Review: The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century

The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century by Ian Mortimer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A great read delivering exactly what it sets out to do. In the vein of "AD 500", and it also reminded me of  "Down the common".

Quite a few interesting tidbits. I enjoyed reading how all farm animals were quite a bit smaller back then than they are now, plus carrots hadn't been bred into existence yet (at least not the orange type). 

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Review: Before Your Memory Fades: A Novel

Before Your Memory Fades: A Novel by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I regarded reading this almost like a chore at first, because I felt like I knew the formula (someone has an issue with the past (loved one died, etc.) and went back to see them again). However, I was pleasantly surprised and moved by this book. The angles were actually very nice and refreshing, given how we all know what to expect. 

Also, this really made me want to visit Hakodate for some reason.

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Review: Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon

Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon by Colin Bryar
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Interesting book, although pretty useless if you're looking for a book on Entrepreneurship. The authors joined Amazon when it was still young, but already very much an established (and publicly traded) company, so the issues they discuss have to do with huge workforces and extraordinary budgets. 

Interesting how much the culture of "Jeff" seems to be pervasive here as well. It almost sounds like Bezos commissioned this, and it makes me wonder what the effect has been at Amazon of Andy Jassy taking over. 

Also, ironic that, with all the Amazon products discussed, there was no mention of Audible, which I used to listen to this, or Goodreads, where I'm writing this review. 

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Review: Il re dei giochi

Il re dei giochi by Marco Malvaldi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another fun book filled with Tuscan dialog and a mystery that kept me engaged until the end. Definitely better than "il gioco delle tre carte", possibly better than "La briscola in cinque". Regardless, I'll be looking for more of his books.

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Review: Galatea

Galatea by Madeline Miller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A nice re-imagining of the Pygmalion story from Ovid, discussing his creation in a way Ovid never considered. A great short yet poignant read you can get through in one session.

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Review: The Whole Bible Story: Everything That Happens in the Bible in Plain English

The Whole Bible Story: Everything That Happens in the Bible in Plain English by William H. Marty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had been wanting to re-read the Bible, which I had been putting off for a while, and this was a good stopgap. I found it to be a great summary of pretty much everything in the Bible. 

I was sort of hoping it would include the Epistle of James, since I was wondering how he would summarize that and how he would identify James. But there you go...

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Review: To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others

To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others by Daniel H. Pink
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The premise seems to be the whole “Everything you do is selling. Even if you’re not directly selling a product/service, you’re trying to convince someone of something, so you’re selling”. This is similar to a recent book I read on negotiation that stated everything we do is a negotiation. I imagine you could make the same argument re: marketing. In fact, I could probably make it re: management, operations, etc. 

Some of the usual topics for my business book bingo card: Prisoner’s dilemma, behavioral economics (No Daniel Kahneman, but Richard Thaler was mentioned), shoutout to other authors (Cialdini, Heath brothers, etc.), that study where the customers were given fewer choices at the supermarket and bought more products (I forget the details, but it’s always the same study). 

But that doesn’t mean it didn’t have interesting aspects. I appreciated the criticism of Joseph Girard. I remember we had to read his book for our marketing class, and it already seemed outdated back then. Nowadays it has probably lost all relevance if no one updates it. 

Some of the notes I took (for my use. In other words, as his points pertain to my business):

Get rid of extra choices being offered on the website

List the positive but then add one small negative at the end.

Don’t emphasize what you did, but what you can do (i.e. this could be the next big thing)

Show a clear way to get it done (i.e. clearly detail the next steps to take in order to get it done). 

Find a slogan that rhymes

Find 1 word to describe the business

The Email subject should be very detailed (on cold emails)

Don’t upsell, but “upserve”

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Review: Where I Was From

Where I Was From by Joan Didion
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have no interest in California, and I never really had any interest in Joan Didion. So I have no idea why this book was in my wishlist, nor why I bought it. 

However, obviously my spidey-sense instinct was working that day, since this was one of the best books I've read this year. Not really a biography, memoir or history book, but more a fascinating and thought-provoking look at Joan Didion's California, as well as a journey through the history of the state, from Western expansion to the present day, and the dreams and lies along the way. 

The whole exposé about Lakewood and the Spur posse was very interesting and new to me. 

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Review: What You Are Looking For Is in the Library

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very nice feel-good book. Oddly enough I think this would be a great book to give as a gift to anyone in the job market. 

