A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | |
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1 | No. | Title | Author | Year | Genre | Comments | ||||||||||||||||||||
2 | 1 | Kura-kura Berjanggut | Aiyub, Azhari | 2018 | Fiction | The Book of the Bearded Turtles. Such title I would name this book, in its English translation—if it were ever be translated. The original title is Kura-kura Berjanggut, it is an almost 1000-page Indonesian novel. I think it's a good novel, very ambitious, with quite complex plots, obviously with meticulous research. But the execution is rather poor. The author uses too much words play and especially hyperboles. It’s a shame that in the middle of enjoying the historical intrigues among the ocean men in the seventeenth century, you have to deal with annoying hyperboles in every other paragraph! I was surprised to see in his acknowledgement he thanks Nirwan Dewanto for 'editing' the book (if so, Nirwan has done a lousy job; but perhaps it was his casual read only, for the name mentioned in the front book description as the editor is someone else's). This book could have been as rich and as ambitious as Pram Toer's books. Too bad, the pervasive exaggeration denies it a seat in the same league. | ||||||||||||||||||||
3 | 2 | Amba | Pamuntjak, Laksmi | 2012 | Fiction | Amba is a novel written by Laksmi Pamuntjak. It has won some awards and its English version is titled The Question of Red. I read the Indonesian version. It’s not bad. But I’m not sure a reader who hasn’t read Mahabharata can fully appreciate the novel. Other than that, I think Laksmi is one of the best female novelists in today’s Indonesia. | ||||||||||||||||||||
4 | 3 | The Luminaries | Catton, Eleanor | 2013 | Fiction | I was glued to this big fat novel. A wonderful tale of complex characters in the 1800s New Zealand. I can’t believe the author, Eleanor Cotton, is so young. She was born in 1985. Check this snippet: "solitude is. condition best enjoyed in company". Isn’t it beautiful? This is one of the best novels I have read, I should say. Catton did deserve The Booker Prize (she won the 2013 award for this book). She beat, among other shortlisters, Jhumpa Lahiri (see Lowland below). A unique feature of this novel (in addition to its oft reference to zodiac signs and the solar system) is Cotton's 'soft spoiler' in the opening of each chapter. This is very interesting. I first thought this would ruin my reading experience. It did not. In fact it adds to the richness of the novel—the spoilers become an integral part of the whole novel. That's smart. Another very insteresting factor is that Cotton has no concern for 'chapters evenness' (like many authors do). The first part took more than 350 pages, and the ninth one is only 4-page long! Do read. Even if you're not into astrology. | ||||||||||||||||||||
5 | 4 | The Lowland | Lahiri, Jhumpa | 2013 | Fiction | I just finished this novel. It's a good read, although not my exellent one. It's a bit boring. I like The Namesake more. Or maybe Jhumpa Lahiri's comparative advantage is short stories (at least, long-form short stories ala New Yorker's). Her Intepreter of Maladies is so great. The novel takes India's revolutionary movement as a background. Perhaps because I have read Pamuntjak's Amba and a couple of Leila Chudori's novels, all with the background of PKI movement in Indonesia, I somehow could guess the plot. And that, to Lahiri's credit, isn't good for a reader's experience. Other drawbacks, in my view, include the 'forced simmetries'—evenness of chapter length, serendipitious karma of each main characters, etc. But it's still fine, in general. | ||||||||||||||||||||
6 | 5 | Inheritance of Loss | Desai, Kiran | 2006 | Fiction | Kiran Desai won her Man Booker prize for this in 2006. It's entertaining, but at times too entertaining, it loses its cool. I was even a bit annoyed by her too many cute wordsplay—no one beats Marlon James' Brief History in that area. | ||||||||||||||||||||
7 | 6 | Wolf Hall | Mantel, Hilary | 2009 | Fiction | I finally finished this novel after a couple of attempts. It's an ambitious, rich and award-derseving novel. But for some reason I found it hard to concentrate on it. I'll see how it goes with the second in trilogy, Bring Up the Bodies. | ||||||||||||||||||||
8 | 7 | Bekisar Merah | Tohari, Ahmad | 1993 | Fiction | I decided to read this novel because I'm a big fan of the Ronggeng Dukuh Paruk trilogy. This novel is not bad. But it's not excellent either. Ahmad Tohari paints Lasi, the central character so monochromatic. He does try to change her a bit here and there, but it's still plain. Some supporting characters appear so comical and underdeveloped in terms of personalities. It's a disappointment in the end. | ||||||||||||||||||||
