Film History; Film Theory: Given my love of film it is high time that I learned more about film history and genres not to mention some of the stylistic and technical aspects of film like camera angles, point of view, editing and so on. I can start with the two introduction to film books that I already own as well as The Story of Film. I can also read more film criticism especially Pauline Kael, past New York Times reviews as well as Roger Ebert's reviews. The aim is to aid in my own personal movie reviewing as well as generally being able to appreciate movies more.
Wine: I can start with my Windows of the World book on wine and follow that up with The Wine Bible. I can also always borrow interesting books on the subject from the library particularly The Judgement of Paris. The idea is to have a greater appreciation of wine - the key grapes, vintages, regions etc. It would be great to pick up a bit on wine appreciation too.
Evolutionary Biology, Darwinism: Another new found interest. I should start with the seminal work, Darwin's Origins of the Species and move on to Janet Browne's Biography of the Book. I can then read the VSI to Evolution and go to to read another introductory book to Evolution that I have also acquired. Dennett's Darwin's Dangerous Idea would be useful to seeing how Darwinism permeates many other aspects of everyday life, and I could also borrow/purchase other similarly themed. It would then be interesting to move on to Ridley's Genome and Nature Via Nurture as well as Dawkin's The Selfish Gene and The Blind Watchmaker. James Watson's book DNA would also fit nicely into the picture. If still thoroughly fascinated by the subject I can purchase Mark Ridley's textbook Evolutionary Biology.
General Science: The aim is to finish a couple of introductory books on Science namely, Galileo's Finger, A Short History of Nearly Everything and Almost Everybody's Guide to Science. I can then move on to Gribbin's Science: A History. Other more specific introductory books include David Bodanis' E=Mc2, Michio Kaku's Einstein's Cosmos, as well as a biography of Einstein.
Political Philosophy: I can start with the two introductory volumes that I already own by Wolff and Simmons. Vital reading would be Mill's On Liberty and also Plato's Republic and Blackburn's biography of the same. Thomas Paine's Common Sense and other Essays would be a vital read. The key is to get a sense of the core issues in Political Philosophy and a greater historical grasp of the subject. Specific areas of interest to examine include Political Obligation, Liberty, Equality and Justice, Nationality and Cosmopolitanism, Modern Liberalism, and Rights.
Religion: As part of my goal in figuring out the whole God question I intend to read Dawkin's The God Delusion as well as Sam Harris' The End of Faith. God's Funeral would provide interesting historical insight. The Manifesto of the Flying Spaghetti Monster would be a load of laughts. The Portable Atheist would be a handy reference along with God Is Not Great both by Christopher Hitchens. For balance I intend to read Orthodoxy by Chesterton and assorted C.S Lewis. I suppose I should find some books specifically supporting the theistic viewpoint.
Reading/Language: The aim is to develop a greater ability to appreciate books, and to have a better grasp of the mechanics of language (grammar, punctuation etc.) as well as a greater understanding of language itself. To start with I should finish How to Read a Book and Forster's Aspects of the Novel. Alberto Manguel's A Reading Diary should be a good read and How To Talk About Books You Haven't Read an entertaining one. A number of other books about books at Kino can be considered for purchase as well. For language, I intend to fully digest The Elements of Style by Strunk and White and to obtain a copy of the Economist Style Guide. David Crystal's The English Language and How Language Works should be insightful, and I can finish off with Speak on languages and linguistics in general.
Mythology: I can start with Edith Hamilton's book on the subject and also read Malory's Le Morte De Arthur. Robert Graves' The Greek Myths should be very insightful. I also intend to read the Iliad and Odessey. Besides which I can also read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, The Epic of Gilgamesh and also a collection of Celtic Myths and Folklore. If I can I could also add the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Anderson, and also The Arabian Nights.
Popular Non-Fiction: I have a whole pile of popular non-fiction crossing disciplines including Non-Zero, Stumbling on Happiness, Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast and many others.
