que pasa - being_bookish

Giving voice

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 10:54:32 +0800

I read this today and found it gives voice to something I have been struggling with a long time. I'm not there yet at the position of rest, but the desire to just give it all up and let Papa handle things without my interference has become increasingly strong, especially over these past few months.

"My God, I wish to give you the gift you so much desire; I wish to commit myself to you once and for all, so there shall be no taking back. I cannot commit myself into your hands, O God, I cannot do it; but yet…

Khaled Hosseini writes good stuff!

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Wed, 21 May 2008 11:26:40 +0800

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.

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 12:50:00 +0800

"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.…

Hot books

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 10:45:00 +0800

Here’s a list of books for you people who like reading… apparently the books coming out this fall are looking good.

Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 14:26:47 +0800

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…

The 2006 Believer Book Awards

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 17:20:00 +0800

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…

Darcy's Story by Jane Aylmer

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Mon, 28 May 2007 09:45:54 +0800

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.

Gideon's Spies by Gordon Thomas

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 13:10:00 +0800

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.

Harry Potter

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Sat, 24 Jun 2006 23:27:39 +0800

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 Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason

noreply@blogspirit.com (mashie) — Wed, 09 Nov 2005 22:00:00 +0800

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.…