At a certain point it did seem a tad formulaic, and I think I was hoping for more from the ending, but still a great read. 

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Review: Dragon Palace

Dragon Palace by Hiromi Kawakami
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

These stories are definitely more surrealistic than her novels, so they took me by surprise. They seem to be influenced by Japanese mythology quite a bit as well.

My favorite was probably "The Roar", mostly because I'm pretty sure I understood the symbolism of the relationship with a woman throughout one's life.

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Review: Essays One

Essays One by Lydia Davis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Every one of these essays was a pleasure to read, and Lydia Davis' manner of writing is superb. 

Also, this book made me curious about Lucia Berlin, who I will be checking out soon. 

This is another book I found out about thanks to Tyler Cowen, and I'm very glad I did. This is a must-read for anyone who takes pleasure in reading and desires more of it. 

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Review: Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World

Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I probably wasn't the right target market for this book, in that I already agreed with everything he said. I've never gotten rid of all social media on my phone in order to give it a break, and then start from there, as he advocates. But I make it a point to keep very few apps (especially social media apps) on my phone. Only keeping the ones I use for work, and using my desktop for anything else. 

I also use Rescuetime to analyze how much time I spend on every app/website, and my numbers are nowhere near some of the crazy numbers he mentions, luckily. 

Regardless, some good points were made. I believe this would have made an excellent article, maybe with relative website to sign a pledge, or join a group, in order to enact what he mentions. As a book it's a bit long-winded. 

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Review: The Bad Food Bible: How and Why to Eat Sinfully

The Bad Food Bible: How and Why to Eat Sinfully by Aaron E. Carroll
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Whenever I read a book on nutrition or health I find myself trying to see everything I'm doing right, so I consciously tried to concentrate on everything I did that contradicted what the author was talking. 

Having said that, I agreed with more or less everything. The sections that surprised me somewhat were those on saccharine and aspartame, as well as how even home-made bread is considered processed. 

I wish he had discussed more about what has caused the extreme weight gain in the US in recent decades. While he alludes to it a couple times, he doesn't really give a definitive answer (but you basically imply it's a combination of the factors he brings up). 

Still, a good read. 

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Review: MONKEY New Writing from Japan: Volume 4: MUSIC

MONKEY New Writing from Japan: Volume 4: MUSIC by Ted Goossen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A nice collection. I'll have to get more of these the next time I go to Japan. And the authors are seriously a who's who of contemporary Japanese fiction writers. 

My favorites were:

Yoshiwara Dreaming, by Hiromi Kawakami

Flight, by Hiroko Oyamada (not as good as her books, but still good)

The Zombie, by Haruki Murakami

Angels and Electricity, by Aoko Matsuda (this may have been my favorite)

Transformers: Piano, by Kaori Fujino (this was so weird)

Takasago, a Noh Play, was surprisingly fun

I also really liked "A man opens a cafe in a shopping arcade, dreaming that it will become like the jazz cafe he used to frequent as a student; the cafe is open for nearly thirty years, then closes down" (real title), by Tomoka Shibasaki

Satoshi Kitamura's "Five Parallel Lines" was refreshingly odd as well. 

In other words many more hits than misses. Contemporary Japanese Fiction is really a delight to read these days. 

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Review: Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter — Then, Now, and Forever

Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter — Then, Now, and Forever by John McWhorter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another fun John Mcwhorter book. Interesting to hear tidbits, like how “darn” actually meant the opposite of “damn” and doesn’t share the same roots (it’s from eternal—> tarnation). 

Obviously if I review this I’m going to have to at least allude to these bad words. One thing I disagreed with was “c-sucker”, which he says is obsolete, but I definitely hear from time to time. I’m under the impression the show “Sopranos” brought it back to life. 

Also odd that “the other F-word” has no relation to the Yiddish “Fegulah”, which I always assumed it came from. 

Very interesting to see how Curse words went from “The holy to the holes”, as he puts it. Saying “damn” was once worse than the F-word, because it was considered blasphemous. Nowadays most curse words have to do with orifices (secretion or insertion). But he also makes the argument there might be another change going on right now, from current curse words (which we actually hear all the time online) to slurs. 

I remember a high school teacher scolding me for having a “Skateboarders suck” t-shirt, asking me “What do they suck?”. I wonder if that would still be an issue these days. 

