May 03, 2010

I’ve been reading Dilbert…

I would like to chime in on the book, The Dilbert Principle. Written by Scott Adams.

I would love to just say, man is a freaking genius, has wonderful insight on office life and while I don’t want to BE him, I want to BE him. It’s been said to me that if you work in any sort of office, you will love Dilbert. I work in an office. I LOVE DILBERT. It really doesn’t matter what kind of office you work in, the life of working in an office is pretty much the same wherever you go. And if you work in a hip office, don’t worry, it’ll get dull eventually. Those Friday beers in office before happy hour will probably disappear. Happy hour on the company card will probably disappear. However, I never cared too much for Happy Hour. I spend enough time with my coworkers 5 days a week. I don’t need to spend Friday evening with them unless it’s a party. A SERIOUS party…

Back to the book…

I love the chapter on pretending to work. I don’t care if you’re the saint of all office workers, but we’ve ALL done that. Alt-tab exists for reasons. Why do people have those multiple desktop programs? Because we’re pretending we’re working on something important, boss walks away, switch desktop. OH SHIT HE’S BACK, switch. Then when he comes to talk to you about something or review something, you always know he’s examining EVERY window. The less not-work-related shit you have up, the better. What he doesn’t know is that you’re hiding a desktop, am I right?

Not really.

The “How do you know your company is doomed” is definitely one I can seriously relate to. If all were facts, my company is pretty much doomed. You’ll definitely have to (and should) read the book for further information and analysis. I don’t want to give away all the details of the book. It’ll be your worthwhile to read it if you’re looking for a good read and humor.

Mar 31, 2010

Finished reading East of Eden

I started reading this a few months ago but became really busy with work and didn’t get a chance to read as much as I would have liked.

However, this morning, I finished it on my commute to work. How was it? It was great. I’ve read a few John Steinback books back in the day and they always end up to be some big tragedy. I can’t say that this one wasn’t any different but the ending had a twist for a happy ending considering the type of ending that Steinback gave all his other novels.

(more…)

Mar 15, 2010

Amazon.com’s Kindle E-book Reader

I have many hobbies. One of which is reading. I love books and no, not like I like buying books on the Kindle. I only got my Kindle a few days ago. I like the REAL books. The paper. The page turning. The back cover. The actual book.

However, I’m on the road a lot. I live an hour away from where I work and it wasn’t very convenient to carry multiple books while commuting. Let alone, sometimes I don’t want everyone to know what I’m reading today (which I will get into later).

So the Kindle, sold by Amazon, solved those issues. I can read my book with the convenience of not having all the extra weight. I can buy books at a cheaper price. I lose out on turning pages and having an actual book but I gain the convenience of saving trees and having the ability to carry a ton of books on my Kindle.

I love my Kindle. I do. Sometimes the refresh takes a minute but never to a point where it irritates me. Downloading new books via Kindle is pretty easy and has never taken me more than 10-15 seconds to get my new book. You can also purchase books via your computer on Amazon.com.

Did I mention they sell their classics for free?! When I purchased the Kindle, I wasn’t in any rush to get it because my thought was “I just paid 313 bucks for a Kindle (and cover) and I don’t really want to pay MORE to get the books I want to read.” I just happen to be a person that LOVES classics (‘cept the ones I don’t). But it was nice to be able to browse through several classics that I don’t have a book version of.

I did compare this with the Barnes and Nobles Nook. I went to the store to test out the Nook and wasn’t pleased with it’s performance. I just don’t think their navigation was really that intuitive or easy to use. The screen was really really slow and the refresh rate was less than impressive. Maybe it was just because that one I tried was the display but never the less, reading reviews online also confirmed what I saw.

There isn’t really any “trying out” the Kindle except if you count the 30 day return policy. However, I do believe I’m keeping the Kindle. I’m happy. I even spent money on my first book, East of Eden by John Steinback. I have the paperback book of it but decided that if I just spent 300 bucks on the Kindle, I should put it to use ASAP and AMAP (as much as possible).

The only thing that I’m displeased about with the Kindle is the read-aloud feature. The voice is computerized and has no personality and can’t read human expressions like “Hm” and “Ahem” instead they just spell it out. But if you’re going to read a book, read it. If you want an audio book, buy an audiobook version. I guess Kindle is no substitute for audio books.

Feb 04, 2010

Now reading Wicked by Gregory Maguire

I bought Wicked at Borders. I wasn’t going to but word of mouth in the bookstore got to me and I did. I read the prologue before coming back to the office. It was enticing if you were into the whole Wizard of Oz thing when you were a kid. Which I was. In fact, I had played a munchkin in a Wizard of Oz play back in the 3rd or 4th grade.

Wicked is a different take on the toons of Wizard of Oz. Supposedly discusses how does someone become so evil (like the wicked witch of the west) and if they’re really born that way. Or so said the guy in the bookstore while he was talking to a lady who was staring at the book. And yes, I was eavesdropping. The play captures the concept of the book but reading the actual book supposedly really gets into the author’s main ideas.

Jan 19, 2010

The Resurrected Man by Sean Williams

I started reading The Resurrected Man by Sean Williams. I was skeptical but I also got it at a used book store. I sat down over the weekend and started reading. I was surprised when I found myself engrossed in the story and when I went from page 1 to 100 in half hour because a) not really my type of book and b) I was really skeptical about liking it.

However, it earns an A+ in my book so far. :)

Jan 14, 2010

Outlander By Diana Gabaldon

A few weeks ago, I finished reading The Outlanders. It started out slow but picked up pace once the story got going and she actually went back in time. However, after 500 pages of overdone romance and sex and all that, I was getting a bit tired of it. I guess it may be the fact that I’m not one for time-traveling romance. Let alone the justification of the main character for her infidelity. Marriage is marriage. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a different time zone or anything, the vows are “till death do us part” not “till time travel do us part.” Other than that, the book kept me interested enough till the end but I probably won’t be continuing with the series. It probably wouldn’t be as bad if the story didn’t justify her infidelity and if she felt a bit remorseful for cheating rather than saying “Well I may never get back there. I love Frank but Jamie is too hot for me to resist.”

Nov 24, 2009

Progress: The Picture of Dorian Gray

Am definitely enjoying The Picture of Dorian Gray. I read for most of my lunch break and gobbled down the last bits of my soup before coming back to the office. I asked S (coworker) if he’s ever read it and he said he has and enjoyed it. So I think I’ll be enjoying it too. So far, that has been the case.

Steadily consuming 2 chapters a night. Sometimes 3. It’s been a while since I’ve been this into a book… like to the point where I read instead of falling asleep on BART. I find it concise without any lengthy endless descriptions. I like all the dialogs going on and a moderate pace for the story. And the chapters are a reasonable length.

I am also liking that Oscar Wilde doesn’t go off in tangents trying to justify everything. The story is how it is. There is no “Oh let me tell you about this.”

However, with all due respect and no offense intended, it does have.. a homosexual vibe between all the gentlemen in the book even though I have learned that none of the men are actually gay. The little bit I actually read about the author makes this less surprising. I was surprised later in the book to learn that Lord Henry has a wife.

Still a good book, no less.

Nov 23, 2009

The Picture of Dorian Gray

I started reading The Picture of Dorian Gray this morning and I must admit, I love the language that Oscar Wilde uses. The book is very quotable, easy to understand, and if there’s an initial expectation for this book, is to keep the story concise. More and more books I feel are bloated with too many words where it’s becoming dragged on. Here is to the hope that this book is not one of those.

I may post a review when I’m done reading it.

Other books I bought this weekend include
1. Moby Dick
2. The Metamorphosis and Other Stories
3. War and Peace