Review: 10% Less Democracy: Why You Should Trust Elites a Little More and the Masses a Little Less

10% Less Democracy: Why You Should Trust Elites a Little More and the Masses a Little Less by Garett Jones
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

During this whole book I found myself wondering:

A) What the author would make of Switzerland’s system, which is very different from what he is espousing, yet I think by any measure is a pretty successful one.

B) What Nassim Taleb would make of this book. I’m not 100% sure why, but I was very curious. 

The first part of the book was reminiscent of what Fareed Zakaria wrote about in an older book (I think “Future of Freedom”), wherein he shows how government bodies that are somewhat less democratic (the Fed, The court system, etc.) are more respected than, say, congress. The second part touched more on what the author calls an “epistocracy”. This sounds like one of those things that sound great in theory but are almost impossible to fulfill in reality. In fact, he seems short of details as to how to achieve this epistocracy. 

I found the chapter on Singapore quite interesting, as well as the fact that “The Italian law of June 30, 1912, granted the vote to illiterate people, but only on the condition that they had reached their thirtieth year or had fulfilled their military obligations.” (p. 107). 

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Review: Botticelli's Secret: The Lost Drawings and the Rediscovery of the Renaissance

Botticelli's Secret: The Lost Drawings and the Rediscovery of the Renaissance by Joseph Luzzi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My impression is that this would have made a fascinating article. As a book it was a tad long-winded. Part of this is probably my fault, since I listened to the audiobook, and I understand the physical book contains the illustrations in question. 

This is basically a short primer on Dante, on Botticelli, and then the interesting journey that Botticelli's Divine Comedy illustrations. 

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Review: I Will Teach You to Be Rich: No Guilt. No Excuses. No BS. Just a 6-Week Program That Works

I Will Teach You to Be Rich: No Guilt. No Excuses. No BS. Just a 6-Week Program That Works by Ramit Sethi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This all seems to be very sound advice, and this book will be very useful and probably a must-read if:

1. You are young-ish (ideally below 30, definitely below 40)

2. You work for a company (there is a section on entrepreneur options, but it seems haphazard and just an add-on)

3. You live in the US. RothIRAs, 401Ks and other tax strategies are key to this book, and obviously non-Americans don't have access to these. The best you can do is see if there are any equivalents in your own country. 

Having said that, this is all definitely legitimate and good advice.

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Review: A Wave of Thanks: and Other Human Gestures 31 Quick Stories

A Wave of Thanks: and Other Human Gestures 31 Quick Stories by Bear Jack Gebhardt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Review: Life Ceremony

Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very odd, but entertaining and thought-provoking stories. Most of them dealt with our attitudes toward life, sex, food, etc. and they make you question societal norms. Recommended.

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Review: Deep Blue Night

Deep Blue Night by In-ho Choi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2 short stories, both of them pretty good, although I didn't find either as compelling as "Another Man's City". 

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Review: The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Visions of Glory, 1874-1932

The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Visions of Glory, 1874-1932 by William Manchester
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's amazing how much information we have about Churchill. Much of this biography is day-by-day and even minute-by-minute details of conversations, decisions, etc. Regardless, a very interesting book. I look forward to reading the other two. 

And honestly my favorite part may have been reading about his retorts and one-liners. 

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Review: A Toy City

A Toy City by Lee Dong-Ha
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An interesting, somewhat melancholic look at the city as it was in post-war Korea, and how it compared to the countryside. Pretty good for a short story, although I still don't really get what happened with the bouncer kids who invited the narrator to the movies. That arc seemed odd. I also couldn't really tell why the narrator quit his job, except that he missed his family I guess, despite the fact that they were all in the same city... 

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Review: The Story of Nine Asian Alphabets

The Story of Nine Asian Alphabets by Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An extremely interesting book with a lot of information I didn't know yet. Highly recommended. I do wish it discussed other languages, like Cambodian and Laotian scripts, etc. Although the various Indonesian scripts were a nice addition.  

And it could definitely use an editor. 

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Review: Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen

Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen by Dan Heath
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was quite a good book, but I'm not sure I'd classify it as a business book. I'm sure the concepts can be applied to business, but none of the examples are really from the business world (unless you count the author buying a new computer chord to keep in his bag for working out of coffee shops). 

The story about Roscoe Pickering is sort of heart breaking. He seriously argued drivers should be allowed to carry babies in their arms while driving. And he won. And babies died because of that. Shame he never had to pay for it. 

