三體 The Three Body Problem

Book Name : 三體 The Three Body Problem

Author : 劉慈欣

What is it about : A story of literally "Universal" proportion when a Chinese scientist in her desperate anger committed a bitter revenge which impacted and changed the course of human history. Yip Man Kit witnessed the death of her father in the hands of the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution and found herself exiled to a remote deep space radar station to carry out mundane scientific work, seemingly for the rest of of her life. By sheer coincidence, she intercepted and replied to an incoming message from the Cosmos and thus set in motion, the destruction and the end of our species.

Some thoughts after having read the book : The story line starts off with an anticing whodunit when numerous well known scientists have been murdered or committed suicide in suspicious circumstances. Our main man, Wong, a Nano Scientist, got caught up in the hunt for the murderers and found himself in the middle of the greatest battle, us trvial earthlings have ever faced - Extreme Revolutionaries have contacted The Three-Body Aliens and requested the complete annihilation of fellow humans. The author penned the story with original ideas with plausible use of hard science, for instance, the use of Nano Wires to commit silent killings en masse. The story put together a plethora of themes strung together with an amazing imagination - murder, history, science, alien arrival, human beliefs and last but not least, the meaning of our exiestence.

 

Would I recommend this book to you : A story about our species reaching out to other life forms in deep space, written in a unique way with oriental history, philosophy and perspectives, worth all my effort in borrowing this book from the local library. A big YES.

The Pig That Wants To Be Eaten

Book Name : The Pig That Wants To Be Eaten

Author : Julian Baggini

What is it about : A series of thought experiments to examine unreliable human intuitions, moral dilemma, suspectable logic, culture gaps, language barriers, religion, reality, relationships behaviour, life and afterlife, the mind and the brain. Some of these philosophical debates can be thought provoking, a couple of them being very practical ones but a few of them down right just hot air about nothing - on this last point, at the end of one such debate, on page 255, the book read "...if you find these problems trivial rather than engrossing, don't study logic or the philosophy of language...". Em, yes.

Some thoughts after having read the book : Generally speaking, the species in the animal kingdom spend their time doing the followings. Finding or hunting for food - think bees and lions, lying down for a rest - think elephants and horses, locating a mate and pro-create - think colorful tropical birds and arctic penguins, fooling around - think pandas and hippos. Us the Human Species go that one extra step - we ponder and contemplate and even develope a university course called Philosophy. Well, this book has come up with 100 of these philosophical questions waiting to bore, entertain and enlighten the readers. Personally, I liked the questions on environmental issues and moral dilemma on euthanasia.

Would I recommend this book to you : The ones requiring deeper thinking took me through a few days of enjoyable good soul searching; other ones, a deep sigh of exclamation followed by a crying out "what's the fuss ?". Overall, a worthwhile book to contemplate about Life. 

From the Preface of the book, "Imagination without reason is merely fancy, but reason without imagination is sterile", so this is a book for readers to find that scientist and philosopher in you. Slow reading required though, perhaps, taking 5 of these philosophical workout for the mind (or brain) at a sitting.

The Housemaid's Secret

Book Name : The Housemaid's Secret

Author : Freida Mcfadden

What is it about : While gratefully accepting an unusually well paid job as a domestic helper in a more than swanky apartment in upper Manhattan, Millie quickly found herself being caught up in a marital conspiracy. Little did she know, she had unwittingly become the adulerteress, the murderess and the victim at the same time, which quickly led Millie being dumped by her straight laced lawyer boyfriend but yet, a mysterious Latino turned up to her rescue.

Some thoughts after having read the book : The Author likes to use her unique skills in making sure the readers get the idea - these unique skills involved repeating every third page "...I feel someone is following me..."; "...I really should tell Brock about my past...". Yes, my cynicism and sarchasm are intentional here, ha hum. Alas, the saving grace came in the second half of the book, when the tone, texture and style of writing have all been transformed into a much more professional and urgent manner. This second part of the book was told in first person of the ultimate orchestrator (will not be mentioned here, so no spoilers) of the whole whodunit conspiracy, from inception to execution.