Fiction: Of course I have an ever-expanding pile of fiction to read as well. Some massive to-reads including Brideshead Revisited, Lolita, Brave New World, among others.
Other areas: I am always keen to read up more on History. Specifically The Middle East, Russia, The United Kingdom, East Asia (China and Japan), Southeast Asia among others. I am also keen to find interesting layperson books on Economics.
Showing posts with label Reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reading. Show all posts
4 February 2008
21 November 2007
Some Recent Reads
I decided to write a brief post on some of the books that I have been reading recently. Given my current unemployed status, it has been refreshing to once again have more time to devote to reading.
I chanced upon Brainiac written by Ken Jennings, who set the quiz world alight by winning around 70 consecutive episodes of Jeopardy in 2001, while browsing in a bookstore on holiday in Bangkok, Thailand. I remember hearing about the book from Rob Linham, who highlighted the fact that he rated a mention in the book (even if that mention is embarrassingly associated with Viagra - read the book for the full details).
Brainiac is far from just a tell-all account of Jennings' time on Jeopardy, though that obviously features in the book, but details "adventures in the curious, competitive, compulsive world of trivia buffs" as its subtitle clearly states. Jennings examines everything from the obsessively scary world of serious academic quizzing (such as NAQT University tournaments), to America's trivia obsession in the 60s culminating in the famous quiz show scandals (which were chronicled in the Robert Redford movie Quiz Show).
Jennings even manages to take us on fascinating sideshows like the town of Stevens Point, Wisconsin that gets taken over by a radio trivia marathon every year, not to mention the background and popularity of the trivia board game Trivial Pursuit. Ultimately, as a trivia buff myself, I couldn't help but enjoy the book tremendously. But I have no doubt that Brainiac would make an accessible and entertaining read for the once a year pub quiz player as much as the quiz fanatic. This is aided by the fact that Jennings is a very funny and charming writer who possesses a dry, self-depreciating humour. Brainiac is a delightful read and one that is highly recommended.
In addition, I also purchased a copy of Why is Sex Fun? by Jared Diamond while browsing at a Bangkok branch of Books Kinokuniya. I had previously read his brilliant Guns, Germs and Steel and its follow up volume Collapse and marveled at Diamond's ability to synthesize complex ideas and explain them in elegant and lucid prose. Why is Sex Fun? is no different in this respect as it sets out to examine the evolutionary origins of human sexuality.
Among the topics that Diamond examines are the battle of the sexes within human reproduction itself. As a defence to all males who are endlessly accused of doing much less work in terms of child rearing, Diamond points out that a male would only logically hang around to help rear a child if doing so would give me an increased likelihood of passing on his own genes (it would be more profitable, at first glance, for the man to just abandon the female and head off to try to impregnate as many other females as he can). Humans are actually rare among mammals in terms of the amount of care the male gives to offspring.
Other fascinating questions Diamond examines through the lens of evolutionary biology include why men don't lactate, the development of concealed ovulation (and sex for pleasure), the evolutionary bizarre fact of menopause, and the "truth in advertising" or evolution of body signals (there has to be a reason why the human male pecker is on average 4-5 times larger than the similar appendage in our evolutionarily close relative the Chimpanzee).
On piece of analysis I greatly enjoyed was the chapter entitled "what are men good for", examining the "evolution of men's roles". In a damning indictment to men, a study of aboriginal peoples actually showed that typically, the females provide equal or greater calorie resources in an average month compared to a typical male (the women by gathering grains, fruits etc, the men by hunting). Why then, Diamond asks, do the men persist in hunting when it would be more efficient to gather food?
The short answer: prestige. Women tend to choose to mate with the victorious hunter and not the wimpy food gatherer. Men are constantly chided by woman that "it isn't all about sex" (usually when they want to cuddle and find their guy snoring away). Diamond, in his book, proves convincingly otherwise.