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Review: House of Idols

House of Idols by In-hun Choi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3 short stories: 

Summary (and spoilers!) below:

House of Idols, about a man, friend of a famous author. The narrator gets to know him, really likes him, and then finds out he is a mental patient. 

End of the Road, which is basically about a road (highway and railroad) during postwar Korea. GIs pass, a teacher, a prostitute, and a kid. 

Imprisoned. A story about a man, who we slowly find out is a mental patient. 

I enjoyed this. Probably a bit more than "The Square" by the same author. 

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Review: The Books of Jacob

The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

An epic dedicated to Jaboc Frank's messianic movement, of which I knew nothing about. It probably would have helped to be more familiar with it, or with Polish history, but as it was this seemed to be a very long novel that delves deep into the old religion Umberto Eco-style, but without the intrigue and excitement you find in his books. 

I was sort of looking forward to diving deep into this book and enjoying it, but I must admit that by the end I was just trying to get through it. 

Still, a lot of interesting information about a time, place and religious movement I was entirely unfamiliar with. 

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Review: Noi. Racconti a due voci tra Italia e Canton Ticino

Noi. Racconti a due voci tra Italia e Canton Ticino by Valentina Giuliani
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very interesting collection of essays, by an Italian working in Ticino and a Ticinese reporter on Italy. 

Growing up in Ticino with a mother from Florence, much of what they say hit home with me. I always find the most entertaining part to be the differences in expressions and words (Italians don't say Tipp-ex??). 

It's interesting how they tackle the same issues from different perspectives, both being able to move past the stereotypes and (generally) finding the good in the other side. 

I was curious as to why the Italian wrote in the third person about a fictitious (but presumably more or less autobiographical) character, while the Swiss person wrote essays in the first person. Still, it works quite well. 

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Review: The Old Capital

The Old Capital by Yasunari Kawabata
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another excellent story by Kawabata, showing a changing Japan and its people. I must say the ending seemed a bit abrupt and unsatisfying, but I'm sure that's due to my expectations. 

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Review: The Easy Life in Kamusari

The Easy Life in Kamusari by Shion Miura
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A fun, easygoing novel that transports you to a small town in the mountains, with the people and customs. A lot of fun. 

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Review: Seven Days in the Art World

Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was recently at an event with a gallery owner and some artists, and this book was recommended to me by one of the eventgoers. I'm guessing because of how clueless I seemed (they were right). 

Regardless, this book actually discussed exactly what I had been curious about. The dynamics behind dealers, artists, galleries, curators, auctions, art shows, etc. I found it all very interesting, although some sections (Murakami and the Biennale) did seem to drag on a bit. 

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Review: Amid the Clouds and Mist: China’s Colonization of Guizhou, 1200–1700

Amid the Clouds and Mist: China’s Colonization of Guizhou, 1200–1700 by John E. Herman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent account of the transformation of this area from basically being autonomous to being a full-fledged Chinese province throughout the dynasties. I don't know enough to critique it, but I did find it very enlightening and with lots of information that was new to me. One of the appendices (Appendix J) was well worth the read too.



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Review: The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History

The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History by Alexander Mikaberidze
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very thorough overview of the effects and repercussions of everything going on during the Napoleonic wars. This was refreshing, in that for once it didn't concentrate solely on Napoleon. Then again quite a bit of it seemed a bit of a stretch and a bit too indirect to merit being included in the book. Then again, I speak from a position of ignorance, since this obviously isn't my wheelhouse. Still, I enjoyed it a lot, albeit in a pretty passive way.

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Review: Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Re-read in 2023:

I don't think I'm going to read this anymore. It's just mildly annoying, but much too oversimplified or just plain incorrect. Also my BS detector seemed to go off quite a bit more than usual at this re-reading. As an example, he mentions an NBA star who lost all his money and worked at a car wash. I did a bunch of searching and wasn't able to come up with anyone who fits that description. 

Previous review:

This book still annoys me but it's still worth reading from time to time.

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Review: Tokyo Express

Tokyo Express by Seichō Matsumoto
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The story isn't fast paced at all, but still very meticulous and interesting. Although, since it paid so much attention to detail, I have to say I disagreed with some small details (it doesn't seem that odd for a train passenger to go to the dining car alone even when traveling with someone else. They might be watching the luggage, or simply want to rest, etc.). 

