Tag Archives: Book Review

BOOKS: “Color” by Countee Cullen

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Color (AmazonClassics Edition)Color by Countee Cullen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Available on Project Gutenberg

This excellent collection of lyric poetry is by one of the greats of the Harlem Rennaissance. The poems include a range of forms and sizes from single quatrain epitaphs to poems of several pages, with those in between (including a number of sonnets) being most common. Like Dickinson, Cullen had a fondness for common meter (a.k.a. hymn meter,) and it is prevalent throughout. The topics include serious matters, such as race and death, but there is no lack of whimsicality within these pages.

The book is divided into four sections: “Color,” “Epitaphs,” “For Love’s Sake,” and “Varia.” The first is the most serious of tone. (Interestingly, the epitaphs and other poems on death often take a lighthearted, even humorous, tone.)

I’d highly recommend this collection for poetry readers. It’s fun to read, and the poems are skillfully crafted.

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BOOKS: “The Penguin Book of Indian Ghost Stories” ed. by Ruskin Bond

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Penguin Book of Indian Ghost StoriesPenguin Book of Indian Ghost Stories by Ruskin Bond
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Website

This is an anthology of stories of the supernatural set in India or built around characters and contexts of India. About half of the stories are by writers of non-Indian ancestry, though some were born or lived extensively in India (e.g. Rudyard Kipling and C.A. Kincaid.) Not all of the pieces are “ghost stories” in a technical sense, but they all revolve around the supernatural or surreal experience.

I enjoyed all the stories in this collection, but among my favorites were: “The Brown Hand” by Arthur Conan Doyle; “The Strange Ride of the Morrowbie Jukes” by Rudyard Kipling; “The Fire-Jogi” by A.C. Renny; “Fritz” by Satyajit Ray; “Anath Babu’s Terror” by Satyajit Ray; “The Yellow-Legged Man” by Sudhir Thapliyal, and “Topaz” by Ruskin Bond.

If you enjoy scary stories, I’d highly recommend this book.

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BOOKS: “Translation: A Very Short Introduction” by Matthew Reynolds

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Translation: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)Translation: A Very Short Introduction by Matthew Reynolds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Site

Language translation is one of those tasks that people take for granted is a straightforward endeavor — especially in the current era in which computers are starting to do a decent job of it. It turns out that translation isn’t at all straightforward, and a number of tradeoffs must be addressed through the act of translating — e.g. should one try to convey the original author’s meaning as closely as possible or should one make the writing as approachable and comprehensible to the readership as possible? This might seem like a false dichotomy, but because languages never map perfectly to each other and reflect differing worldviews, there is always some degree of trade-off necessary.

Reynolds addresses not only cases from literature, but also shows the role that translation (and mistranslation) can play in the legal, political, and business domains as well. I found this book to be interesting and useful in providing food-for-thought on the subject. It is particularly illuminating in its discussion of how translation is changing in an era of AI, and how profound an effect this will have on our future. (e.g. People worry about the death of languages with small followings, but if automated translation becomes cheap and ubiquitous, will the pressure to focus one’s efforts on one of the world’s major languages remain?)

If you are interested in issues of language translation, this is a fine book with which to begin one’s exploration.

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BOOKS: “Moonwalking with Einstein” by Joshua Foer

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Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering EverythingMoonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Author’s Book Site

This fascinating work of immersion journalism offers insight into the human memory at its best (and worst,) and throughout the book one follows the author’s experience in preparing for and competing in the American and World Memory Championships. A central theme of the book is how humanity’s attitudes toward (and approach to) memory have changed over time. The tactics that allow competitive mnemonists to perform astounding feats of memorization were well-known in the ancient world and Middle Ages but began becoming less practiced from the dawn of the printing press, becoming almost unheard of by the general population in this, the internet age. Questions such as whether education’s shunning of memorization is, indeed, a sound move are explored. (The mnemonists argue that memorization is done poorly by our educational system, but — if it was done correctly — it would offer tremendous value.)

I found this book to be quite compelling. Foer pulls no punches when presenting individuals who are (or appear to be) charlatans — though in a way that is fair and doesn’t deny things are not always straightforward. (Most of the mnemonists he talks to are clear that they do not have particularly good memories but rather are well-practiced in a set of techniques — e.g. the “memory palace” — that allow even mediocre memories to memorize stacks of cards, chains of random numbers, or even poems at lightening speeds.) Hence the author, with no such background, can learn the skills well enough to be competitive in the US national competition after practicing about a year.

