Some Remarks on The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

In 2001 when The Corrections was published it was regarded as the most important book of the 21st century. Some of it was due to the timing of the release of the book, the book was in stores on September 1, 2001, just before 9/11 tragedy. The Correction became an instant hit because people were able to relate to the characters as well as the themes; ranging from depression, anxiety and redemption in relationships. It also won the National Book Award and was finalist for Pulitzer Prize. The book shows how even a small occasion can be powerful enough to bring back families who have been distant for so long.
The Corrections have characters that you’ll love and hate(hate not because they are badly written but because you don’t like their behavior) but at the end you’ll think about these characters for a very long time.
Jonathan Franzen has many great characters in his arsenal, he has shown these throughout his career and I hope this will be the case in the future. Like other Franzen books this one also has some weird sex scenes and relationships that you’ll frown upon.
This book is important today because the world is going through so many ups and down, we need something that may remind that all is not lost even when we’ve been deprived of hope, and fiction has the ability to show what is possible.
I would request everyone to read the book and think about it, discuss it, enjoy it and the most important learn from it.

A Ghastly Comedy

He was drinking to the name of the dead. Even though Burrow was not that old to be feeling like the way he was. He was sitting at the bar drinking an “awful” drink, according to him. The bartender was a big guy with beard the color of orange with his giant head, his shirt you usually wear on the beach. The music was blasting, air damped, no one talking to anyone, this was the time of the day when bars feel more like right after funeral than a place for not so insane people with heavy drinking problem go, to talk to no one in particular and be left in solidarity. The bartender was joined by his companion, a woman in her thirties it seemed, she was going for the full goth look which wasn’t helping much to complement her appearance. Burrows thought “why is that the most dreadful, most ugly looking people are given the job to bartend at this time of the day”. “Do you want another drink mister?”, the woman bartender asked.
“Sure, why not?”
The person sitting next to Burrow was a middle aged male, “Do you come here often?”, the man asked with a bit of hesitation in his voice.
“Not this time of the day, but yeah, I do.”, Burrow replied.
“This is my first time here, or I must say my first time in this part of the town”.
“Good for you.”
“What are you drinking?", the man asked.
“Look, I don’t  want to be rude, but I came here so that I don’t have to talk to anyone, so please.”
“Life’s been rough on you, I guess. I’ll leave you alone now”, the man said in a deep sympathetic voice.
“Thank you”
Burrow’s mind was starting to play tricks on him, he started seeing nimbuses around people’s head, color of bright green, orange and purple, the sound of music piercing his eardrums, the ground beneath his feet feeling uneven.
“I should get some fresh air", Burrow thought.
He stepped outside, decided to cross the the road unaware of the vehicles smoothing on the busy road, lights glazing, he was two step into his voyage when he felt someone pulled him with his hands.
He stared in the eyes like amber, hair flowing like a river.
“Are you blind?”, asked the person.
Burrow woke up at the sound of the alarm.

Red Rising by Pierce Brown: Review

As a personal preference, I try to avoid describing any book in terms of “this book is like X set in the world of X”. I’m trying to restraint myself but bear with me; Red rising is like Hunger games set on Mars. Like any Sci-fi book set on another planet Red Rising has ships and battles and all the typical Sci-fi gizmos. Putting these things aside, I really enjoyed the book, the plot has a breeze about it, all the characters are well developed, the emotional aspects of why you should care about the story is very relatable.

Red Rising is unique but it does not diverge away from the genre, it has the some genre clichés, in the same time it showcases the way of society we are already familiar with, but has its own ingredients put into it.

The story is of a boy named Darrow, a member of the Red. The society has been divided into color based social hierarchies, at the top of the hierarchy are Golds, they rule over all the classes beneath them. Darrow being a member of Red live beneath the surface of mars, Red are working class whose main job is to mine Helium-3 for terraforming the planet.
Darrow and his wife EO are arrested in a forbidden area. EO is whipped in public for her crime, she sings a forbidden folk song to protest against enslavement, she is subsequently hanged on the order of Mars’ ArchGovernor Nero au Augustus. What follows is Darrow’s seek of vengeance, his physical transformation to a Gold; to infiltrate the higher society to bring them down from within.

The journey from here is exciting, dramatic and emotional as he fights for his place in the institution. This is the first book in the trilogy so can get a grand tour in the world.

Pierce Brown has a very thorough knowledge of Roman mythology and how societies are transformed based on different ideas, it can be seen in the way book portrays these parts. Morality and ethical issues are explored through characters in the book; the book also shows how your decision can affect societies, friends and families.

I enjoyed and learned a lot from this book and would recommed to anyone looking for a fast paced Sci-fi book with brilliant characterization and world building.

Top 10 Non-Fiction Books I Read in 2019

Non-fiction books have been a big part of life, they are the reasons of my development throughout the years whether its personal or professional. I like the books that challenge me, books that can shape or morph my thinking about the world, ideas I haven’t even considered existed. This is a list of top ten books that affected me the most in the year 2019. Keep me mind that the position doesn’t reflect me liking one book more than the other.