9 | 8 | Agricultural Development: New Perspectives | Otsuka, Keijiro et al | 2021 | Non-fiction | Good summary of the recent development in thinking about agricultural economics. I knew Otsuka first from his work with Yujiro Hayami, back in the graduate years. Sometime ago we invited Otsuka to write a paper in BIES. I enjoyed his talk presenting it, although I'm not sure I agree with his recommendations for Indonesia. | ||||||||||||||||||||
10 | 9 | Trade Wars are Class Wars | Klein, M & Pettis, M | 2020 | Non-fiction | My first impression was that the authors are a bit left-leaning. But I was wrong. They are objective and equipped with sharp and original analytical skills. Their arguments are strong: every trade war is actually related to domestic inequality problem. | ||||||||||||||||||||
11 | 10 | Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth | Loeb, Avi | 2021 | Non-fiction | Oumouamua—I think that would be a better title for this book. Oumuamua—a Hawaiian word for 'scout'—is an interstellar object first discovered by a young astronomist from Canada, Robert Weryk on 19 October 2017 via a telescope in Hawaii. I happened to stumble on a podcast between Joe Rogan and Avi Loeb. Loeb is the head of Department of Astronomy at Harvard. He believes that 'Oumuamua could be an alien technology, not a natural object, like most other scientists believe. I was intrigued so I bought the book and read it. The book is fascinating, although not the best in the way it is written. Loeb, despite his constant call for humility, at times appears a bit arrogant. But maybe that's his style. I read some readers' reviews saying they were annoyed by his mixing the story of 'Oumuamua or things extraterrestrial and his own life. But I still learned a lot. So, thanks, Professor Loeb! | ||||||||||||||||||||
12 | 11 | How to Avoid Climate Disaster | Gates, Bill | 2021 | Non-fiction | Quite interesting, but it's not excellent. Gates doesn't write well, the book feels like one of those For Dummies series. But it is still informative and make you appreciate him. I truly believe he's a kind person and care about other human beings. The book will be useful to check now and then if you want handy information about 'green premium', for example. (One thing I found annoying—and surprising—is Gates' use of the word Latinx, a woke terminology that has been gaining momentum again recently). I haven't read his previous books, but I'm interested in reading his biography. Maybe someday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
13 | 12 | Resetting the Table | Paarlberg, Robert | 2021 | Non-fiction | Evidence-based narratives debunking myths around food. No nonsense. | ||||||||||||||||||||
14 | 13 | Klara and the Sun | Kazuo, Ishiguro | 2021 | Fiction | I read this novel in three goes, interrupted only by work and daily routines. I now understand why Ishiguro is praised so highly. I confessed I have not read Remains of the Day nor Never Let Me Go—though I had bought the latter one (and actually skimmed it). I’m so gonna read them too more carefully! | ||||||||||||||||||||
15 | 14 | The Committed | Nguyen, Viet Thanh | 2021 | Fiction | I think Viet Nguyen has successfully outdone himself with this over the already great The Sympathizer. This is a novel most sophisticated, most well-crafted I have read so far (perhaps Murakami's 1Q84 comes close). I admit I was a bit confused by his playing with interchangeable pronounses. But I got used to it. It's amazing how "I" transitioned to "you", for example. Brilliant, just brilliant. | ||||||||||||||||||||
16 | 15 | The Plague Cycle | Kenny, Charles | 2021 | Non-fiction | This book is quite informative and encyclopaedic. The author is not a best storyteller, so sometimes it reads like, well, Wikipedia. But this book will become handy when someone wants to write about pandemic. The author has a stint in the World Bank and CG Dev, so he seems familiar with economics lingo and references, although he's not an economist. I'll still recommend this book. | ||||||||||||||||||||
17 | 16 | The Splendid and the Vile | Larson, Erik | 2020 | Non-fiction | I have heard about Erik Larson and how good he is. But this is his first book I read. It's very interesting, rigorously researched and sometime captivating. Unfortunately 'sometime' is the operative there. I often felt bored with some accounts. Some parts gave me an impression of rushed execution. But other than that, I enjoyed reading about Churchill personality. It also served as a refresher of the World War II. So, not only WC, but we also see Hitler, Roosevelt, etc. | ||||||||||||||||||||
