordinary maths in his head. He can also learn to speak a language fluently from scratch in a week. He has Savant Syndrome, an extremely rare form of Asperger’s that gives him almost unimaginable mental powers, much like the Rain Man portrayed by Dustin Hoffman. But he is virtually unique amongst people who have severe autistic disorders in being able to live a fully independent life.”
I bought this book because I thought this was the guy somebody mentioned who was able to learn Icelandic in a week, and the first few pages read well. Finished reading this short book on key topics/events concerning his life to date. Easy enjoyable reading.
Dustin Hoffman’s character is actually inspired by another savant Kim Peek. Daniel Tammet actually got to meet him and writes about it in this book.
I don’t know why I haven’t seen Rain Man even though I’ve heard so much about it. I should go get the DVD.
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Friday, June 01, 2007
The 2006 Believer Book Awards
This year’s survey asked readers to name the three works of fiction from 2006 they considered to be the finest. Here are the top ten (the rest are listed here) for easy reference:
1. Cormac McCarthy, The Road
2. ___________, _________________ (left out because it the author was associated with the magazine that did the survey)
3. Chris Adrian, The Children’s Hospital
4. Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day
5. David Mitchell, Black Swan Green
6. Richard Powers, The Echo Maker
7. Gary Shteyngart, Absurdistan
8. Marisha Pessl, Special Topics in Calamity Physics
9. T. Cooper, Lipshitz Six, or Two Angry Blondes
10. Daniel Handler, Adverbs
I haven’t heard of any of them. I guess I’ll be looking them up soon. Have you? Or maybe you’d like to recommend something a good book you’ve read.
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Monday, May 28, 2007
Darcy's Story by Jane Aylmer
This book is the story of Pride and Prejudice (by Jane Austen) written from Mr. Darcy’s perspective. Great reading. Made me enjoy the character and the story even more. I strongly recommend the book if you’re a Pride and Prejudice fan.
I’ll bring it back home in October if you can wait that long.
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Thursday, February 01, 2007
Gideon's Spies by Gordon Thomas
This book is about the Israeli secret service, the Mossad. If you like espionage, there's lots of stuff you'll like here. Had quite a few wow's and oh-shit's myself.
Hmm, somehow that last sentence sounds rather crude, but that's exactly how I reacted when I read the book.
Anyway, enjoy.
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Saturday, June 24, 2006
Harry Potter
I have seen the three movies but not read any of the books. Having heard that the books are much better and that the movies did not do justice to the books, I told myself that I should get all the books and read them at some point.
Now we all know by now how hard it is to get English reading material here, so I always visit the book table when it is set up outside Carrefour. One day I saw all the Harry Potter books on display, and they were only going for 10 RMB each. The Order of the Phoenix (the fifth book) was thicker and so it was priced at 20 RMB. I grabbed them all.
I really am not sure if these are legitimate copies, but this was too good an opportunity to miss. All the books available at once, all going for a very good price, and English reading material good for a few weeks. The paper quality is not very good and there are a couple of printing errors, but otherwise it is all good.
I have enjoyed the books very much. And I am glad that I got to read the first six books together. I am embarrassed to say this but I cried when Dumbledore died. It was a teary ending to the sixth book. I am glad that I was alone when I read the book, did not want people to see me dabbing my eyes with tissue.
Anyway, if you have not read it, you really should. It is good stuff. I am looking forward to the last book in the series.
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Wednesday, November 09, 2005
The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason
They say that if you liked The Da Vinci Code, you will love this book. I never read The Da Vinci Code, but I think The Rule of Four is a really good - I have lost much sleep over this book.
It is essentially about solving the mystery of a historical text and the lives of the four main characters in the book that are directly or indirectly connected to the mystery. My eyes were practically glued to the book, reading as fast as I could to find out what happens next.
I am very satisfied after completing the book. Definitely worth my money. For those of you in Singapore who want to borrow the book, you can contact my brother.
