Beam Reach / Books

Books Read

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2008

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2007

• Rethinking Thin by Gina Kolata (*****)
• World To Come by Dara Horn (*****)
• The Millionaires by Brad Meltzer (**)
• The Confessions of Max Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer (*****)
• Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin (****)
• Next by Michael Crichton (**)
• The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery (***)
• The Minister's Daughter by Julie Hearn (*)
• Money, A Memoir by Liz Perle (**)
• Lottery by Patricia Wood (****)
• The Broker by John Grisham (*)
• Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (*****)
• Marley & Me by John Grogan (***)
• Arthur & George by Julian Barnes (**)
• The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (***)
• The Second Perimeter by Mike Lawson (*)
• A Painted House by John Grisham (**)
• The Protege by Stephen Frey (*)
• 1776 by David McCullough (*****)
• The Messiah of Morris Avenue by Tony Hendra (****)
• Digital Fortress by Dan Brown (**)
• A Body in the Bath House by Lindsey Davis (*)

2006

• The Ocean Between Us by Susan Wiggs (**)
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (***)
• Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières's (***)
• Teacher Man by Frank McCourt (**)
• The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland (**)
• Excuse me, your life is waiting by Lynn Grabhorn (***)
• Angles & Demons by Dan Brown (***)
• Philosophy: Who needs it by Ayn Rand (**)
• The Number: A Completely Different Way to Think About the Rest of Your Life (*****)
• The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd (*****)
• The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas L. Friedman (****)
• The Google Story by David Vise (*****)
• Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt The Door (**)
• Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (*****)
• A Million Little Pieces by James Frey (**)
• The West's Last Chance: Will We Win the Clash of Civilizations? (*****)
• The Class Castle by Jeannette Walls (*****)
• Crisis Four by Andy McNab (***)
• The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason (**)
• Flash by Jayne Ann Krentz (*)
• Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz (**)
• Waiting by Ha Jin (***)
• Mr. Muo's Travelling Couch by Dai Sijie (***)
• Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (*****)
• 'Tis by Frank McCourt (****)
• Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt (*****)
• Buddha Baby by Kim Wong Keltner (**)

2005

• Never Hit a Jellyfish with a Spade by Guy Browning (****)
• Oh, The Glory of It All by Sean Wilsey (*)
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (***)
• The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus (**)
• The Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler (**)
• Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie (*****)
• Time Off for Good Behavior (***)
• The Chairman by Stephen Frey (**)
• Life of Pi by Yann Martel (*****)
• Body for Life for Women by Dr. Pamela Peeke (**)
• Drawing for Dummies (**)
• Choice Cuts by Mark Kurlansky (****)
• The Dance by Oriah Mountain Dreamer (*****)
• The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory (***)
• The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory (***)
• The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory (***)
• The Wrinkle Cure by Nicholas Perricone (****)
• The Runner by Christopher Reich (***)
• Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes (*)
• Wicked Widow by Amanda Quick (*)
• The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella  (**)
• The Brass Dolphin by Caroline Harvey (**)
• Plan B by Anne Lamott (*)
• Holly by Jude Deveraux (*)
• Ten Lords A-Leaping by Ruth Dudley Edwards (**)
• Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (*)
• A Day no Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton (**)
• Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand (****)
• Nonzero: the logic of human destiny by Robert Wright (*****)
• Small Town by Lawrence Block (***)
• Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss (**)
• Sam's Letters to Jennifer by James Patterson (**)
• Eat Cake by Jeanne Ray (***)
• Heiress by Janet Dailey (**)
• Blink by Malcolm gladwell (*****)
• State of Fear by Michael Crichton (****)

2004

• The Gold Coast (***)
• Catch 22 (***)
• Portrait in Sepia (**)
• Neither here Nor there by Bill Bryson (**)
• A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (***)
• Abraham - A journey of the heart (****)
• The Maiden Bride by Linda Needham (*)
• Money Ball by Michael Lewis (*****)
• Friday's Child by Georgette Heyer (***)
• The cat who could read backwards by Lilian Jackson Braun (*)
• The Confessor (**)
• Persuasion by Jane Austin (**)
• I'll be seeing you (*)
• The secret life of bees by Sue Monk Kidd (**)
• Conversations with God Book One (*****)
• The Power of full Engagement by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz (**)
• Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty by Harvey Mackay (**)
• Emotional Intelligence by Daniel P. Goleman (*)
• Influence by Robert Cialdini (**)
• Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (**)
• The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (*****)

