Reading Life
Find out what’s going on in my reading life.
Book Trail: Just Mercy
Reading is like treasure hunting. Usually, my casual reading materials follow a theme over some time. One book leads to another; one subject prompts questions on a related matter. Maybe I need time to let the thoughts simmer in my head before moving on to other...
2012: Blog Highlights
Year in Review, part 3. Because I read a lot last year, I could write a lot. I had a personal target on the number of blog hits, and thanks to the endorsement of some popular friends, I surpassed that target by a few hundreds. I write to clarify my own thought...
The Nerd That I Am
So Goodreads is telling me I’m behind in my 2012 reading target – 16% behind, to be precise – and I don’t like it one bit. Plus, it’s December already! Since I’m an engineer, I can’t help obsessing about numbers. My target for the year is to read 50 books. I finished...
The Reader’s Resolution
Hi, my name is Josephine, and I’m an obsessive bookworm. About 11 months ago, I wrote about my ridiculous (or maybe not so ridiculous) excursion to Barnes & Nobles in The Reader’s Dilemma, and the ever-so-crucial life decision of choosing between two different...
My Right Brain
“I’m a left-brained girl,” is a phrase I have said often, particularly in reference to poetry. You know, being an engineer and all, I just don’t get poetry. You feed me a poem, and I would have no idea what it’s talking about. But I think there may be some changes to...
If I Lived Then
In the 2006 biopic Amazing Grace, my favorite monologue takes place in a scene where the movie’s hero, William Wilberforce, is compelling an elite class of society to come face to face with the horrid reality of slavery. During a lunch cruise, the luxurious reception...
Bird’s-eye View, Personal Secrets
The Story of Complex People: Part III. Read Part I and Part II. (cont'd) A human being is in a very questionable position to judge another's motives. After all is said and done, at the end of our lives, we only have our own complexity to understand, and perhaps not...
Which Mirror Tells The Truth?
The Story of Complex People: Part II. Read Part I here. Who can tell the truth about a person? An autobiography gives access to someone’s psyche and thought processes, but is there anyone who thinks unfavorably about himself and would put his own life story in...
I’m Complicated, And So Are You
I’m complicated, and so are you. This is the first of a three-part series on the complexity of being human.
A Child of All Nations
Stolen from a book title by my favorite Indonesian author, the late Pramoedya Ananta Toer, the title of this blog post captures the essence of what I consider my life personal statement, to be a child of all nations. I consider the entire world as a classroom and...
The Art of Answering Questions
Or, The Joy of Meeting Fascinating People Recently, I had the awesome privilege of meeting a brilliant educator from Indonesia, who, for me, was the best question-answerer I’ve ever met. He sat on a panel discussion, and the way he answered questions was just so…...
Why iRead: A Reader’s Apology
As if this entry needs to be written. But I feel particularly inspired by the newly publicized collaborative book blog that I started with some special people. So here goes: 1. I like being taken to another world. It's a form of escapism. 2. I like exploring the...