Would I recommend this book to you : A large gulp of red wine, a few turns of pages, a couple of laps in the pool and see which one will make you nod off first. Yeh, a holiday book with no impact on your intellect or your memory. A fun ride and a light paperback that won't cause extra weight on your shoulder bag. Return to library shelf immediately after use.

Homo Deus - A History of Tomorrow

Book Name : Homo Deus - A Brief History of Tomorrow

Author : Yuval Noah Harari

What is it about : A big book so a big review here. A book delving deeply in to the psyche and philosophy on the Found and Loss of Faith and Belief of Our Species, the Homo Sapiens; and postulating the concepts, ideas and practicalities of us becoming the Human God - Homo Deus, with the advent of bio-engineering and artificial intelligence as well as our experiences gained from different "Religions" over the years gone past. These "Religions" included not only Buddhism, Islam and Christianity and the likes, but also Communism, Capitalism, and Humanism. The Author describes Our Species' initial perceptions of those all-powerful Super Beings out there, bestowing on us the Meaning, to Our Species' own ascension in becoming that very Super Being ourselves as we gained that Power. The book then lay out how, we now find Meaning not from Religions, but firstly from within our Inner Selves, the Humanist, and yet looking further down the years, from "Algorithms". 

The book paints an interesting if not down right scary future, when the two new dominating Techno-Religions will be firstly, Techno-Humanism which sees Homo Sapiens having run it's historical course and is no longer relevant in the future and technology should be used to create Homo Deus; and secondly, Data Religion, Dataism, which venerates neither gods nor man, it worships data. Alas, I have attached one page from the book which succinctly describes Dataism.

And like Religions of our present times, such as Christianity, Buddhism and Islam, both these new Techno-Religions, promise happiness, peace, prosperity and even eternal life.

Some thoughts after having read the book : In this book, the criss -crossing of the many themes of history, science and philosophy, the angles of arguments and perceptives of the Meaning of Life, the rich contents and up-to-date (2016) scientific information, the thought provoking debates of Consciousness and Intelligence, all instilled in me a sense of awe to what regards the future of Our Species - I sense Our Species free falling into an abyss of unknown - for the very first time, the trajectory of the future development of Our Species is truly uncertain. A great quote from this book - "our greatest scientific discovery was the discovery of ignorance".

Now that our World is more or less manageable with regards to food shortages, wars escalations and diseases control, all of which dealt a hard devastating hand in the sufferings of Our Species in the past, the Author pointed out our next big conquests - Immortality, Bliss and Divinity.

According to the Author, "Algorithm" is arguably the single most important concept in our world. Basically everything in our world can be thought of as being composed of Algorithms, our body, plants and animals, the cosmos, the economy, our political systems and of course mundane entities like the stock exchanges and the Internet.

Regarding our jobs in the future, some rather telling predictions, that is a future where Algorithms take over our duties, science, art and production - UNemployment rate for : telemarketers 99%, sports referees 97%, bus drivers 89% and construction workers 88%, but for archaeologists 0.7%, because there will be no commerical incentives to invest in automating this unprofitable job of being an archeologist.

Would I recommend this book to you : I initially thought 400 pages would be a hard slog ahead, but the book turns out to be highly amusing with witty glibs and insightful reflections on our own species' outstanding effort and achievements thus far in becoming almost the Human God but at the same time we are actually that laughable fall-guy who thinks we are oh-so-superior when actually we don't know a thing about who and what we really are. So I breezed through effortlessly this daunting big book. Be warned, this is a sit-down-and-contemplate book, not a good companion for that sunset cocktail by the pool.

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.

Levels Of Life, A Grief Observed

 

Book Name : Levels Of Life , A Grief Observed

Author : Julian Barnes , C.S.Lewis

What is it about : Two great authors from different era, shared in these books, one of Life's un-avoidable events - the loss of a Beloved One, the aftermath and the coming-to-terms. For the first time, I have put two book reviews in one blog because, firstly I read them in tandem and secondly both books deal with the same or very similar topic mentioned above. Both authors have not gone in to details about their wife's illness - in their books, JB focused on the day-to-day events, friends' reactions, change in his personal habits ; whereas, C.S.Lewis dug deeper into the inter-relationship between Man, Wife and Religious Belief.

