Review: Il mio Dante

Il mio Dante by Roberto Benigni
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a great book. I had never been able to catch any of Benigni's lectures on Dante, which I heard were excellent. Having read this book I can certainly believe it. My main complaint is that it only touches upon a fraction of the Divine Comedy. 

Benigni brings Dante to our living rooms and makes him a friendly (very intelligent) neighbor who talks to us about life and, especially, death. 

Some great asides that didn't have anything to do with the Divina Commedia itself:

"Un libro che resiste così tanto, o è erotico o è religioso. Prendiamo la Bibbia: non esiste opera più erotica e mistica della Bibbia"

"La Bibbia infatti è l'unico caso un cui l'autore del libro è anche l'autore dei lettori." (p. 26)

"Il mondo si divide in due: quelli che dividono il mondo in due e quelli che non lo dividono."

"Anche a me piace la vita, perció morire sarà l'ultima cosa che farò." (p. 28)

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Review: The Guest

The Guest by Hwang Sok-yong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is much heavier than the other books I've read by this author (Familiar Things and At Dusk). It is also fundamentally different, dealing quite literally with the ghosts of the past. Two brothers, born in North Korea before the war, who escaped, and then became ministers in the United States. One of the brothers passes away a few days before the younger one goes back to visit North Korea. 

None of it is gratuitous, but there is plenty of horror and murder. More specifically, many things that were blamed on the Americans and Japanese, turn out not to have been them at all, but to have been North Koreans against other North Koreans; quite literally neighbor against neighbor and families turning on each other. 

Apparently the author caught quite a bit of flack for this novel. 

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Review: 12 Months to $1 Million: How to Pick a Winning Product, Build a Real Business, and Become a Seven-Figure Entrepreneur

12 Months to $1 Million: How to Pick a Winning Product, Build a Real Business, and Become a Seven-Figure Entrepreneur by Ryan Daniel Moran
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is probably a great book for anyone who: A) sells physical goods to B) end consumers (as opposed to other businesses). 

If you are in a B2B business or wish to enter one, then there is next to nothing for you here. 

If you sell a service to end consumers, there are probably still many good tips. In fact, I plan on implementing them for my online courses, so we'll see how that goes. 

Some of my (copious) notes. I haven't put them in order yet:

It's not about your product, but your customer. Understand your customer

Where does your customer hang out? (who else does he/she follow/listen to?)

Create a promotional video (even on your phone, find tutorials online)

Find an influencer (around 10K followers) to promote it (and/or your product)

Stack the deck. Find people who will buy before you launch (1,000 fans, 100 friends, 1 microinfluencer). Get to 100 sales on launch day.

Goal: Get 10 reviews

Next: See what your customer will want next (CV? Networking? Translation agency? Sales?)

All courses need to follow a trend. What type of person do I want to be (what type of brand/business)?  - What do I want to be? 

Find influencers with 10K followers. (similarweb.com). Make a list of 10 people you can talk to. GIVE them something. What will help them. 

Stage 1

1. Find your core customer (this should make you cut off a good portion of your customers). Make your core customer love your product

2. Outline 3-5 products your core customer buys (that you can create later)

3. Choose first product

4. Share your progess. (document your journey). Where your audience can see. 

5. 

6. Stack the deck (even with ads for first few hundred fans). Find influencer with 10K followers

7. Take an order as quickly as possible

Stage 2. Growth

1. Does your audience want your product? They like it but sales are slow (need marketing to right people?)

2. Think small. Get 1 review today. Make one customer happy. Post EVERY good piece of feedback on Social media

3. Cultivate a core group of buyers (VIP list? FB group? 

4. Use PPC ads

Stage 3:

Launch as many products as you can

Advertise via influencers and audiences

Make relationships

Pay yourself (so you can work fulltime in business)

take strategic risks

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Review: Smilla's Sense of Snow

Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Absolutely no idea what to make of this book. It starts as a whodunnit, although I initially got it because it seemed to be about Greenland, which I thought would be interesting. Turns out the author is Danish, has nothing to do with Greenland, but seems to have done his research (I'd be curious to hear what Greenlanders think of what he says). But the result is a hodge-podge of mystery, random references to Greenlandic ways and traditions, and a very odd literary style. The conclusion of the mystery is a let-down and pretty implausible, to put it mildly, but it does make me more curious about Greenland. Does anyone know any good Greenlandic authors? 

One great sentence, however, that I had to highlight: 

"There is one way to understand another culture. <i>Living</> it. Move into it, ask to be tolerated as a guest, learn the language. At some moment you grasp what is foreign, you will lose the urge to explain it. To explain a phenomenon is to distance yourself from it." (p. 193)

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Review: The Histories

The Histories by Herodotus
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

"In peace, sons bury their fathers. In war, fathers bury their sons."

This needs to be read a lot more attentively than I did. It is a history book, but it reads a lot like mythology quite frankly (a man being saved by riding on a dolphin to safety, oracles, prophecies, etc.). Regardless, just reading it without much background (besides what I randomly already knew or had already heard of) it is certainly a collection of interesting stories. Much like mythology. 

I think I found the section on the different populations and differences between them most interesting. Also the story of the battle of Thermopylae. 

Some notes:

The Hellenes kissed each other on the mouth when greeting?

The Babylonians didn't have doctors but if someone was ill he or she went to the town square and tried to see if anyone else had had the same sickness and how they got better. 

Amazed at how much the Ancient Egyptians seem to have in common with the ancient Israelites (circumcision, aversion to pork, etc.)

"from lands which are not rugged men who are not rugged are apt to come forth"

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Review: Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Traitor to His Class: The Privileged Life and Radical Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt by H.W. Brands
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've decided I prefer biographies that dedicate a large portion to the subject's childhood and formative years. I think most, if not all, of the decisions and actions taken later on in life, are somehow tied to how the person was raised, and who his/her influences were, etc. 

Unfortunately, this biography didn't seem to dedicate enough time to FDR's childhood, in my opinion. We do get a decent idea that he was given everything he could possibly want, and was possibly kept in too sterile an environment as a child (the author infers that the polio that struck him later may have had something to do with this), and was oozing self-confidence. Still, I would have appreciated more. 

