Rating: 4.4/5 A delightful fictional story engrained with plenty of introspective questions about life. The protagonist, Nora, is an average woman who has lost her appetite for life. After attempting to overdose, she is unexpectedly sent to the purgatorial library, where she is faced to choose to live the books that represent the lives she could …
Rating: 4/5 Allowing this marinate allowed me to appreciate Yu’s satirical but respectful spin on serious topics like racial discrimination, class struggles, and Asian identity. The content is LOUD. It borders on discomfort and then pushes you a couple more inches over to make you think about how our concepts of culture, race, and people form …
Rating: 4.3/5 A timely book about why we need to work deeply in a world wired for distraction. Premise of the book: world-class performers work intensely and for longer periods of time than those engaged in shallow work. In a word, our lifestyle can be summarized by what we decide to focus on. Newport offers some …
Rating: 4.5/5 This one hit close to home for two reasons 1) post-apocalyptic vibes are similar to COVID-19, except way 100x worse (no internet, electrical grid, religious cults threatening to make young underage girls their wives…eek) 2) one of the main locations is literally near my home, in the city of Toronto (Ayee). The book skillfully …
The caravan slows to a languid pace. Like a mirage, time disappears. Appears. Disappears again. Contrition hangs heavy on his neck He should have known better. He missed being caressed by the ocean’s arms Preternatural elements Gently guiding the dinghy on open waters. He clings to the delicious tonic like lichen latched on a …
Hello Earthlings! Life is an experiment. This is the story of my (failed) entrepreneurial experiment. After being introduced to my mom’s friend, a successful textile manufacturer in China, I was convinced that I should start my own business. I had a BRILLIANT idea (insert sarcasm). Masks have become a mandatory accessory thanks to the pandemic. …
Read more “Lessons on Being an Entrepreneur (for a hot minute)”
The benign tumour sidles over the ledge, peers down Billowing gusts of oxygen, an archipelago of organs, Thrashing tides of emotion on the cellular coasts Is it consternation or frisson? Histrionics or loneliness? Resignation or acceptance? The marauder quivers cowardly and retreats. Now is not the time. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, he’ll make the leap. Benign – not harmful; …
Rating: 4.1/5 The bad press around the portrayal of Mexican migrants lowered my score HOWEVER the storytelling is off the c(h)arts (referencing the drug cartels…ha ha…will stop joking about drugs now), especially the beginning of the book. I still remember the scene down to the blood on the bathroom wall tile. The book slowed in pace …
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 …
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 …