This is a book I picked up in a used book section in Depok, a small suburb of Jakarta. I was amazed to find, upon leafing through it, that it covers a lot of the same issues I cover in my undergraduate Public Speaking course. What’s more, since it is written for the average businessperson — it was, indeed, an Alternate Selection of the Executive Program, says the dustjacket — it’s basically at an appropriate reading level for my English Language & Culture major students, as well as many of the non-majors who seem to want to take the class. …
Tag: books read 2010
The Cleanest Race by B.R. Myers
I include the title of this book here for record-keeping only. I am writing a review of the book for The Kyoto Journal, so I will not be posting a review here. I will, however, note that it is quite an interesting book, and despite its shortcomings, I do think it’s worth your while to read it if you would like to know more about the mythic components of the North Korean ideology. Once it sees print, I’ll announce it here.
Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap
(Still working on my review of Ian McDonald’s Cyberabad Days, so instead of rush-posting it before I’m happy with it, I’m posting this review.) I am writing this review without access to the Internet, so I may not have a chance to search for links before posting it. However, since I have a little free time, I am eager to write up this book while it is fresh in my mind. I’ll keep my review simple: this book is a fascinating, deft exploration of Thailand from the inside, by a young writer who I envy like mad. Lapcharoensap’s writing is …
Thailand: A Short History (2nd Edition) by David K. Wyatt
History is not just a procession of Great Men, kings and generals and high priests. We all know this, we insist upon it. Yet it is difficult to tell the story of history without discussing these figures, not only because we know so much more about them than we do about the commoners for so much of history, but also because of the degree to which their decisions, agendas, and problems influenced, shaped, and determined the lives of those around them. When we want to know something of a particular historical period, history becomes a Shakespearean play, complete with clowns, …
Can’t Get No by Rick Veitch
Warning: if you’re one of those people who hates spoilers, and you haven’t read this comic, then I don’t know what to tell you. Seek out a spoiler-free review, I guess, or read it. I don’t give away the whole store, but I do discuss the plot somewhat, as I need to do to say anything coherent about this book. This is one of those comics where I could just say, “I’m not sure I understood what this was about,” because I want to avoid the fact that I sort of understood, but had problems with the book, and yet …