Books are a luxury these days. The only reading I've been doing is on my computer. Technical datasheets, Request for Comments, TR-069/TR-098, PDF copies of the Linux Journal, Linux Man-pages, Wikipedia, news websites, blogs, the list goes on.
When was the last time I actually read a book from start to finish? I cannot remember the number of books I've picked up from the library only to return them, having only read as much as BEFORE I checked them out.
Besides Unix Network Programming, DHTML and CSS, TCP/IP Illustrated, Python Cookbook, Singapore Street Directory (*gasp* does that count???), what REAL books have I read? I'd better write them down now than to struggle to remember them when my memory starts failing.
Most recently in 2005, I remember reading 3 out of 4 installments of Dan Brown over a few months. The daVinci Code, Angels and Demons, Digital Fortress. Particularly, I started daVinci Code during the outgoing flight on a business trip to the US, read it through my jet-lagged induced insomnia in the hotel, and finished it on the flight back a week later.
In
2004 2003, a (former) colleague recommended Ayn Rand's
Atlas Shrugged, saying I would be able to identify myself with the book. I feel very flattered that he thought this way. Atlas Shrugged, with it's classic question "Who is John Galt?", was one of the hardest books I've ever read. I would bring it to the office and read it everywhere.
The book cover shows Atlas (a Greek Titan made by Zeus to hold up the sky after losing a battle with the Olympians) buckling under the weight of the huge book title. What would happen if people of ability - or Atlas - went on strike? The result is tantamount to the sky falling down! And the world as we knew it would end! I shudder at the thought of such a possibility.
Here I am with Atlas at Rockerfella Center in New York in July 2007. Thank goodness he's still holding up. :)I bought two copies of the book in total - I left the first one in the elevator or something and I could not find it since. When someone asked me which character I liked most in the book, I could not readily answer. Now I have realized that I really like Eddie Willers. He is the epitomization of the common man who makes an effort.
I do not claim to be John Galt, Hank Rearden, or Francisco d'Anconia - I am not worthy, yet. I am Eddie Willers - I TRY.
To see why I really like the book, why my friend thought why I would really like it, why I feel that it really captures the mindsets of most people in the world, even up till today, read the following excerpt:
"I'll count to three," she said. "Then I'll shoot."
"Wait! Wait! I haven't said yes or no!" he cried, cringing tighter against the door, as if immobility of mind and body were his best protection.
All around me, I see people with this mentality, especially at work. If you can understand the above, and appreciate what it means, then we can be best friends or even soul mates, really. If you also enjoy this book, please get in touch with me. Managed to influence other friends to read the book, and I am very happy that they did.
To illustrate how impressed I am with the book and its ideas, (I have updated this portion of this entry close to ten times, but that's just the beginning) I have two computers at home - the
laptop is called JohnGalt (aiding my creativity, engineering, and productivity) and the Linux server desktop is called Dagny (always reliable, never whines, never letting me down, plus she looks
sexy to boot).
I encourage you to read this book too. I could never find it in the library, but you should be able to get a copy at one of the many used bookshops in Singapore. I bought mine from San Bookshop at Suntec. You can try Sunny Bookstore in Far East Plaza too.
Oh, and did you know, former United States Federal Reserve chairman
Alan Greenspan is a Randian?!
Update: A film adaptation of Atlas Shrugged has been scheduled for 2008 (finally after years of delays). Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt will be starring! Both Pitt and Jolie are Rand fans as well, can you believe it? (If only all Dagny Taggarts in the world looked like Jolie!!) Check out the reports at
AmericanHeritage and
variety.com.
Besides technical material, I've had an affinity for detective thrillers (推理小说) because of the logical reasoning element involved. But of course, often when I read books with the intention of trying to guess
whodunit, I fail miserably because the author never reveals enough to let you deduce the twists in the stories.
I forgot when I became a fan of John Grisham - I read
A Time to Kill - it reminds me of the same racial themes in
To Kill A Mockingbird which I had read in secondary school. I cannot recall what I read about the book by now.
I have Sherlock Holmes among the other detective novels I have read, or are in my possession.
During my later years in primary school, I had a fabulous gift from my aunt and uncle - something that my parents could never afford for me - The Charlie Brown Children's Encyclopedia. You would be wondering what kind of freak reads ENCYCLOPEDIAS!!! Yep, I was that freak. I was freaking engrossed with the series then. I can't remember right now, but within a year, I had polished off all 15 volumes of the encyclopedia. They make for really, really good reading! With all this knowledge, I managed to ace all my science tests and was able to answer secondary school geography test questions that I have never studied for!
Another manifestation of my freakish behavior came in the form of me bringing along a pocket dictionary everywhere I went. My dad bought me "The Little Collins Dictionary" on August 14, 1986, 2 days before my 10th birthday. (I remember this because it is still on my shelf, and I just opened the cover to see that I have written the date of purchase on the first page!) I looked up every word I saw that I was unfamiliar with. Such was the thirst of learning. I also made a goal of reading a few pages of the dictionary each day, but regrettably, that did not last very long.
I started reading the
Lone Wolf series of game books in primary school on the recommendation of my cousin, and I got hooked ever since. Over the years as soon as a new copy was released, I would open my kitty, carry $5.50 in coins to my favorite hangout Times the Bookshop in Specialist Center to buy the book. All from my own saved pocket money (50 cents a day).
I finished the last few books up to the 20th and last book in the GrandMaster series "The Curse of Naar" during my army days when I was hospitalized for a week at NUH due to
tonsillitis. By then I was a already an invincible GrandMaster - breezing through all the combat situations without even needing to pick from the RNT (Random Number Table). I also had more gold coins, potions and weapons than I could ever use. :)
I still have all 20 volumes lined up orderly on my bookshelf!
There is now a Lone Wolf revival movement, and Joe Dever, the author of the Lone Wolf series, has agreed to open-source his works under
Project Aon!
I owe my writing proficiency in English to reading Lone Wolf books. I was still in Primary Three, and my english composition scores were barely passable, like 23, 24 out of 40. After reading these, my scores increased significantly to 33, 34 and even 35! Ironically, I felt that I have reached a plateau after that, and my english proficiency never really progressed from my primary three level. :-) (Does this entry look like it's written by a primary three student?)
Lone Wolf, obviously, were not the first books that I started reading. Like many other children of my time, I started on Enid Blyton, moving on to Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew (*gasp*). Reading these books were sort of fun, but they were not really useful in improving English proficiency. The whole school was practically reading these, and I didn't see them (nor myself) getting anywhere. I guess, maybe, that my limited maturity at this point (I was only 7 or 8 years old at that time) didn't allow me to really learn from the books.
I'll stop here and post this entry. If you are in my generation, I hope you will find it memorable, if not interesting. Next time, I hope to write about my trials and tribulations of learning the Chinese language, and my experience with an old game that has recently returned to popularity: the
Rubik's cube.
