Author: Jodi Picoult400 pages printed on paperbackPublished by: Washington Square Press PublicationISBN: 978-0-7434-2244-4Copyright: Jodi Picoult, 1996 Mercy is my fourth book from the author Jodi Picoult. I got this book at a used bookstore during a vacation. Not the genre I thought I would spend most of my recent adult…
Category: Books
Growing up, my parents encouraged us to read. There was a time back in high school when I would take the time to read the encyclopedia from end-to-end, especially during the weekends. This was during a time that there were only three to four channels on television. I also consumed “Reader’s Digest”, which I read front to back, and the daily newspaper.
When I got to college, I started reading pocketbooks. I was partial to spy thrillers and science fiction. This was also the period I first wore glasses. I’m sure it is preordained, but I like to think my bad reading posture sped up the process.
So before graduation, I just dropped everything. I worked, went to grad school, and got a little too busy with my social life.
Fast forward to the 2020s and I’ve realized there are too many ways to just sit in front of a screen and not use your brain. Too many ways for those unused gray matters to just wither away. I needed to exercise these. The prevalence of streaming videos and cable does not help. I needed an active way to stimulate the brain, and maybe improve my memory.
Taking up reading, among others, is the obvious path.
I want to share the books I read. And to give my opinion about these books. This blog will help keep me accountable and make sure I do not stop and fall back to just binge-watching.
Books
TREASURE ISLAND
Author: Robert Louise StevensonIllustration by: Louis RheadPaperback Edition 153 pagesISBN: 978-91-7637-241-8Publisher: Wisehouse ClassicsCopyright: 2016-Sweden “Shiver me timbers” “Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!” These are two of the most iconic phrases used by pirates.We also have the image of the one-legged seaman, black sails on pirate ships, and X’s on…
The Politics of Design: A (Not So) Global Design Manual for Visual Communication
By: Ruben Pater192 pages of colored paperbackISBN: 978-90-6349-422-7Published by: BIS Publisher, The Netherlands. “Is this a book on how to design?”. This was my first thought after I picked up this book. And this was almost the same question my daughter had when I handed her the same book many…
DEATH’S END
By Cixin LiuTranslated by Ken LiuBook Jacket/Cover by Stephan Martiniere623 pages printed paperback, 19 pages sneak peek at SUPERNOVA ERAISBN 978-0-7653-8663-2Published by Tor Books Publishing “THE DARK FOREST” is the third and final book of the trilogy “Remembrance of Earth’s Past” by Cixin Liu. It took me longer than expected,…
THE DARK FOREST
By Cixin LiuTranslated by Joel MartinsenBook Jacket/Cover by Stephan Martiniere518 pages printed paperbackISBN 978-0-7653-8669-4Published by Tor Books Publishing “THE DARK FOREST” is the second book of the trilogy The Remembrance of Earth’s Past by Cixin Liu. It took much longer than I expected but, I finally finished reading the book….
Book Genres
I had just finished reading the book “The Three-Body Problem”. I found it to be very imaginative. So why am I not that excited to read the second book, “The Dark Forest”? Ever since I have enjoyed science and science fiction. That got me to thinking back to the books…
THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM
By Cixin LiuTranslated by Ken LiuBook Jacket/Cover by Stephan Martiniere416 pages printed paperbackISBN 978-0-7653-8203-0Published by Tor Books Publishing “THE THREE-BODY PROBLEM” is a Hugo award-winning novel by Cixin Liu. Cixin is China’s best-known science fiction writer. He is also the author of the short story “THE WANDERING EARTH”. The English…
change of heart
By Jodi Picoult590 pages, excluding reading guide paperback edition (2017). Published by Simon and ShusterISBN: 978-1-5011-0243-1 Review and Evaluation I thought “Nineteen Minutes” started slow, but this “change of heart” was even slower for me. You need to get through all the development to begin and understand and appreciate the…
Lateral Thinking: Creativity Step by Step
By Edward de Bono300 page paperback reissued edition (2015). Published by HARPER PERRENIALISBN: 978-0-06-090325-1 I recently visited my parents in the Philippines. The year was 2020, and this was just at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. We were talking in their living room, my Dad pointed out a book…
Developing Story Ideas
Developing Story Ideas: The Power and Purpose of Story Telling 3rd EditionBy Michael Rabiger288 pages printed in paperback. ISBN 978-1-138-95623-0Published by: Focal Press I was drawn to this book by the prospect of learning how to develop story ideas. It seemed like an excellent complement to the book I just…