First of all, this is not really review of Matt Alt’s new book Pure Invention: How Japan’s Pop Culture Conquered the World. The book is great, it is a fun romp through Japanese history using the lens of some of its most popular products. Go get it, you will love it. What I want toContinue reading “Pure Invention”
Category Archives: books
What’s your travel philosophy?
I have finally finished Emily Thomas’s short book The Meaning of Travel: Philosophers Abroad. I started this fun little read in the summer on my last trip to Kyoto, and held off on finishing it until I was back here, as I knew I would be coming to think deeply on why I travel (andContinue reading “What’s your travel philosophy?”
A better process for reading, writing, and thinking: zettelkasten
I read a lot. Maybe too much… I am not a particularly fast reader, and I only do about 48 books a year (about 70% of those books in audio). So why do I say that I read “too much”? It is because I can barely remember anything I have read in the past. ToContinue reading “A better process for reading, writing, and thinking: zettelkasten”
The best of 2019
It has been a couple years since I did a year-end roundup of books and film. This year was one of ups (finally travelled to India) and downs (lost my last living grandparent), of self-reflection (learning about leadership, going on retreat again), and of coming to decisions for closing out the decade and kicking offContinue reading “The best of 2019”
Walking and talking — a review of Another Kyoto
Alex Kerr’s latest book Another Kyoto is another take on an old city, but in an old sort of way. Those of us who read a lot of historical work are conditioned to diligently check each footnote and to closely examine the bibliography (silently judging the book, even before we read it). Non-scholars too expectContinue reading “Walking and talking — a review of Another Kyoto”
Trickle-down ethical leadership — a review of The Just King
The Just King: The Tibetan Buddhist Classic on Leading an Ethical Life by Jamgön Mipham Take a moment to think of the good leaders that you have had in your life and/or career. Think of the qualities they possess, the qualities that you admire and might even emulate. I am sure we could come upContinue reading “Trickle-down ethical leadership — a review of The Just King”
Black intellectualism and learning from Asia — a sort of review of The Fire Next Time
James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time (1963) contains two essays. The first, a letter to Baldwin’s teenaged nephew, served as inspiration for Between the World and Me which I extolled not only for the content, but for Ta-Nehisi Coates’ inspirational writing skill. It is like a finger pointing at the moon, and I am gladContinue reading “Black intellectualism and learning from Asia — a sort of review of The Fire Next Time”
Your life-changing books
Here is the concept: what books have changed your life? I am not talking about your favourite books, or comfort food books that you have re-read over and over again (ahem… Harry Potter series), or even books that you recognize are a masterwork (eg Invisible Man or The Handmaid’s Tale) and deserving of praise. IContinue reading “Your life-changing books”
Infliction of Self — a review of The Burnout Society
Byung-Chul Han’s The Burnout Society is a collection of essays reviewing famous thinkers’ (Deleuze, Freud, Arendt, Ehrenberg, et alia) thinking about the ailments of society in an attempt to diagnose what ails now. Each essay builds towards an argument with a number of subtle nuances. At only 72 pages, this is the perfect book-club bookContinue reading “Infliction of Self — a review of The Burnout Society”
Activist Buddhism — a review of A New Buddhist Path
Since the age of 3, I have been interested in other peoples. Apparently that was the age when I toddled up to the television, pointed to the evening news, and stated: “I am going to Tokyo.” All throughout my travels and my education I have pursued some understanding about “how the world works,” about humanContinue reading “Activist Buddhism — a review of A New Buddhist Path”