2003

• The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown (***)
• The Majesty of the Law by Sandra Day O'Connor (*)
• A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson (***)
• Married to the Job by Ilene Philipson (*)
• The English School of Murder by Ruth Dudley Edwards (*)
• Cat by Freya North (***)
• The Course of Honor by Lindsey Davis (***)
• The Running Mate by Joe Klein (**)
• Do less, achieve more by Chin-Ning Chu (*****)
• Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta (**)
• Everyday Grace by Marianne Williamson (**)
• Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield (**)
• Omerta by Mario Puzo (***)
• The Summons by John Grisham (**)
• The English Assassin by Daniel Silva (**)
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt (****)
• Now You See Her by Linda Howard (*)
• In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson (***)
• Thick Face, Black Heart by Chin-Ning Chu (**)
• The Devil's Teardrop by Jeffery Deaver (**)
• The Devil wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger (**)
• Who moved my Cheese by Spencer Johnson (****)
• The five people you meet in heaven by Mitch Albom (*****)
• Trading up by Candace Bushnell (**)
• One Year Off by David Elliot Cohen (****)
• Pride and prejudice by Jane Austin (****)
• Who's looking out for you? by Bill O'Reilly (**)
• The present by Spencer Johnson (**)

Mr. Muo's Travelling Couch

Mr. Muo's travelling Couch by Dai Sijie

Rating: 3 - Will recommend

Honestly, the only reason I finished the book was that I liked Dai Sijie's first book Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress.  This new book, about a student of Freud's work, seeking a virgin in China, is a little outlandish, but interesting nevertheless.  I'd rather hope China is not that twisted at this modern age, but hey, what do I know.

Gilead

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Rating: 5 - Love to own

This is a wonderful book, not exciting but wonderful.  The book is about a dying priest leaving his wisdom to his 7-year old son in a long letter.  There are lots of discussions about theology that make this a great book.  I guess sooner of later, everyone comes to the same understanding of life.  I use the word understanding, not conclusion, because language is too limited.  People try different ways to explain the same understanding, and this book does a pretty good job.  Not that I claim to know what life is about...

'Tis

'Tis by Frank McCourt

Rating: 4 - worth keeping

This is really a continuation of the first book "Angela's Ash".  It's still a good book, but it feels like the publisher deliberately broke up a good long book to two books for commercial purposes.

Angela's Ashes

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

Rating: 5 - Love to own

A great book.  Sad though.  Make you appreciate life more.

Buddha Baby

Buddha Baby by Kim Wong Keltner

Rating: 2 - Not regret reading

As an Asian living in the bay area, of course I was interested in this book about Asian in the bay area.  The book described very well how an ABC (American-born Chinese)'s conflicting feelings about racial identity, which is why I don't regret reading the book.  However, I wonder how big the audience of this book is.  I for one was not too impressed by the book.  Plus, my inner voice says: "You speak perfect English, have good education, able to choose to have a low paid job (being an artist), so why are you still complaining?  I'd love to trade places with you."  Having said that, I think some part of the book is quite funny.  The book also highlighted some not very well known facts, like sometimes a white person can be a lot more Chinese in every way expect the look.  LOL.

Never Hit a Jellyfish with a Spade

Never hit a Jellyfish with a Spade by Guy Browning

Rating: 4 - Worth Keeping

Funny.  A good coffee table book.

Oh, The Glory Of It All

Oh, The Glory Of It All by Sean Wilsey

Rating: 1 - Waste of Time

I patiently finished 1/3 of the book and gave up.  It's not a bad story, just not very interesting to me.  Sure, even rich kids have things to complain about, but that's life.  Unless I get paid, I don't want to sit there and listen to the "glory" stories of the rich kid.  Maybe people like this type of story because it gives a glimpse into the "high society".  I don't really care about high society anyway, and probably never will.  That is not sour grapes either.

The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Rating: 3 - will recommend

It seems that everyone is recommending this book with "Life of Pi".  Sure, both are fictions about teenager growing up in foreign land, but the commonality stops here.  I think this is a good book, and I would recommend it, but it is certainly not a "5" for me.

The Nanny Diaries

The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus

Rating: 2 - Not regret reading

This book makes me realize that kids are a lot of work and a nanny's job is not easy.  It reminds me about all the "small stuff" that I'm taking care of.  None of them are very hard, but all are time consuming.  If I don't take care of them, they are just not getting done.  And I might not be appreciated because these are "small" and "ordinary" things.