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Sunday, September 25, 2005
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime by Mark Haddon
Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, fifteen-year-old Christopher is autistic and everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning for him. He lives on patterns, rules, and a diagram kept in his pocket. Then one day, a neighbors dog is killed and his carefully constructed universe is threatened. Christopher sets out to solve the murder in the style of his favorite detective, Sherlock Holmes.
---
I like this book because the author has done a brilliant job of keeping you occupied with the intricate details of Christopher's life while letting you see the tension and frustration that is felt by people he comes into contact with.
This book did not turn out exactly the way I expected, but I am beginning to think that little in this world does anyway. So read it because it is well written and opens your eyes a little bit more.
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Monday, August 29, 2005
Pecked to Death by Ducks by Tim Cahill
I wish I had as many adventures as Tim Cahill. This book is a compilation of short episodes of his various experiences. Up the mountains, skydiving, exploring caves, deep tunnels, visiting tribes to watch their customs and rituals.
He writes with a certain sense of irreverence, and that makes his stories funny. His writing also makes me feel like I am there with him. You know, get to see all of the action, but get into none of the trouble he does.
Reading this book was my way of escaping when I was in China for the past month. I need to look for more books like these to keep me sane.
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Friday, June 24, 2005
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
Patresa (click here, or use hyperlink on left) reminded me of how much I enjoyed this book. Here's my favorite part.
The author, David Sedaris, is an American-born Greek. The context of this passage is him taking French class while he is in France. This is a beginners class, and his classmates are from different countries, all struggling with the language. This is the second month of French class. And they're all trying to discuss Easter, in French.
(Beginning of excerpt)
"And what does one do on Easter? Would anyone like to tell us?" the teacher asked.
It was, for me, another of those holidays I'd just as soon avoid. As a rule, my family had always ignored the Easter celebrated by our non-Orthodox friends and neighbours. While the others feasted on their chocolate figurines, my brother, sisters and I had endured epic fasts, folding our bony fingers in prayer and begging for an end to the monotony that was the Holy Trinity Church. As Greeks, we had our own Easter, which was usually observed anywhere from two to four weeks after what was known in our circle as the "the American version." The reason has to do with the moon or the Orthodox calendar – something mysterious like that – though our mother always suspected it was scheduled at a later date so that the Greeks could buy their marshmallow chicks and plastic grass at drastically reduced sale prices. "The cheap sons of bitches," she'd say. "If they had their
way, we'd be celebrating Christmas in the middle of goddamn February."
…
The Morrocan student interrupted, shouting, "Excuse me, but what's an Easter?"
It would seem that despite having grown in up in a Muslim country, she would have heard it mentioned once or twice, but no. "I mean it," she said. "I have no idea what you people are talking about."
The teacher called upon the rest of us to explain.
The Poles led the charge to the best of their ability. "It is," said one, "a party for a little boy of God who call his self Jesus and… oh, shit." She faltered and her fellow countryman came to her aid.
"He call his self Jesus and then he die one day on two… morsels of lumber."
"He die one day and then he go above of my head to live with your father."
"He weared of himself the long hair and after he die, the first day he come back here for to say hello to the peoples."
"He nice, the Jesus."
"He make the good things, and on the Easter we be sad because somebody makes him dead today."
…We talked about food instead.
"Easter is a party for to eat of the lamb," the Italian nanny explained. "One too may eat of the chocolate."
"And who brings the chocolate?" the teacher asked.
I knew the word so I raised my hand, saying, "The rabbit of Easter. He bring of the chocolate."
"A rabbit?" The teacher, assuming I'd use the wrong word, positioned her index fingers on top of her head, wriggling them as thought they were ears. "You mean one of these? A rabbit rabbit?"
"Well, sure," I said. "He come in the night when one sleep on a bed. With a hand he have a basket and foods."
The teacher signed and shook her head. As far as she was concerned, I had just explained everything that was wrong with my country. "No, no," she said. "Here in France the chocolate is brought by a big bell that flies in from Rome."
I called for a time-out. "But how do the bell know where you live?"
"Well," she said, "how does a rabbit?"
