Review: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by MR James Joyce
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I don't know how strictly autobiographical this novel is, but it's interesting to think that the thoughts, slang and occurrences narrated here actually happened. It's like a glimpse into a way of life that would otherwise be lost to history. Anyway, I admit that at time I wasn't really into it, but all in all I'm glad I read it. It was certainly unique.

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Review: The Door

The Door by Magda Szabó
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I confess there were a couple times while reading this book when I thought it was a bit too "in your face", and it probably was. The narrator seemed to take every single detail of the protagonist much too seriously, while the protagonist (Emerence) seemed a bit too superhuman in many ways. But in the end, the book was singular. I probably missed some parallels between the story and Hungary's history. At least that was my feeling.


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Review: Montana 1948

Montana 1948 by Larry Watson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A nice, quick read. I picked it up on a whim at a Dollar bookstore, and quite happy I did. I'm not sure I necessarily want to read more by the author, at least not for now. But if you want to read a short novel taking place in Montana in 1948, then this is your book.


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Review: The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic

The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic by Mike Duncan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In essence, this a story about what happened before Caesar, Mark Antony, Augustus, and all the Romans we've heard of before. The premise is a study of what happened to make the republic crumble and turn into a dictatorship, and see what parallels we can draw in our time and age. Well, the intro and conclusion mention the parallels, otherwise it's just the history. The history itself is fascinating. Some names that I'd just heard of, but didn't know much about (Marius, Sulla, Cinna) were explained in more detail, including how they related to everything else going on.

I wish more time had been spent with the parallels. It seemed like this conclusion (and possibly the introduction) were just rushed in order to make it more appealing to today's readers (let's face it, many, if not most, readers will be trying to draw parallels or find differences).

There were definitely some interesting points, however. The idea that all governments revert slowly to their most oppressive form, as well as how taking unprecedented steps could, in turn, lead to dangerous precedences. I also found it interesting that every time they tried to take land and hand it to the poor/soldiers/plebeians, etc. it never worked out, since they all ended up selling the land back to the nobility, even when a law explicitly outlawing the resale was added.


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Review: The Sign of Four

The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I can't say I enjoyed this as much as A Study in Scarlet. Half of the story was told by the villain at the end, rather than experienced throughout the book, which seemed a bit contrived. I might take a break before tackling the next book.


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Review: A Study in Scarlet

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a delight! I really didn't think I would enjoy this, since I imagined I would know every twist and turn by now, and that old Victorian tricks wouldn't stand the test of time. Turns out I was wrong on both counts. Looking forward to The Sign of Four.


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Review: Tales of Moonlight and Rain

Tales of Moonlight and Rain by Ueda Akinari
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Some great stories, although I'm sure 98% of the symbolism/references/allusions were lost on me. Plenty of endnotes and explanations before each story, but it was still a lot.

I ended up just reading the stories through, and then, after each story, going back to its intro to read more about its context etc. I just enjoyed reading them as stories by themselves first, and then seeing what all I had been missing.

Some of them were also pretty scary, and plenty of references to Chinese/Japanese myths and Tale of Genji.



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Review: Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool

Cribsheet: A Data-Driven Guide to Better, More Relaxed Parenting, from Birth to Preschool by Emily Oster
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Just like my wife and I found Expecting Better to be extremely helpful (and reassuring) during pregnancy, Cribsheet seems to be doing the same thus far for us with our toddler. The main reason for this is that all of her advice is data-driven. Once again, it's amazing how much of what we're told has no real basis in evidence, although not quite as many old wives' tales are overthrown in this one. Still, it's good to see what real data says, and told by someone (Emily Oster) who understands and knows how to interpret data.

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Review: The Old Capital: A Novel of Taipei

The Old Capital: A Novel of Taipei by Chu Tien-hsin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

4 stories and a novella. The stories were very hit or miss. The first one was probably my favorite.

As for the novella, I feel like only a Waishengren （外省人）would really appreciate it. And even then, only one who grew up between the 60's and 80's (or thereabouts, I guess). On the other hand, I think it could be of great interest to historians interested in recent Taipei history. She seems to go through the changes of Taipei, from post Japanese conquest to post-Chiang Kai shek (or thereabouts) in great detail. I tried to follow some of the addresses mentioned, but nothing seems to resemble her description anymore. The style seems to be very stream of consciousness / Mrs. Dalloway-style, although much of it is in the 2nd person, which always strikes me as odd.

Also, I just wanted to point out that Lane 10, Section 3 of Zhongxiao East Road is NOT parallel to Jinan road!


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Also also, and this is probably just because my family is from Florence. But the church in Florence with the Brunelleschi dome isn't the "St. Florence Church", and the Arno river isn't outside the city.