Of course, when someone has gone through all that FDR has gone through, there is plenty of material from later on in life, so this book was by no means tedious or boring at any point. 

I had been curious to read it also because Herbert Hoover's biography painted a picture of FDR that was less than flattering; as someone who was more politically motivated than inclined to do what was right. I can't say this biography refuted that. FDR seemed very much to be an "end justifies the means" type of person. Of course, when the "end" is an end to the great depression or world war II, then it is difficult to disagree. 

Eleanor Roosevelt's role also seemed suspiciously vague. She obviously didn't like his affairs, and never really was close to FDR in a personal sense after a certain point, but she achieved a great deal in her own right. This wasn't her biography, so I didn't expect a play-by-play of her activities, but she seemed to come off as rather weak, and I suspect that wasn't really the case. 

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Review: The North Carolina Experience: An Interpretive and Documentary History

The North Carolina Experience: An Interpretive and Documentary History by Lindley S. Butler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The structure of this book is original: Each chapter has an introduction, broadly describing what happened during a certain time period. This is then followed by original letters and documents. 

This is a pretty effective way of going through North Carolina's history, at least for me. I was able to understand the general situation, and then read first-hand accounts of the goings-on (complete with original spelling, such as: "This towne is seated on ye river side, haveing ye clefts of ye river on ye one side..."). It does, however, seem to gloss over certain events for which there is little documentation. For example, the Tuscarora war is just mentioned several times in passing, remarking on how important it was, but it is never dealt with in detail. 

The parts about slavery, the civil war, reconstruction, and civil rights were enlightening. I can never help wondering what bias, if any, there is, given how current these issues still are. 

Some of my notes:

The treaty between the Cherokee and the United States (p. 21) was so blatantly not followed I am amazed. The treaty itself is almost equitable (the cherokee shall have a delegate to Congress, only the Cherokee who wish to leave need to. Those who leave will have all expenses covered, and a doctor shall accompany them, etc.) To think this was followed through with the trail of tears is mind-boggling. 

North Carolina never produced a farming economy comparable to the plantation system of lowcountry South Carolina or tidewater Virginia, so its relationship to slavery was ambivalent, and it pretty much joined the civil war out of solidarity with its Southern neighbors (is this true?). 

Nearly one-fourth of all conscripts in the southern army (21,348 men) came from North Carolina (p. 267)

Description of North Carolinians, 1865:

"Spindling of legs, round of shoulders, sunken of chest, lank of body, stooping of posture, narrow of face, retreating of forehead, thin of nose, small of chin, large of mouth, - this is the Native North Carolinian as one sees him outside the cities and large towns. [...]- the man who pays a tax and votes, but never runs for office; who was a private in the Rebel army, but never anything more; who hate the Yankees as a matter of course, but has no personal ill-will toward them; who believes in the Divine right of slavery, but is positive that a free negro cannot be made to work."

-Sidney Andrews (p.294)

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Review: Straight Lines and Poison Gas - At the Hospital Wards

Straight Lines and Poison Gas - At the Hospital Wards by Lim Chulwoo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A strangely haunting book (novella or short story actually). Reminiscent of Korea during the dictatorship. A cartoonist is reprimanded by his boss for a cartoon that was apparently overly critical of the government. He is then brought in for interrogation by the government. And then.. well, not to spoil it, but this story conveys how not much really needs to happen. 

Knowing that the author himself was blacklisted in school due to his father makes it all the more poignant. This story seemed more along the lines of Korean fiction during the 1990s and early 2000s, but it was also original. I look forward to reading more by the author. 

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Review: I Am a Cat

I Am a Cat by Natsume Sōseki
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I would have to agree with many other reviewers in that this was a long book to read (aside from the length itself). The paragraphs carried on and on, and many of the nuances in conversation were probably lost on me, since they were apparently meant to satirize life in Japan at the turn of the 20th century. 

However, some sections were definitely humourous, and the point of view of the cat (who refers to himself in the honorific apparently) is an interesting one. 

At times it was difficult to get through, but it provided interesting material and I'm glad I read it. It also seemed to sometimes touch upon a bemoaning of the changing times, and then revert to making fun of people who were lamenting change. 

Interestingly, this book made me wonder if there is a special place for cats in Japanese literature. After having read "The Traveling Cat Chronicles" and a bunch of Murakami novels, I noticed a focus on cats I hadn't seen in the literature of other languages, so I can't help wondering if this book started it all, since it is a classic of Japanese literature. 

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Review: Is That a Fish in Your Ear? Translation and the Meaning of Everything

Is That a Fish in Your Ear? Translation and the Meaning of Everything by David Bellos
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read this book for the Translation Book Club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TranslationBooks

This wasn't as entertaining as I hoped it would be, but should probably be required reading for anyone who wishes to take translation seriously. It contains a lot of the history of translation and reasons behind the things we do, and it goes through many of the intricacies of translation and interpreting for organizations like the European Union, etc. 

If you think you might be interested in translation, start with "Through the Language Glass" by Guy Deutscher. If you are already committed to translation, read this book. 

Some of my notes:

"The translator's job is to express the force of the utterance in those particular circumstances in forms appropriate to the target language and culture. Whether or not the chosen form of words corresponds to the sentence-meaning of the sentence that Jim uttered is beside the point".  

(p. 70)

'It's complicated' would be "C'est compliqué" in French. But the 2009 movie "It's complicated" (Alec Baldwin, Meryl Streep) was translated as "Pas si simple". Why? Because it worked much better in terms of the movie. In fact, in Spanish it was "No es tan facil". In Italian, it was "E' complicato", but I wonder if it would have been better as "Non è così facile" or something. 

(Taken from p. 79)

"To know a language is to know how to say the same thing in different words (p.102)

The whole section on 'class presumption' (p. 189) was fascinating. I've seen it in other instances, but this example is one of the clearest. 

