Reading with Binh

  -         I personally consider “Sense and Sensibility”, the first novel by Jane Austen, superior to her second one, “Pride and Prejudice”. It depicts very truthfully the temperament, and consequently, behavior and actions of different personalities. It features two heroines who are both likeable and sympathetic. I compared my foolish younger self with Marianne, who acted by im pulse and by listening to her heart and not her head. I wish I had been more like Elinor or had someone sensible like Elinor by my side back then - would’ve had saved my heart from being broken so many times.   -          In my humble opinion, “Pride and Prejudice” is vastly overrated – it was just one of those romance novels of the time that people read for fun. Why people now consider it classic literature is beyond me. Elizabeth Bennet surely can serve as a model for feminists – so ahead of her time was her thinking and...

  -         Beautiful, lyrical prose, very close to classical literature. Delicate way of storytelling, sometimes just hinting and not telling straight, which I found very appealing and left me earning for more.   -          The characters felt very real, comprising both of merits and faults - “50 shades of grey”, as they say, never black and white. However, in my opinion, the characters of Circe’s twin brother and sister - Pasiphae and Perses - are underdeveloped, especially Perses. Circe and Perses almost had no interactions, apart from when they were little.   -         The transformation of Circe from a meek and vulnerable nymph to a confident, powerful and resilient witch was convincing and satisfying. Empowered by her spells, she finally learnt how to stand against the hostile forces to protect what was precious to her.     - ...

  -         Amusing stories from the author’s childhood, depicting his efforts to learn about earning money from “the rich dad”.   -          Some sound thoughts concerning the lack of financial education in traditional schools, assets and liabilities, passive income…   -          The author made a common mistake of constant repetition and page filling, rendering the book less valuable than it should have been.   -          I am bothered by his ideas of undermining education and profession in general, at the same time emphasizing the power of money. If his allegedly “rich dad” dropped school and then got rich, doesn’t mean it was the fine example for other kids to do the same. If I had to choose, I would rather have a conversation with an educated but poor person than with a rich person, but uneduc...

  1/ “Flowery” and complicated prose, I had to consult dictionary quite often while reading it (but I liked it!).   2/ The author raised many philosophical and existential questions through dialogs and musings of the characters, questions definitely worth pondering on.   3/ I learned many historical and religious facts, so, for me personally, reading the novel was a very illuminating and brain stimulating experience. Now I know how religion - Christianity, in particular - managed to plunge the western world into the long-lasting Dark Ages.   4/ Comprehensive character building, expressive through their actions and speech. Especially brother William, very intriguing persona. His speech, manners and logical deductions all point to a highly intelligent man. I especially like his sense of humor and satire.   5/ Those who seek thrills, mistaken this novel for an ordinary “whodunnit” set in Medieval times, will be disappointed, because The Name of the ...

        -         The author, Omid Malekan, tried to explain the terms and concepts of Blockchain in simplest forms, and he succeed! Even for a “noob” like me, the book did not present confusion and frustration, despite its quite complex subject matter. On the contrary, the experience was quite engaging and entertaining, one can even say – illuminating! Before reading the book, I had very vague ideas about blockchain; after reading the book, my understanding of the blockchain, its history and prospects, improves considerably. As of now, I’m pretty convinced that blockchain technology is the future, and it will affect our daily lives greatly, just as AI will.   -          I especially like the fun facts and trivia, stories related to the blockchain that the author included. Some were very amusing, as was the story of a guy who bought a pizza way back then with 10.000 Bitcoins. He must have cried his eyes...

1/ The beginning was strewn with technicality that did not appeal to me, so I was losing interest a bit, but persisted in reading it until the end [I do not leave any book half-read in principle]. 2/ The language, characters’ outfits and the gadgets seem a little outdated. 3/ Overall, the book will please male readers much more than female, I guess, due to the subject matter and all those weird male protagonists and their equally weird conversations. 4/ I still give it 4/5, as I consider Philip K. Dick’s writing of high quality, and the plot twists are nicely integrated.