Journal

So went the dream. Or whatever it was.

Dance Dance Dance was not as enchanting as A Wild Sheep Chase, but is still worth a read. The book is the continuation of the story for the latter and is technically the third (or forth depending on how you are counting) of a series. As expected, it includes all of the major Murakami cliches—but not in tiring amounts.

The real challenge I had with this book was the long middle portion. While Murakami’s books meander—and that’s part of the joy of his writing—this one especially seemed to have distinct settings for the middle and the beginning/end of the book. This made it a bit disjointed for me and the ending felt rushed.

To be honest, much of ability to enjoy Murakami books is situational—I think a reread is in order for this book. Perhaps I’ll enjoy it more in another day or time.

I put this book in the category of books everyone should read. Perhaps I’d even say that this is a book everyone should read multiple times in their life.

How to Love is a short little book of one page advice on relationships, centered on mindfulness and a Zen Buddhist mindset. It’s highly approachable and succinct. It’s the sort of book that wants you to take your time and think about what you’ve read. And to consider how it applies to your life.

I would highly recommend this to anyone who is in a relationship or wants to be in a strong relationship. This is such a great book to read slowly and discuss with your partner. Even if you disagreed, it would lead to a great conversation.

I am suggesting that two centuries of a strong state and liberal economies may have socialized us so that we have largely lost the habits of mutuality and are in danger now of becoming precisely the dangerous predators that Hobbes thought populated the state of nature.

This was a great rambling—while somehow also straightforward—read. It felt like the classic rambling history professor that I personally enjoy greatly. Short little ‘fragments’ of explorations related to anarchism make up the larger book.

The one downside of this books is that the fragments are only somewhat related to one another: there is a lack of glue and clear takeaways.

Nonetheless, the book is though-provoking and a fun read. I do recommend this as a fun starter to begin thinking about these ideas.

[T]he war has destroyed not only human lives but all human values as well. It undermines all government structures and systems of society, destroys the very foundations of democracy, freedom, and all human systems of values. Its shame is not just the shame of the Vietnamese, but of the whole world. The whole family of humankind will share the guilt if they do not help to stop this war.

Vietnam: Lotus in a Sea of Fire is Thich Nhat Hanh’s impassioned plea to the world to consider ways to hasten the end of the Vietnam War. The book is a moderately insightful look into some important historical factors that help the reader to understand the Vietnamese mindset during the war.

I found the book hard to get into; however, the second half was strong and made up for the first half. Especially valuable was learning about the connection between Vietnamese nationalism and Buddhism. The book is valuable from a historical perspective, but not meaningfully insightful outside of that.

But the ever-inflating valuation was blinding for all involved; it was easy to believe that everything was working fine because everyone was getting richer on paper.

The Cult of We is an engaging book that reads like fiction. It’s hard to believe that the We company made it as far as it did with such disfunction.

It’s a snapshot of an era when money was flowing freely and office culture wasn’t burdened with the disruption of covid. The pure number of times tequila is a relevant part of the story is staggering.

The book is well-written and enjoyable to read. Knowing the chapters are short draws you in for one after another.

In a sense, this can be considered a management book—a lesson in what not to do and how not to act.