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Review: Dinner with Buffett 버핏과의 저녁 식사

Dinner with Buffett 버핏과의 저녁 식사 by Min-gyu Park
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After Pavane for a Dead Princess I can't really say I enjoyed this as much. I feel like it wanted to be much more shocking than it really was, and the story wasn't nearly as nice as PFADP. 2.5 stars.

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Review: Grant

Grant by Ron Chernow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow. Ok, Grant is the most underrated president I've read about thus far (I'm reading in chronological order). I'm not saying he's the best, but just the most underrated. I knew he was a stellar general, but the only other things I new about him before were that he had a drinking problem and (I had assumed) was a failure as a president.

"Americans today know little about the terrorism that engulfed the South during Grant's presidency. It has been suppressed by a strange national amnesia. The Klan's ruthless reign is a dark, buried chapter in American history. The Civil War is far better known that its brutal aftermath." (P. 857)

I remember a TV show in the 80s called North and South, which discussed two fictional families, one from the North one from the South, during the civil war. It seems like they could have just discussed Grant's family. He married a Southern belle, in all senses of the word, and her father was a slave owning fervent southern democrat, while Grant's father was extremely anti-slavery. Of course, Grant didn't just fight in the civil war, but was the chief general, so his story is a lot more interesting than the TV show's.

I'm amazed at how quickly the North was ready to appease the South in order to make sure that their reintroduction back into the Union went smoothly. Lincoln didn't want any celebrations in the Northern camp after the treaty signed in Appomattox, he also allowed Confederate commanders to retain sidearms, the farmers to go back to work with their horses, and played Dixieland back at the capitol (saying "It's our country's song now"). All in all a sound strategy, probably, until Johnson went to his extremes I guess.

The sections talking about white mobs killing, lynching and massacring blacks and white republicans right after the war in the South are some of the most maddening things I've read.

On the other hand I was very interested to read about Akerman. A confederate soldier who then turned Republican, served under Grant, and was a whole-hearted defender of reconstruction.
I also sort of want to read more about Ferdinand Ward, the wall-streeter who swindled Grant out of his family's life savings. And apparently Ward's great-grandson has written a biography of him.

Interesting tidbits:
Grant was dead against violence. He said he never looked forward to battle, and apparently couldn't stand to see animals mistreated or hunted.
Grant acted as a go-between between China and Japan during the Ryukyu islands debacle, apparently helping both to come to a peaceable conclusion and avoid war (although Japan still took over the islands, which became Okinawa).

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Review: Ms Ice Sandwich

Ms Ice Sandwich by Mieko Kawakami
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A delightful little story. I generally don't like short stories or novellas, since things either seem too packed, too rushed, or just not long enough for me to get into the story. This book, however, worked very well.

I admit I chose this purely based on the cover. It turns out that judging a book by its cover isn't always bad. Anyway, I'm curious to read more by the author.


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Review: The Life and Times of Chaucer

The Life and Times of Chaucer by John Gardner
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Older girls played ring-dance with boys, especially parish clerks (or so we're told in popular poetry), and had a way of dropping gloves or scarves, which had to be returned late at night through a bedroom window, much to the increase of the population."

I found this for $1.98 at the Book Rack (a local bookstore), and it sat on my shelf of a few months before I finally decided I should give it a go.

The reason I was delaying was that I know very little about Chaucer, and thought I should read some of his works before diving into his biography.

Well, it turns out there wasn't any need. The author's writing is excellent, and it seems like just as much time is spent on the general background, culture, and other people surrounding Chaucer as is spent on his life, interspersed with his verses throughout, so you can get a clear picture as to what was happening and why.

This book actually makes me very curious about the author's fiction, which I'm seeing here on Goodreads. I'll have to check it out.


4.5 Stars

Also, a line about legally-sanctioned wife-beating:
"it was legal to beat a wife into unconsciousness, but not acceptable to beat her until her inert body farted, a sign that she was in shock and might possibly be dying"

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Review: Stubborn Attachments: A Vision for a Society of Free, Prosperous, and Responsible Individuals

Stubborn Attachments: A Vision for a Society of Free, Prosperous, and Responsible Individuals by Tyler Cowen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I actually really liked the ideas in this book, but felt like he didn't pursue them enough. They seemed original enough to try to run some studies on (see how different long-term policies worked out, despite the vagaries and randomness of life, vs. short-term policies, and study the effects on wealth plus). If a member of congress always works with a 2-year horizon (until the next election), will long term policies ever be enacted? How often has this hindered long-term wealth in the past?

The idea that we should take the future more into account rings true. He seems to advocate basically getting rid of the discount rate, although I'm sure part of that rate is due to uncertainty. I guess his argument is that, as a society, we shouldn't take that uncertainty into account though.

I enjoyed what seemed like a jab at Piketty, when he states that economic growth is occurring but the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer, and how this just means that the rich have a higher return on capital than the poor, so in the long-term it makes more sense to invest more in the rich (he sort of hints that Piketty ended up arguing for Trickle-down economics).

