Review: My Son's Girlfriend

My Son's Girlfriend by Mi-Kyung Jung
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Giving another 4 stars, since Goodreads doesn't allow much subtlety in their rating system. Anyway, the translation seemed a bit shoddy at times, but overall I enjoyed this a lot.

Oddly enough, I kept guessing the gender of the narrator incorrectly at the beginning of each story for some reason. Not sure why.

My favorite is probably the last story, about a rival who has bested you at everything (including a little etymology of the word rival, which makes me wonder what the original version says in Korean), only to find out things are different and how it affects you. It's hard to make too many comments without giving it away.

But I really liked all of them, with the possible exception of the first story, which just didn't pull me in much.



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La sciamana di Chatsil by Tong-Ni Kim

La sciamana di Chatsil by Tong-Ni Kim
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Molto interessante, una sciamana che vede suo figlio "posseduto dal demone Yasù", e il figlio cristiano che vuole convincere la sua mamma sciamana a convertirsi. Uno scontro di religioni e di generazioni diversi.

Mi chiedo se esiste ancora questo tipo di sciamanesimo in Corea. Sarebbe un peccato se non ci fosse più, ma mi ricordo d'aver intravisto alcuni pali totem come descritti nel libro nelle vicinanze di Busan diversi anni fa. Forse ci sono ancora sciamani come lei...




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A Calculated Risk by Katherine Neville

A Calculated Risk by Katherine Neville
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

So, Verity Banks is a banker. Kislick Willingly is her boss. They work at Bank of the World.

I wish there had been more flashbacks to the Rothschilds. In fact, I could have done without the flash-forwards.

Some cool twists and turns, but overall not really worth it. 2 stars.


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The Accusation: Forbidden Stories from Inside North Korea by Bandi

The Accusation: Forbidden Stories from Inside North Korea by Bandi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"The South Korean publication of this piece of fiction, which sharply criticizes and satirizes the North Korean regime, and which is written by a man who still lives and works under that same system, is a historical first - [...] No work denouncing the oppressive, antidemocratic regime of North Korea, by a writer still living in North Korea, has ever before been published." (From the Afterword)

The stories are depressing and oppressing. They felt rather claustrophobic and suffocating to me, and I guess that means they're written well. It brings home what it is like to live in a regime like North Korea's, and it isn't pretty. Almost equally amazing and interesting is the story of how the manuscript was finally smuggled out of North Korea, as described in the Afterword.

Regardless, this is a very important and unique book.


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Heroes: From Alexander the Great & Julius Caesar to Churchill & de Gaulle by Paul Johnson

Heroes: From Alexander the Great & Julius Caesar to Churchill & de Gaulle by Paul  Johnson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It was so easy to get annoyed with this book that I was actively trying not to, so I could get more out of it. This book is a collection of some very notable characters, and a couple extremely mediocre ones. Mostly, it is a collection of people the author either met, saw in person, or otherwise give him an excuse to namedrop (this reaches a truly annoying level in the section on Margaret Thatcher). Having said that, there are some fascinating insights into people I wouldn't have otherwise read about (like Robert E. Lee, Mae West and Wittgenstein).

Still, I'm still not sure what exactly his criteria for a "hero" was, but stating that "Women have had few opportunities to play heroic roles", and then using that as an excuse to feature Lady Pamela Berry (she's a hostess, btw. As in, someone who hosted parties), seems like a lame excuse to feature a personal acquaintance. Not even any mention of, say, Florence Nightingale, Emilie du Chatelet, Eleanor of Aquitaine, or Hatshepsut? Instead, he featured women like Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, and the hostess (even there, why not Madame de Stael, which is probably the only "hostess" people readily think of?). Although his section on Boudica was fascinating.

I haven't read his other books (Intellectuals or Creators), but I kept thinking of people I thought he should have included but didn't. First of all, it was very Euro-American centric. No Confucius or Genghis Khan, but rather Alexander the Great and King David. Still though, no mention of Martin Luther King, Augustus, Davinci or even Gandhi? Also, Jesus, Muhammed and Buddha weren't among his chosen heroes.


Regardless, the people he does mention are (almost) all fascinating in their own right, and he certainly knows a lot about them. And even his namedropping often includes interesting anecdotes.


Some of my notes:
"Pelest" in Ancient Egyptian means Sea Peoples (Root of Palestine and Philistines)
Roman republic was a sham. Caesar destroyed nothing but exposed everything
Was it Seneca's fault that Rome lost Britain? Cassius Dio says so
No heir apparent has ever become a good king (except with childhood adversity)
The ideal society in More's Utopia is not unlike the society in Orwell's 1984.
George Washington's main gripe with King George was the limit to westward expansion (is this true??)
Lincoln seemingly had no weaknesses
Robert E. Lee wasn't necessarily pro-slavery (he thought it damaged both whites and blacks), but joined for VA (state's rights), but the South being a confederacy meant no strong national leadership-> its downfall.
Thatcher was the first UK leader since Churchill to have worldwide influence.
Such a weird quote: "But Pinochet remains a hero to me because I know the facts"


Still, if you want a book on Heroes, check out "Heroes of History" by Will Durant. An excellent book by a superb historian.