"Translation is the opposite of empire" (p. 212)

The spread of a language as a 'pivot' is not due to its native speakers. Ex: China's Confucius Institute translates the Chinese classics into French, German, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi and Malay, but all 'on the basis of the English translation' (p. 223)

"Children and women with babes in arms" Do the children have babes in arms as well? (p. 246)

Shibata Motoyuki (p. 303)

Otto Von Bismarck's "Adjutant" vs. "Adjudant" incident (P. 315)

Translation is a thankless task. When a book is translated well, the author is praised. When translated badly, the translator is blamed. (p. 330)

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Review: Emerson among the Eccentrics: A Group Portrait

Emerson among the Eccentrics: A Group Portrait by Carlos Baker
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

This is a dnf for me, at least for now. I read the book "The Private Lives of the Impressionists" and found it fascinating, despite knowing very little of the impressionists ahead of time. It was enthralling to read how these famous characters were students together and all knew each other before becoming famous. So I thought that reading about Emerson, Hawthorne, Thoreau, Alcott, etc. and how their lives were intertwined, would be just as fascinating, if not more so. And it probably is, but my impression is that you need to know a bit more about these authors before embarking on this book. It goes into minute detail in terms of many aspects of their lives, but completely glosses over other parts (Emerson's first wife, etc.), which would have helped me in terms of knowing generalities of their lives. 

If and when I'm more inspired to read up on these writers and do my own independent research along with the book, then I may tackle it again, since I'm sure it is an excellent book. 

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Review: Life of a Counterfeiter

Life of a Counterfeiter by Yasushi Inoue
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Each of us holds one or two cards that have been in our hands for years, who knows why, while the cards that should be paired with them have disappeared."

I read one other book by this author (The Samurai Banner of Furin Kazan), but it was very different in style, while these three short stories all have a very similar feel. I really enjoyed this short collection a lot. A book about reminiscences and a study in characters. 

Below my notes:

1. An interesting story. A man is supposed to be researching the life of a famous painter in order to write his biography, but he starts hearing about a man who forged his paintings, and starts to learn more and more about this man who probably doesn't deserve that much insight into his history, and likely would never have gotten it, had it not been for the narrator himself. 

2. Probably my favorite story, all about distant childhood memories.

3. Another story about a family's past (the same narrator's family?). These three stories all have that similar feel, and this story seems to feature the same 'grandmother' (geisha-concubine of the narrator's great-grandfather) as the second story. Regardless, this deals with memories of the grandmother that coincidentally pop up when visiting Nagasaki. 

I look forward to reading more by this author. 

4.5 stars

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Review: Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times

Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times by Kenneth Whyte
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One of the more interesting presidential biographies. Hoover reminded me a lot of John Quincy Adams. He was extremely prepared for the presidency in many ways, including a huge amount of international experience, from Shanghai to Burma to England. He and his wife spoke Chinese, and he was in Belgium during WWI and headed up relief efforts to get American aid through the German blockade to the Belgian population. 

However, like with Adams, his presidency was lackluster at best. He was hit with the great depression, which pretty much put a halt to all his plans. 

But after the presidency he went back to work, eventually working closely with Truman, Eisenhower and even Kennedy into his 80s. 

Some of my notes:

Smoot Hawley seems to have been the beginning of his downfall.

It will be very interesting to see how the FDR biography I will read treats the Hoover administration, the great depression and the New Deal. This book seems to infer that the depression was well into reversal by the time FDR entered office, and in fact, he actively kept out of a smooth transition since a continued fall under Hoover's watch would only benefit him later on. In other words, FDR is seen as an opportunist with few scruples, while Hoover's administration is "one of the cleanest" on record, with Hoover refusing to mention FDR's invalid state seeing it as a personal attack (my impression is it would have backfired regardless). 

Regardless, it is true that Hoover was probably the only cabinet member who preached moderation throughout the 20s and was probably one of the earliest to say there would be a reversal in the booming economy. So it is somewhat ironic that it happened during his presidency, and it is unlikely he could have done much more to combat it. In fact an FDR administration "insider", Rexford Tugwell, apparently said "The New Deal owed much to what (Hoover) had begun". Although the author goes on to say how FDR actually went much further than Hoover ever did with these policies. 

Another statement made by this book is that FDR's nationalization (and retreat from the gold standard) sent a message to other countries that they "had nothing to gain or fear from America". So Japan dropped out of the League of Nations and assaulted China, while Hitler assumed absolute power in Berlin. I'm very curious to see what an FDR biography says about that. 

Hoover was also dead against including the Soviet Union in the Lend-Lease act. 

This biography gives the impression that his reputation was vindicated by his death, but I confess all I knew about him before was that the great depression happened under his watch, Hoovervilles and the Hoover dam were named after him, and FDR followed him with a 4-term act. 

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Review: No B.S. Wealth Attraction for Entrepreneurs: The Ultimate, No Holds Barred, Kick Butt, Take No Prisoners Guide to Really Getting Rich

No B.S. Wealth Attraction for Entrepreneurs: The Ultimate, No Holds Barred, Kick Butt, Take No Prisoners Guide to Really Getting Rich by Dan S. Kennedy
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Things I hate about the book:

Geez could it look any scammier? I was literally embarrassed to carry this around and even to add it to my list here on Goodreads. I mean, did his direct marketing experience tell him this type of title/cover/look would be best? Regardless, I hate it. 

Things I don't hate about the book: 

Most, if not all, of the advice seems very sound and useful. Some of my notes:

If you understand how you're earning money (from a certain method or tactic), then teach it to others for a fee. 

Don't follow your passion. Find out what drives market demand, and find something you can do within that market that you're passionate about. 

You don't have to be motivated to get your work done. Just do it. 

His Behavioral Congruency point is the "Leading vs. Lagging indicators" point made by Cal Newport in Deep Work.

Other things I hate about the book (Albeit not as much as its overall look):

- He's always upselling his website and his products. It gets to be a bit much. Get me interested, then I'll be the one trying to look you up. 

- A lot of Donald Trump name dropping.

The final section of testimonials (so many of them from people in real estate!) is sort of a waste. One of them mentioned "the power of system", which was not mentioned in this book but that the author apparently covers in his sessions. It sounds like this is more or less the same as the one mentioned in E-myth revisited and Built to Sell, in which case it would have been nice to include that.

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Review: The Factory

The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I liked it. Sort of. The formatting was very weird and threw me for a loop more than once. 

Otherwise it felt like a bad dream. Three people stuck in jobs at a factory that don't seem to make any sense. Either doing completely menial work, completely senseless work, or being pushed to take as long as possible to complete a job for no reason. The timeline was also odd and jarring at points. I liked all of that. 