Anyway, I think this could have been a definitive sort of book had it gone more into detail, but maybe Cowen just wanted to bring these ideas up and have others debate them.


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Review: Convenience Store Woman

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A unique little book. Written from the point of view of a convenience store worker in her late 30's who doesn't fit in (and is probably on the spectrum), but more of a critique of everyone else expecting her to live according to their societal rules.

Actually the parts detailing the work in the convenience store sort of fascinated me. I imagine anyone who has experienced convenience stores in East Asia would find a lot of it familiar. It doesn't seem like any other novels by this author have been translated into English, which is too bad. I look forward to reading more by her.


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Review: The Murmur of Bees

The Murmur of Bees by Sofía Segovia
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm embarrassed to say this, but this book really reminded me of The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende. It probably shows how few Latin American authors I've read more than anything else. But this story also spans a few generations of a family, and has a dash of magical realism, while the characters undergo the changing politics/revolutions/international events as a family. Granted, I haven't read THOS in decades, but it definitely brought back that feeling more than once.

All in all it was an intense and epic journey with this family and the characters attached to (revolving around?) it. I would like to read more by this author, or possibly more contemporary Mexican fiction.


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Review: An Intelligent Person's Guide to Philosophy

An Intelligent Person's Guide to Philosophy by Roger Scruton
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

I don't think I'm in any position to give this book a rating. It basically reinforced my opinion that philosophy isn't my cup of tea. To be frank much of it didn't seem like philosophy at all. There is a discussion about how if, say, an apple falls off the branch of a tree on my head and I ask "why?" then you can say that the branch was weak and the weight of the apple applied too much pressure, etc. But if you throw an apple on my head and I ask "why?" you wouldn't answer "because impulses in my brain made my muscles move in such and such a way". (I don't remember the exact wording and can't find the page right now). But that's just distinguishing between cause and reason, which to me is just semantics. He goes on to say that it's more than semantics, but to be honest he lost me.
The section on music lost me completely.

I suspect that, if I want to learn about philosophy, I should probably do so in a classroom setting, so I can interact, ask questions, etc. etc. Unfortunately I can't do that with a book.


Some interesting quotes:
"All rational beings have an interest in acquiring courage, since without it they can achieve what they really want only by luck, and only in the absence of adversity"

The quote by Masaryk re: "half-education" (too long to quote verbatim, but on page 14)


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Review: Everlasting Empire

Everlasting Empire by In-hwa Yi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In many ways this was a dream come true. It is a story taking place in the Chosun dynasty that seemed very reminiscent of "The name of the Rose", complete with an introductory "Author's note" about how the book's pages were a manuscript from long ago that had been found recently, and in the way in which a murder mystery kicks off the entire convoluted story.

In a way Eco had much more leeway, since most of the characters were invented. In this book, however, most of the characters seem to be real people, so all events have to take place within what we know of their actions, beliefs and situations.

Having said that, I did find it rather confusing at times. I think the English version could have done with another editor. There were a few typos (including one of the names, which didn't help since there are many names), and I think some more background would have helped for non-Korean audiences. Maybe a brief overview (or visual) showing the rival factions and main players. Oddly enough I thought a map of the main court or capital would have been useful.

The arguments on page 191-192 against progressivism and democracy are very interesting. Particularly "A restoration is not possible in a democracy. The saying that the people are minju (masters) is a sort of intellectual syllogism, meaning that no one is the master. The president is a constitutional ruler elected by the people, so he is not the master."

Loved the discussions on how the Qin emperor had all books burned and so all Confucius teachings that have been handed down have been corrupted by Laozi's teachings, which came later (and the other side arguing against this). I find stuff like this fascinating.

The explanations about - and the use of - the poetry of allusion was also extremely interesting.

4.5 stars


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Review: Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis

Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis by Jared Diamond
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was an extremely interesting book, although I'm not sure how useful it is. It is a review of the recent history of 7 countries that Diamond has some connection, experience, or ties with. The countries were Finland (extremely interesting to me, given how little I knew of their recent history), Japan, Chile, Germany (also interesting, given how much I thought I already knew), Indonesia, Australia, and the United States.

To his credit, he does mention, in the final chapter, that a quantitative study should be made of this ideas. I agree, although I think he should have done this since he was writing the book.

All of this isn't to say I disagree with his 12-part model. But that sort of is the point. This model may or may not be correct, and whether I agree or disagree makes no difference until quantitative analysis is applied to it, rather than anecdotal info taken from his non-random assortment of countries.

Having said that, I reiterate that the histories of each country were extremely interesting.

