BOOK TAG

I don't read books.

Ha! Chris, Phil, Matt... the madness ends here! I stomped out that silly book-tag meme with a clever lie.

Actually, it required far too much introspection. I felt a need to explain 'why' each book was important to me. That was taking pages and pages of text... for each selection.

So, instead, here's the short-answer version. I may go longer later (and I may give Alan the third part of the Singapore beer bar reviews too... heh, heh, heh.).

Number of books I own: About 1,300 give or take a couple of thousand (ed: the bottom range of that estimate is a 700 book deficit. Please fix that before you go to bed and never, never again, blog after Friday-night beers... and what the hell was that Ostrich post about?!?).

The last book I bought: North Korea: The Paranoid Peninsula by Paul French
< 30 word review: Cheem! Focuses on economics, not missiles. Reason for collapse of economy - read Hayek, you'll figure it out by yourself. (ed: Cheem? WTF? When the hell did you start using Singlish?)

Last Book I Read: The Coming Collapse of China - Gordon Chang
<30 word review: Hyperbolic. Gets the main faultlines. Misses mark on deflation and internet; scores on banks and SOEs. Reason for expected collapse - read Hayek, you'll figure it out by yourself.

The complete works of George Orwell
<30 word review: Inspired me. Did journalism instead of real career as result. Glad I didn't sleep on streets of Paris & London, but seemed like a good idea in my twenties.

The Complete works of P.J. O'Rourke:
<30 word review: Discovered in Korea from "Seoul Brothers" essay. Not PC. Helped wash away seven years of liberal arts education and relativism. Critical, judgmental, opinionated, refreshing.

See no Evil - Isabelle Vincent:
< 32 word review: Was Lat-Am nut as undergrad, loved her coverage. Planned to emulate, ended up in Asia. Met at grad-school lecture - she autographed book. Hung out at pub discussing Sub-commandante Marcos. Hottie. Iconoclast.

Please Kill Me - Legs McNeil;
< 30 word review: Sorry you limey losers - punk was American. Not that the Republicans would ever admit it. Honest, self-critical look at rise and fall of non-movement. Plus, Ramones!

The Tick Omnibus - Ben Edlund
< 2 word review: "Keen!" Read it in late 80s, haven't yet stopped saying "Keen." Obviously it influenced me ... no one else says that.

Passing on the tag to the co-Asiapundits.

Comments

[Chuang Shyue Chou]

I used to read O'Rourke. These days, somehow, he has slipped below my radar. Recently, I saw his new book. I wonder.

Have you read that one?