Some thoughts after having read the book : I find JB's book : Levels Of Life describing his sadness, anger, grief, bitterness and sense of loss more relatable than C.S.Lewis's book : A Grief Observed. Perhaps this author is from my era as supposed to from the Sixties and CSL's book is very much centered around his religious belief. The parts where both the authors described their emotions, resonate strongly with my own experience. Both books offered their personal insights and interpretation to their own cases of having lost a partner-in-life. One note of comfort and relief as I later found out, if I may say so, is the fact that JB, having lost his Beloved One in 2008 and still feeling devastated, bitter and angry when he wrote the above book in 2012, has apparently been reported to have found new love in 2017 - Time, one of the Life's Great Equalisers again At Work.

Delving more deeply into A Grief Observed : I share so many of the author's observations and his feelings of longing, frustration and helplessness. I, being not from the world of Literature, but from a Science background, may well have written a very similar book but naming it - A Grief Theorised, Analysed and Dissected and then relate that book to my scientific understanding of this world. I certainly can add to these authors' sentiments, points of views from an Oriental philosophical angle. The version of my own reflections, with science plus oriental philosophy, my personal Grief book - I have separately written in a private Blog for my own sentimental reflection.

One aspect that was not directly mentioned by the author about Grief, was the pain, misery and helplessness Substitution - that is to say, substituting one-self into the shoes of the patient and experience the same mental agony, physical sufferings, hopelessness, loneliness and fright ; I personally have found this substitution experience very harrowing indeed.

Would I recommend this book to you : Read both books to Sooth one's sorrow, read to dive into a place of Solace, like lying on a psychiatrist's sofa and listening to his/her explanation, read to Understand the inner feelings and Grief after the Loss of A Much Loved One, read to find Comfort in someone who have been through the same emotional journey, much like a Community discussion on the topic and read to Eye-Straight at the relevant human behaviour. 

I have not mentioned in this review, any quotes from their books, as I will, against all habits, go out there to purchase the books and pen-highlight the passages for my own memory keepsakes.

Genesis - On The Deep Origin Of Societies

Book Name : Genesis - On The Deep Origin Of Societies

Author : E.O. Wilson

What is it about : And now back to my long-term interest of Evolution, social biology and our completely meaningless life - are we nothing more than a machine for gene perpetuation ? The author, a world renowned authority on such subjects attempts to help solve my riddle, by beginning at the beginning, when our very simple-structured ancestors in the form of earth's basic elements, were an accident waiting to happen - molecules swimming around Nature's laboratory, an underwater volcano vent maybe or was it that flash of lightning, zapping energy into a puddle of organic soup, fusing some carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen atoms together to form long chains of particles capable of replicating themselves ? Read on, the book tries to come up with the answers through his knowledge of group selection and altruism, thereby trying to answer one of the evolution science's most un-answerable puzzle - going against the instinct and force of natural selection, how did an individual organism acquire the knowledge and ability to sacrifice oneself for the greater common good ? - thus giving rise to our present society's condition, form and shape. A Key Take-Away from this book technically - within groups, selfish individuals win against altruists, but groups of altruists beat groups of selfish individuals.

Some thoughts after having read the book : Having read countless books on Evolution from various authors, I have consistently found them to be succinct, communicative and their one common trait being, the use of commonly experienced phenomenon to enlighten the readers - behaviour of flocks of starlings, pods of dolphins and schools of fish to distill a complex argument down to easily absorbed information. This book is no different - interesting, scientific and thought-provoking. 

Furthermore, the book again confirms the gigantic efforts in the time and effort of individuals, groups and international collaborations required in academic research work, before tiny steps of progress are made to better understand this very interesting topic - yeh, teams and teams of researchers over days and days (24x7) observed, measured and documented bees, ants and termites all day and night long in the field and in the laboratory - Respect！

What's more, the ideas of Altruism and Individualism presented in this book, had me thinking a parallel of the political systems of Socialism/Communism versus Capitalism. Ummm ...