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Review: Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain

Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by John J. Ratey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I don’t know enough about the science here to give a real critique, but my impression was that it was all over the place. Exercise is good; just look at plants, which never move, and don’t have a brain, while animals move and they have brains (he brings up the example of the sea squirt, which finds a place to plant itself and then “eats” its brain because, since it isn’t moving, it doesn’t need one). Also, Exercise is good because, evolutionarily speaking, if something “stressed us out” (i.e. a lion wanted to eat us) we’d run. So if we run we get rid of stress preemptively (Sounds a bit too much like how all Cretans are liars, and I’m a Cretan). Then it jumps to how exercise makes us more social, so that’s good for us. 

I get the impression he’s trying a bit of everything just to see what sticks, rather than sticking to one overlying thesis. 

Still, I come away from this pretty convinced that exercise in general is better than no exercise. Although, I doubt many people disagree with that nowadays. 

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Review: An Economist Gets Lunch: New Rules for Everyday Foodies

An Economist Gets Lunch: New Rules for Everyday Foodies by Tyler Cowen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you decided to travel around with a friend who is a foodie as well as an economist, your conversations would probably sound a lot like this book. 

In other words, I want to go travel with a foodie economist at some point.

The point are very interesting, from the observations to the asides, but there are no real studies or analyses. Everything is anecdotal, albeit from an economist's point of view. 

I guess I'm trying to say that you can enjoy this book, but don't use it to convince anyone about any big issue items, if that makes sense. 

Still, entertaining and quite a few of his rules of thumb convinced me. 

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Review: How to Get Paid for What You Know: Turning Your Knowledge, Passion, and Experience into an Online Income Stream in Your Spare Time

How to Get Paid for What You Know: Turning Your Knowledge, Passion, and Experience into an Online Income Stream in Your Spare Time by Graham Cochrane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I took copious notes, especially toward the end (the first part is mostly about convincing you you can do it, and why you should do it, and how to pick your topic, etc.). 

I feel like I shouldn't rate it until I've applied the notes, so we'll see. I'll give it 4 stars for now, since I've been in the game for a bit and his advice seems solid (plus he's done this before). If his methods work for me, I'll increase it to 5. 

I'm curious about Kajabi too. I'm hoping it's as good as he claims, and he wasn't just pushing it in order to get the commission. I'm using Thinkific for now and the prices seem comparable. 

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Review: Il prete rosso

Il prete rosso by Togni Giuseppina
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Part history of Val Verzasca, part family history and saga of the descendants of a certain priest. But mostly a story of various people from the valley over the past 5 centuries. This book was excellent, made me want to visit Val Verzasca again (I've been up and down the valley, from Lavertezzo to Corippo to Sonogno, but never paid much attention), and I look forward to ready more by this author. 

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Review: The Family Firm: A Data-Driven Guide to Better Decision Making in the Early School Years

The Family Firm: A Data-Driven Guide to Better Decision Making in the Early School Years by Emily Oster
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Once again, it's great actually getting to hear about some of the research behind anecdotal how-tos and random theories. This one didn't have as much as some of the previous books, simply because it often isn't there (as was made plain in the book), but it was still quite useful. 

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Review: A Death in Tokyo

A Death in Tokyo by Keigo Higashino
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Great murder mystery. I didn't see it coming, and it wrapped up quite nicely in the end. 

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Review: The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous

The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous by Joseph Henrich
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very interesting premise and refreshing point of view. How do studies of economics, anthropology, psychology, culture, etc. differ if we consider "Western" points of view to be an extreme, not shared by most of the world? This book (quite convincingly) argues that this is the case. I don't know enough to confirm or refute his main thesis, but I did find many of his experiments very interesting, especially stuff like the Ultimatum game with indigenous tribes in South America. I find the whole "WEIRD" nomenclature a bit click-baity, but there you go. 

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Review: Dire quasi la stessa cosa: Esperienze di traduzione

Dire quasi la stessa cosa: Esperienze di traduzione by Umberto Eco
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent collection of essays. Many of these were repeats for me, since they were featured (in English) in "Mouse or Rat". Still, either one of these books should be required reading for any literary translator. 

The arguments about how people who speak different languages view words differently depending on masculine and feminine (Sun is masculine in Italian, Spanish and French, while moon is feminine, but this is the opposite in German, so when Hoffman said The sun invited the moon to dinner, the imagery is very different. Likewise, Ingmar Bergman's death might seem weird to an Italian/Spanish/French speaker, since death is feminine in those languages (and seen as the feminine "sweet death" in ancient literature). Although sometimes this talk veers a bit too much into Sapir-Whorf territory. 