3 stars


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Hangeul in the World by Hong, Jongseon and co-authors

Hangeul in the World by Hong, Jongseon and co-authors
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A collection of essays that discuss Hangeul (or hangul) and its place in the world. Some of the essays were a bit annoying with their praise of, admittedly, a unique and very useful alphabet. But saying things like "Hangeul is such a perfect alphabet that even present day linguists cannot come up with anything more perfect" (p.34), among other similar comments, carries no real meaning, and in fact it lessens the validity of everything else that is mentioned, since it sounds less like an objective essay and more like a promotional campaign.

Having said that, it is certainly a unique writing system, and almost certainly the most mathematical (or logical) of all alphabets, and there are definitely some very interesting tidbits in here, including a whole essay on the various types of Hangeul fonts! Its usage in Japan, China and Europe was all eye-opening to me, as well as its history.

Recommended for any non-Korean speaker who has any interest in this language, and can't get their hands on Gari Ledyard's book, or wants to supplement it.


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Down Below by Leonora Carrington

Down Below by Leonora Carrington
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

****Spoilers ahead. Definitely****

Wow. That was disturbing. I confess I started reading it without knowing anything about the book (and practically nothing about the author). I thought it was pure fiction until about halfway through, when I read the back cover. Then it was pretty intense. And damn, Max Ernst is a d-bag. Also the tone is interesting. Not a drop of self-pity or anything along those lines. If you happen across this book I would recommend picking it up. If you have an interest in surrealist painters, or in how World War II might affect someone's psyche, then look for it.


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Levitation: Five Fictions by Cynthia Ozick

Levitation: Five Fictions by Cynthia Ozick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wanted to like this, since it reminded me of 1970's New York (the time and place I was born). I must admit, however, I really didn't enjoy it until the last story, which was excellent (and it's a bit of a continuation of the second story, although I don't think the second was necessarily needed).




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The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field by Mike Michalowicz

The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field by Mike Michalowicz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A surprisingly useful book. His tone was annoying at times, but that didn't really detract from the substance. This book is very actionable and all the steps seem concrete and are ones you will probably figure out at some point, but reading this book can save you years of wrong turns.

The advice of dumping all the "average" pumpkins to concentrate on the biggest one is good. I also liked other tidbits, like "under-promise and over-deliver 80% of the time (not 100%)", "don't let your chosen clients know they're getting special treatment", and "be transparent about your methods with your clients".

Also, I don't understand those reviewers saying these pieces of advice are "obvious" or "common sense". Are they basically saying they've already followed all his steps and they've attained success thanks to them but they're too obvious to qualify as advice? Otherwise I'm guessing they'd say it's "incorrect" or "incomplete" or something. Or maybe I'm overanalyzing the book reviews.



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Memoirs of a Polar Bear by Yōko Tawada

Memoirs of a Polar Bear by Yōko Tawada
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What an odd book. I'd rate it somewhere between 1 and 5 stars. Probably rounded up to a 4, since I think more people should read this. Makes me want to read more contemporary German literature. Or does it?


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Homecoming (K-Fiction 008) by Cheon Myeong-kwan, Jeon Miseli (Translator)

Homecoming by Cheon Myeong-kwan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm not sure why, but the economics of this book annoyed me. I think I just let it get to me. Anyway, "overly capitalist society divided into 1% haves and 99% have-nots" aside (entirely ignoring the overly anti-capitalist society divided into <1 and="" haves="">99% have-nots just to the North), it was actually an engaging and very poignant novella.


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God Has No Grandchildren by Kim Gyeong-uk

God Has No Grandchildren by Kim Gyeong-uk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

These stories were entertaining and interesting. The commentary at the end was enlightening as well. The stories deal mostly with being able to commit to something (or not), and general values, etc. They all have a certain ambience, somewhere between spooky and lonely. My favorites were probably "99 percent", "The runner" and "The ups and downs of Hurricane Joe".


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Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard P. Rumelt

Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard P. Rumelt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Maybe I just expected something different from this book. It seemed to be a collection of case studies. These were mostly based on the author's personal experience, and definitely seemed like good examples of bad and good strategy (or no strategy at all), but that's all they were. Every now and then general rules could be extracted, but it would have been nice to then have everything boiled down to the main principles that constitute a viable strategy, and how these can be applied.

All the examples are with big companies, or governments and the like, so it is sometimes hard to adapt them to more personal use, unless you run a very big organization (or government).



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Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong - and What You Really Need to Know by Emily Oster

Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong - and What You Really Need to Know by Emily Oster
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Probably the best book my wife and I have read thus far during her pregnancy. This is by no means a scientific paper or study, but she takes us through her pregnancy and consults with all the studies she can find for every stage and issue she encounters during this time. Anyway, here you will find data behind most of the issues encountered during pregnancy (with all the sources in the endnotes, in case you're interested in the original studies).