The book ended rather abruptly, a mini roundup conclusion would be nice - my guess is that the author wanted to keep the book short and precise.

Would I recommend this book to you : An outstanding example of how to convey a complex idea for a general audience in 120 pages or so, through writing concise and precise prose with oodles of illustrations of the cases-in-point in our world of Nature. Go read and no regrets. The book broadens your mind, trust me.

The Vault

Book Name : The Vault

Author : Ruth Rendell

What is it about : Our now-retired Whodunit expert Wexford rejoiced in being called back to the London Police force as "Advisor". This time a few bodies have been discovered, by the unfortunate present owners (The Rokerbys), underneath their huge London mansion - resulting in the dismal depreciation of an otherwise valuable real estate. Wexford went about his detective work whilst dealing with crisis happening back at home - his daughter being stabbed by her young toy-boyfriend who later hung himself in her house.

Some thoughts after having read the book : An exceptionally un-intriging, un-inspiring and ultimately un-rewarding read, by the normally high standards from this famous author, who seemed more interested in writing a "Walking Guide In The London Suburbs" as Wexford investigated this case on foot most of the time.

Would I recommend this book to you : Read her much much better other books.

Here's Your Hat What's Your Hurry ?

Book Name : Here's Your Hat What's Your Hurry ?

Author : Elizabeth McCracken

What is it about : This book covers nine short stories, all featuring normal everyday scenarios but peopled by not-at-all-normal characters from Tattoo Artist running out of skin space; Armless Circus Entertainer reminiscing old times; a Mysterious visiting Auntie whom nobody quite remembers; an unlikely Genius who masqueraded herself as a tramp or is it the other way round ?; Abandoned children raised by "walk in" parents; and a couple of eccentric family feuds. The location sets are very much American suburbia with small town extraordinary peoples living out even more extraordinary lives.

Some thoughts after having read the book : The short stories are full of lively conversation and plausible set pieces; written and packed with colorful imagination but yet firmly rooted on solid grounds. My personal favourite is "Secretary Of State" where a close knit family, the Barron's, will play their fun game during each weekend gathering : Government-Take-Over and each family member will be assigned a top job, like Attorney General, President and the niece, being narrator-first-person, was assigned Ambassador to Spain. The Author managed to always stay one step ahead of the readers and produced un-expected and entertaining twists and turns which kept the stories interesting and the readers on their toes. The Author's world is never mundane and the plots are always on the boil.

Would I recommend this book to you : Having read the first few stories in this book and familiarised with the Author's style and wit, I started reading with joy and anticipation, often accompanied with an appreciative quiet smile. Highly recommended.

Foe

Book Name : Foe

Author : Reid Iain

What is it about : In this story set in the near future, when a Lottery System will randomly pick out individuals to migrate to a distant planet and those who have been picked, will have no say whatsoever over this forced removal from Earth. Our man, Junior thus had to leave behind his wife, Henrietta, his barn and his chores of feeding chickens and ploughing the land; except in his case, this removal from Earth will only be for a few years, as he is only joining in the pilot program. Moreover, a Cyborg who looks identical to Junior and has intimate knowledge of all details and manners great and small about Junior, will be staying at the farm to accompany Henrietta whilst he is away. Junior still has a few years to go before his departure but he is feeling that his relationship with Henrietta is deteriorating and matters have been complicated even more as Terence, the Agent in charge of his removal case, starts living at the farm and observing Junior's every action, mood swing and little eccentricities. Junior began questioning his values, his very own identity and the whole debacle of his imminent departure. And so the fun begins ...

Some thoughts after having read the book : Overall a good plot, if somewhat drawn out and implausible. It was hard going to go through 200 pages with just the few characters (Junior, Henrietta, Terence, a few beetles and a couple of chickens), the farm and a few melo-dramatic set pieces to entertain. Even the supposedly stunning ending felt a bit forced and felt very much an anti-climax. Perhaps making this novel into a film with sights, colors and sounds will fill in the many voids.

