read: 斗破苍穹

Took me a few months of intensive reading to finish this series but it was so addictive I stopped reading everything else. I guess it's the typical story of a hero, who through many coincidences, obtain heroic powers. But it's his hard work and not talent that makes him more endearing. He also meets an amazing number of gorgeous girls along the way, which is a bit odd but kind of helps the story along. Will recommend.

read: sapiens

A simple to read but long story of humans evolution, questioning what have we actually achieved for ourselves other than more diseases and longer working hours.

There was a section on pursuing happiness, culminating in the Buddhist belief that it's the pursuit of happy feelings that makes one's life perpetually unhappy.

It ends with a scary picture of a future where we slave for machines/ AI who control the world, a world that they can no longer explain to us, like how we cannot explain how wall street works to a monkey

long time gone by Charlie donlea

Easy to read thriller with plenty of action

A little unnecessary with the detailed write ups of the heroine's cross fit obsession but otherwise good relaxing read.

read: don't believe it by Charlie Donlea

Story of an investigative journalist who writes a documentary to uncover the potential innocence of a person in jail.

She uncovers evidence to prove the innocence but at the same time uncovers the real murderer. The plot twist was interesting. Ends with a sort of cliffhanger I suppose.

read: Holly

When I got to Chapter 2 it was perplexing given that it seemed I jumped to another story. But loved the build up with each of the murder and how Holly unraveled the threads.

This is not a supernatural horror story unlike many of Stephen King's. But of a natural evil that exists in humans, greedy, in this case, for life.

It references to another story which I'm now drawn to read.

read: if you like it darker

I enjoyed Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream because of the way it panned out and what that said about human nature and the creepy cop who's obsessed with numbers. 

I found the Dreamers somewhat Lovecraftian.

I actually quite like the Turbulent Expert, felt like an interesting concept with a tidy end where he found a successor. 

read: the anxious generation

Makes me very self-conscious for working for a social media firm.

Totally agree that kids these days are overprotected in the real world but underprotected in the virtual. should not be brainwashed by social media. And not just kids but also adults.

Interesting the different effect on boys and girls. Girls being more driven to be integrated in a community hence the obsession with social media and boys being more driven to build agency or competency hence obsession with gaming.

Doesn't feel like things will change soon so we are stuck with a generation of people who are highly anxious, overprotected and unable to function in the social world as we know it today.

read: 太白星金有点烦

I love the irony of the office politics in the celestial setting and some of the common office headaches: reimbursements, writing reports, bureaucracy, backstabbing.

1. One action but split into 4 reports to write as though you completed 4 projects

2. Reimbursement is late according to policy but it's ok cos it's a P00 project from above

3. Vague instructions from management due to not wanting to be explicit in interfering with the politics

4. Nepotism: only works if you have a backing

But I thought it was really sweet he puts in some principles. How the monk left his body to pursue the real decoding, how thr God left part of his soul to reincarnate and experience life, how there's real collaboration and sentiments between the guanyin and him. 

read: funny story

Feel good story about two people who got together because their exes dumped them. And better still, their exes didn't end up together.