Also interesting is Sol Worth's quote "Pictures can't say ain't". In other words, people can interpret a piece of art to be anything they wish it to be. When Magritte wanted to specify it wasn't a pipe he literally had to write it. 

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Review: The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business: Make Great Money. Work the Way You Like. Have the Life You Want.

The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business: Make Great Money. Work the Way You Like. Have the Life You Want. by Elaine Pofeldt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a re-read for me. It would be a great (and sorely needed) book, but it's just a collection of case studies. Even a final chapter with conclusions and tentative guidelines would've been excellent. Seems like a missed opportunity. Too bad. 

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Review: The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World

The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World by David W. Anthony
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

You pretty much need to be an archaeologist to follow along with most of this book. 

The initial part is fascinating, but the author then decides he wants to prove he left no stone unturned. 

I don’t doubt that archaeological knowledge is needed in order to get to the bottom of PIE and its origins. In fact, I fully support his thesis and linguistic historians and archaeologists should work in tandem on this. 

Having said that, it doesn’t really make for the most entertaining book. I’m sure he did his homework (the chapter on horses, their teeth, and whether they were domesticated is nuts), but this read more like a thesis than a book. 

I also thought it was curious how, after stating that PIE didn’t expand due to conquests (he said it was more like franchises), he then claims that the language of conquerors pretty much always prevails. This may we true, but we know of at least one glaring exception throughout time. The territory of what we now call China was conquered by the Mongols, and then later by the Manchus. However neither of their languages even left a dent in modern Chinese. Shouldn’t we at least acknowledge something similar may have occurred with the spread of PIE?

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Review: I miei giorni alla libreria Morisaki

I miei giorni alla libreria Morisaki by Satoshi Yagisawa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very cute book. Reminiscent of Hiromi Kawakami or Toshikazu Kawaguchi, but more of a classical storyline in a way. This was actually a collection of 3 stories, which are chronological and all tie together. I preferred the initial story, but all of it held its own. 

And now I noted down two places I must visit next time I go to Tokyo: the bookshop area of Tokyo, as well as Mitake, in the mountains outside the city. 

Also, this is the third or fourth Japanese book I read that was translated by Gala Maria Follaco, and I must say I really like her style. Everything sounded very natural in Italian, with turns of phrase that seem to fit in perfectly. 

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Review: Colpo grosso ai Frigoriferi Milanesi

Colpo grosso ai Frigoriferi Milanesi by Francesco Recami
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a "meta-romanzo", Pirandello-style (and apparently like Camilleri too). However, I can't really say it worked for me. The points where the author started inserting his voice just broke up the tempo of the story, which wasn't the most exhilarating to begin with. Also, it's an interesting (if not original) idea, but after you bring it up several times it just gets old. 

Oddly enough, I thought it worked best in the final chapters, where the characters wonder about the 'Nonmondo', and the author makes you wonder about all the other characters in all other books/stories and their Nonmondo as well. 

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Review: A Man of Honor: The Autobiography of Joseph Bonanno

A Man of Honor: The Autobiography of Joseph Bonanno by Joseph Bonanno
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An entertaining read which, despite everything, has quite a lot of interesting information. Revealing to hear about Sicily when he was a child, and about the old names (Maranzano, Masseria, Terranova, etc.). Also revealing to hear that Luciano had a "street accent", while it seems like most of the other dons of the period, including the "young turks" like Anastasia and Gambino, had thick italian accents. 

Some obvious lies and possible self-deception going on. I very much doubt he would pick the moment Magliocco died, and the liberal faction took over the commission, to travel the world with his wife. Much more likely he'd try to escape to Canada, as the feds believed he was doing. 

Also, interesting to note how many of these original old-timers ended up telling all. Bonanno and Luciano both wrote autobiographies. Costello was about to. Luciano died on his way to have a movie made of his life. I guess the concept of omertà was pretty ambiguous even back then. Bonanno does try to justify this, but I doubt his definition would hold in the commission. 

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Review: Lungo la strada

Lungo la strada by Anna Gnesa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Musings on a recently-vanished Valle Verzasca by a person who knew it well and loved it dearly. It was great to read this, despite not being overly familiar with the valley (we would go there often growing up, but just as tourists). 