Would I recommend this book to you : My enthusiasm in picking out this book, is very much based on my viewing of the adapted film by this author - I'm Thinking Of Ending Things. As in that film, this book, Foe, offers similar quiet menace, expectancy and mystique. Yes, I recommend this book to while away a few days by the pool.

Sapiens

Book Name : Sapiens

Author : Harari Y.N.

What is it about : The history of our species from low-life, run-of-the-mill incognitive organisms with a burgeoning imagination to tax-paying, smartphone-carrying individuals, living in nation states drawn up with self-imagined (Common Delusion would be the term used in the author's volcabulary) boundaries and capable of sending space probes to faraway planets. The book covered the series of revolutions, reformations and -isms which brought us here - cognitive, agriculture, religious, industrial, scientific, information, capitalism, colonialism, socialism, communism, liberalism, to name a few. Towards the end of the book, the author drilled down to the very important and relevant question - have these human achievements and failures in our history, influenced the happiness and sufferings of our species. It is high time that we gain some understanding in this aspect of the history of Sapiens. The book ended with thought-provoking predictions and scenarios of the human species at last playing the role of Intelligent Designers (self-gods) - curing illnesses and maladies affecting us and perhaps anti-aging gene therapy might provide us with the ultimate elixir of eternal life and even turning ourselves into the new Frankenstein's.

Some thoughts after having read the book : The author's mastery of the subject-in-hand proved irresistable reading and he had full command of his briefs. And what a story ! Great credit should go to the author for being the Generalist (with a capital G) as he weaved through tidily and logically thousands of years of human artefacts, behaviour patterns and historical imprints. He then corroborated these findings with the latest anthropology theories with a large dose of deeply provoking and insightful interpretation and philosophical constructs ! The book also sent alarm bells ringing with our experiments with cyborgs, human consciousness and genetics engineering, ending the book with the searching question : Is there anything more dangerous than dissatisfied and irresponsible self-gods who don't know what they want ?

Would I recommend this book to you : And there you have it, a highest of all highest level summary of the history of our species. Highly enjoyable and informative.

Civilization And Its Discontents

Book Name : Civilization And Its Discontents

Author : Sigmund Freud

What is it about : The Maestro of modern psychology probed this immense topic in an attempt to link logically unhappiness, the ego, the superego, the mass, the society, the individual drivers and the mechanics of present day civilization. Freud's main argument focused on the bounds, constraints and ethics of our civilization which created strains on our individual Pleasure Principle and so that the nature of the "free-self" would clash head-on with the cultural integration of our society - selfishness against altruistic. Freud put forward the ways in which self-happiness could be achieved through sublimation of art, science and work, giving way to our raw instincts and if all else failed, change the world by creating a new world through mass illusion such as religion. In contrary, un-happiness could be related to the power of nature, weakness of body and the state of our society and the sacrifices individuals had been forced to make in compliance to social norms.

Some thoughts after having read the book : Freud's mastery over the subject of Psychology as a whole would be on full display in this classic. Freud's point of view regarding the innate aggression of our species echoed in a distant parallel by the famous Chinese philosopher (荀子 Borne A.D. 316) when he put forward his idea of (性惡論), essentially our species had evolved to be evil from birth and that these instincts would play out in the form of greed, crime and cruelty. Having read the book, I gained a better understanding, at least a "confirmation-of-sort" from a psychological point of view, what I had long suspected - a general sense of disquiet and un-pleasantness when mass gathered together and formed our version of "civilization" which I long felt to be altogether un-natural and most un-civilized and that led the way to all sorts of governance - religious, secular, dictators, democratic, rule-of-law - all trying their best to quash down that inert discontent borne in all of us. Only as a passing jest - I reckoned that our species would just go after each other's blood and fortune at the first sign of the society breakdown and revert to our lawlessness bestial instincts - happened before in our short human history !

Would I recommend this book to you : A tour-de-force in this work of a top intellect done at the height of his powers - theorizing, logical deduction, unique insights into the mechanisms and drives of the individuals and the mass; all done with references to the id, ego, superego and he postulated the mass superego of our society. Surprisingly readable for the author's lucidity in presenting his thesis on this topic. Go read.

