Lukáš Kucharczyk
A very short book with an extremely long-lasting message. My favorite tidbits of knowledge:
There are many circumstances in life in which false encouragement can be very costly to another person (...) [because] it is a kind of theft: it steals time, energy, and motivation a person could put toward some other purpose.
I continue to find that a willingness to be honest – especially about truths that one might be expected to conceal – often leads to much more gratifying exchanges with other human beings.
It seems that in protecting their egos, and interpreting their own behavior as justified, liars tend to deprecate the people they lie to.
Lying is the lifeblood of addiction.
A commitment to telling the truth requires that one pay attention to what the truth is in every moment.
The first part — semi-historically accurate tale of war between the Taira and Minamoto clans in the 12th century Japan — was interesting; however, I liked the second a lot more. It introduced me to John Manjiro, a poor Japanese boy who likes fishing above all and on his journey manages to connect with a different culture and unpredictably ends up playing an important role in the modern Japanese-American relations. On a less positive note, both tales highlight how your own people can sometimes be worse than your “enemies”.
Very suitable as a primer into text analysis that doesn't get bogged down in theory, and actually helps newcomers understand how to apply it to their own needs. Each chapter is equipped with a useful list of checkpoints and the final chapter consists of examples of Nord using her method to analyze text samples of not only English texts. Recommended first reading for anyone wanting to know about the subject.
Even more bizarre than the previous book I read (After Dark). The atmosphere of the stories is as sterile as a hospital room, yet the oddities in each make them somewhat familiar, and they won't let you collapse into boredom because of the stark contrast of the humdrum routines and the outlandish happenings set into them. I can safely say that Murakami's style is something else, something you would be hard pressed to find in other author's books.
The book presents kanji in a number of doable chunks, all complete with readings, meanings, examples and follow-up exercises that will help you ingrain them in your mind. I recommend to combine it with a SRS software like Anki to get the most out of it - there are even premade decks for both volumes!
It contains the most basic facts about Japan, its history, food, culture and even some more or less useful phrases at the back, which you'll probably mispronounce horribly if this is your only experience with the Japanese language. Pretty good if you're starved for time, otherwise look for something more meaty.
Includes what is probably the best time travel story I had the honour to read so far. Logical and coming a full circle in the end, it is a very safistying reading from one of the greatest authors of sci-fi.