10. How Not to Die by Micheal Greger
If you’re like me, who want to stay healthy and fit. If you care about what you eat and how you can avoid certain diseases, this is a must read. The author has done a phenomenal job in doing research for the book. The book is divided in  two parts, the teaches you about common diseases and what causes them and how to avoid, the second part is more about the what food you should eat, with Micheal Greger’s personal checklist about his preferences about using those foods.

9. Narconomics: How to Run a Drug Cartel by Tom Wainwright
This is the most fun I had reading a book. This is a book about How does a budding cartel boss succeed (and survive) in the 300 billion illegal drug business? You will be taken to a journey in the business of drugs and cartels, how they make profit and what is the process of supplying drug all over the world. The book also show the economic side of this business.

8. Principles : Life and Work by Ray Dalio
Ray Dalio, one of the world’s most successful investors and entrepreneurs, shares the unconventional principles that he’s developed, refined, and used over the past forty years to create unique results in both life and business—and which any person or organization can adopt to help achieve their goals.

7. Letters to A Young Contrarian by Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens has written a book for the young men and women to today and tomorrow exploring the entire range of “contrary positions”—from noble dissident to gratuitous nag—Hitchens introduces the next generation to the minds and the misfits who influenced him, invoking such mentors as Emile Zola, Rosa Parks, and George Orwell.

6. Free Will by Sam Harris
Sam Harris is one of the most intelligent and influential people alive. His views on society, terrorism, religion and free will has touched almost everyone. In this book about free will, Sam Harris tell us that the free will is an illusion and that this truth about the human mind does not undermine morality or diminish the importance of social and political freedom, but it can and should change the way we think about some of the most important questions in life.

5. Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain was life changing for me, before I read that book I couldn’t ever dream of pursuing cooking as a hobby, after that I cook something almost everyday. A lot has changed since Kitchen Confidential. For the subculture of chefs and cooks, for the restaurant business as a whole—and for Anthony Bourdain. Medium Raw explores those changes, taking the reader back and forth—from the author’s bad old days—to the present.

4. The Moral Landscape by Sam Harris
Bringing a fresh perspective to age-old questions of right and wrong and good and evil, Harris demonstrates that we already know enough about the human brain and its relationship to events in the world to say that there are right and wrong answers to the most pressing questions of human life. Using his expertise in philosophy and neuroscience, along with his experience on the front lines of our “culture wars,” Harris delivers a game-changing book about the future of science and about the real basis of human cooperation.

3. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
What makes life worth living in the face of death? What do you do when the future, no longer a ladder toward your goals in life, flattens out into a perpetual present? What does it mean to have a child, to nurture a new life as another fades away? These are some of the questions Kalanithi wrestles with in this profoundly moving, exquisitely observed memoir.

2. The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant
In this illuminating and thoughtful book, Will and Ariel Durant have succeeded in distilling for the reader the accumulated store of knowledge and experience from their four decades of work on the ten monumental volumes of “The Story of Civilization.” The result is a survey of human history, full of dazzling insights into the nature of human experience, the evolution of civilization, the culture of man.

1. The Moral Animal by Robert Wright
Are men literally born to cheat? Does monogamy actually serve women's interests? These are among the questions that have made The Moral Animal one of the most provocative science books in recent years. Wright unveils the genetic strategies behind everything from our sexual preferences to our office politics—as well as their implications for our moral codes and public policies.

Time of Contempt : The Witcher Book 2

After watching The Witcher show on Netflix I decided to give another go at the The Witcher book series. I’ve already read the first book in the series Blood of elves. I’m a surprised how well the series is becoming something grand. The relationship between the Witcher “Geralt of Rivia”, Ciri and Yennefer has become more complicated. Specially between Geralt and Yennefer, on one hand it seems like the feeling is all but love but on the other it also feels like part of a deception
The book starts from where the last one ended. Ciri and Yennefer have left Ellander and are traveling to Gors Valen, Yennefer has decide that the best place for Ciri is the Aretuza school of magic. They ultimately end up on Thanedd island in a dire situation. Yennfer take Geralt as a date to the reception of mage on the island. Geralt is approached by an individual known as Vilgefortz. Vilgefortz wants to make a pact with Geralt and asks him to choosing a side also advising him to become a mage. Geralt refuses. After the reception Geralt stumbles upon an ongoing coup lead by the sorceress Philippa Eilhart.  Dijkstra, head spy of Vizimir, the King of Redania captures Geralt but Geralt was able to escape from him. Geralt faces Vilgefortz and gets wounded pretty badly. I think this is enough to convince you to read the book.
Time of contempt reads like a breeze. The diologue part really stands out, the book also has some very impressive fighting scenes. The fighting scenes are fast and not very descriptive as to bore you with the details. Don’t take me wrong these scenes feels more mature than some of the fighting scenes from other fantasy book which have the tendency to bore you with the details for too long.
If you enjoy impressive writing with great plot and a world which might be already familiar to you if you have read previous books, this will be worth your time.