It was a decent point, but at least a rabbit has eyes. That's a start. Rabbits move from place to place, while most bells can only go back and forth – and they can't even do that on their own power. On top of that, the Easter Bunny has character. He's someone you'd like to meet and shake hands with. A bell has all the personality of a cast-iron skillet. It's like saying that come Christmas, a magic dustpan flies in from the North Pole, led by eight flying cinder blocks. Who wants to stay up all night so they can see a bell? And why fly one in from Rome when they've got more bells than they know what to do with right here in Paris? That's the most implausible aspect of the whole story, as there's no way the bells of France would allow a foreign worker to fly in and take their jobs. That Roman bell would be lucky to get work cleaning up after a French bell's dog – and even then he'd need papers.
…
(End of excerpt)
I find this amusing because I know what it is like to struggle with another language and fail so miserably to get your point across. Maybe I should start resorting to hand gestures and drawing pictures for people.
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Tuesday, June 14, 2005
The New Singapore Dream by Moh Hon Meng
“The New Singapore Dream is Hon Meng’s answer to the new generation of Singaporeans who lament that there are no opportunities left to pursue here, a clarion call to get off the designer armchair and be a creator, not a critic.”
The author wrote this book containing ideas for civil servants and entrepreneurs in Singapore’s new business environment in response to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s National Day speech last year. He feels that the government is now more ready than ever to help entrepreneurs succeed and if people (both civil servants and regular Singaporeans like us) think and dig hard, our country is capable of producing businesses and changing existing policies to enable huge successes. This will differentiate Singapore and put us in excellent position relative to the growing behemoths (China and India) and the other countries around us.
While I do not think that there are absolutely no opportunities in Singapore, I think that the big fish are swimming further up north in the Chinese waters. So I had to read this book I guess – I belong to that “new generation”. This book is an interesting read because it lets you see things from an entrepreneur’s perspective. We are so used to being employees that some of us have absolutely no idea what it means to start a business. And we are so used to Singapore being a certain way that we cannot imagine how else Singapore could be.
Read this - even if it is only to get some suggestions on what businesses you could start or to get into an entrepreneur’s head. He also has some appealing ideas there. Now we just need the right people and mindset to get this party started. And maybe, like me, you will get this ticklish feeling of hope that perhaps Singapore CAN be bigger and better.
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Thursday, May 19, 2005
Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
im2loko gave me this book as a present and I read it a year ago. I had heard of F. Scott Fitzgerald because of The Great Gatsby. Am currently reading a few more of his works. Having read both The Great Gatsby and Tender Is the Night, I prefer the latter more. More angst, more emotion, more pain. You do feel it.
Extracted from Amazon:
Published in 1934, Tender Is the Night was one of the most talked-about books of the year. "It's amazing how excellent much of it is," Ernest Hemingway said to Maxwell Perkins. "I will say now," John O'Hara wrote Fitzgerald, "Tender Is the Night is in the early stages of being my favorite book, even more than This Side of Paradise." And Archibald MacLeish exclaimed: "Great God, Scott...You are a fine writer. Believe it -- not me."
Set on the French Riviera in the late 1920s, Tender Is the Night is the tragic romance of the young actress Rosemary Hoyt and the stylish American couple Dick and Nicole Diver. A brilliant young psychiatrist at the time of his marriage, Dick is both husband and doctor to Nicole, whose wealth goads him into a lifestyle not his own, and whose growing strength highlights Dick's harrowing demise. A profound study of the romantic concept of character -- lyrical, expansive, and hauntingly evocative -- Tender Is the Night, Mabel Dodge Luhan remarked, raised F. Scott Fitzgerald to the heights of "a modern Orpheus."
Of all his novels, Tender Is the Night is arguably the one closest to Fitzgerald's heart. As he himself wrote, "Gatsby was a tour de force, but this is a confession of faith."
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Monday, May 16, 2005
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
I cannot decide whether I like this book or not. But being at the jetty as reminded me of the old man though, hence this review.
The book was not exactly a page turner - the pace is somewhat slow - yet I felt like I was stuck with the old man in his little boat out at sea, so I could not ditch him till we returned to shore.
