圖解紅樓夢

Book Name : 圖解紅樓夢

Author : 楊雅筑

What is it about : This is a workbook to help readers of all levels to understand and appreciate the great novel - 紅樓夢. The stories of the rise and fall, from riches to rags of four elite families in the Qing Dynasty (清朝). The authentic author 曹雪芹 reputedly only wrote the first 40 chapters and the remaining 40 chapters was written by a less talented 高鶚, although still very impressively reviewed by later scholars. The very interesting set pieces have been illustrated with flow charts and family trees detailed in diagrams to aid readers and students alike to analyse and breakdown the intricate plots and mysteries. Amongst the many characters, the love stories and tragedy between 賈寶玉, 林黛玉 和 薛寶釵 ring the most true in their 木石前盟 and 金玉良緣.

Some thoughts after having read the book : The immidiate and the final lastng impression of this well known novel has to be the word IMMENSE. Immense in historical depth, family structures and ties, intricate interplays between the colorful characters, imagination from the start to finish and of course the philosophical significance of love, hate, jealousy, comedies, tragedies, fortunes, all lost and found in these bygone era and beyond. Well known set scenes such as 元妃省親，黛玉葬花，寶玉受笞，劉姥姥造訪大觀園 were all all so dramatic and rewarding in their messages and interplays. This book, well workbook if you like, has helped me gain a good understanding and appreciation of this otherwise too-immense-to-wrap-my-head-around-novel. The last chapter analysing 紅樓夢 achievement and influence to the general public and future would-be writers made a rewarding round up of this workbook. Especially interesting is the study of 紅樓夢 is termed 紅學 and can be divided broadly by three directions and groups - 評點派, 索隱派 and 考證派.

Would I recommend this book to you : A great and straight forward way to understand 紅樓夢. Ultimately, the author 曹雪芹 aimed to convey to readers the concept and philosophy of 世事空幻, 人間大夢, 無須執著. Try reading 紅樓夢 using this workbook as an aid, see if you get what is 世事空幻.

The Most Dangerous Game And Other Stories Of Adventure

Book Name : The Most Dangerous Game And Other Stories Of Adventure

Author : Dover Thrift Edition

What is it about : Stories on shark attacks, hungry devouring plants, humans on the hunt and the humans hunted, and a Sundance kid outsmarting the law, all adventurous and in turn mysterious, this book has it all.

Some thoughts after having read the book : These stories exuded old timers' tone and texture, written in an era where gentlemen were gentlemen and when stories were told in a roundabout way where scenes were gradually set and characters slowly emerged; yes, even with such short pieces. The twists and turns of the weird and wonderful tales of the man-eating creatures deep in the jungles, in turn disgusting and in turn fascinating; the cowboy kid in the wild wild west who outwitted both his betraying lover and killed the sheriff all in one go by almost dressing himself as a woman made a hilarious yet strangely comforting read.

Would I recommend this book to you : A great book to spend time by the pool; slow reading required though, as these stories are written with strokes of genius by master writers of this genre which one would need time to digest and enjoy the gratification.

夜半吹燈讀聊齋

Book Name : 夜半吹燈讀聊齋

Author : 蔡造珉

What is it about : The Author of this book, specialised in his study of the legendary author 蒲松齡 (1640-1715) who lived between the Ming (明) and the Qing Dynasty (清朝). In particular, the Author's research work focused on one of the great novels, on par with the four all-time-Great Chinese novels - Strange Tales from a Studio of Leisure (聊齋誌異) which 蒲松齡 collected and penned in the 17th Century - most of the tales and fables have been folklore for years, these ranged from tree spirits, flower goddess, deity, ghosts and fairies stories, to mysteries and fantasies from the Land of Dreams.  In this book, the Author selected about 40 tales from the original more than 400 or so, to illustrate the imagination and artistry of 蒲松齡, each tale followed by some amusing related commentary from the Author. 