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Review: Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1: Unmanned

Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1: Unmanned by Brian K. Vaughan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read graphic novels about once per year, and this was a good one to read. I like the premise, that all men are suddenly gone, and how the world spirals into chaos. Many commenters think that's sexist. It might be, but I think losing 50% of the world's population all at once would be chaotic no matter what, not to mention the fact that there is no more procreation so the human race will end (especially with the gangs blowing up sperm banks). If all women died at the same time we'd have the same issues. 

Anyway, having said all that, it still seemed a tad dystopic, given how often violence and gangs just seem to be misplaced machismo, so getting rid of all the men would probably be good in that respect. 

I might pick up the next volume at some point soon. We'll see. 

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Review: Flappers and Philosophers

Flappers and Philosophers by F. Scott Fitzgerald
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This collection probably works best for Fitzgerald aficionados who wish to delve a bit deeper into his psyche and his beliefs (or meanderings). 

Some of these stories were cute, some less so. My favorite was probably "Bernice Bobs her hair" purely thanks to the ending.

The Four Fists seemed almost as if written by a high schooler. Not due to the writing itself, but due to the story. Maybe Fitzgerald just doesn't understand business and assumes all businessmen are just evil or something. It remains very vague how a rancher who is getting paid handsomely for his property is the victim and supposedly has no recourse. 

Head and Shoulders was an interesting idea, but more in a cute, somewhat amusing way than anything deeper. 

I confess the casual racism throughout (especially the first few stories) really bothered me, so this might have influenced my overall opinion. His sporadic use of the N-word and his very obvious stereotypes rankled.

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Review: Non sperate di liberarvi dei libri

Non sperate di liberarvi dei libri by Umberto Eco
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent collection of essays regarding books (and movies) by Umberto Eco and Jean-Claude Carriere. The Italian version seems to have been translated from French. Another reviewer said this is "perfect between-book fodder", and I agree wholeheartedly. 

I enjoyed the section that repeated the argument from Foucault's Pendulum re: all humans being either cretins, fools, morons or lunatics. Although his example for the fool wasn't Murat, but Chateaubriand, saying of Napoleon: "He won all his battles, but aside from this there was nothing that made him a good general". 

Some of my notes:

We always think the new technology is here to stay while the old (books) will die out. But you can simply pick up a book from 1498 and read what it says, depending on the font and the spelling mistakes. But if you have a cassette from 30 years ago, a VHS from 20 years ago, or even a DVD from 10 years ago, you probably can't play it without acquiring the right machinery. 

Reading certain books might not always be worth it, since then you have to have an opinion (and defend it). Someone who reads Shakespeare now will have a very different experience as compared to someone who read it right when it was published. 

Just as Cervantes likely influenced Kafka, so Kafka influences Cervantes, in that people today read one knowing of the other. 

Collecting books is basically "masturbatory" (sic). No one else will share your exact preferences. People might come to admire your art collection. Much less so your collection of books. This is why most collections are then donated once the owner dies. 

We book collectors don't have to worry about thieves. We are protected by their ignorance. 

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Review: Il cinese

Il cinese by Andrea Cotti
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The interesting part of this was reading about the Chinese communities and triads in Italy. I'm not sure how closely it actually resembles real life, but it seemed pretty convincing to me. 

There were some issues with the story itself. I thought it was over the top in some instances, and gratuitous with its violence, etc., and other points just seemed odd. For example one of the bad guys is killed while in jail, which means that, at best, they have police officers being paid off. And yet, they continue to hold other suspects in jail with seemingly no worries, and we never discover exactly who the corrupt police officer was. 

Also, I don't buy a woman losing her only child and still keeping her mouth shut due to fear. 

And, not be pedantic, but it mentions several times while they are chatting in Wenzhouhua, that they switch to informal tense. As far as I know, no Chinese dialect has a formal tense. 

3.5 stars. Mainly because it educated me on the Chinese communities in Italy. 

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Review: The Art of Learning: A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence

The Art of Learning: A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence by Josh Waitzkin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is like a self-help book in the sense that a biography can be a business book by teaching you business lessons. He talks about his experiences and then extrapolates the lessons he learned from different incidences and accomplishments in his life. 

If you are looking for easily digestible to-do nuggets, like "don't check your email first thing" or "never go to bed angry", you won't find them here. His advice requires you to dig deep, but they seem quite worthwhile nonetheless. 

Some of my notes:

Children who are told they are smart, tend to go for results, thereby avoiding any challenge where they might fail, while children who are taught to put more effort, tend to apply more effort to greater and greater challenges (Entity theorists vs. incremental theorists)

He discusses repeating what you learn until it becomes automatic, and then adding to it, and repeating again, and adding again, etc. 

I liked his discussion about how to deal with distractions. Rather than trying to do away with them, increase them, so they don't bother you (he applies this to chess, but it probably translates to many other endeavors)

I also liked his talk about constraints being liberating. He broke his hand, and learned to compete with one hand, deflecting with one so as to attack with another, so that once it healed he almost saw it as an unfair advantage. I like this idea, that average people would see an injury as 6 weeks doing nothing, but professional athletes find ways to take advantage of it. Allow yourself not to be at peak performance, so that you can learn/try new things to improve.

Creating your own trigger: Identify a moment when, or activity wherein, you're in the zone. Find other habits/activities you enjoy. Engage in these in a set routine, then start activity where you're in the zone. Repeat several times. 

At this point, you should be able to engage in the set routine and you'll automatically be in the zone. 

While playing chess he would eat 5 almonds every 45 minutes for alertness. (or bananas/ protein bars, etc.)

Anger: 3 steps: flow with distraction, use distraction, recreate internally

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Review: Almond

Almond by Won-pyung Sohn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. It is a tad reminiscent of the "Curious incident of the dog in the night time", (seeing matters from the protagonist's point of view) but it has a very different flow. 

I know nothing about Alexithymia, so I can't comment on how realistic it all is, but as a story it was touching, and happier than I expected (although there are plenty of unhappy parts within). 

I really liked the afterword by the author. As a new father I could really relate to his feelings there. 

4.5 stars because I think the author will be able to achieve more in future novels. 

