How to Read A Book

It’s been quite a while since I’ve written reviews on anything at all. I figured that since I’m reading on a rather consistent basis now, I’d start writing some book summaries, so as to keep my mind sharp and to keep the posts coming.

Our journey then, starts with something with a hint of irony. It’s a book to teach you how to read a book. Upon reading it though, rather than being ironical, it becomes very practical because the author urges you to practice with the book itself – from reading the content page to reading the bibliography. Written in simple plain English, the book aims to provide a guideline so that the reader can get their most out of any book, be it for information or for understanding.

As a philosopher and an educator, Adler is brilliant in organizing the levels of reading and communicating the important essences in reading a book intelligently. Adler stimulates reader into asking important questions when reading a book, and how these questions are tweaked when the reader is faced with any genre of book.

Besides understanding how to read a book, the author also encourages reader to be demanding in coming to terms with the author, summarizing to perceive the unity and diversity of the book, owning the books by making small notes and understanding how the book impact our lives. Most of all, it is imperative for a reader to know that one must be active and there is a price to pay in order to understand any book, more so for good books.

If you truly want to get the most out of any book, but you find yourself staring at it, finishing it without truly understanding what it means and what you should do, this is the book for you. It is not a magic pill, but it is a good start.

Lin-sanity

To be honest, when I first saw the video of Lin against Nets with his 25 points, my reaction was – lucky kid. I was quite surprise there was no big hoo-ha over an Asian dude in NBA prior to his Nets win, and was just thinking that it probably was just a fluke streak.

Turns out it was not a fluke streak.

This guy’s the real deal. For four days in a row, I watched the NBA highlights – not because I intentionally visit the NBA site, but because my Facebook was flooded with either Jeremy Lin or Whitney Houston. When the 38 point victory over Lakers came, it struck home. This Chinese dude can play basketball – and he can play it well. A bit ironical as I believe that the icon for basketball pop culture was Slam Dunk, but the guy to actually realize it is Jeremy Lin, not Jeremy Nagasato or something.

Well you can argue that maybe it’s precisely because he’s an Asian, that’s why he’s garnering all the attention he has right now. Just to ground ourselves in reality, the last time someone obtain stats like Jeremy, that ‘someone’ was LeBron James. I’m pretty sure everybody knows who LeBron James is, and I’m pretty sure that everyone knows who Jeremy Lin is right now – they are on the same skill page.

What struck me more was that he’s a devout Christian, not just an average churchgoer, but someone who puts God ahead of his life. In an age like this, ingenious sportsmen and devout Christians stand almost on complete antithetical grounds – just look at the football players. In a way, the temptation is humungous – fame, money, women, fans… it’s like the world at your fingertips. If one is not grounded firmly in truth and faith, one will be drift wood in the tide.

That’s also why I said a prayer for Lin that night I read his story, and I hope to remember this brother in Christ in my prayers all the time. God is the God of basketball. It is in His sweet pleasure that He endows Lin with such skills, and such humility that all glory might be for Him.

Soli Deo Gloria.

God’s Fireworks

I was on the way back from Sydney when I passed this humongous cumulonimbus somewhere in the Indonesian islands.

The scenes of peaceful cirrus far below the wings are much more familiar, but this brings about the thought of God’s grandeur and that the heavens, truly, declare the wonder of our God.