david mitchell - cloud atlas

cloud atlas || david mitchell || 5.0/5.0 stars

i absolutely loved this book. so much, that i'll just leave you with a quote from the new york times, and a few of the quotes from the book that i wrote down as favorites.

from the new york times review on the back of the book:

So let it be said that Mitchell is, clearly, a genius. He writes as though at the helm of some perpetual dream machine, can evidently do anything, and his ambition is written in magma across this novel's every page.

granted, that leaves out the reviewer's reasonable complaints about some aspects of the book, but i think is a good description of the author overall.

some of my favorite quotes:

1. i knew not the answer, nor whence flew the surety of my younger years.
2. yet what is any ocean but a multitude of drops?
3. a half-finished book is a half-finished love affiar.
4. fantasy. lunacy. all revolutions are, until they happen, and then they are historical inevitabilities.

maybe i'm just a sucker for well-written prose. the six stories in the book cover six very different styles and command of the english language. i loved them all.

alan jackson - let it be christmas

do they know they've ruined christmas?

this time of year, its pretty easy to keep me happy. i'd consider myself pre-wired for holiday spirit and christmastime joy. one thing, however, has the power to throw me off into an uncontrollable rage:



how does this song continue to parade around as a feel-good anthem to the world? these lyrics are ridiculous and offensive, and really throw me off my good-mood game:

do they know its christmastime at all?
yes! they [being those suffering from the late-1980's famine in ethiopia and eritrea] aren't stupid, they are hungry.

well, there won't be snow in africa this christmas...
no kidding! the parts of africa that do receive snow are in the southern hemisphere. what does this have to do with anything? no snow = no christmas? i think i miss the point here.

the greatest gift they'll get this year is life
the greatest gift we all will get this year is life.

thank god that it's them and not you
WHAT?! no, i don't think i'll be thanking god for famine anywhere. what is going on with this song?


i understand the origin of the song lies in a good intention. my point is that is wasn't articulated very well. the lyrics reveals some disturbing truths to how americans approach global relief, and i think its high time this song loses its place in the holiday song rotation.

feed the world? of course we should. but not because it's christmas.

erik larson - thunderstruck

thunderstruck || erik larson || 4.0/5.0 stars

great book! the book (which is non-fiction) intertwines the story of wireless telegraphy's inception and a good-ol' murder mystery. the history of wireless was really interesting - just to imagine what it would have felt like to be alive during such a daring change in technology is really intriguing. larson does a great job of capturing the wonder and disbelief of the time.

the murder mystery is likewise quite interesting - though because the details were never discovered, a lot of the crime remains unresolved. the two are connected because the arrest of the murderer was the first public demonstration of wireless' capabilities. the chase was onboard a trans-atlantic ship, and the details of the guilty's daily life were transmitted far and wide to great public interest. (sounds very familiar to the 21st century, eh?)

a nice read. can't wait to pick up devil in the white city, larsen's big success.

the future of aids

a recent study in the medical journal the lancet has been making some national news outlets for its finding that prevalence of aids could be drastically reduced in just five years, and reduced to below 1% within 50 years. its quite a shocking claim, and unfortunately rather unrealistic. the study uses mathematical modeling to determine what could be done, if only we could get past the poverty, corruption, and misinformation that serve to keep the virus strong.

still, its an exciting realization that the control of this inconceivably damning virus is within reach. and its a bright spot on an otherwise dreary topic of research. if only we as a collective humanity could summon the collective will to tackle it.

its world aids day. read up.

U2 - one

today is the twentieth world aids day. love bono.

john bingham and jenny hadfield - running for mortals

running for mortals || john bingham & jenny hadfield || 3.5/5.0 stars

i've decided to try my luck with a second marathon, and picked this book up while looking for a training schedule book at the library. i was hoping for an overview to training, nutrition, etc - all the things that i probably should have a solid grasp on by now, but don't.

the book is definitely catered to the first-time athlete. most of the focus is put on motivation and confidence-building. i found the details i was looking for a bit skimpy, and generally felt that i wasn't the person for whom they were writing.

the writing is super-easy to read (maybe a bit too simple, but perhaps that adds to the confidence boost they're attempting). i read it really quickly, in just a few settings. i'd certainly recommend it to anyone just starting to run (or maybe just considering taking the first step). if you already jog or run, though, skip this one and try something else.