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Review: Born To Win: The Ultimate Seminar

Born To Win: The Ultimate Seminar by Zig Ziglar
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

I'm on Chapter 6 (over 5 hours in) and he still hasn't stated anything practical. A very smooth talker who said we shouldn't read horoscopes because they're the work of the devil, and we've had 7 songs so far, by the Zig Ziglar singers (seriously, with titles like "The magic of believing"). A lot of talk like "You're gonna get a lot out of this course, but this course will also get a lot out of you", and "sitting on an acorn is a mighty slow way to get on top of an acorn tree". 

Right at the beginning he stated that we need to help others and we'll start reaping rewards. A tad simplistic, but good advice nonetheless. Since then, however, there hasn't been anything I can follow up on. I can get over the references to how great God and country are if he gives me something to work with. 

To be fair, he is probably the best speaker I have ever heard. 

But seriously, I'm over 5 hours in. Is he going to start dispensing any actionable advice? I know there is a worksheet, so something concrete should be coming up at some point. 

If it weren't for his reputation and the glowing reviews on Goodreads, I would be giving up on this. 

**Update**

I think I'm done. He just told an 'anecdote' about a lady who was being beaten by her husband regularly, and one day told him that next time he beat her she would take photos of the bruises and mail them to the newspapers and all his friends, and that he was "cured of his sickness just like that". And then another story about another man who beat his wife, so her friends beat him up and so he stopped his beating. Really not sure what the point is (I think he is trying to be poignant about wife-beating not being a 'disease' for some reason), but regardless, I think I'm done.

No star review because I didn't finish it. 

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Review: Dinner with Buffett 버핏과의 저녁 식사

Dinner with Buffett 버핏과의 저녁 식사 by Min-gyu Park
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After Pavane for a Dead Princess I can't really say I enjoyed this as much. I feel like it wanted to be much more shocking than it really was, and the story wasn't nearly as nice as PFADP. 2.5 stars.

http://4201mass.blogspot.com/ 

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Upon second reading, I think I might raise my score a bit, say to 3 stars. It is an interesting topic, although by no means original (novels against capitalism have existed since before capitalism existed). What is more original is the way the author goes about it; both the capitalist (Buffett) and the non-capitalist (Ahn) are likable characters and they get along.        

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Review: Untold Night and Day

Untold Night and Day by Bae Suah
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the 4th book I've read by Bae Suah, and I'm still not sure what to make of her. This was probably most reminiscent of Time in Gray for me, but rather than mixing up time throughout the novel, it mixed up a bit of everything. 

After a while I stopped seeing it as a novel, and more like a dream, as in "Well, let's read a bit more of this dream", and that might be a better approach. After a while everything was familiar, yet a bit different, and seemed to fit together in an altered way. 

I can't say it is my favorite by this author, but I didn't dislike it. 

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Review: Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are

Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I found this a great primer on big data. By and large it had somewhat of a "freakonomics" feel, and the author admits that that was his initial inspiration. But what got me excited was how big data could be applied to pretty much any field from now on. The section toward the end, discussing how Karl Popper's quote re: psychology not being falsifiable now finally seems to be incorrect. 

I think the implications are enormous. Take any field, like anthropology in Japan, as a random example. Based on all records collected and collated ever since written records were kept, entire family trees and histories and movements can be tracked and analyzed. Combine this with historical records on weather, harvests, wars, etc., and we can get much much clearer pictures of not only that a migration occurred due to this or that, but which neighbors moved, which didn't, what happened to their direct descendents, and how that affected whoever is alive today. 

Now imagine what else could be accomplished in pretty much any other field. 

Another interesting point that was pretty much just glossed over was that you shouldn't draw general conclusions from A/B tests. For example, if you have a blue button and a red button, and the red one gets more clicks, this doesn't mean people necessarily have a preference for red. It just means the red button works best on this one particular occasion. 

Regardless, an interesting book. I do wish it had concentrated more on this potential than on the quirky Freakonomics-style subjects, but there you go. 

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Review: Q

Q by Luther Blissett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow. This had been on my wishlist for a long time, so when I saw it for sale at 2nd and Charles for a cheap price, I figured it was a sign. Of course, that means reading through all 750 pages, but I have to say, it kept me interested throughout. 

This book delves deep into the post 95 theses years (the Reformation) in and around Germany and Italy. And I mean very deep. In fact, it made me feel like I should have known more about characters such as Thomas Muntzer, Jan Matthys, Melchior Hoffman, Reginald Pole and many others. 

I am also glad I have more of a sense of what a unique time that was. I basically knew Martin Luther posted his 95 theses, and there was a peasants' revolt in Germany. But there was so much more to it. 

It definitely had echoes of Umberto Eco, but with more action. 

4.5 stars

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Review: Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia

Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia by Christina Thompson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a gem of a book. A topic that really needs to be discussed thoroughly, which this book seems to do. A book about a fascinating people, who had spread out more than any others until the British Empire.

The Tupaia section is absolutely fascinating. How is he not more famous?
His map was considered off because it doesn't depict a bird's eye view of NSEW coordinates, but rather it is based on winds (the point toward which the North wind blows) and currents. Also, a bird's eye view is not how they viewed travel (nor how anyone usually does when not using maps).
I remember reading Mau Piailug's obituary in the Economist, which I found intriguing, so I really appreciated being able to read more about the background of what he had been able to achieve here. And now I want to find his obituary again, since I remember it was a really nice one.
In fact, here it is: https://www.economist.com/obituary/20...

I do wish there had been more talk about the origins. It seems like the "out of Taiwan" theory is more or less accepted, but the author concentrated on what happened subsequently. Having lived in Taiwan for a while, I remember hearing a great deal of what similarities they still shared with many of their brethren in other islands, but this wasn't really touched upon.
I also wish she had talked more about Madagascar. I remember thinking it was crazy that it had also been populated by Polynesian people, but it had: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malagas.... This seems just as impressive as New Zealand, if not more so, but it was just mentioned in passing. 

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Review: Coolidge

Coolidge by Amity Shlaes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First off, as far as biographies go, this is, without doubt, the definitive one of Calvin Coolidge. The author did an excellent job compiling the information, collecting it, and telling us about his story. 