The tidbits here and there in local dialect were enticing. They seem to differ so much from the Lugano/Sottoceneri dialect. I couldn't make head or tail of them. 

The latter part of the book (about flowers/animals/etc.) I found less entertaining. 

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Review: The Inugami Curse

The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Fun and entertaining. However, there ended up being one too many coincidences toward the end. Even though the narrator admits to this, it still seemed like a tad much.

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Review: BATTAGLIE D'AMORE IN SOGNO

BATTAGLIE D'AMORE IN SOGNO by unknown author
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Great little mystery novel taking place in Lugano (and which makes me want to visit the library in Salita dei Frati) involving the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. What's not to love? 

This mystery deals more with the origin of the book than the content (like The Rule of Four), and in fact it credits a different author than the Rule of Four. A great short read. 

Also, for some reason Goodreads says "unknown author". The Author is Giovanna Lepori (not sure how to change it on Goodreads). 

4.5 Stars. 

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Review: The Monster of Florence

The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent book. Not only because it is one of the more clear and concise books (in Italian or English) on the Monster of Florence, but also because of the drama that ensued. For those of us who read Michele Giuttari's fever dream "il Mostro", this is a good vindication of the more ridiculous plot points Giuttari tried to justify in his telling. 

Oddly enough, the author(s) get involved in the case, despite it being decades old. This would naturally give rise to biases, etc., but all of these are taken well into account in the book. 

Highly recommended, both for those who have been familiar with Il mostro di Firenze their whole lives, as well as for those who have never heard of him. 

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Review: Il gioco delle tre carte

Il gioco delle tre carte by Marco Malvaldi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Once again I enjoyed the gergo toscano most of all, as well as most of the characters. I just wish the story itself were more exciting/eventful. 

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Review: Villa del seminario

Villa del seminario by Sacha Naspini
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very poignant book. A bit slow at first, but it drags you in, especially since it is based on a real concentration camp located in Maremma, in Southern Tuscany. 

In fact, the part that probably struck me the most was the afterword, detailing how true to life the story actually was. And how Grosseto didn't even place any sort of plaque on the building until 2008. He goes on to say how in 2022 the mayor dedicated a new piazza to monsignor Paolo Galeazzi, who allowed the concentration camp to be placed in his seminary, and how the mayor was there for that, but then he skipped the Liberation Day festivities (and yes, he names the mayor, Antonfrancesco Vivarelli Colonna). 

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Review: Sei tu, Ticino?

Sei tu, Ticino? by Fabio Andina
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Nice stories that definitely remind me of Ticino. Although I don't know why Ticino authors are so averse to using dialetto in their dialog, since anyone over 40 is sure to sprinkle it into their speech in real life. 

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Review: L'arte del fallimento

L'arte del fallimento by Andrea Fazioli
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this more than I remember enjoying his other books. I'll have to read more by him. 

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Review: The Reading List

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another book by an author who loves authors and thinks reading books is everyone's salvation. 

Since I pretty much agree with all those points of view as well, I thought I'd check it out. And it turns out I'm very glad I did. The different feelings/points of view the characters have toward books pretty much run the gamut of what we see in the real world. The story seemed to take a while to get going, but was worth it. 

I'll be following this author for future works. 

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Review: Five by Endo

Five by Endo by Shūsaku Endō
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed all five stories, although I can't say any of them seemed really groundbreaking to me. 

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Review: Ad occhi chiusi

Ad occhi chiusi by Gianrico Carofiglio
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Slowly becoming one of my favorite mystery novel authors. Well, I guess legal thriller authors. And his books always make me want to visit Bari. 

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Review: You Talkin' To Me?: The Unruly History of New York English

You Talkin' To Me?: The Unruly History of New York English by E.J. White
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is more a history of New York's people and names, which obviously goes hand-in-hand with New York English. I do wish, however, that it had been more of a progressive journey through how New Yorkers spoke throughout the centuries. 

Still, some very interesting tidbits. Especially the differences between how men and women talk. And how New Yorkers have stubbornly been clinging to their non-rhoticity, while it has gone away in so many other places. 

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Review: Il manoscritto di Brodie

Il manoscritto di Brodie by Jorge Luis Borges
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a re-read and I changed the rating from 4 to 5. 