I was amazed how, considering humans have been getting pregnant since before we were humans, so much advice and "common knowledge" isn't based on any reliable data, but just repeated as fact.



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Son of Man by Yi Mun-Yol

Son of Man by Yi Mun-Yol
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tempted to give it 5 stars. Maybe I'll see how I feel about it after some time has passed. It starts off as a detective novel but becomes more of a voyage into various gnostic-like apocrypha theories. All quite interesting, although toward the end it really started losing me. I loved his discussions on why evil had to exist and how he looks at some of the stories of the Gospels from different points of view. And it made me read up on "The Wandering Jew".
The detective part of the novel falls pretty flat, however, and it pretty easy to figure out.





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A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam by Karen Armstrong

A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam by Karen Armstrong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is actually an extremely good book, and probably very necessary if you want to understand religious beliefs, especially Christianity, Islam and Judaism. I found it quite heavy at times, but I'm glad I stuck with it. Also interesting to see that what I thought were current trends in religion were actually quite different when put into historical context.

Some things I found especially interesting:
- how the emphasis on literal interpretation that came about during the reformation led to unavoidable discrepancies and contradictions, and this led to people to start to become bona fide atheists (p. 291)
- Christianity used to be a religion of revolution, now it is a religion of the status quo (p. 20)
- how Christianity is a religion of loss and failure, while Islam has always been more a religion of triumph, and the differences caused by this
- the thorough chronological history of the three Abrahamic religions and how they tie into each other

I saw other readers complain that it was boring, which it really was at certain points. I don't really blame the author, but a good editor should have been able to cut down certain parts, or make them more palatable. Having said that, it's worth trudging through these to get to the good points.





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The Talent Code: Unlocking the Secret of Skill in Sports, Art, Music, Math, and Just About Everything Else by Daniel Coyle (Goodreads Author)

The Talent Code: Unlocking the Secret of Skill in Sports, Art, Music, Math, and Just About Everything Else by Daniel Coyle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Actually an excellent book. From the renaissance to Korean female golfers of today to the Bronte sisters to the Z-boys in the 1970s, he examines clusters of talent and genius and how they came to be.

Oddly I feel like it should have been either shorter or longer. It would've made a great article, while as a book it could have expanded more into how we can apply what he says in different settings (have there been other studies on this? Are there differences between applying his steps to one main endeavor and trying to apply them to many different aspects in our life, such as getting better at our job, learning a new language, playing a musical instrument, and sports, all at the same time?).

Obviously I don't know enough to confirm or refute the science, and it sounded a tad snake-oil salesman-y at times, but it does seem like a very interesting premise. A step up from the whole "10 years' experience" or "10,000 hours rule" theories.


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The Economists' Diet: The Surprising Formula for Losing Weight and Keeping It Off by Christopher Payne, Rob Barnett

The Economists' Diet: The Surprising Formula for Losing Weight and Keeping It Off by Christopher Payne
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I guess I expected a book by economists to have more empirical data rather than anecdotes and personal stories. Actually, I agreed with pretty much everything they said, and I rather liked their ideas (weigh yourself every day, limit variety in your diet, etc.). Obviously they both lost weight and their approach worked for both of them, but they even mentioned how what works for one person may not work for another, so I guess I expected more in the way of aggregate studies and data.

Although the study by John Cisna (page 131), where he ate nothing but McDonald's for six months and lost 61 pounds, was interesting.


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James K. Polk by John Seigenthaler, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.

James K. Polk by John Seigenthaler
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Pleasantly surprised by how prolific and successful a president he was. He was no Jefferson or Lincoln, but definitely better than the presidents before and after him. He incorporated California and Oregon territories (which had sort of been incorporated already, but the Brits were jointly in charge), and annexed Texas, which caused a war. Still, he accomplished things, which is more than can be said of the other presidents during this time.

Extremely interesting the manner in which he was finally given the nomination.
Truman's quote about Polk (and also Kennedy's) also very interesting.
Polk apparently instituted a real "big block of cheese day", which Jackson gets credit for but didn't really do.
Marx has a racist quote in here too (p. 147)


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The Library of Musical Instruments by Kim Jung-hyuk, Kim Soyoung (Translation)

The Library of Musical Instruments by Kim Jung-hyuk
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


 

"The concert opened with a short silent film. A man in a suit was lying on a railway track, attempting a suicide. The train didn't come. The man got up and then lay down again. The man appeared to be uncomfortable and turned in his lying position. The next day, the man showed up again, this time with a pillow in his hand. He placed the pillow on the railway track before he lay down on it. The day after that, the man showed up with a blanket. The day after that, the man showed up with a shack on his shoulder. The man placed the shack on the railway track. The shack was lit from within. The light went out and a train was seen approaching from far off. The train was getting closer and closer. When the train almost came in contact with it, the shack was lit again. The moment when everyone was expecting a collision, ban, they heard guitar sounds."

That sounded like a really cool concert to me. This book was very refreshing. A collection of short stories made to be harmonize like an orchestra. And the stories themselves were fun and original. For example, one of them (aptly called a Remix) took the first and last two sentences from another famous novel, with a made-up story in between. Anyway, I usually don't like short stories, and I feel like I didn't get some of these, but it's still 4.5 stars, rounded up.