I liked his statement that if he were a dictator trying to engineer Japan's downfall, he would institute the exact policy they have right now

Some notes I took regarding the US:
- Since 2005 (especially with the advent of the tea party), there has been much less will to compromise, which means fewer laws have been passed, budgets have been late more than once, and the government has shut down more than ever before.
- Under our first 43 presidents (over 220 years), only 68 nominees for government positions were opposed by filibuster. But when Obama was president republicans blocked 79 nominees in 4 years. This forced a change in laws which means minority opinions will be less represented in the future.
- "There is no way China or Mexico can destroy the US. Only we can destroy the US"

3.5 Stars

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Review: The Thief

The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm not really sure what to think of this book. It started off more like YA, but then seemed to get more intense. Actually the ending was quite interesting, in a "thriller-esque" sort of way. Probably 3.5 stars.

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Review: The Leopard

The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“And the Prince, who had found Donnafugata unchanged, was found very much changed himself, for never before would he have issued so cordial an invitation; and from that moment, invisibly, began the decline of his prestige.” p. 78

I might have liked that quote even more than the famous one, "If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change."

I'm not sure this book can be understood without knowing about the Risorgimento, the establishment of Italy as a country, and the decline of Italian nobility as a result. The author was the last in the line of a noble family from Lampedusa, so the story is basically that of his ancestors (although the characters are fictional). Apparently he wrote the book to stave off depression, and it was published posthumously.

The book shows how the "good taste" of the nobility, with all its rules and mannerisms, was being replaced by a more 'vulgar' generation of businessmen and politicians. And how the noble family had to join in the changes if they didn't want to be left behind ("If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change."). The description of Sicily as a backdrop and the symbolism of decline throughout the novel are excellent.

All in all, the novel takes a bit of work, but it is superb.

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Review: Dirt is Good: The Advantage of Germs for Your Child's Developing Immune System

Dirt is Good: The Advantage of Germs for Your Child's Developing Immune System by Jack A. Gilbert
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The first chapters seemed to be explaining what the microbiome is. This was too scientific for me (and I'm not going to be researching the veracity of all of their studies), but I can see how they need to establish the science ahead of time. The middle of the book has the some great advice. Then the end of the book seems to get a bit too much into detail in terms of scientific detail (whether and how to conduct a fecal matter transplant, etc.). In fact, the conclusion seems to target scientists themselves, when it asks them not to get "drunk with power" in terms of their findings and wishing to help people, thereby giving unreliable information.

I really liked the advice that was given, although I feel like it could have gone into more detail as to what average parents should be doing (and trust us to be mature enough to understand everything is based on probabilities, so nothing is 100%). For example, the book says that newborns should be kept clear of strangers' microbes, while older children should be exposed to them. When should this transition occur? Should it occur all at once? Are there stages? Also, what about other settings? Are there studies regarding feeding store-bought food, just buying fruits or veggies, restaurant leftovers, organic stuff (apparently freshly killed chickens are fine)? Any differences there? Does it even matter? What about sunshine? rain? etc.

I'm not saying all of these things worry me, but I just think the useful information seemed to be crowded out by the more rare scientific questions.

Conversely I liked how readily they admit that we don't have enough data available. This should be standard practice (and would be great answers to my questions above as well). I'll also be interested in seeing what results from probiotics, which seem to hold promise but don't have enough studies quite yet.

Some of the notes I took:
- Dogs are slightly better than cats, but any pet or animal helps (in terms of asthma, hay fever, etc.)
- Going to farms is great
- Playing with all types of dirt is good
Only sterilize after hospital visits, using raw meat, etc.
Sanitizer can get rid of all microbes (including good ones, which are needed for protection)
- First month or so: keep baby separate from other people


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Review: Killing Commendatore

Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This started off slowly for me, but then turned into another unforgettable Murakami book. I enjoyed the symbolism more than most actually. Including the juxtaposition between the protagonist and Menshiki.

For some reason I also really liked the whole incident on the coast, with the odd girl and the man with the white Subaru.

Anyway, some Murakami-isms (for your Murakami bingo): dried up well (not really a well this time), old jazz records, weird sex, faceless villain (?), odd teenager, secret passageway, unusual name, cooking, historical flashback.

Also, how is Hokkaido not part of the Bingo board?

If you enjoyed 1Q84, Wind-up bird chronicle and/or Kafka on the shore, chances are you'll enjoy this one, despite the slow beginning.

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Review: The Private Life of Plants

The Private Life of Plants by Lee Seung-u
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm not sure what I thought of this book and may have to come back to this once a few days have passed. Regardless, it started off pretty ragged and rugged, and ended up very poetic. Some of the symbolism seemed a bit too contrived, and some of the dialog annoyed me. I have a slight suspicion that there might have been references to Korean symbols, or aspects of its history or literature or something that don't translate, but I might be way off.

Also, isn't Namcheon part of Busan? The book makes it seem so rural, but I thought it was smack dab in the city. Is there another Namcheon?