5 stars

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Review: How to Become a People Magnet: 62 Life-Changing Tips to Attract Everyone You Meet

How to Become a People Magnet: 62 Life-Changing Tips to Attract Everyone You Meet by Marc Reklau
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This would make a good online list, a la Kevin Kelly. Very sales-oriented. Ways to sound/look nice and make the other person like you. If you've read other business/sales books, or studied sales, you've probably heard all of these. Still, might be good to review. 

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Review: Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success

Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success by Shane Snow
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

As with many business/self-help books, this is a list that could've been a good blog post. The author adds examples, many of which are personal anecdotes. 

The examples, as well as the points he makes, seem good enough, and I took notes. But as with any business book, this lacks the list of people who followed every single step he mentions and still didn't attain success. Of course, anything like that would defeat the purpose, and it is impossible to literally analyze every single person who followed these same steps, but it would still help. 

Obviously I know there aren't "Step-by-step" instructions that guarantee success in business, but it seems like this fact could at least be addressed. You can definitely study masters, catch the wave, find a superconnector, 10x it, etc. and still not attain success. 

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Review: Mrs. Pollifax Pursued

Mrs. Pollifax Pursued by Dorothy Gilman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Jumping around between suburbia, infiltrating a circus and flying off to an invented African country seemed like a bit too much for one book about a middle-aged white-haired detective.

2.5 stars

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Review: The Taipei Chinese PEN—A Quarterly Journal of Contemporary Chinese Literature from Taiwan《中華民國筆會英文季刊─譯之華》 N. 207

The Taipei Chinese PEN—A Quarterly Journal of Contemporary Chinese Literature from Taiwan《中華民國筆會英文季刊─譯之華》 N. 207 by Various
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another good collection of poems and essays. I'm not sure why they changed the name of the journal to "Florescence". 

"National Language - The Voice of the Other" by Sen Kim Soon was my favorite.  

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Review: Puppet Flower: A Novel of 1867 Formosa

Puppet Flower: A Novel of 1867 Formosa by Yao-Chang Chen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you've been in Taiwan long enough, you will hear about the Rover incident. Unfortunately, it, like much of Taiwanese history, isn't studied or known very well by Taiwanese (who grew up learning more about Chinese history than Taiwanese), so it is difficult to get a feel for what happened exactly. 

This book did exactly that. Many familiar names (Pickering, LeGendre and Tauketok, among others) and many new names. I guess I only wish it specified who was a real historical figure and who wasn't. Were they all real? If so, I wish it talked more about Butterfly and her family and their fate. 

The story itself was great, although I can't say I liked the ending as much. I see how it was trying to tie several things together, but it seemed to rush a lot of history and make it fit an odd narrative. 

Anyway, that is sort of nitpicking. All in all it was a great book. 

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Review: Hunter School

Hunter School by Sakinu Ahronglong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The risk with these types of memoirs/personal histories is that they generally have a theme, or message (get back to nature, progress is bad, etc.), and often the message takes precedence rather than the history, where the end result is a preachy book where you have to dig to find glimpses into the real history. 

I almost didn't get past the first few pages of this book, because it seemed like it was going to have exactly that type of issue. Luckily, however, it seemed to be more a recollection of memories and Paiwan traditions than anything too preachy or righteous. 

I do wish we could get something like this from every indigenous group in Taiwan, and not just Paiwan. 

Very interesting to learn about the animosity between Paiwan and Amis as well. 

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Review: The Invisibility Cloak

The Invisibility Cloak by Ge Fei
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent book. I confess I wasn't sure about the significance of the "Invisibility cloak". It is mentioned, almost in passing, that a man (who had since died) was said to have an invisibility cloak so people couldn't see him, although the narrator said he saw him several times, so that wasn't true. 

But then, my favorite line from the novel was:

"the best attributes of anyone or anything usually reside on the surface, which is where, in fact, all of us live out our lives. Everyone has an inner life, but it’s best if we leave it alone. For as soon as you poke a hole through that paper window, most of what’s inside simply won’t hold up to scrutiny."

And I realized this had a lot to do with the invisibility cloak. Another reviewer mentioned that the speakers may pass this cloak on to its owners, which sort of fits well, since the narrator got the speakers from the deceased man. 

