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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Review: Cursed Bunny

Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent collection of short stories. Most of them are a tad disturbing, in one way or another, but poignant and well developed. I didn't find any weak stories in this collection, which is rare for me, especially when the stories are sci-fi/fantastical in nature. 

Some notes about each story:

Head: This surprised me. Possibly because it was the first story. A woman sees a talking 'head' in the toilet. This sets the premise of the story. 

Embodiment: I enjoyed this. A woman takes some drugs and becomes pregnant so she needs to find a husband quickly. Like 'Head', however, I can't say I enjoyed the ending.

Cursed Bunny: I thoroughly enjoyed this. About a man who creates cursed objects.

Frozen Finger: This story was a bit freaky, but I really liked how it came together at the end. A woman in trapped in a sinking car, and can't see. She is able to follow her friend's voice in order to leave, then...

Snare: This was disturbing, about a man who traps a fox in a snare that bleeds gold.

Goodbye My Love: About a robot companion. Probably the most sci-fi of the stories

Scars: This was almost Zelda-like fantastical. A boy being tortured by a monster in a cave, and his subsequent adventures.

Home Sweet Home: This was probably my favorite. A woman saves up her money to buy a building, but her husband brings her into debt. Luckily the child entertains her. 

Ruler of the Winds and Sands. Once again this is fantastical. Almost like a legend or fable.

Reunion: The narrator is studying in Poland and meets a man, but it's a ghost story too. 

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Review: Ariel

Ariel by José Enrique Rodó
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a very interesting book to get into blind. I had this bookmarked as a book to read if I wanted to check out some Uruguayan literature, but I didn't remember anything else about it. When it started talking about the teacher giving a farewell speech to his students, I expected the speech to end quickly and the rest of the story to get started. 

Regardless, I found his philosophy very interesting, albeit faulty in several ways. Maybe they just don't stand the test of time. Still, it's interesting when he mentions the difference art and 'utilitarianism', counting Latin America among the lovers of art, and the Anglo saxons among the more utilitarian. I couldn't help think of Oscar Wilde's similar argument re: art and utility. Except, ironically, Wilde's version was much more artistic and entertaining. 

Probably 3.5 stars. I'm still quite glad I read it. 

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Review: Mac's Problem

Mac's Problem by Enrique Vila-Matas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an interesting glimpse at the evolving (devolving) psyche of the "author" of this diary, although I must admit that by the end I was lost, and wasn't sure what was reality and what wasn't, which may have been the point. Still, an entertaining read. I wonder how autobiographical this book was. 

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Review: The Greek Way

The Greek Way by Edith Hamilton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

To an amateur like me, this book reignites a lost interest in Ancient Greece. I'm not knowledgeable enough to find any issues with it. Her prose is a bit old fashioned at times. Then again, the book was written a while ago. Not only when they spoke differently, but when it wasn't considered a bad thing to be somewhat snobby. All in all I loved it. 

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