18 | 17 | A Wink from the Universe | Flanagan, Martin | 2018 | Non-fiction | I have been wanting to understand Aussie's most beloved sport, the footy a.k.a Aussie rules. I just think it's respectful to understand the culture of the country you live in. To me, one of them in terms of Australia is their love of sport. I don't do their sports (thus far), so at least I want to understand one. I happened to watch the game on TV last Friday. It was between Western Bulldogs and GWS Giants. The Bulldogs won and I learned that they had not lost in seven rounds. Impressive. I had not decided what team to root for. But it was easy. The Bulldogs. I googled. The last time they won the premiership was in 2016—after waiting for...62 years! That's interesting. My browsing led me to a book by Martin Flanagan called A Wink from the Universe. Wait, Flanagan? Is he related to Richard Flanagan? As it turns out, they're brothers. I love Richard Flanagan's books. Martin's must be good, too, I thought. So I bought A Wink. And it didn't disappoint. It's very engaging. The Flanagans are real great writers (I learned that their father is Arch Flanagan, an author himself and a former sergeant enslaved in Burma Railway, died in 2013). The best thing about A Wink is that you really feel like you are part of the Bulldogs, like the author is, and you would feel the emotions, the rage, the victory and everything about their important games. And the humanity: when Coach Bevo handed his medal to Captain Bob. Man, that's touching. And that's sportsmanship. | ||||||||||||||||||||
19 | 18 | A Stroll along Ryukyu Martial Arts History | Quast, Andreas | 2015 | Non-fiction | Andreas Quast is arguably one of the most resourceful karateka on the history and many aspects of traditional karate. If I'm not mistaken he's a yondan, and studied under Soke Nagamine in the same batch as Reece Cummings (my sensei). He contributed a long, informative chapter in Patric McCarthy's Bubishi. But I found this book so boring. He's not a good story teller, so even though the informations contained in the book are very valuable, they read like a dry encyclopaedia, and at times a glossary (well the book has a lot of pages of glossary at the end as well). | ||||||||||||||||||||
20 | 19 | Life History | Gregory Clark | 2021 | Non-fiction | It started when I read Diane Coyle's blog entry about a new book on Colin Clark. Clark was a giant in economics, if sadly forgotten. He was an assistant to Keynes and was instrumental in developing the concept of GNP. His work on three-sector economy was groundbreaking as well. I notified Hal and Chandra about the new book—which unfortunately is very expensive (more than $100). Chandra said he would definitely read the book. He said it remained a puzzle why Clark never got Noble prize. Hal agreed and while we were on it, he sent me a link to a website of Colin Clark's son, Gregory Clark. It turns out, he is also an interesting figure! He studied economics, politics, languages (he speaks four languages), among many. He was a diplomat and got bitter with the government, started by his antiwar stance and kept growing from there. So I read the book. That is, if I can call it a book. This is the first time I read a complete draft book whose author makes it available on his website. And boy. Gregory Clark is a combative and explosive person. I was so fascinated by early chapters, maybe because of its interesting (often funny) reminiscence of Canberra (and ANU, sometimes). But increasingly, Clark Jr becomes bitter and bitter. At the end the book sounds like a bitter recollections of an angry man. Too bad. | ||||||||||||||||||||
21 | 20 | The Distributional Impacts of Trade | Engel, Jacob et al | 2021 | Non-fiction | Boring. But I need it for my work. | ||||||||||||||||||||
22 | 21 | Bubble of Revolution? | Mehta, Neel et al | 2019 | Non-fiction | A good start to understand the crypto world. I have a feeling I would need to go back to this book many times to really get a hold on the issue. | ||||||||||||||||||||
23 | 22 | Okinawa Kobudo Vol. 1 | Quast, Andreas | 2013 | Non-fiction | Quast wrote this with his kobudo sensei, Leif Hermansson. Informative, but it turns out their kobudo style is quite different from ours. | ||||||||||||||||||||
24 | 23 | Okinawa Kobudo Vol. 2 | Quast, Andreas | 2013 | Non-fiction | (see above) | ||||||||||||||||||||
25 | 24 | Yogya Yogya | Janarto, H Gendut | 2020 | Fiction | A debut novel by Harry G. Janarto. Not an excellent read, it has those cringes and overacts. I read it because we're going to discuss the book (with the author) at Prapti's. I actually enjoyed the discussion. | ||||||||||||||||||||