I started racking my brain trying to decipher the connection, but then I remembered another quote by the narrator:

"Do you mind if I contribute my thoughts to this one? If you could just stop nitpicking and dissecting every little thing, if you could learn to keep one eye closed and one eye open, and quit worrying about everything and everybody, you might discover that life is actually pretty fucking beautiful. Am I right?"

5 stars

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Review: Trust

Trust by Domenico Starnone
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had initially wanted to read this in Italian, and then follow it up with the English version, but since I already had the English version I figured I may as well read it. I'm a fan of both the author and the translator, so I was curious to see how the story turned out. 

All in all I really enjoyed the first part (probably a bit over 60% of the book), but the second and third parts didn't attract me as much. Especially Emma's section. Was she supposed to come across like that? And Teresa, far from being what the narrator described her as initially, came across as more simple and childish. 

Regardless, I still enjoyed it. I will probably wait a while and then read the Italian version, to see if it feels different or not. 

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Review: Heaven

Heaven by Mieko Kawakami
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I'm taking 2 stars off because of the ending, but adding one back on because the translation was excellent (there is even some wordplay which works perfectly in English. I'm not sure how it was in Japanese). Kudos to both translators. 

None of the reviews seem too bothered by this, but the ending seemed unnatural, disrupting to the flow of the book, and the way it happened didn't solve anything. Obviously, by this I mean (SPOILERS AHEAD) the fact that Kojima is out of the picture all of a sudden. The narrator just says he never sees her again. No explanation as to why he wouldn't, how come he's not even curious, nor how she faired after this seemingly cathartic ordeal. 

In fact, thinking about it, I'm taking removing the star once more. 

2 stars. 

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Review: The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965

The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965 by William Manchester
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Knowing this third and final book in the trilogy of The Last Lion, I started off thinking the feel was very different, and  it seemed like it wouldn't fit in well with the other two books. I'm convinced at least half of this was my preconception. The fact is, however, that even if it does have a slightly different "feel", it still fits in nicely. 

In essence this book covers world war II, which covered Churchill's life during those years, so it is apt. It does feel a bit rushed after that (and certainly on the fate of his children after his death), but that doesn't necessarily detract from the substance of the book. 

It is truly remarkable how monumental Winston Churchill was during the war, and to think how different the outcome would have been had someone else been in charge. The outcome for Great Britain was the end of its empire and its country's economy shattered, and yet it would have been so much worse with pretty much anyone else at the helm. 

TL;DR: 5 stars. 

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Review: Once and Forever: The Tales of Kenji Miyazawa

Once and Forever: The Tales of Kenji Miyazawa by Kenji Miyazawa
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I didn't enjoy this as much as I should have, probably. Given I am not the target market, and that many of the allusions to earth gods and foxes and the like are over my head, I'm sure I didn't get as much out of this as was intended. 

Still, these are short, comfortable stories, and I'm happy I stuck with them since the last one (The Nighthawk Star) was probably my favorite. 

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Review: Of Wolves and Men

Of Wolves and Men by Barry Lopez
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have no idea why this was on my wishlist, but I'm very glad it was. 

As another commenter mentioned, this is just as much a book about the relationship between humans and wolves as it is a book about wolves. It also discusses the evolution of this relationship and how it differs from place to place. 

Reading this book is probably as close as I will ever get to entering the mentality of wolves. Even though it is second hand (I'm entering the mentality of someone endeavoring to enter the mentality of wolves) it is still an eye-opening experience. 

The focus of the chapters will run the gamut, from history to folklore to science to hanging out with Native Americans to the author raising wolves himself, so some chapters will go by more quickly than others. But all in all it will almost certainly be worth it. 

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Review: Lives Like Loaded Guns: Emily Dickinson and Her Family's Feuds

Lives Like Loaded Guns: Emily Dickinson and Her Family's Feuds by Lyndall Gordon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Emily Dickinson could probably never have imagined the century-long drama her poetry would spark. 

This book has it all: adultery, inheritance, multi-generational family feuds, ultra-religiosity, editing of original documents, 'canceling', etc. 

Fair warning: this book also has more 'Dickinson' than 'Emily'. While the first half is a biography of the poet's life, and covers her reclusiveness, possible epilepsy, relations with her family (including Sue), the second half is where the book really seems to get going.

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Review: Hotel Iris

Hotel Iris by Yōko Ogawa
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I see some people compared this book to Lolita, although I guess it would be more fair to compare it to Duras’ “The Lover”.

