Monday, September 30, 2019
Friday, September 27, 2019
Review: Un'estate con la Strega dell'Ovest
Un'estate con la Strega dell'Ovest by Kaho NashikiMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Il titolo mi ha ingannato un po', ma tutto sommato era un libro molto carino. Nonostante il fatto che avvenga in Giappone (anche se la nonna è dell'ovest) mi faceva venire una certa nostalgia. Mi ricordava l'estate con i nonni per i poggi della Toscana.
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Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Review: La bella Fanny
La bella Fanny by Pedro LenzMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Un libro curioso e interessante, tradotto in italiano direttamente dal Bernese (berndeutsch), senza la traduzione intermedia in hochdeutsch. Non è una storia d'azione, ma più di conversazione e dialoghi tra amici a Olten, e di pensieri di scrittori e pittori, la maggior parte mentre bevono troppo e sono alla ricerca di buon cibo.
"Chi compera un quadro cerca l'esotico, vuole che l'artista abbia un aspetto malsano, che viva storie d'amore complicate, che faccia le ore piccole, che alzi il gomito e che tiri la cinghia".
Ovviamente c'è anche la storia che circonda Fanny e il narratore, ma difficile discuterne senza svelarne la trama.
Rilevante il fatto che sia una storia di uno scrittore con due buoni amici, tutti innamorati della stessa donna, e che al contempo lo scrittore stesse scrivendo un libro su tre amici tutti innamorati della stessa donna. Mi chiedo dunque se i livelli estendono anche dalla parte opposta e se sia una storia di Lenz e i suoi amici. Indubbiamente almeno qualcosa di autobiografico c'è, che si capisce anche dalle ultime due frasi del libro: "Le storie, non siamo noi a cercarle. Sono loro che vengono a bussare alla nostra porta"
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Monday, September 23, 2019
Review: Body Of Proof
Body Of Proof by Darrell BrownMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Scottish police can destroy evidence while the accused is still serving a sentence? I can't fathom the reasoning behind that. Is storage space really that limited in Scotland?
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Monday, September 16, 2019
Review: The Plotters
The Plotters by Un-su KimMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
All in all a fun read. Not fast-paced, but deeper than most thrillers. Still has quite a few twists and turns.
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Friday, September 13, 2019
Review: The Story of Hong Gildong
The Story of Hong Gildong by UnknownMy rating: 0 of 5 stars
A fun story. Sort of a cross between Robin hood and Water Margin (水滸傳), with a Journey to the West feel to it.
While it's fun and quick, there isn't all that much more going for it. But it seems to be part of the canon of Korean literature, so still worth getting to know.
Also, I was kind of annoyed at how the whole premise of the story was that he, as the son of a concubine, couldn't "call his father his father and call his brother his brother", but then once he becomes ruler over his kingdom, he still gets concubines and treats their sons as lesser sons.
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Review: Friendship For Grown-Ups
Friendship For Grown-Ups by Nao-Cola YamazakiMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Excellent! 3 short stories that are semi-linked in a sort of Paul Auster-ish way.
Apparently this is part of the Keshiki series: https://strangebookfellowsblog.wordpr...
I'll be checking out some more of these, since it seems like there are no English translations of Nao-Cola's works left for me to read.
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Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Review: Zazie in the Metro
Zazie in the Metro by Raymond QueneauMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I was going to give up on this at first, since it seemed like the translation was pretty bad, then I realized what was going on and that actually it was quite good and the translator's job must've been a huge undertaking, then I was going to give up on it once more because I wanted to read it in the original French. In the end I stuck with it. It was strange but definitely kept me interested. The Paris it portrays is oddly captivating. I still want to read it in the original at some point. 4.5 stars, and I'll give it time to see if I want to round it up or down.
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Thursday, September 05, 2019
Review: The Book of Leeds: A City in Short Fiction
The Book of Leeds: A City in Short Fiction by Maria CrossanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
As with pretty much any collection of short stories. These were hit or miss. But there were some great hits in here, so I will be looking for more from some of the authors.
My favorites:
"Finding Polish" by M.Y. Alam
"Michael" by Jeremy Dyson (I think)
"The Falling" by Susan Everett
"Twenty five reasons" by Andrea Semple
I should probably add, I have no desire to visit Leeds after having read these stories.
