Machine of Death: A Collection of Stories about People Who Know How They Will Die by Ryan North My rating: 5 of 5 stars Awesome collection of stories premised on a Machine of Death, which predicts accurately the manner of death using one drop of blood. The drawback – no date no time, just the…
The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food by Jennifer 8 Lee My rating: 4 of 5 stars A delightful read of a journalist’s journey to uncovering the history of Chinese food in America- why the popular things don’t exist in China, and where exactly did the fortune cookie come from. It…
I might have made a silent decision not to blog about work here, but I can’t resist boasting this one time about how I enjoy what I do. See, I get to blog at work, as part of my work. I contribute to our Fiction blog, High Browse Online. The pleasant surprise is how you…
Just a little something I came across at work, taken from the American Library Association. The Reader’s Bill Of Rights Everyone has the right to read. Here’s The Reader’s Bill of Rights to help you make the most of that right: Readers have: The right to not read. The right to skip pages. The right to not…
Image taken from MacWorld.com You must have seen this coming; ever since my first Apple product (an iPod Nano) in late 2009 , I’ve been slowly but steadily Apple-ing myself. Then came my iPhone. Then an iPad. Now, I want an iMac. To be honest, I wanted an iMac before I wanted an iPhone, but…
The Concubine’s Daughter: A Novel by Pai Kit Fai My rating: 2 of 5 stars An epic tale spanning three generations of headstrong women damned to suffer the worst and most bizarre of fates. An Orientalist novel through and through, with requisite themes of foot-binding, human trafficking, prostitution, female homoerotic encounters masquerading as intimate friendship,…
Previously (more than 3 months ago) I mentioned I am planning a post on Why I Read, but I never really got down to writing it. In that 3 months that transpired I was occupied with completing my thesis and job-hunting, and eventually starting work as a librarian. I know, hardly good enough excuses. However, since…
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier My rating: 3 of 5 stars Charming tale of Mary Anning, fossil collector from Lyme Reggis, England. This book talks of her journey from a working class girl to … nothing really changes apart from her becoming slightly richer. It’s not a tale of the emancipation of women, oh no….
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver My rating: 4 of 5 stars A candid, literally down to earth account of moving to the countryside and growing to sustain their dietary requirements – this book chronicles a large step towards growing and consuming without leaving a giant carbon footprint. Also interesting…
A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs My rating: 4 of 5 stars Drastically different from Dry, where Burroughs celebrated his own choices, A Wolf at the Table talks about his unwitting childhood in a dysfunctional family. Those familiar with Running With Scissors, that memoir started with his father already absent. In Wolf, we…