However, “The Lover” was autobiographical. As far as I can tell, this is not, and it frankly comes off as sensationalist. A 60-something year old sexual aggressor repeatedly r*pes a 17 year old, and she naively longs for it, and for him. She ends up hooking up with another boy closer to her age (and the aggressor ‘punishes’ her for this) and there is S&M in the mix too. I guess much of this is due to the lack of a father and an overbearing mother? Not sure. What I do know is that this book was a disappointment after having read “The Housekeeper and the Professor”, as well as “Revenge”, which were both superb in their own way.

2 stars



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Review: The First Horseman

The First Horseman by John Case
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was almost more interesting as a period piece than a contemporary novel. Considering it was written well before COVID, it is very interesting to see what an author would write about the Spanish flu and a new pandemic before all the politics came in (not once did the author assume people would be anti-mask). 

Having said that, I found quite a few issues with it. First of all, I know it was the 90s, but how naive can people be? If I’m a journalist investigating a cult that is suspected of kidnapping and killing people, and I spot some lady breaking into my car and quickly going away, and then find a slimy substance on the steering wheel, I’d probably be a tad suspicious. Likewise, if I wanted to subvert this whole conspiracy I’d probably try to formulate a plan, or something, rather than waltz into their headquarters on spec and just take it from there. It’s a miracle he survived any past assignments, let alone this book. 

Also, did people really not know what DPRK, FEMA and WMD stood for back then? I mean, I guess neither had been in the news much yet. 

Regardless, the novel was fast-paced, despite being a tad unbelievable and having cardboard cutout characters. I also liked that it took place in DC during the late 90s, since that’s where I was during that time (I could’ve been one of those drunk AU students he drove by). The author could’ve skipped the romantic interest since it seemed like an obligatory afterthought. 

2.5 stars

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Some lessons from Skiing for the first time after 30 years

I recently went skiing for the first time in over 30 years (the last time was January 1994). In case anyone wants to know what it feels like:

Muscle memory works. At first I was afraid I wouldn’t even be able to snow plow, but by the end of a couple runs I could turn with no issue. By the end of the second day I think I was pretty much at the level I left off. I’m sure a lot of this was due to:

Very different skis. They are much shorter and more symmetrical than they used to be. So they felt much more manageable than I expected, but still very stable.

Helmets are in! Pretty much 100% of the people had helmets. It just seemed accepted now. Teenager me would probably have made fun of this, but 40-something-year-old me cares about my noggin’, so I was glad.

Restaurants on the slopes are still my fave. The meal always feels earned.

Review: Goodbye Tsugumi

Goodbye Tsugumi by Banana Yoshimoto
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Banana Yoshimoto is always a pleasure to read. This story was less surreal than some, but the tone was fittingly nostalgic throughout.

Tsugumi is a frail girl who is constantly sick. So she is constantly looked after and, in part due to this, in part probably because she feels helpless, she acts spoiled and entitled. However, you quickly realize there's more to her than that. At least, the narrator does.

Regardless, an excellent read. Among my favorite Yoshimoto stories.

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Review: The Woman in the Purple Skirt

The Woman in the Purple Skirt by Natsuko Imamura
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sometimes I thoroughly enjoy a book because the message it conveys is loud and clear. This wasn’t one of those times. I did thoroughly enjoy it, but I’m not really sure what its point was. 

It deals with obsession, voyeurism, work drudgery, the rise and inevitable downfall of an employee, and various other topics. But I can’t really say I understood the ending. 

Still, it was written very well (kudos to the author as well as the translator, Lucy North) and kept me interested throughout. 

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Review: The Ditch

The Ditch by Herman Koch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is my first Herman Koch book. I was told to read the Dinner, but, for good or bad, I chose to read this book first.



I started off really enjoying it. It reminded me of Saturday, by Ian Mcewan, with the prolonged inner monologues (ramblings?), but that's where the similarities end. This narrator is the mayor of Amsterdam and, between suspecting his wife of having an affair, his elderly parents who wish to pull the plug (is it that easy in the Netherlands?), his wife's family from an (annoyingly) anonymous country, plus a couple of side stories dealing with wind turbines, the meaning of the universe (featuring Stephen Hawking!), and the appearance of a female thrush, it all got to be a bit much. The fact is, in the end, there doesn't seem to be much of a conclusion at all. Or maybe it was all too subtle for me. However, reading other reviews I see that I'm not the only one.