巧讀資治通鑑

Book Name : 巧讀資治通鑑

Author : 司馬光

What is it about : This book could be considered as one of the two monumental Classics on the history of China. Written in the Song Dynasty (宋朝) by the famous scholar (司馬光 1019 - 1086 A.D.), a senior figure who served under four Song Emperors and was in his later years, given the immense task on codifying Chinese history from previous ancient texts, spanning 1,362 years, broken down into 294 Chapters, composed of over 3 million words and using up 19 years of his life. 

The other great historian in China was (司馬遷) who was a famous astronomer-turned-historian in the Han Dynasty (漢朝 circa 150 B.C.) who codified even more ancient historical events spread over 2,500 years into the great Classic (史記). This great scholar was also credited for his other contribution of the precise calculation and formulation of the Lunar Calendar as well as the prediction of the operating trajectories of stellar bodies.

Some thoughts after having read the book : Not only this Classic was being hailed as a great scholarly achievement in its methods and contents, the book was lauded for its style and clarity in describing and breaking-down of Chinese historical events in an all-angle, story-telling and analytical manner, whereby the famous battles, the characters of note in each event, the power struggles in the Imperial Courts as well as the lessons learnt from the outcomes were clearly presented. The Classic became a valuable and practical source of wisdom and governance methods for future Dynasties, Emperors and Ministers for reference. The events outlined in this book were thought provoking and insightful into the oh-so-familiar human nature of greed, creed, honour, betrayal and glory; the inter-plays of cut-throat politics and the inevitable nature and cycle of the rise and fall of empires.

Would I recommend this book to you : A must-read for anyone who wanted to understand China, the Chinese and the Chinese history. For those who had been puzzled by the confusing and intricate world events of our generations and times, having read this Classic, one would look at our current state of affairs with renewed bearings and insights.

Common Sense

Book Name : Common Sense

Author : Thomas Paine

What is it about : In this pamphlet, arguably throwing down the first gauntlet and igniting the simmering explosive resentment of the Colonies, which eventually led to the American Revolution; Paine's writing was a tour-de-force in presenting a vision, a philosophical baseline, a working manual as well as a motivational (incendiary) speech to call upon the early American immigrants to take up arms and rise-up to their colonial masters in far-away Europe, who still had a strangle-hold on all American affairs from tax, law and Royal decree.

Some thoughts after having read the book : Paine was meticulous in the ways he put forward his arguments through the use of common language, the stoking of the anti-Royal sentiments, the financial reality of building an American naval force, pleading with and ridding doubts among the moderates, as well as fanning the flames of anger and sowing the seeds of hatred of the extremists towards the exploiting colonialists. Paine's work also indirectly inspired the uprising in France and other parts of Europe which led to changes in the governance and constitutional reforms all over the Old World. Paine also did not mince his words about his utter disdain for the Monarchy and the privileged classes of Old Blighty and he spent a great deal of passages highlighting the ills of such hereditary entitlements and concessions on the future of The New World.

Would I recommend this book to you : A work of extreme compassion in arousing emotions for the under-class being exploited and hard-done by their masters. Readers could study this manifesto to gain a good idea in how to reach out a sympathetic hand to the general public who shared sentiments and anger; then moving on to hold their hands in raising funds, creating an armed force and eventually overwhelming the oppressors. Inspirational stuff and worth a read to gain an insight into the sign of the times that were. 

By the way, despite this sensational and influential work, in old age, Paine lived in obscurity and poverty and eventually died in New York City and was buried in a farm in New Rochelle, given to him by the State of NY as a reward for his revolutionary writings; out of a fluke of a mix up, Paine's bones were exhumed, became lost and never to be recovered.