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The Chinese Language: Its History and Current Usage by Daniel Kane

The Chinese Language: Its History and Current Usage by Daniel  Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Many interesting tidbits, although I feel like I found this at the right time. A few years ago most of it would've been over my head, and yet I read it early enough that most of it was new to me.

The points on pronunciation and grammar were especially useful, since they addressed points and details that were never covered in my classes (like why 沒 has that darn water radical).

And apparently our words for "tea" and "ketchup" both came from Hokkien. And 葡萄 came from Greek. huh. The section on ancient pronunciation was fascinating as well.

My new favorite expressions:
畫蛇添足
井底之蛙
and definitely:
天不怕，地不怕，只怕洋鬼子說中國話


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Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de' Medici by Miles J. Unger

Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de' Medici by Miles J. Unger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm surprised this is the first time I've come across a biography of this man that I've been hearing of my whole life. A very interesting man, who obviously loved art and poetry, was thrust into the political intrigue of renaissance Florence, and succeeded with flying colors, always regretting the fact that he couldn't spend more time on his art. The book does a great job of detailing his life, as well as Renaissance Florence, with appearances by Ficino, Verrocchio, Davinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Savonarola, Macchiavelli, etc. etc.

Also, apparently Piero de Medici once asked Michelangelo to sculpt him a snowman. Michelangelo refused.



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The Strategy Paradox: Why committing to success leads to failure (and what to do about it)

The Strategy Paradox: Why committing to success leads to failure by Michael E. Raynor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Someone needs to write an adaptation of this book for Entrepreneurs, or at least for people in business who don't work for Fortune 500 companies. The ideas are excellent and, as far as I know, not discussed in any other business book, but it would be great if they could be made more actionable for your average person (who doesn't respond to shareholders, have multiple departments under them, or can afford to allocate Microsoft-style resources to different strategies).

Some quotes I liked:

"If diversification efforts lower the performance of the firm overall, but the performance of each new business venture is still above the firm's average cost of capital, then diversification will 'create' value." (p. 161)

"...nothing big starts big, and tomorrow's whale is today's minnow. The problem is that most of today's minnows are tomorrow's meals, and knowing which is which remains a challenge." (p. 184)

"And when it comes to strategy and the long term, uncertainty is the only constant, and choosing options over commitment is the most reasonable response to that uncertainty." (p. 271)



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Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar: A Student's Guide to Correct Structures and Common Errors by Qin Xue Herzberg, Larry Herzberg

Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar: A Student's Guide to Correct Structures and Common Errors by Qin Xue Herzberg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is excellent for someone who has already studied some Chinese, but likes having the main grammar rules clearly spelled out as a reference, which, incidentally, was exactly what I needed.

I was afraid I wouldn't be able to follow the simplified characters, since they usually confuse me, but the sentences were simple enough. I was also afraid that the "Bad Chinese" examples might stick with me more than the proper examples, but for the most part everything was very clear.


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A.D. 500: A Journey Through The Dark Isles Of Britain And Ireland by Simon Young

A.D. 500: A Journey Through The Dark Isles Of Britain And Ireland by Simon Young
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Still not sure if I liked the format or not. Written as a travelogue by Byzantine explorers in the 6th century. It made a lot of the information fresh and relatable, although I was often wishing to delve into more detail in terms of the the prevalence, veracity, etc. etc. of certain facts and occurrences. Anyway, still very interesting and entertaining.


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William Henry Harrison (The American Presidents, #9) by Gail Collins

William Henry Harrison by Gail Collins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've rarely been less inspired by a historical biography. It's not the author's fault. There just isn't much material. He's definitely still above average (he got elected, after all), but he was a pandering, flip-flopping, professional politician. He's the first presidential candidate to campaign for himself (which is normal now, but frowned up back then). He's also the only president not to have his wife move into the White House, the only president not to appoint a federal judge and the first president to die in office. Of course, all this was due to his having made the longest inaugural speech (record still stands), and not wearing a coat, leading to pneumonia, and his death 31 days later.

Oh, and he's the only president to have a grandson who also became president (Benjamin Harrison).

So all in all, many firsts, but none of them due to extraordinary achievements.




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Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam M. Grant

Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam M. Grant
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not revolutionary by any means, but still has some interesting information and useful tidbits.

Some of my notes;
It's a numbers game more often than not:
Mozart composed more than 600 pieces, Beethoven: 650, Bach: over 1000. The more pieces a composer produces, the greater the chances of a hit
Picasso made over 1,800 paintings, 1,200 sculptures, 2,800 ceramics, 12,000 drawings.
Maya Angelou wrote 166 poems, 7 autobiographies.
Einstein had 248 publications
-->If you want to do original work, do a lot of work.

We prefer regular pics of friends, but inverted pics of ourselves (that's how we see ourselves)
Appeals to character work better than appeals to actions (please don't be a cheater, rather than please don't cheat).
Venting doesn't extinguish anger, it feeds it.


