Recent readings

So far, I've kept my resolution of reading one book every week. Here's what I recently finished.

The Crazed, from Ha Jin. The story of a university professor in China who ends up in the hospital following a stroke. Two of his students look after him while he is recovering. One of these students, Jian, is also on his way to marry the professor's daughter. But the professor becomes delirious, reliving various parts of his life out loud and some revelations bring Jian to rethink his purpose in life. The story happens in China, weeks before the student protests on Tiananmen square.

On Equilibrium, from John Ralston Saul. I didn't actually finish this book, I'm half way through, but I felt I needed a break before going back. On Equilibrium discusses six human qualities, I've read about the first three, common sense, ethics, and imagination. Lots to think about when reading this book. Saul's definition of common sense is interesting, he calls it shared knowledge. This implies that without our interaction with others, we could not develop common sense...

Red Earth and Pouring Rain, from Vikram Chandra. This is a story about storytelling, Indian gods and customs, wars, traditions, ambitions, transitions, and a white-faced monkey who knows how to type and recalls his previous life. Something about this author's name sounded familiar and I'm quite delighted to have picked up this book.

My next few books will be about financing and shareholder's equity, an Alice Munro's novel, and a guide on preparing for a career in project management. My colleague also lent me Tuesday's with Morrie: And Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lessons, from Mitch Albom. It comes strongly recommended!