Review: The Underground Village

The Underground Village by Kang Kyeong-ae
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Depressing but poignant, by someone who lived it.


https://4201mass.blogspot.com/

View all my reviews

Review: Through the Woods

Through the Woods by E.M. Carroll
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I don't usually like graphic novels much, but this was good. Enjoyable and pretty scary.


https://4201mass.blogspot.com/

View all my reviews

Review: Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World

Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World by Irene Vallejo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There is nothing to really complain about with this book, but there's nothing to be excited about really either. This is not a history of Papyrus, nor is it necessarily about the invention of books (although that is covered, and I found it very interesting). This is more a journey through various topics the author finds interesting. The topics are indeed interesting, and they tie into paper, or writing, in some form or another. But they are chosen by the author for no apparent objective reason.

Conspicuously missing was the entire Asian continent. Indeed, anything East of the Levant. It would've been fascinating to read about how the Chinese used bamboo and silk for writing (and how these influenced the way Chinese characters could be carved, and therefore how they look).

Not to mention the fact that China lays claim to the invention of paper. It seems that might have been worthy of a mention.

The author also mentions the book as a major improvement to the scroll, but no mention of the accordion style used by Buddhist monks long before this.

It also would've been interesting to read about independent writing inventions and how they differed with/without paper, as in with the Americas.


Regardless, obviously it's not exhaustive, but just a collection of thoughts.



https://4201mass.blogspot.com/

View all my reviews

Review: Florescence—THE TAIPEI CHINESE PEN: A Quarterly Journal of Contemporary Chinese Literature from Taiw

Florescence—THE TAIPEI CHINESE PEN: A Quarterly Journal of Contemporary Chinese Literature from Taiwan by Various
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"Night of the Urban Legend" by Xiao Xiang Shen was my favorite story. Excellent premise, although I'm not sure about the ending.

"Tengu Entanglement" by Ho Ching-Yao was also promising, so I hope the rest of it is translated soon.


https://4201mass.blogspot.com/

View all my reviews

Review: Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae

Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae by Steven Pressfield
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ok this was an excellent start to this year (ok I started the book last year).

I know the movie 300 already exists, but while reading this I couldn't help wishing they'd make a movie based on this book. It would delve so much deeper into Spartan psyche and life and be so much less of a caricature.

Plus I am amazed since I read "Do the Work" years ago and it was one of my favorite business books. Yet for some reason I figured this precluded this historical fiction from being any good. But obviously this was the original work, and it was asbolutely worth reading.


First review of the year, first 5-star-rating. Let's hope that's a good omen.


https://4201mass.blogspot.com/

View all my reviews

Review: Seventeen

Seventeen by Hideo Yokoyama
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I usually read the blurbs and comments before reading a book, at least to get an idea as to whether I'll enjoy it or not. Either way, I obviously didn't do so for this since I would have seen that it is not a thriller at all, but newsroom drama.

Having said that, I didn't really mind it too much. It was insightful and interesting in its own way. Still, not sure I'd recommend it.

https://4201mass.blogspot.com/

View all my reviews

Review: Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI

Nexus: A Brief History of Information Networks from the Stone Age to AI by Yuval Noah Harari
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It is interesting to read this right after Nate Silver's "On the edge". My guess is we will start reading many more books dealing with AI and its changes to society, governments, business, and everyone's life.

This is written with the usual in-depth historical research typical of Harari, with some repetitions from his old books.

There are some fascinating points, such as how conservative political movements have become untenable with all this change, so they have morphed into radical movements touting revolutionary slogans.

Also some interesting analyses, such as how the Catholic church has been able to change with the times without ever admitting it was wrong (it cannot, since technically it follows God's word), but rather due to "bad actors". I don't know if this holds true, but it's an interesting perspective.


Either way, Harari remains a must-read.



https://4201mass.blogspot.com/

View all my reviews

Review: Under the Eye of the Big Bird

Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Am I the only person who was surprised at the sci-fi aspect of this book? I've read quite a few of Hiromi Kawakami's books, and while they often veer into surrealism, this went full-on futuristic dystopian sci-fi. The short stories are interconnected, and seem to come together at the end. I confess they gave me much to think about, especially given the AI aspect, but it felt very different from her other novels. 

So, while I realize my disappointment might be a tad misplaced, I still feel like I was robbed from reading a Hiromi Kawakami novel, which I had been looking forward to. Hence the 3 stars. 

View all my reviews

Review: The Match

The Match by Harlan Coben
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fast-paced. A tad far-fetched, but good and engaging.


https://4201mass.blogspot.com/

View all my reviews