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Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker

Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress by Steven Pinker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I feel like this was "The better angels of our nature, Vol. 2" (which in itself was more or less an extension of The Rational Optimist by Matt Ridley, but anyway). It sounds like, since his last book, he read Superforecasters, Thinking fast and slow, and he also wanted to update his message for the post-Trump election world, and, frankly, he sounds a tad more pessimistic in this one.

Having said that, his overall message still resonates. Things are much better now than ever before, by pretty much any metric, despite what we keep hearing.


Some of my notes:
We give punishments that are proportional to the crime not because of karma or anything, but because we want to deter, while not rendering people desensitized
Availability heuristic: 1st year med students interpret every rash as something serious. People have a fear of flying, because plane crashes make the news, although they make the news because they are rarer than car crashes, and almost no one has a fear of driving. 50 deaths per year in US from tornadoes. > 4,000 deaths per year due to asthma, but most people think tornadoes are more deadly.
"always predict the worst and you'll be hailed a prophet"
Genocide deaths (Odd chart. No spike for 2015? Nothing re: Syria?) - Compiled in 2008, but then why does it include later years on the graph??
War is now against the law. Since the UN, countries cannot just conquer others and gain new territory. A big exception is Russia and Ukraine. This only works if countries want to be accepted by international community, so recent turn against the intl community is damaging.
Japan didn't surrender bc of the nuclear bomb, but because the soviet union was entering the war (is this true??)
Jerry seinfeld, Bill Maher and Chris Rock are weary of performing on college campuses, because someone will be offended by a joke
You can't reason that there's no such thing as reason
Don't confuse pessimism with profundity.




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White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg

White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm not sure what I expected from this book, and I felt it started off rather iffy (the portrayals of Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine seemed a bit off, although I probably don't know enough to refute any claims), but in the end I'm very glad I read this.

All in all a fascinating look at the history of a marginalized but large sector of society. At a certain point the author points out how only a very small minority of whites in the South had anything to do with slavery, and in fact most whites (poor whites) were hurt by slavery due to lost jobs and marginalization. And yet, they were convinced to fight and die for the upper class's institution of slavery (there was conscription for the confederate states, but slaveholders were exempt). When the war was lost, these same slaveholders told the poor whites their lot was the Northerners' fault. It's hard not to draw parallels with scores of lower class whites being told untruths by their political leaders today, although I might be projecting.

Some of my notes:
At first GA was a non-slave state (under Oglethorpe)
The poor in VA had to wear badges, showing they were poor
Liberia was the first country to have universal suffrage (for men)
300,000 white southerners fought for the union (is this true??)
Racist appeals helped Dixiecrats appeal to poor whites
When a real "white trash" person was used for a scene in the movie Wild River, there was outcry, and scene had to be reshot with "respectable unemployed"


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How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease by Michael Greger

How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease by Michael Greger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is all about following a plant based diet. Many instances of "we're not sure why this is healthy, but if there are no downsides or adverse side effects, why not just eat it?"

I don't know enough to refute or agree with most of what he claims, but it sounds legitimate. It helps that none of the book's proceeds go to him. However, it is interesting to compare this book with other authors. This book seems to follow Perlmutter's advice (author of The brain maker), more or less. A big exception to this is grains (he's for whole grains, Perlmutter against all grains, and against all gluten). Other exceptions are kimchi and Kombucha (Perlmutter is for both, Greger not so much)

Interesting tidbits:
Just eating 4 brazil nuts a month reduces risk of heart disease
Turmeric should be added to meals
People exposed to fried foods had higher cancer rates, almost as high as smokers. Due to being exposed to the smoke from the frying. Especially living close to Bbq, Chinese and American restaurants. Out of these Chinese was highest (fish emits high carcinogen level when cooked). Bacon is also very high. If you have to fry, best to do so outside.
Adding Oregano or cinnamon to your dish could make it more healthy (adds antioxidants). Adding saffron seems to be good for alzheimer's
Tea inhibits absorption of iron
With Asbestos: We noticed the illness first with the miners, then with the shippers and ones who handled it, and now (still) with those who lived in facilities containing asbestos. Are we seeing the same with poultry? Workers in poultry plants have a higher incidence of cancer (on the other hand, we've been eating poultry forever. It seems that we would've caught on to this earlier).
Odd claims: nearly 3/4 of all human diseases come from animals. In addition to mad cow, sars, bird flu, swine flu, also tb came from domestication of goats, measles and smallpox from domestication of cattle, typhoid from domesticated chickens, whooping cough from domesticated pigs, influenza from domesticated ducks, leprosy (possibly) from water buffalo and the cold virus from horses. Is this true??
More carbs seems to lead to less depression
Up to 6 cups of day of coffee leads to less to depression (but sugar can lessen the effect)
Eggs associated with higher levels of prostate cancer
Garlic and onions (also legumes) lower risk of BpH
As you age, risk of cancer increases, until you hit around 85 years of age.

