August 18, 2019 Leave a Comment
The Startup of You, by Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha, is one of a few career-advice books that I have read over the past decade. In general, I do not like prescription books. Instead, I prefer to read books that are not solely concerned with pouring tons of advice over the readers; I like to […]
August 11, 2019 Leave a Comment
Some people do not like Virginia Woolf’s work. Some do, including me. I only found my way into her world and her writing after reading A Room of One’s Own. Before that, I attempted and abandoned her very well known titles, including To the Lighthouse, The Waves, and Mrs Dalloway. Admittedly, I was merely a […]
August 3, 2019 Leave a Comment
This book is written by Lori Gottlieb, with a subtitle: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed. My acquisition and reading of this book is a direct product of Amazon’s ranking and recommendation system. It was presented to me, in the middle of my browser, with its eye-catching sub-title. This sub-title caught my attention […]
July 15, 2019 Leave a Comment
This week I read Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing, written by Robert A. Caro. Caro is known for his books, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York, and the four volumes of The years of Lyndon Johnson. Caro wrote the intention of this book is to share some of his experiences and […]
July 7, 2019 Leave a Comment
“Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!” Those were my involuntary, thunderous and embarrassing sneezes. A young lady, running towards me from the far corner of the bookstore, holding a box of tissues, said “tissue for you”, with a beautiful smile. I was very touched, “This is very nice of you. Thank you so much.” I took one piece, […]
July 4, 2019 Leave a Comment
Per recommendation of a friend working in a Waterstones bookshop in England, I acquired this book about six years ago. That did not turn out well at all, as I absolutely disliked this book after reading the first bit of it only. I was in a different frame of mind, I heard myself yelling inwardly: […]
June 28, 2019 Leave a Comment
I read Alice Walker’s The Color Purple during my recent trip to Arizona. My return flight was delayed just long enough for me to finish reading the book before arriving at my destination. For each trip, my hope is to start as one person and end as another, or at least undergoing some transformation. This […]
June 15, 2019 Leave a Comment
All That Remains: A Life in Death is written by the renowned forensic anthropologist Sue Black, on death, mortality, and solving crimes. I read most of this book during my transatlantic flight. There was a shortage of tissues. I was acutely aware of that constraint and exercised great self-control particularly while reading her personal accounts […]
June 1, 2019 Leave a Comment
This is an unusual reading choice. The little prince might say this is for grown-ups. Yet again, I do not recall how I stumbled on the book. It is definitely a great read, agreeing with or not agreeing with the author on everything. Generally speaking, I like books by academics, except on some occasions when […]
May 25, 2019 Leave a Comment
I had a couple hours of gap at Stanford after touring the photonics and quantum computing labs, and before an evening programme on campus. Habitually I walked into the bookshop and found Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit. Reading the first couple of chapters was the best way to spend that time. There is always something […]