2013 Book List

A list of books I read in 2013:

1.     Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? by Michael J. Sandel
2.     在柏林走路 by 也斯
3.     A Storm of Swords: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Three by George R.R. Martin
4.     A Feast for Crows: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Four by George R.R. Martin
5.     A Dance with Dragons of Swords: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Five by George R.R. Martin
6.     莫言短篇作品集 by 莫言
7.     Ghetto at the Center of the World: Chungking Mansions, Hong Kong by Gordon Mathews
8.     Inferno: A Novel (Robert Langdon) by Dan Brown
9.     The Cuckoo’s Calling (Cormoran Strike) by Robert Galbraith
10.   I Am The Secret Footballer: Lifting the Lid on the Beautiful Game by Anonymous
11.   And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
12.   The Hunt for Red October (Jack Ryan) by Tom Clancy
13.   Old Souls European Cases of the Reincarnation Type by Stevenson M. D., Ian
14.   Sycamore Row by John Grisham

2012 Book List

A list of books I read in 2012:

1.          中文解毒 by 陳雲

2.          Madness Visible: A Memoir of War by Janine di Giovanni

3.          One Moment, One Morning by Sarah Rayner

4.          Animal Farm by George Orwell

5.          Burmese Days by George Orwell

6.          The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

7.          Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré

8.          Guilt by Ferdinand von Schriach

9.          阪急電車 by 有川浩

10.      Marching Powder by Rusty Young

11.      Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

12.      Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James

13.      Fifty Shades Darker by E. L. James

14.      Fifty Shades Freed by E. L. James

15.      The Man who Broke into Auschwitz by Denis Avey and Rob Broomby

16.      Slammed by Colleen Hoover

17.      Point of Retreat by Colleen Hoover

18.      Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom inthe West by Blaine Harden

19.      Gone Girl: A Novel by Gillian Flynn

20.      Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin

21.      Reason to Breathe by Rebecca Donovan

22.      Barely Breathing by Rebecca Donovan

23.      Chop, Chop by L.N. Cronk

24.      Thoughtless by S. C. Stephens

25.   A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book One by George R.R. Martin

26.   A Clash of Kings: A Song of Ice and Fire: Book Two by George R.R. Martin

27.   Crime by Ferdinand von Schriach

28.   The Collini Case by Ferdinand von Schriach

I find this a good practice. Will keep doing this in 2013. Cheers.

慶祝的理由

就在23周年前一天，地球的另一邊舉行慶祝英女皇登基60周年的大型慶典。

我忽發奇想，想著如果香港還是英國的一份子，將會是個怎樣的光景？我們又會如何慶祝？

從來，香港都是孤兒仔。以前我們尚且可以掹車邊叨米字國的光，現在的香港人，對中國(很多人會稱之為「祖國」，但是我還未說得出口)沒有太大的歸屬感(在每年那個黑色的日子前後更尤其反感)，國慶都不過是多一天假期而已，英國的甚麼甚麼，自從十五年前那個下著滂沱大雨的晚上之後，就已經與我們毫不相干了。

我一直很羨慕其他國家的人興高采烈地歡度自己國家的慶節(例如國慶、國家傳統節日/巡遊、皇室人員大婚、體育選手凱旋回歸等)。在他們臉上，我看到他們對自己國家和民族的優越感。那些守候在泰晤士河畔觀賞巡遊的百萬民眾、在街上舉行派對狂歡的市民，還有聚集在白金漢宮希望一睹女皇風采的人，皆表露出他們對於身為大不列顛子民感到光榮和自豪。

 (圖片來源：Guardian 及 Daily Telegraph)

相反，每當幾萬、十幾萬，以至幾十萬香港人團結起來聚在一起時，都是基於令人遺憾的原因，例如每年那個黑色的日子，又例如每年的七一。純粹為香港/國家的緣故令全城哄動，盡情歡樂的場面，印象中似乎沒有。

明天又是那個一年一度黑色的日子，又到了香港人「出動」的日子。但願某年的這天，我們不須再帶著沈重哀傷的心情參加集會；但願某年的這天，我們再次聚在維園時，是為慶祝堅持民主抗爭的勝利。

至少，給我們一個慶祝的理由。

Football Family

There are much bigger things on a football pitch than rivalry and the game itself.

(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2116638/Fabrice-Muamba-news-Gary-Cahill-reveals-Pray-Muamba-t-shirt.html)

(http://www.inthestands.co.uk/news/real-madrid-wear-t-shirts-in-support-of-fabrice-muamba-eric-abidal.html)

Draw Something II

A bit disappointed with the drawing this time. Proportion is a bit wrong. But nonetheless, a good practice. 

(Burano, 17 March 2012)

 

Draw Something

Butterfly, 16 March 2012

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

How this book is acclaimed to be one of the best spy novels is completely beyond me!

I was really excited to read this book as the movie is coming up soon. Turns out it was such a pain to read and I am so disappointed. The main plot was so simple – a former secret service agent searching for a mole in the service. Yet, there were, in my opinion, so many unnecessary characters, descriptions and sub-plots that diverged my attention and confused the hell out of me.

While I was reading, I kept asking myself if my English was up to understanding this “masterpiece” because I got so lost. I thought it was my problem. But then after reading a lot of reviews on the Internet afterwards, I realised at least I was not alone. Also, once you put the book down, it was so difficult to pick it up again as you would then lost the characters and/or the plot. So it actually took me quite some time to revisit some previous episodes before I could continue once again. Thankfully I read it with my Kindle and could easily make cross-references to the earlier parts of the book. Otherwise, I can imagine it would take so much longer for the process and my suffering would hence be prolonged.

Many a times, I was on the verge of abandoning the book because I thought I would never comprehend everything. But I hate so much to give up on books in the middle I kinda bite my lips and finished it – painstakingly if I might add. Even after I’ve finally completed the whole thing, there were still so many episodes dangling in my mind for they were not concluded / explained properly – loose ends not tied up. It was so irritating when I didn’t understand something, kept dwelling on it and couldn’t move ahead. Other times I just presumed what the author was trying to say only to find myself so wrong in the later pages. Pretty discouraging!

I wish I could like this book but it’s just never to be. Hopefully the movie will be better – I was told the movie presented the whole story in a more comprehensible way.