[331] The Aeneid – Virgil

” We are fighting a misguided war, fellow-citizens, against unconquerable heroes and the sons of gods. Battle does not weary them, and even in defeat they cannot take their hands from the sword. ” [Book 11, Lines 306-309] The Aeneid is so much more readable than The Iliad and The Odyssey. Whether it was the [...]

Highlights of Best Books 2010

Let’s take a look at other best books of the year lists. I only highlight fiction and literature titles. NPR personalities pick one book from the past year that stood out as a favorite. Freedom: A Novel Jonathan Franzen A Visit from the Goon Squad Jennifer Egan Innocent Scott Turow ‘People Are Talking…About These Books’ [...]

The Twelve Books of 2010

Sticky Post. Since it’s irrelevant (and almost unfair) to compare books from different genres (i.e. a mystery with many twists and turns that entertains vs. a literary fiction that is redolent of its beautiful writing), I decide to rid of the ambivalent notion of “best books” and “top 10 books” and instead turn to the [...]

[330] The Imperfectionists – Tom Rachman

” Most of the paper’s employees have worked here for years . . . All these years, they have vilified the paper, but now it’s threatening to quit them, they’re desperately in love with it again. ” [261] The Imperfectionists, with its brilliant and astute writing, is a conglomeration of stories so finely wrought that [...]

Bangkok

When my friend dropped me off at Beijing’s Capital International Airport yesterday, it was 15F outside. I was in my snowman outfit. No sooner had I checked in did I shred all the warm layers and change to summer clothes–I was bound for Bangkok, for the umpteenth time. About 6 hours later, including a brief [...]

[329] The Likeness – Tana French

” But this girl—On her side is a bad, bad place to be. Her housemates were on her side all the way, and if Mackey’s right, she was selling the lot of them down the river, not a bother on her. Her fella over in America was on her side, he loved her, and look [...]

Antiques Flea Market

If there is one reason to brave the cold (11F/-9C today) on the streets of Beijing, Panjiayuan Antiques Market is it. Trading mostly in antiques, handicrafts, ornaments, and other collectibles by people representing minorities of China (Hui, Man, Miao, Dong, Uigur, Mongolian, Korean, and other ethnic groups), this bazaar is just a quick cab ride [...]

Secret Meeting

I woke up to a draft seeping in through the tiny gap of the sliding door that communicates with the balcony. Cold air aloft but sunny. I’ve started off the day, coldest one since I arrived, temperature dipping down to the teens, with home-made pork porridge thanks to my friend’s housemaid. Then I’m on my [...]

Above Forbidden City

That Starbucks have gone global has been a fact. In Asia coffee connoisseur-wanna-bes revere Starbucks as if it’s the way to approach espresso artistry. Go figure. However ubiquitous and infiltrated Starbucks is, I’m not prepared to see the sight of Starbucks housed in a Chinese Qing-style building. It’s hideous, almost blasphemous. I spotted Starbucks within [...]

[328] Insignificant Others – Stephen McCauley

” When I learned that Conrad, my partner of eight years, was seeing someone on the side, I wasn’t completely surprised. A couple of years earlier, I’d noticed that the word ‘monogamy’ had fallen out of our vocabulary, and I assumed he had as many reasons for no longer using it as I did. Even [...]