Having said that, this is hardly an exciting ride. It sort of seems like the story of a slight better-off-than-average fellow who is slightly smarter than average, and how his sense of duty leads him to politics and, pretty much by luck, to the white house. Once there he cuts spending more or less as much as humanly possible, while saying as little as possible. 

He is undoubtedly one of the most principled of the presidents, and more or less the polar opposite of Harding. 

All in all a good read, but nothing really riveting. 

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Review: No and Me

No and Me by Delphine de Vigan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a delightful book and a relatively quick read. It is also my first book by de Vigan and I look forward to reading others. 

I thought it might be YA, which is still might, but it doesn't really have a happy ending or anything like that. 

Also, I've recently read two french novels (this and "The Elegance of the Hedgehog"), both of which feature genius girls who don't really fit in. Is this just pervasive in France or something? Regardless, they are both good books. 

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Review: The Mad Kyoto Shoe Swapper and Other Short Stories from Japan

The Mad Kyoto Shoe Swapper and Other Short Stories from Japan by Rebecca Otowa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I actually quite enjoyed these.  They are short and simple, each one with an obvious message. I think I enjoyed the true stories more than the others, since it is fascinating to read about family stories that have been passed down. 

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Review: La città del sole

La città del sole by Tommaso Campanella
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Campanella seems to have amalgamated aspects of Thomas More's Utopia, Plato's dialogues, Christianity and some astrology for good measure. 

I did like how he seemed to be a fan of new inventions, which were aplenty in this city of the sun. Including an "orecchiale", like an "occhiale" but for listening to space. I also liked how knowledge should be open to all, and not closed up to the people. 

He talks about how their inhabitants are amazed that we are occupied with breeding horses and dogs, but we don't do the same with human. But then takes the wrong lesson and basically has them practice eugenics. 

I did not like how women and children were basically common property. Also, what was the deal with 'voluntary' human sacrifice?? Also, it seemed like he was kissing up to the Spanish toward the end (which he probably was). 

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Review: Stingray

Stingray by Kim Joo-Young
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked this. At first I thought it would just be a melancholy book with random depressing episodes. But it is much more than that (although the atmosphere is rather melancholy until the end). 

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Review: The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World

The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate – Discoveries from a Secret World by Peter Wohlleben
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have no idea why I had this ebook. I seriously don't remember buying it or having it gifted. Regardless, it is fascinating in its own way. There is a whole unknown parallel world with parallel lives taking place all around us. 

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Review: The Burglar

The Burglar by Thomas Perry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I quite enjoyed this, despite the unrealistic parts (I'm guessing pretty much 0% of the evidence would be admissible in court since it was all illegally obtained). 

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Review: Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul

Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul by Howard Schultz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I found this book at Dog-eared books and grabbed it and, although it was cheap, I feel cheated. Am I the only one who thought that the title: "Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life without Losing Its Soul" sounds like it would describe how he built up the company? Isn't that what most people wish to read about a successful company? 

But he skips over that part. 

The book races through the early years in the first chapter, saying he wanted to open a coffee shop, so he got an investment (how?) and opened a couple branches (how did that work? How about hiring people? Setting up a system? Finding suppliers? Troubleshooting?), and then bought out Starbucks thanks to another bigger investment (once again, how?), and expanded to a bunch of countries (and again, no details). Chapter 2 he talks about retiring as CEO and becoming Chairman (Sorry, "chairman", since he said they changed all their titles to lower case). 

I generally like the "naive" outlook, for lack of a better word, and I appreciate and try to absorb it when I read it in founders' books. I understand that if you wish to create a world-changing company you need to be naive enough to actually believe the world can change, and I guess I sort of hope it rubs off on me. However, very often this book struck me as more self-adulatory and as an opportunity to give his version of various handpicked events. 

There were, however, some great points:

I really liked how SB offers healthcare to all its employees, even part-timers, in addition to stock in the company. 

I especially liked how a Starbucks in Tokyo offered coffee tastings to the visually impaired a few times a year, and the chapter on China had some touching points. 

Reading through a list of Schultz's other books, I see one called "Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time", which I will assume is the actual story of how he grew Starbucks. I do wish he had made the content of this one more obvious, for those of us shopping in used bookstores that give us a 30 minute time limit before we have to leave (COVID restrictions). 

Still, some interesting points. 

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Review: One Hundred Shadows

One Hundred Shadows by Hwang Jungeun
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If I have to be honest, the style seems like a lighter version of Bae Suah or Hwang Sok yong. This was a short novella, so maybe that was the issue, but I never really entered into the story all that much. I'm not necessarily sure it would have benefitted from being longer, however. I guess it was ambiguous but it didn't really make me curious about the ambiguity (unlike with Bae Suah and Hwang Sok-yong). 

Still, an interesting premise and decent follow-through. 

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Review: Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires

Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires by Selwyn Raab
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is pretty much the definitive book about the history of the mafia, so it will hit the spot for any mafia fix you may have, at least as regards the New York families. I do wish it had more about other families in the country, and I wish there were a follow-up edition discussing what has been happening in recent years.

I read some complaints that this was pretty much a summary of law enforcement tactics against organized crime. On the other hand, by definition the Cosa Nostra has been secretive, so the only reliable source is usually what the police can uncover. So I'd much rather have this than rumors and speculation by others. Even with Joe Valachi, we saw how an insider can get many of the facts wrong about things that don't concern him directly. Or the Bonanno soldier who didn't know that Costa Nostra meant Our thing (he thought it meant Friends).

After reading this my respect for Al Capone and John Gotti has plummeted, while that for Chin Gigante and Joseph Massino has increased. It has remained the same for Lucky Luciano and Carlo Gambino.

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Review: Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value

Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value by William Poundstone
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

It turns out that spending a couple of years studying behavioral econ, behavioral finance, and behavioral (fill in the blank), and reading Daniel Kahneman, Richard Thaler, Dan Ariely and the like, pretty much covers most of what this book seems to offer. 

I'm only 50 pages in, but that's my impression, and skipping ahead I see the obligatory Ultimatum game, prospect theory, and other points. I might come back to it if I want a rehash. 

I expected this book to be more business-related, so this might have been my fault. 