Some thoughts after having read the book : A few of the well known archetypal characters (狐仙,閻王,樹神,花仙) and the other all time favourites tales can be revisited here in this book - 畫皮, 倩女幽魂, 羅刹海市. These tales not only are amusing to read on their own, but the tales have been used to cynically reflect the society and governance of those feudal days - such as cronyism, rigid education regulations, examination system requiring compliance to the Letter of the Rules (no writing out of whimsical flippant wit, no accidental penmanship erring outside strict page margins etc.), and the general faith and superstitious practices of the Chinese in those bygone days - much of which lingered on till these present times. And by the way, for those not initiated in the Chinese culture, the four all-time-Greats are : Journey To The West (西遊記), Romance Of The Three Kingdoms (三國演義), A Dream Of Red Mansions (紅樓夢) and The Outlaws Of The Marsh (水滸傳).

Would I recommend this book to you : A must-read for anyone who wants to understand China, the Chinese and our ways. Also, a great book for those of us wanting to revisit those haunting tales imprinted from childhood, often from watching the relevant famous movies.

Anthill

Book Name : Anthill - A Novel

Author : E.O. Wilson

What is it about : This work of Fiction from one of the foremost (non-fiction) authorities on Biology and in particular, Social Insects; brought together three threads of story lines - The American South, Ants and one man's struggle for the conservation of the natural habitat against the powerful local realty developers. The Book follows the nerdy Raff, a locally borne naturalist exploring the Nokobee Lake in the US State of Alabama, doorsteps away from his home, to his rise to a Harvard trained lawyer, figuring out a way to out-fox the local powers and bureaucracies, that included his honourable family with heritage and prestige, going back to the American Civil War. Raff wily wins his way, at the end, to preserve the nature of his home environment.

Some thoughts after having read the book : Initially without even knowing and starting to read this book and only basing my viewpoints on E.O.Wilson's other books and reputation, my assumptions of the narratives have been proved half correct - I just KNEW that, the biology and life cycle of Ants would feature prominently sooner or later somewhere in this book; what I HAD NOT anticipated, was the Author’s fictional fluency and mastery, and the injections of the Culture of the American South laced throughout the book. This book is certainly an eye-opener for an Asian (myself) into certain aspects of the South - Conservatism, Gun-Culture, Racism, Heritage, Distant Echoes of the Civil War, Un-spoilt Nature, Financial Opportunism, Family Linage and Local Life. The chapters on Anthill Chronicles, which detailed the life cycles of a few of the ants nests by the shores of Lake Nokobee, are a tour de force, showcasing E.O.Wilson's mastery and command of All-Things-Ants. These chapters have been written with great insights including insect anatomy, mating rituals, nest building, battles, society formation and the interference of human beings into their world; and all this has been done without the use of technical terminology.

Would I recommend this book to you : Without trying to compare this novel with the Greats, the likes of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer (more the Mississippi than Alabama), this book ranks amongst these top fictions for, if anything, this book's depiction of the modern American South. I would read this Book just for those insightful and interesting aspects. Also, if you are an Ant Biology (Social Insects) hobbyist like myself, then Chapter IV : Anthill Chronicles, sings for you.

The Time Keeper

Book Name : The Time Keeper

Author : Mitch Albom

What is it about : A story about Dor, the first person to measure Time; a young love-torn Sarah who wanted less Time and a rich old man Victor who wanted more Time. Their stories intertwined when Dor, who was banished in a cave by the Almighty for thousands of years, for daring to count Time, was set free and Time-travelled to our world with an unclear mission from the Almighty and encountered Sarah and Victor in present day New York. Salvation or punishment awaited the three characters ? Read on.

Essentially, a book about Time - our days are limited, make each one precious.

Memorable quotes from the book :

" ... we all yearn for what we have lost. But sometimes, we forget what we have ...". 

" ... with endless Time, nothing is special. With no loss and sacrifice, we can't appreciate what we have ...". 