26 | 25 | The Box | Levinson, Marc | 2016 | Non-fiction | A good introduction to the shipping and container world. Fascinating history of 'the box', the container. | ||||||||||||||||||||
27 | 26 | Shuggie Bain | Stuart, Douglas | 2020 | Fiction | Although very different in terms of stories, this novel reminds me so much of A Little Life. Start with what is common. Both novels are award-winning. Among others, SB won the 2020 Man Booker and LL won the 2015 National Book Award for Fiction and Kirkuz Prize for Fiction, and it was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize (though lost to, understandably, A Brief History of Seven Killings). The central character is both novel is a gay man (a child growing into adolescent in SB and a grown man in LL). Both novels are sad and dark and gloomy. But both are captivating. If SB's secondary character is also very strong (that's Shuggie's mom), there seems to be no strong secondary character in LL. But one thing for sure, Douglas Stuart (b. 1976) and Hanya Yanagihara (b. 1974) are there on my top list of current authors. SB is Stuart's debut, and LL is Yanagihara's second novel. What a great story-telling talent they have. | ||||||||||||||||||||
28 | 27 | The True History of the Kelly Gang: A Novel | Carey, Peter | 2007 | Fiction | Peter Carey is an instant addition to my fave list. THKG, the title, sounds like a non-fiction book. But no, it's a novel, an extraordinary novel. It won the 2001 Booker Prize, Carey's second after his Oscar and Lucinda was awarded to in 1988. What makes THKG so special is Carey's successful portrayal of Ned Kelly. He speaks through Kelly's mouth—or hand, as he let Kelly write the novel with his own ... grammatical errors! It must be really hard to maintain the consistency of the errors throughout the novel. It is very original too, the using of censored curses: 'adjectival brains', 'b____r', 'effing', 'eff', 'ess', and so forth. But Carey does it so well, we get carried on. Ned Kelly was a bandit, but he is loved by most Australians. This novel makes you very Aussie in that sense. It is historical, romantic, without falling into the trap of experimentalism like George Saunders' Lincoln in the Bardo (2017 Booker). I mentioned Oscar and Lucinda. I'm gonna read it someday. | ||||||||||||||||||||
29 | 28 | At Night All Blood is Black | Diop, David | 2020 | Fiction | I read this almost two weeks ago (note: from diary, entry 21 July 2021). I thought I had written about it here and I realised I had forgotten. I remember I wanted to write it but I wanted it to pay justice to this incredible novel. That's why I delayed. Shame, because this novel does not deserve a wait. It's so good and easily one of the best novels I've read. It won the 2021 International Booker Prize for obvious reason. The way Diop tells the story is so captivating—and gory at the same time. It's terrifying and saddening. I don't want to be too drawn into racism debate (the flavour of the day, just check some reviews online), I just enjoyed reading this gem. | ||||||||||||||||||||
30 | 29 | Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption, and Hollywood | Trejo, Danny | 2021 | Non-fiction | I'm a big fan of Danny Trejo. It was sealed after Machete the series, if not From Dusk Till Dawn. From TV series, I think I like him most in Sons of Anarchy. So when I heard that he was publishing a memoar, I pre-ordered it at Amazon.com. And I'm not disappointed. It was surprisingly very well written, given that the authors are not serial writers (yes, plural, Trejo teamed up with Donal Logue, another guy from Sons of Anarchy). I don't care who really wrote it, but it's enjoyable read. Trejo is brutally honest, his being a junkie, a criminal, a prisoner, a movie star. But most touching is him being a dad. It wet my eyes sometimes. | ||||||||||||||||||||
31 | 30 | Bad Muslim Discount: A Novel | Massod, Syed | 2021 | Fiction | I had expected more from this novel. Partly because I'm curious how the author paint a picture of a muslim coming to and live in America—as I was once like that. The book is enjoyable and the plot is quite nice. The characters are sufficiently developed. But Masood, like his main character, Anvar, pushes it too hard. They're trying too hard to be funny and witty to the point of annoying. I guess Masood got too carried away, he sometimes forget who's the witty one, and all characters end up equally and unnecessarily comical. | ||||||||||||||||||||