Regardless, I'd give this 3.5 stars.

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Review: Dead Center

Dead Center by David Rosenfelt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was perfect as a light mystery novel. I forgot how much I enjoyed the Andy Carpenter series. Dry New York (New Jersey) humor combined with a fast-paced detective novel, keeping things up in the air until the end. I admittedly sort of figured out who the killer was early on, but I still enjoyed it. 

4.5 stars

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Review: The Village of Eight Graves

The Village of Eight Graves by Seishi Yokomizo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm not sure why but I didn't enjoy this as much as the other Kindaichi novels I read. 

The story annoyed me in the sense that the two lovers could have run away (as they finally did) earlier. And why didn't they run away together? 

I thought I liked how the narrator told his own story and Kindaichi just popped up here and there, but in the end I'm not sure it really worked well. 

Anyway, too bad. I'll be taking a break but I'll probably read another Kindaichi mystery at some point. 

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Review: Chinatown

Chinatown by Oh Jung-hee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Some interesting stories. The first one, Chinatown, is depressing in a way, but also different and unique to its time. Also it felt a bit open ended. 

Wayfarer was probably my favorite. Without giving too many spoilers, it had to do with a woman who went through a breaking and entering and, due to its being a male-centered society, was blamed for it. 

The Release was very short, but also a good story about dealing with grief as a woman. 

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Review: The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Alone, 1932-40

The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill: Alone, 1932-40 by William Manchester
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It never fails to amaze me how far the appeasement policy went during WWII. Hitler was able to take over the Rhineland, Austria, Sudetenland, and the rest of Czechoslovakia before even meeting resistance. It was only going into Poland that he actually had to battle, and even then Chamberlain wanted to sign a deal with him. 

So this book is riveting, not just for what Churchill did, but for everything going on in Europe at the time. I can’t wait to read the 3rd volume. 

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Review: Silenzi

Silenzi by Luca Brunoni
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The book starts out slowly, but then it shifts in the second part and suddenly fills in many gaps by switching the point of view from Ida to the villagers. It actually worked quite well and, just when I thought the pace was much too slow for my taste, it went into overdrive. 

I was honestly surprised it didn't take place in Ticino, but in the Swiss German part (close to Thun). So, maybe it was just me, but I kept confusing the characters (Arthur and Theodore and even Wolfgang) probably because I kept expecting it to be Ticino and kept thinking (the guy with the German name). So, yeah, it was probably just my issue.

Apparently the author was inspired to write this book after having read "Anime rubate. Bambini svizzeri all'asta", which I have now added to my wishlist. 

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Review: The Wounded

The Wounded by Yi Chong-Jun
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

2 short stories. The second one (The Assailant) was excellent, detailing a professor's survival guilt after the Korean war, his relationship with his brother in law, who disappeared during this time, and with his daughter.  

The first one (The Wounded) was very good as well, although a bit too odd for me. Two brothers, one of whom is a writer, the other a painter. One went through the Korean war, the other didn't. In many ways they are opposites, but they are also intertwined. 

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Review: Clearer, Closer, Better: How Successful People See the World

Clearer, Closer, Better: How Successful People See the World by Emily Balcetis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The author’s journey to play the drums well enough to have a private concert is an interesting anecdote that would’ve made a great article (or Ted talk, with subsequent performance). As a book it’s just dragged out and, frankly, unrelatable to most readers. 

Having said that there are some decent takeaways, which I wish had been given more focus:

- Apparently pushing something bad (like junk food) from your mind doesn’t work as well as actually thinking about eating it in terms of avoiding it in the near future. This seemed counterintuitive to me, but very interesting. 

- Narrow your focus: Focus on smaller, more immediate goals rather than the big final outcome. 

- Think back to the bad points/mistakes as much as the good points. This helps you avoid them in the future. 

These weren’t the 4 takeaways given by the author, but they were from my notes. 

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Review: Transactions - Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 97

Transactions - Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 97 by Various
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent read. I found every one of the essays/stories interesting in their own way. 

The first one, by Brother Anthony of Taizé, is about two very early Korean Catholics, one of whom was fairly quickly sanctified after his death (Andrew Kim Dae-geon), while the other has yet to be so (Thomas Choe Yang-eop).

