http://www.goodreads.com/user/updates_rss/73783 en-US Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:58:18 -0700 60 http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 35439032 Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:58:18 -0700 Review30439473 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30439473 The Brain That Changes Itself (Paperback) by Norman Doidge
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> 33340252 Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:57:11 -0700 Review28821637 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/28821637 to: The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable (Paperback) by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
bookshelves: japan_jul07-present, other
Awesome--

With a distinct blend of statistical and psychological data, philosophical rumination, personal anecdotes, and wry humor cast in the essay form, Nassim Nicholas Taleb's book makes a highly entertaining and educational read. Let me also add that NNT is relentlessly erudite, dropping big names in various fields left and right and yet manages to be original in his argument and presentation.

His ideas about the scalability of certain professions and one's exposure to the Black Swan are really not hard to understand; the hard part is to be conscious of our cognitive biases and actually implementing changes in our lives to expose ourselves maximally to the positive Black Swan.

The book is a fascinating exploration of uncertainty and how we should, given irreducible uncertainty, act in our lives. It's a real book of philosophy where it has something practical to teach us, unlike myriad philosophy books that haggle over minuscule, purely academic details signifying nothing.

Practical, playful, profound, erudite, it's highly recommended for anyone who wants to know more about the world around them and make better decisions. ]]> 34508933 Sat, 09 Aug 2008 17:49:03 -0700 Review28705936 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/28705936 Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (Paperback) by David Foster Wallace
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> 33193121 Sat, 09 Aug 2008 04:41:22 -0700 Review28706771 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/28706771 to: For the Relief of Unbearable Urges: Stories (Paperback) by Nathan Englander
bookshelves: contemporary, japan_jul07-present
Solid collection--

Nathan Englander's stories remind me of Schulz, Gogol, and Chabon with his unique, somewhat surreal and simple style concerned with Jewish customs and tradition.

I wasn't a fan of some of the stories especially the last one that reads like an autobiography, but for the most part, the collection lives up to high standards. My personal favorites in ascending order are "The Twenty-seventh Man" - a story about an unknown writer getting round up with famous writers and executed - "The Wig" - a story about a wig maker who gets the most beautiful hair at the cost of her business and becomes the center of attention for a day - and the Kafkaesque "The Gilgul of Park Avenue" - a story of a WASP who, one day in the backseat of a cab, becomes convinced that he is a Jew.

All of the stories are concerned with Jewish lives and have sad endings. It was interesting to read about a world I'm not familiar with, and Nathan Englander does a good job making the characters come out alive and engaging the reader.

Overall, a good, enjoyable collection. ]]> 33705933 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 23:35:33 -0700 Comment1394983 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/313046 Amanda's review of The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol
by Nikolai V. Gogol

Sorry to be that guy, but it was actually Dostoevsky who said, "We all come out from Gogo's 'Overcoat.'"

Definitely will check out Boyle's story - thanks for sharing!

T


]]> 33681722 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 18:03:40 -0700 Review27924928 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/27924928 to: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print (Paperback) by Renni Browne
bookshelves: japan_jul07-present, reference
Great tips--

As a writer, I winced at every amateur mistake they listed that applied to me. The book tells you how to write a story and edit it so that the reader can identify with the characters and enjoy the story.

It's not catering to the mainstream.

It's about the craft.

Sure, they cite many obscure and minor authors and bash literary giants like Melville et al, but frankly, many of literary giants come to their prominence not because of their story-telling talent, but often because of something else. Who could read, for example, Joyce's Ulysses and lose track of time in the same way you do when reading Harry Potter? And who can read it and understand it without guidance? I, for one, read it with a guidebook and enjoyed it, but decisively NOT in the same way I enjoyed reading The Kite Runner and other less literary reads.

So if some people criticize this book for advocating a dumbing down of your manuscripts, well, it may be true in some respects. But if you're going for the effect and resonance, I think, this is the way to do it.

And if you're telling a story, shouldn't it be exciting, fun, engaging?

Don't get me wrong, though. I love literature and I write literary fiction - whatever that means. But I've come to realize that I need to learn the basics of effective story-telling before creating something truly - in my own definition - "artistic." A story is artistic in my skewed definition, when it tells an engrossing story and tries to do something entirely new using a unique voice and language. It doesn't consist solely in abundant poetic expositions and descriptions; nor does it consist in strafing the reader with difficult words. It's about telling a unique, engaging story in a unique language and style. Experimental writing is totally cool as long as it contributes to the story in one way or another.

After all, it's every writer's duty, so I believe, to deliver something worthwhile for your readers who's taking their precious time reading YOUR story above all the others they could be reading.

So this book is a gold mine of awesome tips in shaping your story effective and engaging. It's something that every fiction writer should learn and incorporate whatever they like. And after that, it's up to the writer to impart their own unique style and voice into it.

]]> 33621517 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 00:19:34 -0700 Review29038459 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29038459 Einstein: His Life and Universe (Audio CD - Narrated by Edward Herrmann) by Walter Isaacson
bookshelves: currently-reading
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