32 | 31 | The War of the Poor | Vuillard, Eric | 2020 | Fiction | I had expected much from this novelette. It's short and was a finalist of International Booker Prize. That must be something, right? Well not really. I actually struggled to finish it. The idea is excellent, re a snapshot in the history of 16th century Protestant reformation. Maybe the shortness of the book costs the characters development? I don't know. | ||||||||||||||||||||
33 | 32 | Reset: Restoring Australia after the Pandemic Recession | Garnaut, Ross | 2021 | Non-fiction | Ross Garnaut is one of the best Australian economists. I enjoyed reading this book (mine is authographed!). You can feel right away how firm Garnaut's grip on the understanding of how economy works (or doesn't work). But for non-Australians, you would need to consult Google every now and then as Garnaut assumes you understand cricket lingo, Dog Days, et cetera. One little quibble from my end is that, Garnaut seems to put too much hope on Biden. I'm afraid by now we're seeing some discounts on that US President (trade war with China, decision re Afghanistan to name a few). | ||||||||||||||||||||
34 | 33 | Young Soeharto: The Making of a Soldier, 1921-1945 | Jenkins, David | 2021 | Non-fiction | I'm glad I read this book. It's one of the most intelligent history books on Indonesia. I bet this would become an authoritative reference on the study of Soeharto, Indonesia's second president. I hope it reaches wider, global audience—it's published by ISEAS, a Singapore-based publisher that is quite known in the region but not so much globally. David Jenkins writes like he owes his readers every single detail and evidence. Reading this book, I understand why MM called a particular book on Jokowi a lazy work. Jenkins is so meticulous and laborous in his approach, you could almost feel his long hours of painstaking work. All the corroboration, triangulation of evidence are superb. And yes, the photographs at the end the book are equally important. I knew Soeharto. But I didn't know he was this sneaky, boastful, pragmatic, and at times Machiavellian. | ||||||||||||||||||||
35 | 34 | The Kite Runner | Hosseini, Khaled | 2004 | Fiction | For a long time this book stood there on the shelve. I bought it from Epic fest book, I think—those used book festival. There is still a pencilled-mark of $5 on the first page. I decided to read it yesterday, mainly because of all the news about the Taliban recapturing Afghanistan. I don't want to learn the country in a scholarly way, or worse yet, through pundits or accidental experts—they're so many in Twitter. I wanted an experience, a humane experience and that's when I remembered I had this novel. So I started reading it yesterday after lunch. And I couldn't put it down (well expect for sleeping, eating, and taking a walk to Woolies for lockdown-essentials). I finished it a couple of hours ago. And beautiful it is. I kept cursing myself why I had not read it for such a long time. This is the author's debut, and it is easily one of the best novels I've read. The plot is nicely constructed., the prose is elegant, and the cliches are torn down. In short, I got the experience I had wanted. | ||||||||||||||||||||
36 | 35 | Foreign Investment and Industrialization in Indonesia | Hill, Hall | 1988 | Non-fiction | This is an old book. I read it because I needed to give a talk to DFAT about the current state of FDI in Indonesia. I should've read it long time ago. Hal Hill had taken the pain of assembling data from different sources to be able to paint a picture about foreign investment in Indonesia. This is classic, but somehow rather forgotten by researchers. I guess it's time to update this book. For one, data quality has gotten much better. Interestingly though, policy seesaw still moves like the old days. | ||||||||||||||||||||
37 | 36 | Making Foreign Investment Safe | Wells, LT & Ahmed, R | 2007 | Non-fiction | As a follow up to the previous book, I read this one too. What a fascinating account of investing in Indonesia. The way Wells and Ahmed write is very engaging and unique to the point of it is neither an academic book nor a story book—in a good way. They meticulously did their research, check and recheck, journalism work, etc. But they also offer solid analytical frameworks. True, sometimes they can't help themselves dwelling too much or giving out too much, they sound gossipy. Nevertheless, it is an enjoyable read. These stories about Indosat, PLN, Pertamina, Paiton, and Karaha Bodas give you a birdeye view onto the corruption jungle of Indonesia. And often, the bird swoops down fast and deep. | ||||||||||||||||||||
