Synopsis: A Chinese family flees war and conflict in Vietnam and Cambodia for the Western suburbs of Melbourne. A young girl grows up Asian in Australia.
My Take: I had a typically ‘old Australia’ childhood in country Queensland. Cricket, football, fishing, “Australia All Over” with Macca on a Sunday morning. It was great fun, but it [...]
Entries from July 12th, 2009
"Unpolished Gem", Alice Pung
July 12th, 2009 · 2 Comments · Asian, Australian, Non-Fiction
Tags:Alice Pung
"The Undercover Economist", Tim Harford
July 11th, 2009 · No Comments · Economics, English, Non-Fiction, Policy
Synopsis: The economics correspondent for the Financial Times writes a pop economics textbook illustrating economic principles in accessible and engaging examples.
My Take: Should be required reading for all high-school students. Clearly articulated, widely accessible and practically illustrated explanations of the fundamentals of economics.
Highlight: A great chapter highlighting the benefits of sweatshops as a transitional industry [...]
Tags:Tim Harford
“Lush Life”, Richard Price
July 10th, 2009 · No Comments · American, Fiction, Trash, Under-Rated
Synopsis: An aspiring writer and practising bartender is shot dead in a mugging gone wrong on the streets of Manhattan’s Lower East Side. It’s written by a screen-writer for The Wire – what more do you need to know?
My Take: I hadn’t even heard of Richard Price when a friend recommended “Lush Life” to [...]
Tags:Richard Price
“Make Gentle The Life of This World: The Vision of Robert F. Kennedy”, Maxwell Taylor Kennedy
July 9th, 2009 · 1 Comment · American, History, Non-Fiction, Politics, Quotes, The Kennedys
Synopsis: A collection of the words that Robert Kennedy used to move others, and the words of others that moved Robert Kennedy.
My Take: Compiled by RFK’s ninth child (!), “Make Gentle The Life of This World” is a delicious combination of extracts from Robert Kennedy’s own speeches and a selection of passages from a daybook [...]
"The Tiger That Isn't", Michael Blastland and Andrew Dillnot
July 8th, 2009 · No Comments · Economics, Non-Fiction, Policy
Synopsis: Two stats geeks methodically unpick common statistical misrepresentations while giving readers a tool kit to allow them to test statistical claims that they come across themselves.
My Take: “The Tiger That Isn’t” really should be compulsory reading for anyone involved in public policy – advisers, politicians, activists and in particular, journalists. In their capacity as [...]
"Scoop", Evelyn Waugh
July 7th, 2009 · No Comments · English, Fiction, Literature, Politics
Synopsis: A case of mistaken identity results in the pastoralist nature writer for the London tabloid, The Daily Beast, being sent as a foreign correspondent to cover a brewing Communist insurrection in the fictional African state of Ishmaelia. Satire that makes ‘Frontline’ look like a loving homage to the media.
My Take: Bitchiness like this can [...]
Tags:Evelyn Waugh
"Super Crunchers: How Anything Can Be Predicted", Ian Ayres
July 6th, 2009 · No Comments · American, Economics, ICT, Non-Fiction, Policy
Synopsis: Technological advances that dramatically reduce the costs of collecting and storing data combined with vast increases in computer processing power has made data driven decision making both more powerful and more feasible.
My Take: Ian Ayres is a great advocate. Perhaps the reason for this is that he divides his time and expertise between the [...]
Tags:Ian Ayres
"Digging to America", Anne Tyler
July 5th, 2009 · No Comments · American, Fiction, Trash
Synopsis: Two Korean babies are adopted by American families with different approaches to ethnicity.
My Take: I only picked this one up because I thought the little Asian girl on the cover of the Australian edition was cute – and yes, you can judge a book by it’s cover. A totally lightweight book targeted at stay [...]
Tags:Anne Tyler
"Less Than Zero", Bret Easton Ellis
July 4th, 2009 · 1 Comment · American, Fiction, Literature, Nihilist
Synopsis: Privileged LA teen returns to the West Coast on holiday from his East Coast University. The protagonist attempts to confront the emotional emptiness of his casually amoral life the only was he knows how – through sex, drugs and pointless consumption.
My Take: In my first year at university I went through a [...]
Tags:Bret Easton Ellis