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Review: I Am One of You Forever

I Am One of You Forever by Fred Chappell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I bought this book on spec (at dog-eared books, in Raleigh), and at first I thought it was a novel. Then I realized it was a collection of short stories, which seemed cute, but nothing much more. In fact, the constant barrage of visiting uncles (and aunt) were getting me confused. 

However, after having read the book I must say the stories are sticking with me. The magical realism, which seemed sort of cheap at first, also seemed to work. Maybe it's just because the last couple of stories were my favorite. Regardless, 4 stars. 

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Review: Normal People

Normal People by Sally Rooney
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

When a book received this many awards and accolades, I always feel like there's something wrong with me if I don't enjoy it. Well, I didn't enjoy it. It seemed like a hum-drum story about hum-drum people, and every now and then a pinch of drama is mixed in. I get that that's supposed to be the whole point of "normal people", and so once again, maybe it's just me, but a plot, or an ending, or even dialogue quotes, would have been nice. 

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Review: Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'll start with my issues with the book:

First of all, Calvin Coolidge pretty much figured this out around 100 years ago. The author calls it "perseverance and passion". Coolidge called it "Persistence and determination". Here is the full quote:

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

Sooo, yeah. Odd that the author doesn't even acknowledge this quote. Truth be told however, I always liked the quote, so the book was pretty much preaching to the choir from the get-go. 

Secondly, the book talks about finding something you're passionate about. In this book it is slightly more subtle than many other places (talking about pain and getting into the flow, etc.), and goes more into detail, but it's there. The issue I have with this, is I think most people are probably passionate about earning a living and giving a good life for their family. That's their main motivator for working, earning, getting promoted, etc. and I'm not sure that type of motivation works well for a book like this. Most shoemakers want to provide for their family more than change the shoe world. 

That's pretty much it. The rest is all good points, and I plan on keeping this book as reference 

By grit, she basically means what I would have called perseverance. She says it's perseverance mixed with passion, which makes sense. 

She admonishes Skilling at Enron for having a system that fired the bottom 15% each year, but GE did the same and it seemed to work well for them. 

I loved the anecdote of Scott Kaufman, who got rejected from Carnegie Mellon's cognitive science program, so he applied to their musical program, took psychology electives, took it up as a minor, and then changed his major to it. 

Strivers beat talented people because "as strivers are improving in skill, they are also employing that skill" (p. 50)

Having a long-term goal, but not knowing the intermediate goals needed to get there, is just positive fantasizing, which leads to disappointment, since you won't achieve your goal. (p. 65)

At a certain point the book seemed to concentrate more on children, and how to foster more grit in them, which, having a 2-year-old daughter, I really appreciated. I liked the KIPP pointers, as well as the things to say to children rather than the normal feedback you usually hear (p. 182)

Her points about follow-through are good as well (p. 228), and I think I will try applying the Hard thing Rule (p/ 241) in our family as well.

3.5 stars

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Review: 13 Short Stories by Philip K. Dick

13 Short Stories by Philip K. Dick by Philip K. Dick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

One of my rare forays into science fiction. It still isn't my favorite genre, but it's nice from time to time. 

These stories sound very cold-war-ish, which I guess they are, and after a while they all have similarities, so I can guess what the twist is, or how it will end. 

Once again, Goodreads does not give me enough space for all my private notes, so I will have to store them here in the public notes section. Along those lines, everything that follows below CONTAINS SPOILERS:

SPOILERS BELOW:

1: Beyond lies the Wub. There is a fat pig-like creature that is sold by "natives" to people on a spaceship. They want to kill the creature and eat it, but the creature speaks. It asks not to be killed (but doesn't beg or anything). The captain decides to shoot it anyway. He is the only one to then eat it, and after a while it turns out the creature is speaking through him, and just transferred body. The author missed an opportunity not calling this "Therein lies the wub", imho. 

2: The gun: Some astronauts come upon a country devastated by nuclear fission. But they are shot at by a gun. They land for repairs. The planet sounds like earth to me. Anyway, turns out the gun was operating automatically, so they disarmed it, planning to return with a team to retrieve all the objects. As they leave more robots are fixing the gun. 

3. The Skull: A man is sent back in time to kill a man who will end all war. Turns out the man he's supposed to kill is himself. 

4. The Defenders: Everyone's living underground due to nuclear holocaust. Robots on the surface fight their war for them. Turns out the robots were lying and it isn't radioactive anymore, but they weren't told bc the robots were trying to end war. Cheesy ending where they meet some Russians and somehow communicate and get along. 

5. The eyes have it: Amusing criticism of turns of phrase, and possibly bad editing (which would be ironic, given the not-so-good editing of this book)

6. Hanging Stranger: A man sees a body hanging from a lamppost in town. But everyone besides the main protagonist seems so nonchalant about it. Turns out it was bait so the aliens could find out who they weren't able to turn. 

7. Mr. Spaceship: In the interplanetary war, they decide to control a spaceship using a brain. They find an old professor, who accepts, with some tweaks. Anyway, he's taken control of the spaceship, and gets two of his pupils (male and female) to repopulate a new planet with a brand new (very inbred) human race. 

8. Piper in the woods: People start turning into plants (or being convinced they are plants), including the man sent to the woods to figure out what was going on. 

9: Second Variety: This was probably my favorite thus far. There are robots created to destroy humans (heat-seeking). Turns out the robots have been building other robots, which look just like humans. An American gets taken in by Russians in their bunker. One of them kills the other, thinking he's a robot. But he's not. Turns out the russian shooter was a robot. The American tells the remaining russian girl how to get to the base (he is injured) on the moon. He discovers she was a robot too. He smiles thinking how this new race of beings already started finding ways to destroy each other, like humans did. 

10: Tony and the beetles: A human kid, living on a beetle planet, plays with beetle friends. Humans must be colonists, because when the war turns in the beetles' favor, they start treating the boy badly. I noticed they called the humans "white grubs", "because of their softness, their whiteness". So, I guess only white people colonized the planet. 

11: The Variable man: This was the longest story, and possibly my favorite. A man from 1913 is brought to the future by mistake. altering the probabilities of successfully annihilating some other planet (but no one knows why). Regardless, a bad politician plans to kill him, while the engineer wants to hire him. He is able to and the man fixes their space rocket that can travel faster than the speed of light, so they don't need to annihilate the other planet anymore (they can travel to other dimensions or something now). The bad politician is arrested. 