Is food healthy is the wrong question. The question should be: compared to what?
Eating is a zero sum game. If you eat one thing, chances are you won't eat something else.
If there were a pill that could increase your lifespan and be a great inhibitor to cancer growth, heart disease, etc. with no side effects. It would cost $200 and fly off shelves. Yet broccoli is like that but people don't eat it (Monsanto even tried to patent broccoli)
One green to avoid: Alfalfa sprouts (salmonella)
Ginger is good for nausea and motion sickness
Too much nutmeg, cinnamon, poppyseeds can be harmful
Not all wholegrains are healthy. Calculation: Ratio of grams of carbohydrates to grams of Fiber should less than 5.


Things I will be buying more of now (taking into account what I am already buying):
Saffron
Cranberry juice
berries
beans
flaxseed
broccoli
any nuts (walnuts) (and seeds)
oregano
amla (indian gooseberries)


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Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World by Nicholas Ostler

Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World by Nicholas Ostler
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A fascinating book about how some languages thrived, continue to thrive, or don't thrive at all. It's not just conquering or imperialism (Turkic, Mongol and Manchu people conquered great empires but their language never spread), nor was it business and trade (the Dutch and Portuguese had bigger enterprises than the British did, but besides Brazil their languages didn't stick). Germanic tribes took over all of Europe after the Roman empire, and yet their language didn't stick, while the earlier Romance languages did.

Some of my notes:
What would have been different if Alexander the Great had gone West rather than East?
Coptic is a modern version of "Aiguptos", Greek for Egypt
Ramayana has a story like the Trojan war
The "Lugano alphabet"
Printed books meant the death of Latin
Christopher Columbus first thought he was in China, then in India, but after one month he stopped calling the locals "indios", yet the name stuck.
"Lingua Franca" stood for French language being used in the Levant during Crusades
Most English speakers speak it as a 2nd language: main reason it is widespread, but also big reason why it could die out.


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The Wings by Sang Yi

The Wings by Sang Yi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After reading Hae-gyoung's review of this book I want to get my hands on another translation. I noticed the typos, which made me wonder what else was mistaken/incomplete/incorrectly translated. Especially with such a surrealist/train of thought text.

3 short stories. I would probably give 5 stars to The Wings, and 3 or 4 to the other two. Typos aside, much of it seemed beyond my grasp, but it was still very intense and powerful. Interesting also to see how different these are compared to contemporary Korean fiction. At least what little I've read.


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Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse by Faith Sullivan

Good Night, Mr. Wodehouse by Faith  Sullivan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Probably minor spoilers ahead:
Not really the book I expected. I figured a book about a booker lover in small-town Minnesota would be a light read. This book is serious, with some quite depressing moments (especially the outhouse), but without being too heavy, which is an accomplishment in itself I guess. Nell's escapes into Wodehouse novels are very relatable for any reader. All in all I'm very happy I came across this book. I hear there are other novels by the same author that take place in the same town, with many of the same characters. I might have to check them out. 4.5 stars.


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Wild Kids: Two Novels about Growing Up by Chang Ta-chun, Michael Berry (Translator)

Wild Kids: Two Novels about Growing Up by Chang Ta-chun
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Actually two stories, collected into one book for the English version. The first (my little sister) reads like a journal, although a very sporadic and chaotic one. It started off slow but was definitely worth it in the end. The second (Wild child) was more entertaining from the start, discussing a runaway joining a local gang. Here I felt the ending left me hanging, but maybe it was just over my head.

I constantly find issues with English translations of Taiwanese novels. Especially the names. I understand it's a choice between translating the sounds or the characters, but why translate the characters for the son, while apparently translating the sounds for the father? Especially when the son's name (Little Horse) sounds so similar in English to a completely unrelated person in the story (Horsefly)? Again, maybe some of it was over my head, but it seemed confusing.





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7 Strategies for Wealth & Happiness: Power Ideas from America's Foremost Business Philosopher by Jim Rohn

7 Strategies for Wealth & Happiness: Power Ideas from America's Foremost Business Philosopher by Jim Rohn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this because I heard he was an influence on Jack Canfield, Tony Robbins, David Allen, etc. A lot of his material has therefore been repeated elsewhere, but it's still a short read (even completing his exercise toward the beginning) that was worth it to me.

Interesting to see how he says Not to forgive yourself for not having been productive (Make losing painful). While many others these days say the opposite, to accept it and move on without beating yourself up over it.

Some parts are dated (including the section telling us to take pictures as often as possible). And the Listening and Observing sections are much easier now (with youtube, podcasts, etc. etc.).

Many of these strategies can be found elsewhere today, but they are pretty much still the essentials.
I found the sections on Discipline, creating value, Time management, The "I've had it" moment (similar to Tim Ferriss's Harajuku moment) to be fundamental.