Still, I'm curious to read his other works. 3.5 stars (for now)


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Review: Sostiene Pereira

Sostiene Pereira by Antonio Tabucchi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hauntingly good. An excellent example (probably the best I've read so far) of how life slowly changes under a police state, taken from history rather than a make-believe dystopia.

Bellissimo ma anche inquietante. Un assaggio molto realistico (il migliore che io abbia letto) di come cambia la vita poco a poco in uno Stato di polizia, ed è tratto dalla storia, non dalla fantasia.

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Review: The Lives of Talleyrand

The Lives of Talleyrand by Crane Brinton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I picked this up at a used bookstore in Georgia. It's a unique book, not least because it was written in 1936, and it's interesting to see how the style of biographies seems to have changed since then. All in all much of this book sounds, to me, very subjective, opinionated (he even writes, at one point "no one wants to read objective biographies") and meandering (it goes on many tangents). Some of this (especially when the author tries to show how people throughout the years have been misinterpreting Talleyrand, as well as the final two chapters) gets sort of tedious.

I also noticed a lack of footnotes or sources, which we seem to care about more these days I guess. To be fair, there is a bibliography, but it would be close to impossible to match the sources to the passages in the book itself.

The bulk of the book itself, however, is quite informative. Talleyrand is a very interesting man and the author did an excellent job of portraying him. You could probably skip the first and last two chapters though.

Interesting point: The author kept equating France's defeat in 1814 to Germany's in 1918, wondering why the terms were so lenient for the former, while so harsh for the latter, including suggesting that it was due to democracy (the leaders at Versailles had to answer to parliamentary and congressional pressure). I found that an interesting take.

Interesting quote: "One-way principles may lead to Heaven or to the scaffold - perhaps to Heaven by means of the scaffold - but not to diplomatic victories" (p.216)


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Review: Leonardo Del Vecchio. Ambizione e carisma

Leonardo Del Vecchio. Ambizione e carisma by Asmaa Aboulabil
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: Of Dogs and Walls

Of Dogs and Walls by Yūko Tsushima
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars for the first story (Watery Realm), 3.5 for the second (Of Dogs and Walls).

These were actually nicely written. Also, for being two separate stories (and apparently written almost 4 decades apart) they had very much in common, a single mother, a mentally challenged sibling, etc. The issue is the plots weren't all that interesting. The second story seemed to redeem itself (somewhat) at the end.

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Review: Andrew Johnson: A Biography

Andrew Johnson: A Biography by Hans L. Trefousse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My vote for the worst president ever. It's crazy to think a Civil Rights Bill came before him and he vetoed it, basically setting the country back 100 years (until the next President Johnson would sign the next Civil Rights Bill in the 1960s). So the South got to basically continue slavery (Black employees could be forced to work and were dragged back to their employer if they escaped).

Voted against the Smithsonian. Voted against salary increases for troops. Was pro-slavery but voted against many pro-slavery issues (including the 3/5 law), since his district of East Tennessee was mountainous and had very few slave-holders. He also voted against funding the railroad (at first) and against funding for a statue of George Washington.

He was also the only Southern Democrat politician to side with the Union, being dead against secession. After the war, many Northerners wanted to relegate the South to the status of territories (and not states). Lincoln's choice of Johnson as VP showed that he still supported statehood for the South.

Interesting how Eastern Tennessee remained more or less for the Union side throughout the war, and in fact almost became a separate state (like West Virginia split off from Virginia).

After having turned away from the Democrats to side with the Union, he basically sided with the Democrats after the war, granting statehood and amnesty to more or less everyone (stating that, due to states' rights, it was impossible to secede so they hadn't actually seceded). This made the unionists hate him, while the democrats still didn't trust him much.

The biography itself was excellent. I hope to read more by Trefousse.

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Review: Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three

Montessori from the Start: The Child at Home, from Birth to Age Three by Paula Polk Lillard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Great overview if you're thinking of enrolling your child in a Montessori school or something along those lines. If you're looking for a How-to guide, or a book teaching you how to use the Montessori method with your kids, this probably isn't the best choice. It seems to jump around and touch on many different aspects generally. Some anecdotes are strewn about, otherwise it tends to just state what to do and what not to do.

It gave me a pretty clear idea as to what the Montessori method is all about, but not enough detail to implement much of it myself. It's not necessarily chronological, and doesn't necessarily end at age 3.



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Review: Il giudice e il suo boia

Il giudice e il suo boia by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Pavane for a Dead Princess

Pavane for a Dead Princess by Min-gyu Park
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

While riding their horse, from time to time,
they dismount and turn to look back over the way they came.
This was not done to rest themselves or their horse.
It was an act of waiting for their souls to catch up to them,
as souls tread much more slowly than we do.
Only when they are sure their souls are by their side,
do they continue on their journey.

