This list is primarily for those who seek recommendations. Reviews of more recently published works may appear as I expand my blog. Give it a spin– these are books I’ve read from the last half-decade (or from my childhood) that stuck with me. Good writing feels sticky and you’ll still be chewing it for a while […]

Have you ever come across a book that made you feel like it took a piece of you with it? The Surrendered was nominated for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction but lost to Jennifer Egan’s A Visit From the Goon Squad. I decided to read the book because, like its author, Chang Rae Lee, my heritage […]

I think Michelle Alexander’s preface for this book needs to be reiterated, especially for those who criticize her book for its premise, not its content to support that argument. Her book is not intended for everyone; it is for people who are aware of and against racial inequality in the United States. This book isn’t […]

I wish that I loved this book. I really really wanted to love this book and have this be best book I’ve read this year, but it oversold its own depth and the result was disastrous. As I read this, I wavered between deep interest and profound annoyance. The story is very penetrative– it delves […]

If not now, then… I am a huge fan of the blog “Wait But Why” and its primary written content contributor published a post last year about ancestry and the remarkable and un-mined histories of generations before us. Feeling compelled while looking back urges us almost as a reflex, to also look forward. What are […]

I went from being excited about this book, to feeling neutral, to feeling hopeful that it might have a good ending, to having to force myself to finish it. I was eager to read this book because I’d found out about Joyce Maynard and wanted to try her, then it was made into a movie […]

The movie adaptation is out. Here are my two cents from the novel, which I finished a year ago. And no, I don’t plan to watch the movie. The best thing about this book is its title. That’s it. With a title that references Julius Caesar, I had high hopes. Yes, I belong to the […]

No matter what I think, write, or do, I always return to the eternal question: How does one life an empty life? A life full of nothing?  Extended post soon to follow. in the mean time, something to ponder…

Because for this generation it seems to be a never-ending battle. This is something that stemmed from the recent news reports on the “Roast Busters” Club– a club founded by teenage boys in New Zealand devoted to gang-raping girls as young as thirteen and shaming them as sluts on social media. The full story is […]

Literally almost every website is plastered with posts regarding the George Zimmerman Trial and its subsequent verdict, announced yesterday. I’ve read a number of interesting articles, a majority of which have not been completely objective in tone. I’ve always believed that news should be as objective as possible, but in a case where issues that […]