I also had the opportunity to re-read two books recently. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is still a uproariously amusing read and a wonderful reminder of the innocence and zest of youth. Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris is a delightful little collection of essays on books and reading that it an absolute must for any book lover. She is that rare writer that is erudite, tender, wise and witty in equal measure. Ex Libris is and will no doubt continue to be a source of pleasure and comfort to me.
I chanced upon Brainiac written by Ken Jennings, who set the quiz world alight by winning around 70 consecutive episodes of Jeopardy in 2001, while browsing in a bookstore on holiday in Bangkok, Thailand. I remember hearing about the book from Rob Linham, who highlighted the fact that he rated a mention in the book (even if that mention is embarrassingly associated with Viagra - read the book for the full details).
Brainiac is far from just a tell-all account of Jennings' time on Jeopardy, though that obviously features in the book, but details "adventures in the curious, competitive, compulsive world of trivia buffs" as its subtitle clearly states. Jennings examines everything from the obsessively scary world of serious academic quizzing (such as NAQT University tournaments), to America's trivia obsession in the 60s culminating in the famous quiz show scandals (which were chronicled in the Robert Redford movie Quiz Show).
Jennings even manages to take us on fascinating sideshows like the town of Stevens Point, Wisconsin that gets taken over by a radio trivia marathon every year, not to mention the background and popularity of the trivia board game Trivial Pursuit. Ultimately, as a trivia buff myself, I couldn't help but enjoy the book tremendously. But I have no doubt that Brainiac would make an accessible and entertaining read for the once a year pub quiz player as much as the quiz fanatic. This is aided by the fact that Jennings is a very funny and charming writer who possesses a dry, self-depreciating humour. Brainiac is a delightful read and one that is highly recommended.
In addition, I also purchased a copy of Why is Sex Fun? by Jared Diamond while browsing at a Bangkok branch of Books Kinokuniya. I had previously read his brilliant Guns, Germs and Steel and its follow up volume Collapse and marveled at Diamond's ability to synthesize complex ideas and explain them in elegant and lucid prose. Why is Sex Fun? is no different in this respect as it sets out to examine the evolutionary origins of human sexuality.
Among the topics that Diamond examines are the battle of the sexes within human reproduction itself. As a defence to all males who are endlessly accused of doing much less work in terms of child rearing, Diamond points out that a male would only logically hang around to help rear a child if doing so would give me an increased likelihood of passing on his own genes (it would be more profitable, at first glance, for the man to just abandon the female and head off to try to impregnate as many other females as he can). Humans are actually rare among mammals in terms of the amount of care the male gives to offspring.
Other fascinating questions Diamond examines through the lens of evolutionary biology include why men don't lactate, the development of concealed ovulation (and sex for pleasure), the evolutionary bizarre fact of menopause, and the "truth in advertising" or evolution of body signals (there has to be a reason why the human male pecker is on average 4-5 times larger than the similar appendage in our evolutionarily close relative the Chimpanzee).
On piece of analysis I greatly enjoyed was the chapter entitled "what are men good for", examining the "evolution of men's roles". In a damning indictment to men, a study of aboriginal peoples actually showed that typically, the females provide equal or greater calorie resources in an average month compared to a typical male (the women by gathering grains, fruits etc, the men by hunting). Why then, Diamond asks, do the men persist in hunting when it would be more efficient to gather food?
The short answer: prestige. Women tend to choose to mate with the victorious hunter and not the wimpy food gatherer. Men are constantly chided by woman that "it isn't all about sex" (usually when they want to cuddle and find their guy snoring away). Diamond, in his book, proves convincingly otherwise.
I also had the opportunity to re-read two books recently. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is still a uproariously amusing read and a wonderful reminder of the innocence and zest of youth. Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris is a delightful little collection of essays on books and reading that it an absolute must for any book lover. She is that rare writer that is erudite, tender, wise and witty in equal measure. Ex Libris is and will no doubt continue to be a source of pleasure and comfort to me.