"Because their lives are so boring and because death isn't coming for them anytime soon, the Seven Dwarfs get gigs as television studio audiences, those people who cheer when a special guest is introduced in the studio and sob when the guest shares a heartfelt story of personal survival and burst out laughing when she regales them with a funny episode, with their reactions later being used as sound effects for the show. And then they'll die"

Probably the best book I've read so far this year.



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Review: James Buchanan

James Buchanan by Jean H. Baker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Odd how the most prepared person "since James Madison" to run for president could end up being such a terrible president. His undoing seems to be due to:

1) Like previous presidents, he backed slavery (despite being a Northerner). This puts him on the wrong side of history, as well as being a testimony to how blind people can be to basic fundamentals of life. However, his obvious siding with the South and slave states appalled Northerners, making many of them more sympathetic to the Republican cause.
2) Extreme corruption in his cabinet. Here again, it seems odd, since he himself seems to have been so well-versed in law and politics. Although, maybe the "politics" part was a disadvantage. There seems to have been an attitude that "the ends justify the means" in order to get things done, which, in his case, was silencing the "vocal minority" of abolitionists. Of course, by the end of his presidency this was no longer a minority. He also let his cabinet members, all of whom shared his views, do more or less as they pleased.
3) Following these two points, his cabinet consisted in Southerners and dough-faced Northerners (Northerner sympathetic to Southerners). In the meantime, pro-slavery southerners were becoming a smaller and smaller minority, which is why they started getting louder and louder. He didn't realize the real "vocal minority" was the Southern slave-holders.

Some people say the Civil war wasn't about slavery. His presidency and this book show it very obviously was. States Rights are only brought up during these years in relation to slavery. Let's not forget that it's a small minority of white men who even owned slaves, but they seem to have had all the power. In fact, as can be been with the Missouri compromise, the Wilmot Proviso and the fugitive slave act, these same "pro-states rights" people suddenly wanted Federal law to supersede when it came to slaves going to other states.

I found this book quite good. I think it's often difficult to write a biography of someone like Buchanan. After spending so much time researching one person, you end up either justifying all their bad decisions, or just concentrating on their bad points and reviling them. But this book seemed to do a good job of pointing out how bad he was without covering up or pushing the matter too much.

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Review: La regola dell'equilibrio

La regola dell'equilibrio by Gianrico Carofiglio
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: The House of Rothschild: The World's Banker 1849-1999

The House of Rothschild: The World's Banker 1849-1999 by Niall Ferguson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This volume goes into even more detail than the first. It basically continues like that until the beginning of World War I, and sort of during the inter-war period, but then skims through the final decades. This was a bit disappointing to me, since I was curious to know more about recent years (at least until the 90s, since the book was written in 2000), and I got the impression he did this so as not to offend any members of the family who are currently alive, which doesn't make me feel good about the rest of the book.

However, that is just a minor quibble. The detail he goes into for the rest of the book basically means a detailed history of Europe and its economy throughout all those years. It is interesting to see how the Rothschilds changed over the generations, from strugglers to hustlers (in the entrepreneurial sense) to hard workers to aristocratic workers to idle-aristocrats (which was also important, since it let them mingle with royalty), back to hustlers, but in a more modern sense.

Some of my highlights:
"The Rothschilds, it should be stressed, did not need to go to Cambridge, much mess Oxford, any more than they needed to sit in the House of Commons. The education of Rothschild children remained for most of the nineteenth century a much more cosmopolitan affair than the ancient English public schools and universities could provide. Thus the family continued to rely on private tutors and to send children abroad for a substantial part of their studies, to ensure above all that they maintained the family's multilingualism." (p. 43)
"Why were the French more willing to pay for defeat after the fact than to pay for the chance of victory before war broke out?" (re: Napoleon III's France's willingness to pay more money in reparations than for the initial war in 1870). (p.217)
- Despite France's reparations, it was Germany's finance that was brought to a standstill in 1873
"it was always a weakness of the conservative argument against higher taxation that in general private charitability at the turn of the century tended to fall short of the traditional 10 per cent" (p. 276)
Gustave's prediction in 1888: "Should the Emperor Frederick III die and his son Prince WIlliam ascend to the throne, there would be no change of policy as long as M. von Bismarck is alive and carries on' however, should he retire voluntarily or die, it is believed that nothing could then prevent Prince William from pursuing his warlike objectives and this would mean a world war." (P. 386)





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Review: Il commissario Bordelli

Il commissario Bordelli by Marco Vichi
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



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Review: The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life

The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life by Kevin Simler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was going to give up on the book early on, since it started mentioning things I thought were quite obvious as if they were revelations. Their first point seems to be that we do things for selfish reasons, (which Adam Smith also said a few centuries ago), and then it discusses Signaling. These are both well-known concepts in the world of economics.
Then it talks about societal norms and how to enforce them, and that we need to punish those who don't punish transgressions: "In the US, for example, it is unlawful to witness a crime without reporting it". Is this true though??