Next are 2 student essays: "Is Retro the new Present?" (by Lee Chaemin) and "Walking 'Hand-in-Hand' toward Harmony" (by Kim Dongha), about the 1988 Olympics. I hadn't realized how important they were. With the 1980 Olympics having been boycotted by the US, and the 1984 Olympics boycotted by the Soviet Union, the 1988 Olympics finally featured everyone again in Seoul. 

The next essay is about how Western POWs were used by the Japanese Army as PR in Korea, being paraded through the country and as a showcase for how prisoners are treated well. This was all news to me. By Matt Van Volkenburg.

This is followed by another interesting piece of history, about when the Korean king hired some foreign bodyguards (which seems to have been a pretty misguided choice to say the least), by Robert Neff.

The essay by Nate Kornegay on late 20th century architecture in Korea was a throwback to me, and I was thankful for the photos, since that was when I first traveled to Korea. 

Then there followed 2 essays from the Youth Panel: One on Collectivism and Competition (and the harm created by Korea's mix) by Hyunjee Romy Cho, while the other was about a 'happy mutant' kid in Daechi-dong, against all odds, by Myungseo Kim. 

Then there is a somewhat long introduction to the Donghak (Cheondogyo) religion by Choe Chong-dae. It was interesting to read the founder's writings, although it became somewhat repetitive after a while. 

The final story was Kimchi Kitty, by Martin Limon, which I enjoyed. 

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Review: A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I think I enjoyed this book more than the first one. The story was fun, smart and there were some great a-ha moments. 

Having said that, some things irked me. (SPOILERS AHEAD PROBABLY). First all, the plethora of "Good times books" seemed a tad Deus ex machina-like. To have 1 or 2 people receive it seemed fine, but when the number started increasing exponentially it seemed gratuitous. In fact, a book just seemed really circuitous. Why not just communicate with them? And how Carl's brother was controlling friggin everything at the end (how did Carl not think of this? Even I was thinking Peter or some ally of his might be controlling it). 

Also, the random limitations of power that Carl and his brother had seemed arbitrary. 

Then again, these are always my issues with sci-fi novels. The rules can be made up and they feel made up to me. So Sci-fi aficionados might not feel that at all. 

Some other points that irked me: 

The finance people are unquestionably evil. As per. 

What happened to "Fish"? Did I miss that? 

Robin seemed sort of dismissed at the end.

How is Carl adding his own chapters if he's dead in the end?

Ok, now this is just a list of faults, but I think I'm listing them mainly because I really enjoyed the rest, and these may just be points I didn't really get (I seriously read one sci-fi book every few years). 

4.5 stars. 

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Review: Our Twisted Hero

Our Twisted Hero by Yi Mun-Yol
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It is nice to be reminded why I like Yi Mun-Yol's books so much. I enjoyed this story immensley, about a kid who had to change school (and neighborhood), from Seoul to the countryside, and his relations with classmates, one in particular. It wasn't until toward the end of the book that I realized what the story was a parallel/metaphor for.

Great job by Kevin O'rourke on the translation as well (I wish the cover mentioned the translator, but I'll mention his name here)

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Review: A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing

A Random Walk Down Wall Street: The Time-Tested Strategy for Successful Investing by Burton G. Malkiel
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a re-read after grad school, and my main thought is that I wish I had read it every year since. It probably would've saved me from some pretty dumb investment decisions. Still, interesting to see how well it holds. 

Also interesting how little I retained for the few investments I made since school. Hopefully this time it will stick with me a little more. I took down notes for his investment recommendations (why are they for 55 year olds though?)

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Review: La agonía del eros

La agonía del eros by Byung-Chul Han
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Already my second philosophy book of the year. Like the last one (Ariel), I had no idea this dealt with philosophy before starting it. Maybe I should start getting to know what I'm reading before I start a book. 

However, I enjoyed this more than the last one. There were some interesting insights, from Hegel to 50 shades of Gray... 

I also liked the statement that Auto-compulsion is more fatal than allo-compulsion, since you cannot resist auto-compulsion (no one else to blame when failures occur). I'm not sure I agree with it 100%, but it's an interesting perspective. 

A good short read. I'm not sure I could've handled a longer book though. 

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Review: Poor Man's Wife

Poor Man's Wife by Eun Heekyung
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This short book left me feeling frustration, anger and disappointment, which was probably the point. 

It shows the frustration on both the side of the husband and the wife in a so-called 'typical marriage'. 

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