5 July 2007
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
I spent quite a bit of time over the past couple of days ensconced in Borders ostensibly in an attempt to take advantage of their latest coupon offering 30% off of your total bill if you purchase three of more books. On Tuesday, I began reading The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, got hooked and finished the entire book at one sitting in Borders itself. On Thursday night I spent most of my time browsing around, eventually purchasing How We Survived Communism and Learned to Laugh by Slavenka Drakulic, At Large and At Small: Essays by Anne Fadiman and The Devil in Amber by Mark Gatiss.
The protagonist of the Reluctant Fundamentalist, Changez, hails from Pakistan. He manages to win a scholarship to Princeton and subsequently goes on to work for a highly selective and top notch New York corporate firm, Underwood Samsom, which specializes in the appraisal and valuation of companies that are the subject of hostile takeover bids. However, we first meet Changez in a very different setting - a restaurant and tea house in an old district of Lahore in Pakistan where he finds an American wandering the streets, invites him to the tea house and begins to tell him (and the reader) his story.
The story is fundamentally about a person first enticed by then disillusioned and disenchanted with America. The crucial turning point for both the protagonist and America is the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre. Despite him having attended an American University and pursuing the American dream, Changez's immediate reaction to the twin towers falling is a momentary thrill and a sense that America deserved it. He is initially ashamed by this reaction but he is sent down a relentless path of questioning his relationship with America even as he observes the sudden upsurge of patriotism (in a flag bedecked New York) and suspicion against foreigners (when he starts to grow a beard). This is compounded as America invades Pakistan's near neighbour Afghanistan and his homeland is involved in a deadly nuclear standoff with India in which America is determined to stay neutral in order to avoid having to choose between two allies in their war on terror.
Hamid, a Pakistani who himself studied at an Ivy League university and worked on Wall Street, writes a novel that is both powerfully allegorical yet still remains very accessible and personal due to the easy and familiar tone of the narrator. September 11 is the fulcrum of the story because it initiates the changes in both the protagonist (whose name Changez is hardly subtle) and in the American psyche itself. In many ways, however, Hamid turns our expectation on its head. The fundamentalism in the title is as much the American corporate variety (Changez's firm repeatedly tells them to "keep to the fundamentals") as it's Islamic counterpart.
Another allegorical turn involves Changez's relationship with Erica, a rich, well-connected WASP New Yorker whom he falls for while on a post-graduation holiday (paid for by his signing on bonus). However, his relationship with Erica is as fragile and ephemeral as his relationship with America. Erica is caught up and cannot let go of the past, specifically her relationship with a close childhood friend turned lover who died of cancer. It is certainly no coincidence that Erica is a shortened form of (Am)Erica.
Final Verdict: This was definitely a very engaging novel. Hamid is able to create a powerful sense of drama and tension out of his premise, and the sense of one man questioning his pursuit of what may be a chimerical dream and questioning of his adopted values is often captivating. That said, Hamid's use of irony is often completely unsubtle to say the least as is his overall contention that America - and not the Islamists are the real fundamentalists. Ultimately, a hugely enjoyable read.
The protagonist of the Reluctant Fundamentalist, Changez, hails from Pakistan. He manages to win a scholarship to Princeton and subsequently goes on to work for a highly selective and top notch New York corporate firm, Underwood Samsom, which specializes in the appraisal and valuation of companies that are the subject of hostile takeover bids. However, we first meet Changez in a very different setting - a restaurant and tea house in an old district of Lahore in Pakistan where he finds an American wandering the streets, invites him to the tea house and begins to tell him (and the reader) his story.