Later it states how we repress bad memories (in which we did bad things or things we're embarrassed about). Do we though? I feel like memories of embarrassing things I did keep coming back to me at random times. I'd hate to think what I'm repressing if that's the case.

However, I stuck with it, and there were some interesting points later on. For example, how we have to deceive ourselves in order to deceive others (politicians do this a lot). It isn't enough to lie, but we have to lie to ourselves in order to make it work.
I really liked the section about how we do not get into discussions with other people to learn new things, but to prove how much we already know. It always bothered me in a sense. If A and B get in an argument, and A clearly wins, then B will go home feeling bad, while A will feel good about himself. However, the fact is B Is better off, since B learned something new, while A didn't gain anything. This seems like a flaw in human wiring, but it was sort of explained here (getting into discussions is another way of displaying how "fit" we are in an evolutionary sense, not of gaining new information. So the more arguments we win, the more we show we have the resources to 'survive').

The chapter on art seemed a bit odd (why do we like the original art work so much more than a copy?). I think they don't take into account the appreciation factor, in the sense of appreciating what humankind is capable of. Seeing the Mona Lisa in its original helps us "feel closer" (as faulty as that reasoning may be) to Davinci and his genius.

A couple more interesting tidbits:
There used to laws against feeding lobsters to inmates more than once a week because it was considered cruel and unusual (like eating rats).
Aluminum spoons are better than silver spoons in every sense, yet we prefer silver spoons


So, over all, pretty hit or miss. They did state that the average reader would agree with 70% of the points they make. I probably agree with a bit more, but I feel like a lot of it had been covered in other books. The few new points, however, were enlightening.

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Review: At Dusk

At Dusk by Hwang Sok-yong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I found this excellent. It was a tad depressing, which I usually don't end up liking at all in books. But for some reason the melancholy here worked. Mainly because there was so much more to the story: the intertwining of two seemingly separate storylines (with the odd coincidences along the way), the changes in South Korea over the years, the progression of everyone's lives, etc.

I look forward to reading more by this author.

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Review: Jingle Bell Pop

Jingle Bell Pop by John Seabrook
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Pretty interesting. Would have been better if they had some of the rights to play the songs, since it's an audio program about songs. I didn't recognize half the ones they mentioned.

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Review: Ancient Civilizations of North America

Ancient Civilizations of North America by Edwin Barnhart
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Probably the best place to start learning about the history of North America.

I would have loved a map with the various sites, mounds, ruins and locations he mentions, so I can look into visiting them.

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Review: Kyunyo-Jon: The Life, Times and Songs of a Tenth-Century Korean Monk

Kyunyo-Jon: The Life, Times and Songs of a Tenth-Century Korean Monk by Adrian Buzo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a book about an eleventh century biography (hagiography?) of a tenth century monk. I found the introduction indispensable, and the first part of Appendix B (about the early Korean writing system) quite interesting. In fact, they were probably more enlightening than the text itself, which, as I mentioned, is pretty hagiographical, essentially Marketing Kyunyo to Chinese and other non-Koreans.

Also a great introduction to Hua yen (Hwaom) Buddhism.

I'm glad someone translated and annotated this, but mainly because of the information surrounding it rather than the text itself.


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Review: Silk

Silk by Alessandro Baricco
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Enzo Ferrari: Cuore e strategia

Enzo Ferrari: Cuore e strategia by Patrizia Principi
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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Review: Lonesome You

Lonesome You by Park Wansuh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Most of the stories deal with in-laws, parents in-law, relatives in the United States, and the like. Some of the stories were excellent. Withered flower, Psychedelic butterfly, An unbearable secret (the first three) were my favorites.

The Stories:
Withered Flower
Psychedelic Butterfly
An Unbearable Secret
Long Boring Movie
Lonesome You
That Girl's House
Thorn Inside Petals
A Ball-Playing Woman
J-1 Visa
An Anecdote: The Bane of My Existence

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Review: Ingvar Kamprad. Lezioni di business: Le strategie di business di un uomo che partì da zero e creò l'impero IKEA

Ingvar Kamprad. Lezioni di business: Le strategie di business di un uomo che partì da zero e creò l'impero IKEA by Andrea Lattanzi Barcelò
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Secondo me questo libro era perfetto. Non era affatto lungo, ma pieno di informazioni interessanti senza le ripetizioni e le aggiunte che molte volte si trovano solo per fare volume. Se vuoi sapere come funziona IKEA, come è nata l'idea e come è diversa da altre ditte, questo libro non deluderà.


Alcuni appunti:
ha copiato il metodo "cash and carry" degli stati uniti
Ogni anno eliminano un terzo dell'inventario.
I nomi non sono a caso (mobili del giardino hanno i nomi di isole svedesi, tappeti hanno nomi danesi, tavoli hanno nomi finlandesi, ecc.)