What a pleasure it is to read Borges. Every story was a delight, so it seems useless to pick favorites. Still, the ones that seem to stick with me most after a few days are:

Juan Muraña

La signora anziana

Guayaquil

Il Vangelo secondo Marco

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Review: Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe

Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe by Judith Herrin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book starts off extremely well. Ravenna was the Italian successor to Rome in so many ways, and it is fascinating to learn about Galla Placidia and Theodoric, as well as the rise of Ravenna as a tri-lingual center, and the clashes between Easterners, Westerners and Goths. 

However, not everyone who had anything to do with Ravenna is necessarily worth learning about. And others, like Gregory the Great and Charlemagne, were obviously interesting, but their ties to Ravenna were tangential at best. 

Also, I was kind of hoping this would be a history of Ravenna, and not just a history of Ravenna in the early middle ages (late antiquity). I’m certain other things happened and other people were in Ravenna after these times. In fact, the author mentions how Dante is buried in Ravenna since he was there in exile when he died, but this is just mentioned briefly in the introduction and never touched upon again. The book basically ends at around 800 CE. 

This book did make me want to read more about the Goths, Longobards and Franks, however. Their advance and influence throughout Europe is fascinating. 

Also, why does she refer to Charlemagne as Charles? There are a number of other Charles’s throughout the book (including Charlemagne’s grandfather, Charles Martel), so it was a tad confusing at first. 

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Review: Train Dreams

Train Dreams by Denis Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The re-read made me appreciate this book all that much more. 

A man who basically came from nowhere with no real family, leaves behind no one, so his entire life is destined to be forgotten. But he lived a full life, becoming a husband and father, and working, traveling, etc. And, as one of the final paragraphs states:

"Grainier himself lived more than eighty years, well into the 1960s. In his time he’d traveled west to within a few dozen miles of the Pacific, though he’d never seen the ocean itself, and as far east as the town of Libby, forty miles inside Montana. He’d had one lover—his wife, Gladys—owned one acre of property, two horses, and a wagon. He’d never been drunk. He’d never purchased a firearm or spoken into a telephone. He’d ridden on trains regularly, many times in automobiles, and once on an aircraft. During the last decade of his life he watched television whenever he was in town. He had no idea who his parents might have been, and he left no heirs behind him."

Changed the rating from 4 to 5. 

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Review: Aborigines of South Taiwan in the 1880s 1880

Aborigines of South Taiwan in the 1880s 1880 by George Taylor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The title makes this seem rather esoteric and random, but this is actually a pretty important collection of writings. 

During the Qing dynasty there was a policy of not dealing with the indigenous tribes in Taiwan, so most people avoided them, except the Hakkas. 

Because of this, we don't really have any writings, from an anthropological point of view, of any indigenous tribes before this period. 

When the Japanese invaded Taiwan, they conducted extensive studies, but times had already changed by then (as can be seen in this book), and the Japanese government itself forbade many of their customs. 

So I'm very glad this exists. I also appreciate the Chinese characters next to the proper names when needed. 

The one frustrating point is that almost none of the names (of tribes and places) coincide with places we know today. I wish there had been more notes in this regard. 

Of course, I know Takao is Kaohsiung, and Taiwan-foo is Tainan, but many other names were a mystery. 

Of course Paiwan still use the same name. 

Aimias were the Amis

I presume Botel Tobago is Orchid Island

Pepohoans are the plains indigenous people

I'm guessing the Tipun are the Puyuma. 

Apparently Pilam is Taidong?

Ones I couldn't figure out:

Koaluts (the ones that killed the foreigners in the Rover incident. I'm assuming they were Paiwan)

Diaromaks (did they really kill their young for feasts??)

Limwans

Subongs (a division of Paiwan?)

Caviangans

I'd love to know more about Tokitoki and Bunkiet!

Some interesting notes:

Sneezes were considered very bad omens, and if you heard one you raced back home. 

The Paiwan never ate poultry. 

The "witch" wouldn't remove the white person's hat, since she knew it was important for him to keep it on (times have changed). 

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Review: The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages, 400-1000

The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages, 400-1000 by Chris Wickham
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I must admit at first this book seemed like it would out-dry academic textbooks on the period. It reminded of the saying "history is just one damn fact after another". 

But, gradually, the book drew me in, and then threw me for a loop. It not only covered Western Europe, but also the Eastern (Byzantine) empire, as well as the Abbasid Caliphates taking us straight through modern day Iraq/Iran/Syria. 

All in all it ended up being a quite enjoyable journey through various different regions from the year 400 to 1,000. 

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