The author speaks to semi-celebrities such as Kim Peek (whom Dustin Hoffman’s character in “Rain Man” is very loosely based upon,) and self-help guru Tony Buzan. But he also interviews a man who has no long-term memory (except from his childhood) and speaks to experts in optimal human performance.

I’d highly recommend this book. It is intensely readable. The stories are riveting and sometimes humorous and the throughline of Foer’s preparation and competition just add icing to the cake.

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BOOKS: “Sweet Hunter” by Teresa of Avila; Trans. by Dana Delibovi

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Sweet Hunter: The Complete Poems of St. Teresa of Ávila (Bilingual Edition)Sweet Hunter: The Complete Poems of St. Teresa of Ávila by St. Teresa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher Website

This is a bilingual collection of the poems of Teresa of Avila, one of history’s most influential Christian mystics, newly translated by Dana Delibovi. The collection contains about thirty poems, some ecstatic and some philosophic, in both English the original Spanish.

The book also offers an overall introduction and commentaries on each of the five sections by which the poems are grouped. This provides the reader, particularly a neophyte to the history and theology that inform these poems — such as myself — with background useful to better experiencing the poems. I do enjoy bilingual editions even when they are in a source language that I don’t read because they do allow some insight into rhyme, metering, and other considerations of sound. One can observe to what degree the translator emulates form, even if one remains ignorant of the degree to which meaning is captured.

I enjoyed this collection. If you are interested in the poetry of Christian mystics, I’d recommend you give it a read.

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BOOKS: “American Vampire, Vol. 3” by Scott Snyder

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American Vampire, Vol. 3American Vampire, Vol. 3 by Scott Snyder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher site

The third volume of the American Vampire series advances the story into the 1940’s — World War II to be precise. The book contains two distinct storylines, both involving missions behind enemy lines. The first, “Strange Frontier,” is set in the Pacific theater and centers on the character of Henry Preston (the non-vampire husband of benevolent American Vampire, Pearl Jones.) In it, Preston is assigned to an elite fighting squad dispatched to investigate an island that turns out to be infested with a new strain of vampire.

The second story, “Survival of the Fittest,” takes vampiric vampire-hunter Felicia Book as its lead as she is dispatched (in partnership with agent “Cash” McCogan) to Nazi-occupied Romania to investigate claims of a “mad” scientist’s vampire-related research, only to find herself in a completely unexpected and daunting scenario.

I’m enjoying this series. The stories are satisfying and well-crafted, and the books somehow manage to not be just another set of vampire stories. Moving through time allows the stories to be self-contained while making it possible to continue with ever fresh material. (A tactic that works owing to the long lifespans of vampires.) The books also use genre mixing brilliantly, be it detective noir or — in the case of this volume — the war story. Snyder has breathed new life into the vampire story, and I’d highly recommend this series for comic book readers.

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BOOKS: “The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma” Translation by Red Pine

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The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma (English and Chinese Edition)The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma by Bodhidharma
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Site

Bodhidharma was a Buddhist Monk who is credited with bringing an approach to Buddhism to China that would become Zen. This book presents four of his surviving lectures in their entirety: “Outline of Practice,” “Bloodstream Sermon,” “Wake-up Sermon,” and “Breakthrough Sermon.” It is a bilingual edition, featuring Traditional Chinese script juxtaposed with the English translation.

Bodhidharma was an intriguing and important character in the history of Buddhism, so much so that a legend has grown up around him that is in all likelihood substantially false. The most well-known element of the legend is that he taught monks the martial art that became Shaolin Kung Fu. (Historians refute the likelihood of this because there was no evidence of it in the documentation in the centuries immediately after Bodhidharma’s death. The story came along much later and caught on like gangbusters, so much so that it is routinely repeated today as if established fact. For elaboration, see Meir Shahar’s “The Shaolin Monastery.”) There is simply not a lot known about Bodhidharma (or even the extent which there was a Bodhidharma,) and what is known is not without controversy. Popular accounts put his homeland in Tamil Nadu, India, but dissenting accounts put it as far away as Persia (Iran.)

The reason I mention all this is because some potential readers may expect a kind of fabled story, full of kung fu and magic, and — in point of fact — these teachings offer a clear and straightforward approach to the practice of Buddhism. I’d highly recommend the book for readers interested in Buddhism, Zen, and meditational practices – generally. It is a clear and thought-provoking work. But, if you’re expecting a thrilling recitation of legend and woo-woo, this isn’t it.