12: Beyond the door: An odd story. A man buys a cuckoo clock for his wife. she loves it and speaks to it, but she's having an affair with another man and gets caught. She gets kicked out.  The man decides to smash the cuckoo clock, but it apparently pecks at him and makes him fall and die. 

13: The Crystal Crypt: 3 terrans find a way to miniaturize a Martian city and fit it in a globe, escaping on the last ship to earth. They tell their story to a man, who turns out to be martian and stops them. Once again, Martians see humans as pale, so I guess only white humans are on Mars or something. 

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Review: The White Book

The White Book by Han Kang
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I didn't enjoy this book, but I recognize it was probably my fault. I wasn't really in the mood for it. On the other hand, I don't foresee any point in time when I'll be in the mood for depressing short stories that make me feel drained.

Most of them have to do with her mother giving birth to her older sister, two months premature, all alone at home (she had to sterilize her own pair of scissors to cut the umbilical cord), and then having the baby die while holding her. It is heartbreaking. There are also stories about Warsaw, since she was apparently living there.


"Glittering" was probably my favorite story, since it was the only one that was at least somewhat optimistic

Some, like "Clouds", seemed more like poetry than prose.

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Review: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book was a let down in much the same way Tom Hanks' book was: A great actor does not a good author make. In this case, an outstanding author of fiction does not necessarily a good nonfiction author make. 

It probably helps if you like running, since he goes into length about his experience running, jogging, and racing in marathons and triathlons.  It is a short read, so it kept me interested throughout, but it doesn't compare to his fiction at all. 

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Review: Life In Victorian Britain

Life In Victorian Britain by Michael St. John Parker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Probably good to read through before watching a movie or reading a book that takes place in Victorian England.

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Review: As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams: Recollections of a Woman in Eleventh-Century Japan

As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams: Recollections of a Woman in Eleventh-Century Japan by Lady Sarashina
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

My second reading of one of my favorite books. I'm still not sure why I enjoy it so much, except it is enthralling it is 'everydayness' and to think that all those actions really did occur. 

As per the introduction, at the very same time Lady Sarashina was accompanying the empress to the imperial palace, and probably while she was visiting the sacred mirror room, half a world away St. Edward the Confessor was probably getting ready for his coronation to be held later that day. 

Regardless, I recommend reading the diary first, then going back to the introduction later. Read it as time travel, accompanying her through random points her in life. 

Some notes I took while reading:

Mt. Fuji still had an active flame!!

I'm amazed she could leave the imperial palace after her first night in service there just because she didn't want to work there anymore. I guess they weren't very strict about matters like that. 

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Review: Napoleon: The Man behind the Myth

Napoleon: The Man behind the Myth by Adam Zamoyski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was written the way I believe a biography should be written. The initial focus is on Napoleon's childhood and formative years, rather than later battles per se (although there is plenty of those as well). I like this because it give much more insight into why and how Napoleon became the man he was. I wish more biographies followed this pattern. 

Some of my notes:

Apparently after the reign of terror in Paris they had parties and balls where you could only attend if a relative of course had died at the guillotine, and they would wear red ribbons around their necks. Talk about gallows humor...

Amusing to think Napoleon was really bad at Chess, considering he was so good at real life strategic warfare. 

Napoleon's favorite author was Ossian, and he considered Homer's poems much weaker in comparison. 

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Review: Highway with Green Apples

Highway with Green Apples by Bae Suah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A beautifully written novella. I almost want to reread it. 

Like her other novels, time is relative here. This novel is actually more straightforward in a way, but things get mixed up, whether due to faulty memory (she even admits as much at one point) or due to stream of consciousness. 

The narrator starts with talking about taking a car trip with her (then) partner toward a fishing village on the west coast. They have just stopped to buy some green apples from an old lady on the road. This leads to the rest of the story, a mixture of events and reminiscences, with a not-necessarily happy ending, but very insightful and poignant at times. 

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Review: Democritus

Democritus by Paul Anthony Cartledge
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a 2nd read-through for me, and I think I enjoyed it more this time (I gave it 3 stars last time). 

It is rather short, also given the fact that we don't have much information about Democritus. He is credited with coming up with the idea of the indivisible "atom", making up everything. 

Interesting how he states that thoughts are also made up of atoms:

"We know nothing truly about anything, but for each of us opining is a rearrangement (of soul atoms). (p. 10)

Also, he talks about how bodies and worlds are held together by "a membrane", which seems like his version of explaining gravity, and which seems to work quite well. 

Some of my  other notes:

"All those who make their pleasures from the belly, exceeding the right time (or measure) for food, drink or sex, have short-lived pleasures - only for as long as they eat or drink - but many pains." (p. 30)

"Poverty in a democracy is preferable to so-called prosperity among dictators to the same extent as freedom is to slavery. (p. 38)

Apparently Karl Marx wrote his doctoral thesis on a scholarly comparison between Democritus and Epicurus. 

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Review: Forgotten Founder: The Life and Times of Charles Pinckney

Forgotten Founder: The Life and Times of Charles Pinckney by Marty D. Matthews
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

Another DNF for me. I read 50 pages, and then started asking myself if he was worth pursuing. Up to this point these were my notes:

Apparently he was 29 at the constitutional convention, but told everyone he was 24 so he could be counted as the youngest. The book says it could be an oversight, but apparently he kept repeating this as a fact many years later. 

It's not really a hagiography, but to me it reads almost like a proud parent writing about their son. An example: 

"Despite the maturity and experience of  Gorham and Grayson, they allowed the junior member of their committee (Pinckney) to deliver the major address to the New Jersey Legislature" (p. 33)

He submitted a plan at the constitutional convention, which wasn't adopted, but years later (1818), at John Adams' request, he sent him what he recollected as being his plan, which basically contained many ideas in the constitution. James Madison said most of these points were not correct and that Pinckney hadn't originally mentioned them. The author states Madison had beef with him, but I'm not really convinced. (pp 42-43)

Anyway, then I read on wikipedia that he introduced the Fugitive slave clause and didn't accomplish too much else, so I figured life is too short to keep reading about his. 

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