Top 10 Fiction Books I Read in 2019

2019 has been very productive year, at least in terms of reading. I managed to finish 51 books both fictions and non-fictions. This is a list of top 10 fiction books that I enjoyed the most both in terms of writing and prose. There will be another list with non-fiction book sometime in the future. Reading fictions has always been very rewarding whether it’s the message the author is trying to convey or the ability to be fully immersed and be lost in a new world.

10. Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Set on Mars this Sci-fi book deals with caste, power and struggle for survival.  The novel is set around Darrow, a member of the lower caste known as Red. Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute to become member of the highest class Gold to bring justice for his fellow Reds.

9. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Set in the days of civilization’s collapse,  Station Eleven tells the story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity.
If you like post apocalyptic settings and want some really impressive writing, this is the book.

8. The God Engines by John Scalzi
Captain Ean Tephe is a man of faith, whose allegiance to his lord and to his ship is uncontested. He is given a  sacred mission to a hidden land. Tephe knows from the start that his mission will be a test of his skill as a leader of men and as a devout follower of his god. It’s what he doesn’t know that matters: to what ends his faith and his ship will ultimately be put — and that the tests he will face will come not only from his god and the Bishopry Militant, but from another, more malevolent source entirely….

7. Kraken by China Mieville
A dark urban fantasy thriller from one of the all-time masters of the genre.
Deep in the research wing of the Natural History Museum is a prize specimen, something that comes along much less often than once in a lifetime: a perfect, and perfectly preserved, giant squid. But what does it mean when the creature suddenly and impossibly disappears? This is everything China Mieville, weird, witty with phenomenal writing.

6. The Name of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Considered one of the best book the fantasy genre has to offer. Here’s something from the back of the book : ‘I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.
My name is Kvothe.
You may have heard of me’

5. Annihilation By Jeff Vandermeer
Area X has been cut off from the rest of the world for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; the second expedition ended in mass suicide, the third in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another. The members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within weeks, all had died of cancer. In Annihilation, the first volume of Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy, we join the twelfth expedition.

4. Black Leopard Red Wold by Marlon James
Drawing from African history and mythology and his own rich imagination, Marlon James has written an adventure that’s also an ambitious, involving read. Defying categorization and full of unforgettable characters, Black Leopard, Red Wolf explores the fundamentals of truths, the limits of power, the excesses of ambition, and our need to understand them all. One of the best works of writing I have ever read.

3. This Census Taker by China Mieville
This Census Taker is the poignant and uncanny new novella from award-winning and bestselling author China Miéville. After witnessing a profoundly traumatic event, a boy is left alone in a remote house on a hilltop with his increasingly deranged parent. When a stranger knocks on his door, the boy senses that his days of isolation are over—but by what authority does this man keep the meticulous records he carries? Is he the boy’s friend? His enemy? Or something altogether other? By the end of first page you’ll be amazed how good China Mieville is.

2. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
This gripping, semiautobiographical work captures the harsh realities of war and the pain of lovers caught in its inexorable sweep. Ernest Hemingway famously said that he rewrote his ending to *A Farewell to Arms* thirty-nine times to get the words right.

1. Bleeding Edge by Thomas Pynchon
Thomas Pynchon brings us to New York in the early days of the internet. With occasional excursions into the DeepWeb and out to Long Island, Thomas Pynchon, channeling his inner Jewish mother, brings us a historical romance of New York in the early days of the internet, not that distant in calendar time but galactically remote from where we’ve journeyed to since. Read my full review of Bleeding Edge here.

Bleeding Edge by Thomas Pynchon: Book Review

New York, 9/11, Billionaire, Programmers, Hackers, CIA, Private Investigators, what do you get when you combine all these things together; a fast paced carefully articulated novel by one of the greatest writers of all time. Yes, I’m talking about Bleeding edge by Thomas Pynchon. The books revolves around Maxine Tarnow a mother and fraud investigator who takes on a job which will take her to a path of unprecedented risks and doubts. The company in question is Hashslingrz, a computer security firm run by Gabriel Ice. The story just unfolds from here introducing new characters in almost every second page. With the addition of new characters comes new mysteries to the story it either changes or alters everyones perception of what is going on.
On thing that stands out is the Pynchon’s care for his characters, he writes as if they are his friends and family members. Building great characters in a novel is one thing but taking care of your characters is one of things that make a good novel to a great one. The book is mostly of telling you of a story rather that showing you scenes with heavy description that is one the reasons why the book is not too long but also has incomparable plot.
Even though there are topics like 9/11 and murders Pynchon still manages to put in some humor and puns. When you read the book it will feel like Pynchon is reading in your mind because only few people has range in language like the author. This book is sharp, witty and symphonic.