The old man's life was simple. He loved fishing, it was his life. He was not headed in any particular "direction" per se, yet he knew what he had to do.
Such simplicity and clarity is refreshingly attractive - a very "que sera, sera" attitude and you just take whatever comes.
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Saturday, March 12, 2005
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
"Ten days after the war ended, my sister Laura drove a car off a bridge." More than fify years on, Iris Chase is remembering Laura's mysterious death. And so begins an extraordinary and compelling sotry of two sisters and their secrets. Set against a panoramic backdrop of twentieth-centure history, The Blind Assassin is an epic tale of memory, intrigue and betrayal.
I finished all 637 pages of the book in a day. I was going through the pages really fast because I wanted to know how the seperate stories would link up. But in skimming over what I thought was boring fluff, I did not catch some details. And when I finally reached the end, I had to go back and re-read some parts in order to figure things out. The book was great!
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Thursday, March 10, 2005
Developing the Leaders Around You by John C. Maxwell
"The bottom line - and the message of this book - is that you can't do it alone. If you really want to be a leader, you must develop other leaders around you. You must establish a team. You must find a way to get your vision seen, implemented, and contributed to by others. the leader sees the big picture, but he needs other leaders to help make his picture reality."
I read this book with the perspective on understanding what leaders look out for in other potential leaders. This way, I have an idea of where I need to improve. What I did not expect was to realize that my ex-ex-boss did practice many of the things mentioned in there. While I do not take this book to be the absolute standard on developing leadership, I am glad to know that he saw the potential in me and felt that I could go further. This of course raises questions on what sort of leader I am today, and I will have to take time to think about that.
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Monday, February 14, 2005
How to Live 365 Days a Year by John A Schindler M. D.
"This wonderful book offers you the power to make life worth living again - the power to rid yourself of dragging tiredness, aches, pains, allergies and a wide range of other common and uncommon ailments. It shows you why, how, and when you make yourself sick - and then tells you precisely what you should do to MAKE YOURSELF WELL."
The book essentially stipulates that negative emotions (by triggering hormonal responses in your body) cause your organs to malfunction, or perform poorly - emotionally induced illness. If you can regulate your emotions and thoughts, then your hormonal production will be optimized and so will the functioning ability of your organs.
While there are definitely diseases that are not caused by negative emotions (such as hereditary ones), what the author stipulates does make some sense and would go such a long way to rid us of a significant proportion of our sicknesses if taken seriously.
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Sunday, February 13, 2005
A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly
"Based on a real murder at the turn of the centurty, this outstanding debut novel is a power and moving coming-of-age book. Mattie is torn between her familial responsibilties, her desire to be a writer, and the excitement of a first romance. Her dilemmas and choices are quietly reflected in the life of a young woman found drowned in a lake, a woman that Mattie only gets to know through reading her letters.
When finally the tales of Mattie and the drowned girl merge, their stories beautifully combine in a brilliant and perfect conclusion."
I like this book because it is so easy to enjoy. It does not have complicated characters or twists, but you do feel like you are following Mattie all around, or even looking through her eyes. You have stepped into that world and you just want to know which way she will go.
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Friday, February 04, 2005
The Dive from Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer
"Carrie Bell was born and raised in Wisconsin. She's had the same best friend, the same good relationship with her mother, the same boyfriend for as long as anyone can remember. She is already quietly bored with Mike there is a tragic accident at Clausen's Reservoir. Everyone things they know what Carrie will - and ought to - do. But Carrie is caught in a maze of moral dilemmas and is forced to question everything she thought she knew about herself. It is a moment of terrifying confusion, but also of mesmerizing possibility."
I read about this book on amazon almost a year ago. Had always meant to read it, but never quite got around to doing it. Finally, when I saw it at the book fair, I picked it up.
I like the story because it is about doing what you need to do instead of what others want you to do. I think everyone has to get away at some point from their regular lives. Gotta try something uncommon, unexpected. Then you know what you are really made of.
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