The Amateur Marriage

The Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler

Rating: 2 - Not regret reading

This was one of the new books and listed high on some best seller lists.  My first reserved book from Texas library. 

The book is a light reading, it made me realize how fragile marriage can be. 

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie

Rating: 5 - Love to own

This is a very good book.  It was written (translated) beautifully.  The story was inspirational and the setting were in the countryside of China during the culture revolution. 

I can't believe I didn't record it till now.  I intend to put all the books I read online, but somehow missed this one.  I remember that I was looking for the DMV office when I finished this book, so must be late 2005.

Time Off for Good Behavior

Time Off for Good Behavior by Mary Lou Quinlan

Rating: 3 - Will recommend

Of course I was intrigued by the title.  As I'm in the midst of taking time off, I was very interested in what other people think about this idea.  In that sense, this is a good book.  It covers the pre-break, break and post break and provides guidance to people in the different stage via examples.  The only thing I did not like was that the author only took 5 weeks off in total and really did not go into the spiritual growth too much in the book.  On the other hand, the description of Type A personality was quite good.  I guess it is that Type A personality made the author write a book about taking time off after 5 weeks of time off, uh?

The Chairman

The Chairman by Stephen Frey

Rating: 2 - Not regret reading

It's an engaging book and it has some interesting descriptions of the private equity world. 

Life of Pi

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Rating: 5 - Love to Own

This is what a novel should be!  After reading so many bad ones this year, may I request that the publishers to compare each new one with this book before publish it? 

Body for Life

Body for Life for Women by Dr. Pamela Peeke

Rating: 2 - Not regret reading.

Pretty good book, for example, the daily progress report is quite good.

Drawing for dummies

Drawing for dummies

Rating: 2 - Not regret reading

Not a bad book, for may not be the best as the first drawing book (IMHO).

Choice Cuts

Choice Cuts by Mark Kurlansky

Rating:4 Worth Keeping

It's a book about food and writing/passion of food.  It goes into history and is well written.  I think it is a bit too academic for my pop culture taste, but it is nevertheless a good book.

The Dance

The Dance by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Rating: Love to own

This is such a beautiful book.  I can honestly say that I have not read a book in this quality for a while and I read a lot of books.  The theme is - who you are is enough.  The author used good personal examples and made her point very convincingly.

The Queen's Fool

The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory

Rating: 3 - Will recommend

Fantastic book.  I definitely would recommend it.

Virgin's Lover

The Virgin's Lover by Philippa Gregory

Rating: 3 - Will recommend

I really like Philippa's historical novels.  I can't believe I finished this one in 2 days.  It was hard to put the book down!

The Other Boleyn Girl

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

Rating: 3 - Will recommend

An easy read.  Very entertaining.  Well done.

The Wrinkle Cure

The Wrinkle Cure by Nicholas Perricone

Rating: 4 - Worth keeping

This is a good book.  It goes into the skin ageing process and explains why certain topical treatments, supplements and meal plans are good for the skin.  However, the style of writing is a bit irritating - it's like an infomercial except it's in a book format instead of TV.

Overall though, there was a few good advice.  Of course, although the resources page indicated that you could get products with the important ingredients in places other than Dr. Perricons' own website, you would soon realize that the easiest way is to pay the astronomical amount of money and buy his product.  What a surprise.

The Runner

The Runner by Christopher Reich, read by George Guidall Rating: 3 - Will recommend

Nice book. George Guidall's performance enhanced the experience.

Bergdorf Blondes

Bergdorf Blondes by Plum Sykes

Rating: 1 - Waste of time

This is a fun book.  If you are like me, need to kill some time at the airport, you should read it.  There is a good story on this book from USA Today.

Wicked Widow

Wicked Widow by Amanda Quick

Rating: 1 - Waste of time

I'm on a stream of bad luck with books.  This is not a bad book, but, nothing special either.  Sorry.

The Undomestic Goddess

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

Rating: 2 - not regret reading

This is a fun / silly / entertaining book.  I can totally relate to the professional life to domestic life change, as I'm sort of in the same situation. 

I bet there will be a silly movie of this too.

The Brass Dolphin

The Brass Dolphin, by Joanna Trollope written as Caroline Harvey.

Rating: 2 - Not regret reading

This is a very romantic book.  I liked it.