Some of my notes:
"What if you had to be rich? What if the very life of someone you love depended on your being able to afford the very best medical care?"
"If you must be addicted to something, be addicted to winning"
"Not "How much does it cost?", but "How much is it worth?""
"he doesn't have ten years' experience. What he has is one year's experience repeated ten times."
"You can't create more time, so create more value"
"develop an above-average handshake. Develop an above-average smile".
70/30 Rule in finances



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The Imjin War: Japan's Sixteenth-Century Invasion of Korea and Attempt to Conquer China by Samuel Hawley

The Imjin War: Japan's Sixteenth-Century Invasion of Korea and Attempt to Conquer China by Samuel Hawley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a whirlwind. The Japanese overrun Korea in order to Conquer China, then get sent back, then return, and get sent back again. This will end up involving not only those three countries, but soldiers from as far as Thailand, Okinawa and Indonesia, the Spanish and the Portuguese, Catholic priests (including the first documented westerner to set foot in Korea), more games and tricks than Romance of the 3 kingdoms or game of thrones, and characters like Hideyoshi, Yi Sun-shin (probably the most underrated admiral/general ever), the Red robe general and Big Sword Liu. Anyway, so many other things were happening due to this war as well, such as Korean potters being taken to Japan and spreading new pottery styles (and neo-Confucianism), Japanese and Chinese negotiators forging documents so as to reach a peace settlement their rulers knew nothing about, slave traders buying Korean prisoners in Nagasaki and taking them to India and Europe, Catholic Japanese generals infighting with Buddhist Japanese generals, Korean political factions infighting amongst each other, bilingual double agents spreading misinformation, new weapons and ingenious tactical methods, etc. etc. This book does a great job of detailing the events in a coherent and chronological manner. It is a heavy, long, book, but definitely worth reading.


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Emperor of China: Self-Portrait of K'ang-Hsi by Kangxi, Jonathan D. Spence

Emperor of China: Self-Portrait of K'ang-Hsi by Kangxi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a great idea. This book is basically an autobiography (or self-portrait) of someone who never wrote an autobiography (or self-portrait), by taking what he did write, and grouping it by certain subject matters. It doesn't hurt that it's of one of the smartest and most interesting Chinese emperors.

Interesting notes:
How he spotted cheaters on national examinations
"The Seven Military Classics are full of nonsense" (p. 22)
His notes on the difference between Manchus and Chinese (p .44)
His discussions on Catholicism (page 81) and Jesus
His discussions on Western knowledge (p. 68) and Western doctors (p. 99)
His discussions on Math
His comments on his son's odd behavior



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The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is probably excellent, but it's definitely for the CEO of a company; a company with employees that is well-established and/or plans on growing a lot. In essence, the target market is different from that of "The Million-Dollar, One-person business" or "The 4 Hour work-week".

If you are an entrepreneur, or working on your own, or just starting out, this book will most likely be useful in the future, when you're hiring and firing and wooing investors, but probably not now.

Some of my notes:
Engineering managers should be hired internally. Sales managers should be hired externally.
"If I had a tattoo for every CEO who said she hired the best in the industry, I'd be Lil Wayne"
There's no such thing as a good CEO, but only a CEO who is good for this job at this time.


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Martin Van Buren by Ted Widmer, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.

Martin Van Buren by Ted Widmer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Going through all the presidents in chronological order. Up to Martin Van Buren now. This probably wasn't as thoroughly researched as most biographies to this point, but I'm not sure MVB is worth much more. Having said that, there were many interesting points.

MVB had a very different initiation to politics as compared to the previous presidents. He was not idealistic like the founding fathers, but came up in the dirty world of New York politics. In fact, Aaron burr was one of his first mentors and seems to have treated him as a protege.

Interesting to read about MVB's role in the creation of the first real opposition party (Federalists and Jeffersonians went at it before, but tried very hard to pretend they got along). MVB realized opposition parties were needed in a democracy. He spent much of his time courting the Southern vote (not least of which in getting Andrew Jackson elected)

He was an extremely ineffective president, mainly because an international financial crisis hit more or less right after he was elected, and he refused to take a side on the issue of Slavery and kept up Jackson's brutal native american policies (in fact, MVB's niece said she hoped he lost the election because of what he did to the natives). However, his VP Johnson was married to a mixed-race lady. Which makes one wonder if Johnson wouldn't have been more effective as a president.

I learned that MVB grew up speaking Dutch. I also learned where our word booze came from, where OK came from, and that MVB had to make a last-minute stop in Rochester, Illinois, due to bad roads. Here he stayed up all night chatting with a young Abraham Lincoln (who was of the opposing party). Apparently they stayed up until past midnight exchanging stories and MVB said he never "spent so agreeable a night in my life".

As with others, he seems to have found his ideals after losing the presidency, and campaigned against the annexation of Texas (because it was extremely illegal and it would add a slave state).

Also, he was born during the revolution and died during the civil war. He met and talked to Jefferson, Adams, as well as Lincoln. For 6 months after his death, all soldiers in the US Army and Navy wore a black band on their left arms.


