Even though I’ve only read a few works of Russian literature (mostly the most well-known of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky’s novels), I thought The Possessed sounded interesting and that I might learn a little about Russian literature. What I didn’t expect was to be so entertained throughout this account of Batuman’s gradute years studying Russian literature.… Read More The Possessed by Elif Batuman
Today, I went for counselling. Five words, but they were hard to put into action, even after writing about how I was feeling defeated despite practising mental healthcare. I had this bull-headed idea that because I had “finished” counselling last year, I shouldn’t need more. Which, of course, is a ridiculous statement – if I… Read More Mental Health Update (aka Get More Help If You Need It)
This book intrigued me the moment I saw it. I’m not a huge self-help fan, but I have defended the genre before (link to Dayre post, although I might have to republish that here since Dayre is going to be gated soon). So I was interested in seeing what this book, where someone actually tries… Read More Practically Perfect in Every Way by Jennifer Niesslein
I got this book while attending a course on the teacher as a mentor for my Church’s Sunday School. The speaker there made a good point that kids nowadays can get any information they want from the internet; what they really need is to have someone they trust who can guide them. In this way,… Read More Spiritual Mentoring by Keith R. Anderson & Randy D. Reese
For a post that’s going to be mainly pictures, this took a long time to be posted. I first saw this book at the Popular Book Fair last year and knew I had to buy it immediately. The premise of the book is simple: quotes from Roald Dahl. Given that Roald Dahl was a huge… Read More How Not to Be a Twit and Other Wisdom from Roald Dahl
Like everyone else, I’ve taken the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator a couple of times. However, I have noticed that my indicator has changed every time I take it – I’ve always thought that the results depend on my mood at the moment, but reading this has made me realise that my way of thinking is different… Read More The Personality Brokers by Merve Emre
I may have finished The Tale of Genji, but there’s still so much about Heian Japan for me to explore. One of them is The Gossamer Years, the diary of the Heian noblewoman. This woman was connected to both Sei Shonagon (author of The Pillow Book) and Murasaki Shikibu (author of The Tale of Genji)… Read More The Gossamer Years by Michitsuna no Haha, Translated by Edward Seidensticker
If you have email updates for this blog, you probably got a deluge of updates – I’m so sorry about that! I decided to move most of the archives about my time in Japan over here too. I’ve realised that those five and a half years were an important time for me and I’d like… Read More Blog Archives – Update in Progress
I first heard about this book from Nicole’s (Tea for Me Please) review and it intrigued me so much that I went to Book Depository to place an order ASAP. I have seen Virginia’s blogposts when searching for information on tea pairings, so I wonder why I never thought to order her book earlier. Three… Read More Three Basic Teas and How to Enjoy Them by Virginia Utermohlen Lovelace, MD
Normally, I just read articles about social media. Sometimes, I share them with my friends. But after seeing an article in the local paper that echoed another one I saw, and now I have opinions. The topics are all somewhat connected, so I thought I’d just put it all in one post. Instagram & Homes… Read More When Instagram and Offline Spaces Interact