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BOOKS: “Harlem Shadows” by Claude McKay

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Harlem Shadows (AmazonClassics Edition)Harlem Shadows by Claude McKay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Project Gutenberg

This 1922 poetry collection is wide-ranging and beautifully composed. As the title hints, this is a product of that great literary and artistic movement known as the Harlem Renaissance.

The seventy-plus poems include sonnets and various other forms of poems, mostly lyric and rarely more than a couple pages in length. Besides being varied in form, they poems are also diverse of tone — from frank invectives on race to sweet love poems. They take New York as their home and tap into the verve of the day. The collection includes many of McKay’s best-known poems including: “If We Must Die,” “America,” and “Harlem Shadows.” Though bucolic beauties such as “Spring in New Hampshire” and “The Snow-Fairy” are not to be skipped over.

I enjoyed these poems and found them powerful and lyrical.

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BOOKS: “Mythos: The Illustrated Edition” by Stephen Fry

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Mythos: The Illustrated Edition: The Illustrated Edition (Stephen Fry's Greek Myths)Mythos: The Illustrated Edition: The Illustrated Edition by Stephen Fry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site

This book offers a humorous telling of many stories from Greek Mythology. One gets the well-known tales such as Prometheus, Sisyphus, and Pandora, but also the myths involving a number of lesser-known characters: god, demi-god, and mortal. As these myths are being told, there is also a substantial amount of nonfiction information presented by footnotes and such — e.g. how later authors (Shakespeare, for example) presented these myths or tales built upon them, how the myths inform popular culture and language to this day, and how Greek and Roman mythology related.

The art is nice, though I can’t say that it added much to the reading experience for me, personally. The art is done in a consistent style throughout and is colorful and visually interesting, though I couldn’t say much else about it in an intelligent fashion. It somewhat reminded me of William Blake’s art and somewhat of Soviet posters.

I enjoyed this book. It is light-hearted and even humorous without detracting from the tone of the myth and is a highly readable way to learn more about Greek Mythology.

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BOOKS: “Thirty-Six Stratagems” by Sun Bin [or Anonymous]

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Thirty-Six Stratagems: Bilingual Edition, English and Chinese 三十六計: The Art of War Companion, Chinese Strategy Classic, Includes PinyinThirty-Six Stratagems: Bilingual Edition, English and Chinese 三十六計: The Art of War Companion, Chinese Strategy Classic, Includes Pinyin by Sun Bin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a collection of idioms on strategy with brief explanatory commentaries on each. The idioms, themselves, are thought-provoking and worth studying, but the book is problematic in a couple of regards. First, some of the work seems to either be plagiarized or has been plagiarized. Let me explain that accusation, because the actual thirty-six stratagems are clearly in the public domain, dating to the Sixth Century AD. However, while checking out the Wikipedia site to learn more about the author (incidentally, attribution of this work to Sun Bin is not accepted by consensus,) I discovered that the whole English translation of commentaries is verbatim the same as in Wikipedia. (Wikipedia has a tag on the article that it may contain original research and solicits further information.) I further noticed that the commentaries aren’t straight translations of the original Chinese text, but rather are reformulations written to be understandable to a present-day reader of English with no particular insight to Classical Chinese culture and history (which they are.) I can’t say whose work it is or whether it isn’t a misunderstanding that would be cleared up with additional information, but my point is that I wouldn’t recommend forking over any money to the publisher without knowing that the actual work (not the copy / pasting, but the intellectual work) either belongs to them or is in the public domain. Especially, given that it’s freely available on the internet.

That brings me to a second problem, a problem that is clearly on the publisher. There is a very limited sense in which this is a bilingual edition. Yes, the idioms themselves are presented in Chinese characters with pinyin as promised, but the commentary is wholly in English. The idioms, themselves, are largely Chengyu and other forms of Chinese idiom (so 4 characters, give or take, are all that is in Chinese for each.) So, if you’re purchasing this book to work on learning to read Chinese, it’s of limited benefit, and you’ll have to go elsewhere to get the Chinese commentary.

There is an appendix that explains a little about Classical Chinese. I can’t say whether this is original work or exists elsewhere on the internet. I can say that it also isn’t presented in a bilingual fashion either, excepting a few characters for some of the vocabulary. The appendix does have some interesting information.

My recommendation to readers would be not to buy this text when you can read both the Chinese and the exact English translation on Wikipedia for free. My recommendation to the publisher would be, if the commentaries are their original work, to put in a complaint to Wikipedia to pull it as copyright infringement. (And if they were the ones who lifted the text, to stop it already.)

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