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.

read: first lie wins

Indeed fast paced intriguing novel with an improbable but feel good happy ending. Enjoyed it.

Feel good book

About a con artist who infiltrated into a handsome rich guy's life and how she got away from the grasps of those the organization that controlled her and into the perfect life that started as a con

read: all the light we cannot see

Illustrates poignantly the lives of everyday people in World War 2, just people trying to cope with their lives in the best way they can in a war context. From the locksmith who fiercely protects his museum treasure, the blind girl who just wants her papa and lives through the struggles not bravely but because she has no choice, the German officer who searches for the jewel to prolong his life, the white hair orphan who just wanted to escape his fate to be a miner, the war veteran who stepped up to protect his ward, the housemaid who wanted to play her small part in defending her country. 

read: normal people

About not normal people

In a not normal relationship.

A relationship that explores class differences, childhood trauma and teenage peer pressure.

Thoroughly odd on off relationship that lasted decades but didn't really happen at the same time.

A couple who felt like only they know each other but also seemed like they barely knew the other.

read: 长安的荔枝

A fictitious story set in ancient china about a government official tasked to do an impossible task of importing lychee fresh in the heat of summer across a vast distance.

The story explores modern relatable concepts. Doing unreasonable things just cos the big boss says. Big boss has no grasp of the reality setting unreasonable tasks. Middle management not daring to say no and try to delegate the blame away. Affected (positively or negatively) by the politics in the court. Doing things cos of mortgage. Going against your conscience for work. 

read: thinking, fast and slow

We have two cognitive systems, system 1 and 2.

System 1 works easily and automatically

System 2 takes more effort and operates methodically

These systems interact continually.

When walking use System 1 but can also think problems use System 2. If switch to running, System 1 is used more and System 2 is less and harder to think problems 

System 1

1. Seek causes in random events

2. Hindsight bias

3. Loss aversion and endowment effect

4. Anchoring

People who are cognitively busy are more likely to make selfish choices, use sexist language and make superficial judgement

Experience self lives the life and remembering self evaluates these experiences

System 1 intuition in experts. Only works in fields where challenges don't vary greatly, luck doesn't determine success and no gap between action and feedback e.g. stock.

read: the coaching habit

The 7 questions

1. What's on your mind - people project pattern

2. And what else

3. What's the real challenge

4. What do you want

5. How can I help

6. If you're saying yes to this, what are you saying no to

7. What was most useful for you

read: Ball Lightning

Very interesting proposition about macro-electrons. 

I find his stories always have such unbelievable characters. In this case, the girl who was obsessed with weapons, who eventually became a quantum object? Weird physicist who appeared in Three Body who reminded me of a sage.

Fascinating read. And such curious characters.

read: Before the coffee gets cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Easy reading

Touching stories that warm your heart exploring the different relationships, sisters, mother and child, husband and wife

read: The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu

A science fiction writer focusing on emotional themes set up in futuristic (?) worlds

read: extinction by Douglas Preston

Engaging thriller founded on science

Interesting learnings about Neanderthals, who are stronger have bigger brains than us, but somehow got driven to extinction by us.

Feels scary because it feels like such a possible future

read: elon musk by Walter isaacson

A roller coaster ride, dramatic life story that is more volatile than a Korean drama.

I think the question is real:

Would a restrained Musk accomplish as much as a Musk unbound?

He is a hero molded out of flaws.

And to ourselves:

Are we crazy enough to think we can change the world?

Or maybe are we STILL crazy enough, because once upon a time, when we first left school, most of us were.

read: wandering earth

8 short stories related to the future of earth. I enjoy the boldness of his ideas, set on some scientific theories (for some) but all his characters are strangely dehumanized. Without emotions. Cold. Detached. Rational. The author also seemed to be quite nationalistic, criticizing capitalism, putting China as the center of development and so on. 

First story wandering earth has so much potential to develop. But it only covered the journey very briefly and from one generation, I would very much like to see when Earth reached its destination.

Second story mountain has not much relations to mountains. Maybe more poetic in its native language. The alien world is an interesting exploration of the concept of space.

Third story sun of China is indeed nationalistic. The least science focused of all the stories I think. Pleasant and easy to read.

Fourth story on the benefit of mankind had a what I felt irrelevant character development. Nonetheless the extrapolation of a possible socioeconomic future is very interesting.

Fifth story on curse 5.0 was amusing for the cameo by the author. Also not too science focused. Least favorite or memorable story.

Sixth story on the devourer used an aliens perspective to describe the self centredness of humans. The chapter on ants was particularly interesting

Seventh story on taking care of God was slightly bizarre but the idea of grooming a population for future I guess is a comment on parents grooming of the next generation for their retirement but not quite working out.

Eigth and ninth story had some conncetion. Made me wonder if all the stories had some thread tying it through but it didn't. It should have had some thing tying through the first story. I think would have been a much more powerful collection of stories.

Eighteh story was more poignant and beautiful in description but seems a bit random until you read the ninth.

Ninth story explored a few interesting scientific  concepts on cryo sleep, core of the earth and so on. The drama created upon wakening of the father made me think the crime of the son was bigger than what was eventually described which was slightly disappointing.

read: daughter, servant, mistress of the empire

Trilogy by Raymond e feist

Very engaging 

Full of exciting plots and suspense.

Happy ending but not unrealistically everything went well for the heroine.

Full of interesting characters with sufficient time to develop quite a few key characters.

Very enjoyable read.

read: shadow of a dark queen

Not as enjoyable as the other series cos it was war heavy, less on the fantasy. The prequel on the saaurs was interesting but fizzled out and they are just senseless lizard murderers in the rest of the book.

read: the forbidden stars

The axiom were sadly not powerful and not so smart. Even Callie can outwit them. Especially the last part. 

It's nice to have a happy ending.

The technology suggested were pretty cool. Interstellar travel. Nano machines. Gravity generators. Bridge generators. VR immersion and so on. The romance was tacky. The situations somehow far too convenient e.g. the marriage to Michael, the AI generate Ashok.

read: the dreaming stars

The romance is starting to get weird but I guess it's true that you get lonely in deep space. Just not what I want to read about in a science fiction.

The whole treatment for Sébastien is weird. And the solution to win by playing a game. At least they made it realistic by having Callie lose the game.

The overthrow of the ruler and making him stop the terror drones and swarm is also a bit bizarre.

 Reading on to part 3 cos I'm curious about the blue eye.

read: the wrong stars

By Tim Pratt

Interesting hypothesis about the Liars and Axiom. 

The romance between Elena and Callie made it weird and unnatural. But the story of a rescue and unearthing the mystery of the Liar race is dramatic enough to keep you reading.

Would be a very colorful movie.

On to part two cos I'm curious about the Axioms. I feel like they must be some sort of very weak race that is highly intellectual and therefore using brainwashing and technology and slaves to hide their inadequacy.

read: hail mary

Went back to reading science fiction and this enthralled me.

It's the details of the science (that I don't understand) that made it feel real. Anthrophage? Its parasitical conquest across the universe. 

The schoolteacher persona felt unbelievable to make it to space, nor was Rocky the other alien but it was all very entertaining.

Good read!

On to my next science fiction.