Banned

Why are books banned? “The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.” Oscar Wilde In the same way, books are banned not because they will corrupt, but because people cannot face the truth of their corruption.

Spoken Words; Read Out Loud

1. What do you think of reading aloud/being read to? Does it bring back memories of your childhood? Your children’s childhood? Bedtime stories had never been part of my childhood memories. My parents, busy as they were working, fixing dinner, and following through our daily heavy load of homework assignment, could never be held responsible [...]

[405] Case Histories – Kate Atkinson

” Sylvia liked wandering the house at night—it was her own secret life that no one else knew about. It made her powerful, as if she could see their secrets too. ” (303) My first venture at Atkinson will not be last, even though it’s just a plain good (not great) read. Case Histories deftly [...]

Echoes of the Rainbow (2010)

Director by: Alex Law Principal cast: Simon Yam, Sandra Ng, Arif Lee, Buzz Cheung Country: Hong Kong, China 118 minutes I am grateful that the SF Film Society has run a screening of Alex Law’s Echoes of the Rainbow 歲月神偷 (2010) this past weekend as a part of the new Hong Kong Cinema program. The [...]

Bound by Obligation

What does it take for you to give up on a book you’re reading? I don’t give up on books usually. I felt that I’d already invested substantial amount of time in it that I might as well keep on reading. Sometimes I’m tempted to abort on the strength of the saying “so many books, [...]

13/30 Day Book Meme: Favorite Author

In which I reflect upon an impossible question for which the answer spans over a range of possibilities. Day 13: Favorite Author This question is so enlightening such that I have reached a shocking conclusion: I don’t have a favorite author, at least not the sense of enjoying the entire oeuvre of an author. I [...]

[404] Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks

” He was in a gallery of ghosts. The souls of all who had died, his friends and their companions; the spirits of the men they had killed, the German bodies that had been hurled upward in the exploding soil above the great mines they had laid: all the needless dead of the long war [...]

Have You Seen Me (with a Book)?

Do you carry books with you when you’re out and about in the world? And, do you ever try to hide the covers? When I was a little boy, my mom would chastised me (jokingly) for being inseparable to a book. That I always carried a book would give her bad luck in mahjong. (In [...]

12/30 Day Book Meme: Diminishing Marginal Satisfaction

In which I reflect upon a book whose appeal has dwindled over time. Day 12: A book you used to love but don’t anymore The question that applies to authors would be easier to answer. So many books fall into this category—books I read and have long forgotten. One book in particular of which the [...]

Spontaneity

How often do you read a book, just because you’re in the mood to read it? (not because you’re obligated to for a book club, or a challenge, or for review) What separates me from most book bloggers and readers is my spontaneous and eclectic reading taste. I have the genres by which I swear [...]