3.5 stars


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John Quincy Adams by Harlow Giles Unger

John Quincy Adams by Harlow Giles Unger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ok, Thomas Jefferson notwithstanding, now I think JQA might have been the smartest president. at least so far (I'm reading about them in chronological order). He spoke German, French, Latin, Dutch, Greek, Italian, as well as English and a bit of Russian. He reworded the Louisiana Purchase agreement so that (his fellow) Federalists couldn't veto it as unconstitutional.
However, he was probably the most ineffective president. Everyone banded against him so he couldn't accomplish anything, and by the end he was raising silkworms behind the white house with his wife.
He was probably most effective after his presidency, in his fights against slavery, paving the way for Lincoln and the Republicans.
He also died inside the capitol building. Probably its first death.

Also, apparently Decatur, GA is named after Stephen Decatur, who defeated the Algerians marauders. Interesting tidbit.



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You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth by Jen Sincero

You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth by Jen Sincero
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Forced slang and curse words, and a bunch of law of attraction advice. But some good advice mixed in with the bad, and a great general attitude. Probably a 2.5.


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Kwaku by Roy A.K. Heath

Kwaku by Roy A.K. Heath
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book had been on my wishlist for around 10 years, and I can't remember why I put it there, but I'm really glad I did. Admittedly, this is the first book I read that has anything to do with Guyana. The slang is a bit hard to get used to, but the antics are constantly entertaining, the Guyanese backdrop is extremely interesting, and the story itself is very good and could be universal. Frankly unlike anything I've ever read.


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Dance Dance Dance (The Rat, #4) by Haruki Murakami

Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very very odd, and I probably missed half the symbolism in it, but still a real page turner, and it makes me want to read more Murakami.


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South of the Border, West of the Sun

South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent book. At first I was pulled too far into his weird world to notice the symbolism strewn about (the rain and the desert, the illusions of south of the border, west of the sun, etc.). I really should read more Murakami.


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Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating and inspiring man. Also interesting to note the similarities between him and others like Steve Jobs, as well as the differences (space and solar power vs. ipods and ipads).

Will be curious to read a follow-up in a few years. The author seemed a bit star-struck at times, but otherwise written well.

Some of my notes:

- Would go into a dreamlike state when concentrating in childhood
- Had a compulsion to read
- "churned through 2 sets of encyclopedias"
- had photographic memory

Detroit had been separated from its own can-do culture: "Tesla tried to lease a small office in Detroit. The building's owner wanted to see 7 years of financials. Then he wanted two years' worth of advanced rent. Tesla could have bought the building outright".

Scolded an employee for missing a work event to see the birth of his son.


Musk: "The sixty billion dollar bullet train they're proposing in California would be the slowest bullet train in the world at the highest cost per mile... It's meant to allow people to go from LA to San Francisco in about 2.5 hours upon its completion in - wait for it - 2029."


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The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Sonia Soto (Translation)

The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Some of it was rough around the edges, and I had some issues with the whole ending/denouement, but all in all it was a satisfying read.

I liked many of the asides and quotes, such as the one about Marquis de Paulmy and the Comte d'Artois. Or the discussion about why Death carries a scythe while the devil has a pitchfork:
"Because Death reaps, but the Devil harvests"

Also, this introduction happened at the party, which made me happy: "Look who's arrived. You know him, don't you? Professor of Semiotics in Bologna..."

3.5 stars





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Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction by Philip E. Tetlock, Dan Gardner

Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction by Philip E. Tetlock
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

How many political forecasters have their past predictions analyzed before they're invited to make more predictions on TV? How many viewers check how accurate Jim Cramer has been over his career?

Some other notes I took:
- Medicine: from Ancient Greece to George Washington, bloodletting wasn't questioned.
- Galen said: "with my medications only the incurable die" --> confirmation bias (if they live it's thanks to him, if they die it's not his fault).
- Modern scientists (and all forecasters) need to ask themselves: what would convince me I'm wrong?
- The more ideological, the worse the predictions, and the less they admitted it.

Much of the material seems to build off of Daniel Kahneman's work, but still very good.


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Principles: Life and Work

Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I wish (hope?) more successful people would do something like this: lay down the principles by which they live their life.

Some gems in there, including finding ways to use disagreement to get the best ideas (if someone convinces you to change your mind it means you learned something, while the other person hasn't improved. Also, if you don't want the other person to feel bad, you might not give them all of your information, and their decision will be sub-par). Also the section about getting news from the media, and the part dealing with asking yourself whether you have the right to have an opinion.

The first part is his life story, which was probably more useful to me than the rest, since it gives his reasoning for many of the principles. I could have done without the neuroscience section.

The second half, Work Principles, should be Workplace Principles. Since I work alone I didn't find much there for me. Still, the first two parts (biography and Life Principles) were worth the price of the book.

Chances are, anyone who enjoys this interview will enjoy the book: https://tim.blog/2017/09/13/ray-dalio/


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After the Quake by Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin (Translator)

After the Quake by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I think short stories aren't enough to enter into the Murakami mindset, at least for me. Once again, there was probably quite a bit of symbolism that was over my head. I usually don't mind this as long as I can feel the odd ambience that pervades his books. This wasn't necessarily the case for these stories. The last story was probably my favorite. "Landscape with flatiron" might be second.


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