The story is fundamentally about a person first enticed by then disillusioned and disenchanted with America. The crucial turning point for both the protagonist and America is the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre. Despite him having attended an American University and pursuing the American dream, Changez's immediate reaction to the twin towers falling is a momentary thrill and a sense that America deserved it. He is initially ashamed by this reaction but he is sent down a relentless path of questioning his relationship with America even as he observes the sudden upsurge of patriotism (in a flag bedecked New York) and suspicion against foreigners (when he starts to grow a beard). This is compounded as America invades Pakistan's near neighbour Afghanistan and his homeland is involved in a deadly nuclear standoff with India in which America is determined to stay neutral in order to avoid having to choose between two allies in their war on terror.
Hamid, a Pakistani who himself studied at an Ivy League university and worked on Wall Street, writes a novel that is both powerfully allegorical yet still remains very accessible and personal due to the easy and familiar tone of the narrator. September 11 is the fulcrum of the story because it initiates the changes in both the protagonist (whose name Changez is hardly subtle) and in the American psyche itself. In many ways, however, Hamid turns our expectation on its head. The fundamentalism in the title is as much the American corporate variety (Changez's firm repeatedly tells them to "keep to the fundamentals") as it's Islamic counterpart.
Another allegorical turn involves Changez's relationship with Erica, a rich, well-connected WASP New Yorker whom he falls for while on a post-graduation holiday (paid for by his signing on bonus). However, his relationship with Erica is as fragile and ephemeral as his relationship with America. Erica is caught up and cannot let go of the past, specifically her relationship with a close childhood friend turned lover who died of cancer. It is certainly no coincidence that Erica is a shortened form of (Am)Erica.
Final Verdict: This was definitely a very engaging novel. Hamid is able to create a powerful sense of drama and tension out of his premise, and the sense of one man questioning his pursuit of what may be a chimerical dream and questioning of his adopted values is often captivating. That said, Hamid's use of irony is often completely unsubtle to say the least as is his overall contention that America - and not the Islamists are the real fundamentalists. Ultimately, a hugely enjoyable read.
2 July 2007
What I Have Read - So Far
I thought that this would be a good chance to put up a list of all the books I have finished reading in the first half of the year, as well as choosing my highlights for the year to date. Anyhow here is the complete list:
1. Table for Three: More Tales of Saffy and Amanda by Jason Hahn
2. The Iraq War by John Keegan
3. Lyra’s Oxford by Phillip Pullman (Young Adult)
4. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
5. All The Shah’s Men by Stephen Kinzer
6. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
7. Imperium by Robert Harris
8. Platform by Michel Houellebecq
9. The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford
10. The Epiplectic Bicycle by Edward Gorey (Illustrated Short Story)
11. Twelve Books that Changed the World by Melvyn Bragg
12. The Secret Goldfish and Other Follies by Tan Teck Howe
13. Those Feet: A Sensual History of English Football by David Winner
14. The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde
15. Crispin: Cross of Lead by Avi (Young Adult)
16. Dreamers by Knut Hamsun
17. The Making of a Philosopher by Colin McGinn
18. Slow Waltz on Cedar Bend by Robert James Waller
19. A Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut
20. Got Singapore by Richard Lim
21. The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea by Yukio Mishima
22. To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer
23. The Basque History of the World by Mark Kurlansky
24. Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans
25. Nothing But the Truth by Avi (Young Adult)
26. Lanzarote by Michel Houellebecq
27. Frameshift by Robert Sawyer
28. Alien Asian: A Singaporean in America by Simon Tay
29. Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby
30. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
31. How To Read A Novel: A User’s Guide by John Sutherland
32. The Courage Consort by Michel Faber
33. The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
34. The Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
35. The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraq by Patrick Cockburn
36. Six (Genesis) by Jim Crace
37. An Ordinary Person’s Guide to Empire by Arundhati Roy
38. Among the Dead Cities by A.C Grayling
39. Marley and Me by John Grogan
40. Continue to Pester, Nag and Bite: Churchill’s War Leadership by Martin Gilbert
41. The Sensation of Independence: A Biography of David Marshall by Chan Heng Chee
42. Kira Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (Young Adult)
43. Everyman by Phillip Roth
44. The Eternals by Neil Gaiman (Graphic Novel)
45. The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud
46. Foundation by Isaac Asimov
47. Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov
48. The Children of Hurin by J.R.R Tolkien
49. Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov
50. The Quarry by Damon Galgut
51. The Glamour by Christopher Priest
52. Shadowmancer by G.P Taylor
Titles in Bold are highly recommended, titles in Italics are recommended. I have limited myself to recommending 10 titles in total (out of the 52). All in all, the main factor governing my reading so far was that I tended to go for novels that were short (less than three hundred pages). This was due to the fact that I have had less time to read since starting work, and was generally only being able to complete a book over a number of sittings.