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Review: Paul: A Biography

Paul: A Biography by N.T. Wright
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An excellent biography. This book goes very much into detail about Paul's life, at least as far as we can know from the material available. Wright does an excellent job of tying it all together into a coherent (and very in-depth) narrative.

Interesting to read about how Paul (and all his contemporaries) never said we should be good so we can go to heaven when we die, but rather that the Kingdom of God should come to us on earth as it is in heaven. And apparently they meant this quite literally.

I did feel a tad unprepared for this. He goes into tremendous detail, and I probably would have gotten more out of it had I had more than a cursory knowledge of Paul's writings beforehand.




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Review: I Haven't Dreamed of Flying for a While

I Haven't Dreamed of Flying for a While by Taichi Yamada
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Not as eerie as Strangers, and the main protagonist is more of an anti-hero than anything (definitely not admirable, but not bad enough to be a villain per se), but definitely a similar odd feel, with strange occurrences in an urban setting. I'll be searching for more from this author.

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Review: The House of Rothschild, Vol 1: Money's Prophets, 1798-1848

The House of Rothschild, Vol 1: Money's Prophets, 1798-1848 by Niall Ferguson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An extremely thorough look at a very interesting family I knew very little about.

This book has a lot of detail, which I enjoyed quite a bit. In addition to detail about the family it goes into depth about finance and economics, and the politics (and wars, etc.) going on in Europe during the first half of the 19th century, obviously as how they pertain to the Rothschild family.

This family is a real rags to riches family. Starting from unthinkable conditions (and restrictions) in Frankfurt's Jugendgasse, to the pinnacle of finance in less than 2 generations. I look forward to the second part.
Having recently finished a biography of the Warburgs, I'm surprised at how little overlap there seems to be (I think they were mentioned just once in this book). However, since this one ends in 1848, it's still a bit early in the Warburg timeline. The second part might have more.

Some of the passages I highlighted:
"Three things would give an investor and edge over his rival: closeness to the center of political life, the source of news; the speed with which he could receive news of events in the states far and near, and the ability to manipulate the transmission of that news to other investors." (p. 5)
"It is better to deal with a government in difficulties than with one that has luck on its side." (p. 77)
"James, Salomon and Nathan all came under conflicting pressures from the governments in Paris, Vienna and London: but the final outcome was a united and carefully calculated policy of non-commitment. (p. 132)
"if you want capital without interest, buy land. If you want your interest without capital, buy shares" (p. 428)
"His refusal to let Alphonse serve in the National Guard, for example, was more an assertion of the primacy of family interests over all politics than an explicitly anti-republican gesture." (p. 455)



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Review: 21 Lessons for the 21st Century

21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book should probably be translated for the US audience. It talks at great length about "Liberalism", which many Americans probably take to mean 'left-leaning', or 'democrat', while it is used in the sense (used outside the US) of Free markets, Democracies, Freedom of speech, etc. To be fair, he addresses this a little ways in, but it would have probably been more clear to just find another term for the US edition.

Once again, Harari's grasp of economics (or lack thereof) sort of annoys me. As an example of how humans may not be needed anymore, not even as consumers, he discusses how a mining company could be providing metals for a robotic company, which in turn produces robots for the same mining company, and so on back and forth. Obviously, if this were the whole sum of the economy then this economy wouldn't survive. It would basically be one giant ponzi scheme of an economy.

Aside from this, however, it was once again an excellent book. As with his others, it is fascinating, and it made me wish I could get everyone else to read it.

Some of my notes:
Democracy has learned, from communism, to take everyone into account. Before it only meant well to-do men from their general area. Example: The Netherlands fought for 3 years not to lose their freedom to the Nazis. As soon as they regained it, however, they fought for 30 years to take this freedom away from Indonesia.
The future will likely be much more similar to Huxley's Brave New World than to Orwell's 1984.
Terrorists are actually very bad at destruction. But they are very good, as the word suggests, at scaring people with as little destruction as possible (highly targeted, maximum impact). Reactions to terrorism often cause more damage and disruption than any attack itself.

I probably could've done without the final section about how he discovered Vipassana yoga, although I understand that's his conclusion to the whole book (more or less), in that we should understand ourselves better, since all the algorithms and bots are going to be understanding us very very well in the near future, and can easily gain an upper hand.

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Review: Testimone inconsapevole

Testimone inconsapevole by Gianrico Carofiglio
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

La versione audio lasciava un po' da desiderare (rumori in sottofondo, il narratore non molto coinvolto, ecc.). Altrimenti un poliziesco interessante, e credo sia il primo di una serie. Spiegazioni dettagliate di diversi aspetti del sistema giudiziario italiano che ho trovato molto istruttive.

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