國學三寶一百講：論語解讀

 Book Name : 國學三寶一百講：論語解讀

Author : 湖北人民出版社

What is it about : The ancient texts (written and summarised in 500 B.C.) presented in this book contained arguably the most famous of ALL Chinese written Classics - these were the works of Confucius (孔子), which influenced the ways how Dynastic politics were played out for over 2,000 years in China, as well as instilling the Confucianism (孔儒思想) in most Chinese around the world. This important work of literature contained philosophy, personal development and thoughts on Nature; much of the work would still be found in high-school examinations in Chinese-influenced regions. This book contained the original texts which mostly took the form of dialogues between Confucius and his students; also this book offered insights and interpretation of the texts as well a number of amusing side stories (sometimes totally unrelated and tangent-ed off to odd situations at the author's discretion).

Some thoughts after having read the book : Confucius had profound insights into human nature and nurture, strengths and weaknesses, creed and reservation, frailty and integrity, moralities and perversions, fear and courage. Not only was he a great scholar, Confucius was also a keen learner and student and he gained and inherited many of his knowledge and philosophies from : previous generations of respected dynastic rulers in the Zhou Dynasty (周朝 circa 1,100 B.C.); as well as from : even-more ancient texts such as I-Ching (易經) - The Book Of Changes; and also from : his peers and contemporaries of great standing, such as Lao Tze (老子) and Confucius thus becoming a giant in Chinese history. 

Also, the original texts contained numerous famous Idioms which would still be used today in Chinese-spoken regions, to describe particular circumstances and place emphasis and clarity on natural and human behaviour and phenomenon. Listing just a few below and one would get an idea of the immense impact and influence these ancient texts have, on all-things-Chinese.

Just for my record - Idioms from 論語  : 和而不同, 聞一知十, 手足無措, 盡善盡美, 巧言令色, 敬而遠之, 過猶不及, 善價而沽, 當仁不讓, 舉一反三, 欲罷不能, 飽食終日, 既往不咎, 不恥下問, 己所不欲 勿施于人, 怨天尤人, 欲速不達, 言不及義, 是可忍 孰不可忍, 各得其所, 后生可畏, 人無遠慮 必有近憂, 察言觀色, 工欲善其事 必先利其器, 言過其實, 以德報怨, 逝者如斯, 誨人不倦, 循循善誘, 文質彬彬, 既往不咎, 見賢思齊, 成人之美, 道聽途說, 三省吾身, 循序漸進, 富貴浮云, 聽其言 觀其行, 見義勇為, 有教無類, 割雞焉用牛刀, 侃侃而談, 樂而不淫, 溫故知新, 以文會友, 登堂入室, 一以貫之, 華而不實, 患得患失, 血氣方剛, 名不正 則言不順, 既來之 則安之, 三人行 必有我師, 求仁得仁, 色厲內荏, 道不同 不相為謀, 小不忍 則亂大謀, 五谷不分, 三思而行, 愚不可及, 溫故知新, 一言以蔽之, 以和為貴, 敬鬼神而遠之, 慎終追遠, 不在其位 不謀其政, 樂在其中, 其身不正, 任重道遠, 人之將死 其言也善, 四海之內皆兄弟,  生死有命 富貴由天, 非禮勿視 非禮勿聽 非禮勿言 非禮勿動, 夢見周公.

Would I recommend this book to you : A book which re-affirmed my admiration and respect for the Great Man and also my appreciation of the importance and immense influence these texts had on the philosophical bedrock of the Chinese society - I would highly recommend this most-readable book to layman, foreign students or those like myself, wanting a concise book on the Subject, with interesting anecdotes.

The Meursault Investigation

 Book Name : The Meursault Investigation

Author : Kamel Daoud

What is it about : In this short story, our man Harun presented the tale of his brother-turned-victim, Musa, in the famous book by Albert Camus, the Outsider (aka The Stranger). The book took the form of an investigative journalist interviewing Harun in an Algerian bar over a period of some seven days, with Harun regaling the story from a first person narrative perspective. Harun painstakingly recalled how his mother dragged his young self all around Algiers to find his brother, then only reported as "The Arab" who got shot or "The Victim" who was taken to hospital as all attention was focused on the French-Algerian murderer, who had no morals and drank coffee at his mother's funeral (as from the famous book). Years had gone past without Musa being found or even a grave being identified, then all of a sudden, a local female student turned up at the door step "... free, brash, disobedient, aware of their body as a gift, not as a sin or a shame... from the pre-Independence days ..." with the famous book, detailing all that had happened to Musa. As Musa's fate became clear, Harun found himself falling in love with the student.