38 | 37 | Dark Academia: How Universities Die | Fleming, Peter | 2021 | Non-fiction | A friend from Sydney alerted me of this book. He seemed to like it a lot and actually goes on some webinars talking about it. As I read it, I could relate to many observations the author lays out in there. But I can't stand his constant reference to neoliberalism without ever explaining what it really is. It often feels like it is just his strawman to channel his anger. True, he's not the only one doing this. Everything market is neoliberal and all problems come from neoliberalism. Which itself is like a ghost because no one really knows what it is. Washington Consensus? Meh. The author writes quite well if not too polemical. Woke? Maybe. | ||||||||||||||||||||
39 | 38 | Bettering Humanomics | McCloskey, Deirdre | 2021 | Non-fiction | As a big fan of McCloskey, I didn't think twice when I noticed this book at Amazon. As I read it, my expectation was confirmed. I learned a lot. But. Suddenly I sensed something new in McCloskey's work—or it's been there but I always missed it. She sounded too pedantic and trying too hard to appear distinguished. I don't think she needed to do that—she is distinguished. And the final chapter, although it's great as a sort of summary to The Bourgeoise Trilogy (which I have in complete and yet to read), it also sounds too defensive. You'd get a sense that this book came out from her replies to her critics. Oh, this is quite long, I might as well turn it into book. Something like that. | ||||||||||||||||||||
40 | 39 | The Politics of Inner Power: The Practice of Pencal Silat in West Java | Wilson, Ian | 2002 | Non-fiction | This is a PhD thesis written by Ian Wilson at Murdoch University. It is about the history, development, and the politics of silat in Indonesia. Quite entertaining, although I was surprised at first that it could be submitted as a thesis. But as I read through, it's clear that Wilson did approach the subject with academic lens. It helped, I guess, that he himself was/is practitioner of silat. The second last chapter is very interesting, about the alleged links between Prabowo, 1998 riot and Satria Muda Indonesia (the silat club developed and patroned by Prabowo). | ||||||||||||||||||||
41 | 40 | Love in the Time of Cholera | Marquez, GG | 1985 | Fiction | I have to read this classic for obvious reason. It didn't disappoint, although I could sense how the approach to literature has changed a bit over generations. Moral compass has shifted as well. I'm not sure if the reception to this novel would remain the same today, given what it depicts of Florentino Ariza's infidelity with America Vicuña, for example. Or how the main characters, not just Ariza, but also Fermina Daza, treat Barbara Lynch—in fact how Marquez himself personified her. | ||||||||||||||||||||
42 | 41 | A Passage North | Arudpragasam, Anuk | 2021 | Fiction | This is the first book of Anuk Arudpragasam that I read. It's shortlisted for Booker Prize and I couldn't agree more. Very well written, philosophical but not boring, and deep. Surprisingly, it has no dialogues in it! I believe this is a first novel without dialogue I have ever read. The author has a PhD in Philosophy from Columbia. No wonder, maybe. | ||||||||||||||||||||
43 | 42 | The Story of a Brief Marriage | Arudpragasam, Anuk | 2016 | Fiction | I did it backward. As noted, I read his second novel first, and this is his debut. And what a wonderful debut! This is a well-crafted piece of art. The prose, the landscape, they are poetical and poignant. This is one of those few novels that you would read again sometime—or many times. Just beautiful. | ||||||||||||||||||||
44 | 43 | Levels of Life | Barnes, Julian | 2013 | Fiction | This book consists of three essays. The first two seem to be written to support the third, the most important part. That last part is the real memoir of Julian Barnes, that is, a memoir of his love and grief, Pat Kavanagh. It's poignant, personal, it's very private. It makes you think you should embrace your loved one while you can. | ||||||||||||||||||||
45 | 44 | Admiring Silence | Gurnah, Abdulrazak | 1996 | Fiction | I admit I had never heard of Abdulrazak Gurnah before the Nobel Committee made him a laureate some weeks ago. So this novel is my first read of him. And I liked it. The plot is simple but it hits close to home as it is about a man living in two world and couldn't get the best out of either one. To some extent it is the story of my life. Though mine is far less tragic than that of the narrator's. | ||||||||||||||||||||
46 | 45 | Hojo Undo | Clarke, Michael | 2009 | Non-fiction | This book is about how to do proper warming up and conditioning in karate. It has good big sections on Okinawan traditional tools, and how to build them! | ||||||||||||||||||||
