Review: Okitsu Yagoemon no isho

Okitsu Yagoemon no isho by Ōgai Mori
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An interesting short story giving a glimpse into the mentality of a warrior in 17th century Japan. 

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Review: Sanshirō

Sanshirō by Natsume Sōseki
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Tokyo is bigger than Kumamoto. And Japan is bigger than Tokyo. And even bigger than Japan... Even bigger than Japan is the inside of your head. Don't ever surrender yourself - not to Japan, not to anything. You may think that what you're doing is for the sake of the nation, but let something take possession of you like that, and all you do is bring it down."

An excellent story. I like Soseki more and more. 

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Review: How to Be a Leader: An Ancient Guide to Wise Leadership

How to Be a Leader: An Ancient Guide to Wise Leadership by Plutarch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Timeless advice, although it is impossible not to read this and see how current politicians compare, concluding that they fall far short. I’m guessing this is pretty much the point, but it is still depressing. 

Still, if I ever find myself in politics this will be worth a re-read in detail. 

Some quotes I noted down:

“Kings are afraid for their subjects, while tyrants are afraid of their subjects.”

''I hate that man and wish to do him harm, but I love my country more.''

“Just like a blemish is more notable if it is on one’s face rather than elsewhere, a fault is more noticeable with a leader than others” (Paraphrased, since I can’t find the quote anymore). 

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Review: The Seagull

The Seagull by Anton Chekhov
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I should reveal that I listened to the Audible version, which turned out to be the recording the actual play, performed by the LA theater. Maybe if I had been able to see it it would've been different. Unfortunately just listening to it resulted in voices that sounded much too similar, with an array of characters and odd stock/affected laughter by the audience in moments that didn't seem to fit at all. I can't say I got much out of this. It might have been better to just read this in book version, or I could actually go see the play when I get the chance. 

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Review: Storia di Tomoda e Matsunaga

Storia di Tomoda e Matsunaga by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very interesting premise and story, and I really liked the way it was revealed. In a way we can all relate to this, but I can't really get into it too much without spoilers. In essence, if you've ever wanted a change in your life, check out this story. 

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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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