I guess I really could have used my reading time better: Slow Waltz on Cedar Bend and The Horse Whisperer were definitely inexcusable. But reading is for enjoyment and relaxation and you sometimes what you really need is 300 pages full of brainless crap. [I promise a more detailed write up on specific titles soonish whenever I have time - in other words don't count on it]
1. Table for Three: More Tales of Saffy and Amanda by Jason Hahn
2. The Iraq War by John Keegan
3. Lyra’s Oxford by Phillip Pullman (Young Adult)
4. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
5. All The Shah’s Men by Stephen Kinzer
6. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
7. Imperium by Robert Harris
8. Platform by Michel Houellebecq
9. The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford
10. The Epiplectic Bicycle by Edward Gorey (Illustrated Short Story)
11. Twelve Books that Changed the World by Melvyn Bragg
12. The Secret Goldfish and Other Follies by Tan Teck Howe
13. Those Feet: A Sensual History of English Football by David Winner
14. The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde
15. Crispin: Cross of Lead by Avi (Young Adult)
16. Dreamers by Knut Hamsun
17. The Making of a Philosopher by Colin McGinn
18. Slow Waltz on Cedar Bend by Robert James Waller
19. A Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut
20. Got Singapore by Richard Lim
21. The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea by Yukio Mishima
22. To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer
23. The Basque History of the World by Mark Kurlansky
24. Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans
25. Nothing But the Truth by Avi (Young Adult)
26. Lanzarote by Michel Houellebecq
27. Frameshift by Robert Sawyer
28. Alien Asian: A Singaporean in America by Simon Tay
29. Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby
30. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
31. How To Read A Novel: A User’s Guide by John Sutherland
32. The Courage Consort by Michel Faber
33. The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier
34. The Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
35. The Occupation: War and Resistance in Iraq by Patrick Cockburn
36. Six (Genesis) by Jim Crace
37. An Ordinary Person’s Guide to Empire by Arundhati Roy
38. Among the Dead Cities by A.C Grayling
39. Marley and Me by John Grogan
40. Continue to Pester, Nag and Bite: Churchill’s War Leadership by Martin Gilbert
41. The Sensation of Independence: A Biography of David Marshall by Chan Heng Chee
42. Kira Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (Young Adult)
43. Everyman by Phillip Roth
44. The Eternals by Neil Gaiman (Graphic Novel)
45. The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud
46. Foundation by Isaac Asimov
47. Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov
48. The Children of Hurin by J.R.R Tolkien
49. Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov
50. The Quarry by Damon Galgut
51. The Glamour by Christopher Priest
52. Shadowmancer by G.P Taylor
Titles in Bold are highly recommended, titles in Italics are recommended. I have limited myself to recommending 10 titles in total (out of the 52). All in all, the main factor governing my reading so far was that I tended to go for novels that were short (less than three hundred pages). This was due to the fact that I have had less time to read since starting work, and was generally only being able to complete a book over a number of sittings.
I guess I really could have used my reading time better: Slow Waltz on Cedar Bend and The Horse Whisperer were definitely inexcusable. But reading is for enjoyment and relaxation and you sometimes what you really need is 300 pages full of brainless crap. [I promise a more detailed write up on specific titles soonish whenever I have time - in other words don't count on it]
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