Some thoughts after having read the book : A refreshing and innovative technique to write a sequel to a well known book (from another author) by describing the perspectives and angles of the victim's family from the original book and at the same time injecting into the story the immense background of the build up of a revolutionary Algeria on its way to Independence.

Would I recommend this book to you : A book well worth reading for its technique, drama and narrative style - reading Albert Camus's The Outsider beforehand, would be a pre-requisite to catch the drift of this book and experience the emotional roller-coaster.

The Tenth Man

Book Name : The Tenth Man

Author : Graham Greene

What is it about : In this novella set in WW II war-torn Paris , a middle-age lawyer signed away his complete fortune including the mansion he grew up in, in order to save his own life. All because our man Chavel drew the short straw which meant he would face the German firing squad at dawn; to avoid this rather unpleasant experience, Chavel signed a legally binding document to hand over all his assets to Janvier, who would take Chavel's place in the death squad line-up, with his family inheriting the mansion, stocks and all, after his death in the German's hands. With the war over, Chavel returned in disguise to his old mansion as a laborer to live amongst Janvier's family and even entertained the thought of marrying Janvier's sister. Things came to a boil when another prison survivor turned up at the mansion, claiming himself to be the real Chavel.

Some thoughts after having read the book : In this unlikely thriller, the plot twisted and turned and would have the readers holding on to the book until the end, the story would seem somewhat surprising and implausible but never mind. Readers should take note that the novella was set in an era of gentlemanly gaming and lady-like behaviour and not our nowadays, cynical grab-the-money-and-run ethics and shameless antics - so think of a good old black and white old-timer movie with the likes of Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, where men folks took their hats off in greetings and grunted "Mam" and ladies would make apple pies in their ironed clean aprons. 

Would I recommend this book to you : A book showcasing concise writing and the art of novella writing at its best - great lesson on essaying techniques or even the making of a short stage-play.

The Tiger That Isn't - Seeing Through A World Of Numbers

Book Name : The Tiger That Isn't - Seeing Through A World Of Numbers

Author : Blastland And Dilnot

What is it about : In this book, the authors presented the ways to interpret and make sense of counting, survey, sampling, comparison, clustering, measurement, chance, target, size and other data-related information. All this information had been well talked-about topics, all too often appearing as eye-catching newspapers headlines - Happiness Index, School Ranking, Emergency Room Response Time, Operation Waiting Time, GDP Growth, Median Wage, Infant Mortality Rate etc. The book cut through all the patterns of stripes of leaves (red herrings and catchy sensationalism) and revealed the true "tigers" (significance) beyond.

Some thoughts after having read the book : Two of the examples mentioned in the book which I liked best, were the use of Key Performance Indices (KPI) to gauge the efficiency of the UK government departments and civil servants and secondly, the hospital emergency triage waiting times. I was especially impressed by many similar examples not because of the methodology deployed in these measurements but the ways the departments and hospital front line staff  used "gaming tactics" and "doctoring the data" by adjusting their work practices to give better looking numbers, all without the work being done or patients being treated. For instance, Patient Care as measured by the length of time a GP spent with each patient improved significantly to 10 minutes, not because the GP spent the time on diagnosis but rather spent the time on asking after the patient "How is Auntie Beryl and her cat doing?" Joke aside, the book presented many of these eye-opening examples of how deceptive "numbers" could be.

Would I recommend this book to you : A book welcomed and praised by all walks of lives including Bank Governors, Prime Minister Advisors, scientific communities and High Street newspapers for the book's clarity and cynical dissection of the motives behind these so-called surveys and KPI; as well as giving the general layman a few tools to understand the numbers, data and numerical information which we all had been flooded daily and thus avoiding the many pitfalls of being misled and misinformed - I would give a BIG thumbs up to this book and rank it A Must Read.