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Review: Ginseng and Borderland: Territorial Boundaries and Political Relations Between Qing China and Choson Korea, 1636-1912
Ginseng and Borderland: Territorial Boundaries and Political Relations Between Qing China and Choson Korea, 1636-1912 by Seonmin KimMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I found myself wondering if this book was written as part of the whole fight over the border between Korea and China, which I seem to remember was in the news a few years ago. Regardless, it deals almost entirely with that, and it changes nothing regarding the fact that it was pretty much the Yalu and Tumen rivers.
However, the book itself is very interesting. Obviously the border was never an issue before the Qing dynasty, since that area was Manchuria. Also, it seems like Ginseng was the main reason anyone had any interest in that area. Apparently some of the best Ginseng in the world grew there (but was over farmed, so you probably won't find any there now).
Interesting how the Chosun court gave Mu-ke-deng a faulty map, which placed the border somewhat more North than what it should have been, but this never got corrected nor was cared about too much. In fact, the Chosun court worried about it more and then found it a burden to try to send people to that area.
The more secure the Qing government was in its control over China, the more leeway they gave the Chosun government as regards the border, since they didn't feel any threat.
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Tuesday, September 03, 2019
Review: Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English
Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English by John McWhorterMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was worried this would be a rehash of McWhorter's other book, or of other books on the English language (I'm thinking mainly Melvin Bragg's "The Story of English"), but actually it had some very refreshing material.
I like his discussions on the useless "do" in English. ('Did you see that?' 'I don't like that' Etc.) and how it probably derives from the celtic.
I'm not sure i'm convinced of one of his examples of English uniqueness, stating how "I read" isn't really present tense because, when asked what they're doing, no one would reply "I read". I mean, that's true, but it doesn't seem unique to English, as he says it is. In Italian you would answer with the gerund (like with English) "sto leggendo", and in Chinese you would probably say something like ”我正在看書“ (so basically the gerund as well). Unless I understood it incorrectly.
Fascinating how "Going to" became a future tense. I also enjoyed his takedown of prescriptive grammarians and Sapir-Whorf adherents (although I imagine no linguists take that hypothesis seriously anymore, so it was probably directed to all the lay readers).
I'm also not sure I'm convinced about the semitic influence on Proto-Germanic, although it reminded me of one of the Sherlock Holmes stories (I can't remember which one) where he was trying to figure out whether Cornish had Chaldean roots.
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Monday, September 02, 2019
Review: The Last Dickens
The Last Dickens by Matthew PearlMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book was sort of a let-down, but I'm really not sure how it could have improved. It's a mystery, but also a historical novel. For some reason, these two genres seem to often be in conflict. A mystery should be quick-paced, leaving the reader with cliff-hangers and wanting to know more, while a historical novel often delves into life in a certain place at a certain time, creating the atmosphere for that locale, which takes time. So these two things often don't go hand in hand (I've rarely seen it work well, as with Umberto Eco).
Anyway, all that was to say that this novel seemed disjointed. Some exhilarating action, followed by a deep dive into 19th century Boston, or the publishing industry during Dickensian times. I enjoy all of these, but they didn't really seem to mesh. Add some scenes in India that add absolutely nothing to the story, and it is rather frustrating.
Having said that, it did make me very curious about The Mystery of Edwin Drood. I remember, as a kid, seeing the play of Edwin Drood at a theater in Cape Cod. I knew nothing of it ahead of time, and halfway through the performance the actors came out, saying that Dickens never finished the novel, so the audience would vote on the final outcome. I don't remember what we voted for, but I do remember being frustrated there too.
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Review: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. CialdiniMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was afraid this book would be out of date, since I know it has been around for a while. But, as the book mentions, this information will be more and more relevant as we become more and more inundated with information from all directions. So I'm definitely glad I read it.
There are certain pointers I can probably use for business, although for the most part it was eye opening to see what methods other businesses can (and do) implement in order to get me to spend my money.
Tidbits I enjoyed:
How a woman increased sales of Turquoise by doubling the price (we called these luxury goods in Econ class)
How the tailor pretended to be deaf in order to get a sale
How the toy store manages to increase post-christmas sales
How the cult in Chicago started seeking publicity only After their doomsday scenario didn't pan out
If you are selling your car, have various potential buyers show up at the same time.
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