Some thoughts after having read the book : Personally speaking, I have long since my primary school day, regarded Time as the most precious element in nature；in fact, on the Farewell Books of my fellow primary school students as we graduated, I wrote (on all of them) the following poem :

人生如朝露，事業趕快做，莫等春花謝，人已老。

By instinct, I have always treasured my Time - I tried to skip and dance forward in Time as fast as I could, but still made good adventures, out of my studies and work because I considered that Time in these stages did not really belong to me. I knew that, until I retired at forty, then I can really own my Time and I can spend Time the way I want to live my Life. The Logic goes : you want to live your own Life, first you own your own Time.

I feel that I have a relatively good grasp of the nature of Time - One way, Subtraction, Elastic, Finite for Everyone and Intangible at that Moment yet Leaving Footprints.

Would I recommend this book to you : A good book to remind Readers about the unique nature of Time. Go read for a fun ride or for deep reflections on Life. The final Chapter is magical.

Bereavement And Adjustment Disorders

Book (Paper) Name : Bereavement And Adjustment Disorders

Author : Tang P.C.Y. et al

What is it about : A technical Paper from the Book (Journal) - Essentials of Geriatric Psychiatry. Experts in the field presented clinical information and front-line statistics on the behaviour and actions older people take, to deal with their bereavement when their partners passed away. Also the different counseling techniques, therapies and medications, which clinicians deploy to assist these patients and the efficacy of these therapeutic processes.

Some thoughts after having read the book : The Paper contained some very interesting data such as the difference between male and female behaviour in mourning and subsequent handling in the event of their loved ones passing away; and how these behaviour differed with the presence and support from a large social circles of relatives and friends to those lone-wolf types, (especially males) whose other halves, were their only confidante (as in my own case). And more importantly for myself, to gain an insight of the broader picture of grief and bereavement psychiatry, and the related management techniques and therapies to assist the older generation to deal with this very personal and sensitive Subject.

Would I recommend this Paper to you : Personally I have found this Paper useful in understanding and dealing with my own situation - so Yes, for my fellow "Grievers", go read and afterwards, you may want to seek assistance and engage in many of the therapies and group sessions.

The Screwtape Letters

Book Name : The Screwtape Letters

Author : C.S.Lewis

What is it about : A book on religious faith and human nature. In the form of a series of letters, almost always beginning with "My Dear Wormwood,..." and ending with "From Your Affectionate Uncle...", Screwtape the supervisor or mentor (the Uncle) from Down Below (Hell), taught his apprentice Wormwood, who went to work after Training College, to tempt (Wormwood The Tempter) his Patient (a young man) to his ultimate undoing, corruption, downfall and damnation - via means and vices through the strategies, policies, tactics and methods devised by "Our Father Below", a.k.a. The High Command, often by exploiting the human weaknesses - vanity, pride, prejudice, gluttony, cowardice, patriotism, misplaced love and so on. 

A great quote from this book, "...humans are amphibians, half animal, half spirit..."；and for your amusement, a few of the supporting entities from Down Below, which Wormwood received to perform his job - the Intelligence Department, the Infernal Police, the Philosophical Arm, the Training College, House of Correcting for Incompetent Tempters; also Woodworm's colleagues-at-large (other skillful Tempters), similarly in active Service, roaming in our world to execute their respective demonic assignments, were Slubgob (who incidentally, later being awarded with the administrative post of Principal of the Training College for young Tempters) and Glubose - think field agents Double-O-Seven, Double-O-Six and so on, all run by their Master Screwtape at the background where their "Patients" souls (that's the general weak-willed public) are to be turned, burned or bought.

Some thoughts after having read the book : The originality and novelty of the book wore off soon after the beginning five or six "Letters", the book then took on a rather monotonous and replicated structure and basically, each Letter exploiting a different human weakness - the book thus becoming less intriguing and rather predictable; amusing and good literary writings, yet to the non-religious types, rather boring.

Would I recommend this book to you : If you are interested in reading this ingenious work with novel human perspectives, passage structures and quasi-Cold-War mentality and quasi-intelligence organisations (think MI6), by a religiously-committed author, then IMHO, quite a hard slog ahead for you, I'm afraid. Spoiler alert here - for your information, after applying all the skills and trickery learnt at the College Below, Wormwood failed in his attempt to corrupt and capture the soul of his Patient.