the reading reading: 2016

Quite the hagiography. Had to skim a lot of the details. I think his language teaching is right on, and no doubt he has lived a remarkable life... but this book was pretty tedious.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante

Very enjoyable, even though there's too much navel-gazing. Thankfully the book is short -- which means this first-person account of a woman's descent into despair is over before the trill of the excellent authorial voice is overcome by tedium.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

In Xanadu by William Dalrymple

Dalrymple is my best friend. And he told me all about the three magi being Zorastrian priests, the frankincense, myrrh and gold representing something or other (either Jesus will be healer, king or something else depending on the gift he'd accept -- and he accepted all of them), the Zoroastrian prophecy of the messiah being born to a virgin and the sign being a star in the sky. Was Matthew from the Gospel according to Matthew a Zoroastrian?

Monday, February 15, 2016

Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind by Yuval Noah Harari

One of the best history books I've read. Tight with narrative for readability and better illustration of essential points.

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Foolproof: Why Safety Can Be Dangerous and How Danger Makes Us Safe by Greg Ip

Nassim Nicholas Taleb did this book more entertainingly and meaningfully. This book is The Black Swan-lite, or even The Black Swan-polite. Nonetheless, a reasonable book to skim your way through.

Monday, February 8, 2016

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Excellent book. Excellent storytelling. Ran out of puff towards the second half -- the book doesn't follow an arc and just slowly fades away -- but Kingsolver's excellent writing and choice of setting make this book riveting.

Friday, January 29, 2016

All Things Considered by GK Chesterton

A grab bag of essays. Chesterton is an excellent essayist with a gift for wit. Unfortunately his sparkling wit that takes an argument and renders it ridiculous by following its corollaries down rabbit holes of unreason can often get convoluted and confusing... at least they do so when they're read on an iPhone in bars and parks at haphazard times as I did.

A Hero of Our Time by Mikhail Lermontov

How did this book not render itself forgotten with time's passage? Read pretty much anything else by any other Russian writer who has survived time's passage.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith

Pabulum, but good pabulum.

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Age of Ultron by Brian Michael Bendis

Even for a superhero comic, pretty damn ordinary.

To Have and To Have Not by Ernest Hemingway

Oh Ernest. So many sentences. So short.

Monday, January 11, 2016

From the Holy Mountain by William Dalrymple

Excellent, wonderful travel writer. Elegant English. Interesting subject matter. Marred somewhat by being too long and covered too many out of the way places and too many kooky characters that will never really be remembered. Best when when dealing with Eastern Christianity's influence on Islam and the Maronites in Lebanon.

Headhunters by Jo Nesbo

Fast-paced, simple Norwegian crime thriller.