47 | 46 | Pachinko | Lee, Min Jin | 2020 | Fiction | I first knew about pachinko, the Japanese casino, more than twenty years ago, when I had a short course in Nagoya. I saw them everywhere, although I never stepped into any. I was aware it was a gambling place and of course as a student I didn't have enough money. What I didn't know is the fact that many pachinkos involved Korean workers behind it. And it all began in early 1900s where the Koreans in Japan were second class people and often became targets of racism from the Japanese, the ex coloniser of Korea. I learned a lot from reading this novel. The racism part really struck me. I didn't know it was that bad, not much different from that in the American fifties, or for that matter Indonesian seventies or eighties. Of course racism is still around today, albeit much more covered. The novel is a story about the Koreans in Japan struggling with their identities. It includes characters of first, second, and third generation of immigrants. It's a sad saga, but also beautiful at times. It becomes a bit formulaic in the last third, but still enjoyable nonetheless. | ||||||||||||||||||||
48 | 47 | The Resilient Society | Brunnermeier, Markus | 2021 | Non-fiction | I discovered Markus Brunnermeier in the early days of the pandemic. He was one of the pioneers of Zoom-based economic webinars. Not only that, he actually invited big shots, from Nobel laureates to rising superstars, from business leaders to private sector analysts. I couldn't catch up to every single webinar (especially because of the time difference), but sometimes I go back and watch the recording. In short, I'm a big fan of Markus Academy, this series coming out from Princeton University, hosted by Professor Brunnermeier. So I'm happy to report I had just read this book, The Resilient Society. It is, according to him, inspired by the many episodes of Markus Academy. And I think he has successfully tied them together under the resilient-versus-robustness story line. Recommended. | ||||||||||||||||||||
49 | 48 | Crashed: How a Decade of Financial Crises Changed the World | Tooze, Adam | 2018 | Non-fiction | I believe I knew his name first from one of Krugman's columns in NYT. I also saw his book at the background of Krugman when he was interviewed for a webinar or something. Then I learned that he was an active Twitter user, often with interesting informations. I hesitated to buy yet another book about the global financial crisis, but as many people cited it, I guess I should just give it a try, this Adam Tooze's big book (around 700 pages long). Verdict? It's not bad, it brings a lot of interesting details. But it can go too detailed to the point of boring. If Tooze aimed for just the right amount of pages, instead of dwelling too much on nittie gritties, I would no doubt recommend this book. | ||||||||||||||||||||
50 | 49 | Ankō Itosu | Feldmann, Thomas | 2021 | Non-fiction | So pivotal his role is in the history of karate, Ankō Itosu is almost a mythical figure. The subtitle of this book, therefore is apt: The Man. The Master. The Myth. (For the sake of completeness, I should add, it has a sub-subtitle: Biography of a Legend). This is an important work. Karatekas should thank Thomas Feldmann for writing it. We can feel the agony of the painstaking data and information collection he has done. The book could have been better written. Feldmann, perhaps in his quest to provide the most detailed and evidence-based stories, tends to go too, well, detailed, to the point of boring. Some myths and folklores are told repeatedly for corroboration purpose, but you can't escape the feel of redundancies. But agin, this is a great contribution to the karate world. The lineage chart at the end is excellent. I could trace at least two of my own paths of lineage down from Itosu: via McCarthy and the Nagamines. | ||||||||||||||||||||
51 | 50 | The Lantern Boats | Morris-Suzuki, Tessa | 2021 | Fiction | Professor Morris-Suzuki worked just next to my temporary office in Coombs Building, before we moved again due to renovation. I had not known her very well, except later from occasional chats in the hallway or in the office kitchen. She's humble and friendly. I learned later on that she's a top historian of Japan, Korea, and China. I was surprised when I spotted this novel in Asia Bookstore, a novel under her name. As I finished reading it, my admiration to Tessa adds even more. The novel is a sad story about espionage, love, and betrayal in the post-war Japan. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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