Category: Books
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On the Shortness of Life – Seneca
Rating: 4.9/5 WELL, SHIT! Bowing down to this philosopher king! The text is divided into three sections. First, Seneca addresses the shortness of life. Second, he provides guidance to his mother on how to grieve his death (only Seneca would do this!!). Last, he provides counsel on the tranquility of the mind. Seneca’s teachings are timeless…
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Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro
Rating: 3.5/5 A dystopian tale of three friends that grow up in the obscure town of Hailsham where children are predestined to become donors and carers. Donor = organ donor; carer = carer for the organ donors :s It gets WEIRD. The book felt like one giant hushed secret that gradually unfurled to the end. It…
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The (Honest) Truth about Dishonesty – Dan Ariely
Rating: 2.3/5 Quite disappointed because Ariely was a recommended author but this book fell flat in scope, insight, and research. Most of the social experiments in the book are performed in academic settings with students. Ariely does not venture further with his research to extrapolate his findings to real life scenarios and I found this quite…
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Pachinko – Min Jin Lee
Rating: 4.2/5 A bitter tale trailing the lives of female protagonists through four generations in 20th century Korea and Japan. The author weaves the complex intersections of culture, family, class, and desire against the backdrop of colonial wars and political unrest. The narrative is beautifully written although the chapter endings were occasionally too abrupt. Like a melancholic…
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That Will Never Work – Mark Randolph
Rating: 2.5/5 Randolph retells the origin story of Netflix from fledgling mail-in DVD business to what is now one of the largest online streaming services in the world. The book was lacking in the development of how the company was built. Instead, Randolph spent too much time on irrelevant personal details that detracted from the storyline…
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The Body Keeps the Score – Bessel A. van der Kolk
Rating: 4.8/5 Wow! This was borderline textbook but the care and in-depth research from van der Kolk made it intriguing, nonetheless. As the founder and medical director of the Trauma Center in Brookline, Massachusetts, the author meticulously selects pertinent case studies that help the reader understand the neurological, spiritual, developmental, psychological underpinnings of trauma and offers…
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The Promised Land – Barack Obama
Rating: 4.2/5 Obama’s humour and detailed life sketch transports readers from humble beginnings in Hawaii with his single mom and grandparents, to raising his own family and becoming the first black president of the United States. The 44th president, often characterized by his cheeky smile, charm and good looks, exhibited tremendous composure, wisdom and knowledge in tackling…
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The is Water – David Foster Wallace
Rating: 4.6/5 First read by the Wallace…his legacy did not disappoint! This “book” is the author’s commencement speech to the graduating class of 2005 at Kenyon College. Wallace integrates a series of parables and doles out wisdom on living a compassionate life and exercising agency in our everyday interactions. I admire brevity and purposeful writing/stories especially…
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Why We Swim – Bonnie Tsui
Rating: 1.5/5 This was not what I expected…in an unfortunate way☹ The author waxed poetic but, in my opinion, lacked the prose and tact to inform and/or inspire. The stories are a hodgepodge of personal swimming anecdotes, empirical facts about water and the benefits of swimming, and references to famous swimmers. The book felt disconnected without any…
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2020: A Year in Book Quotes
2020 has been a trying year but books have been my stalwart companions; they taught me lessons beyond the print on the page. I started with an ambitious reading goal of forty books and ended up reading 68 by the end of 2020! Who would’ve thought lil’ ol’ me, barely able to finish eight books…