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RJ

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RJ’s Bookshelves

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RJ is Currently Reading

RJ is currently reading

Swing Time

by Zadie Smith

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Oct 15, 2016 04:10AM

RJ is currently reading

The Wangs vs. the World

by Jade Chang (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in October 2016

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RJ said: " When Charles Wang moves to America as a young man, all that he possesses are his indomitable spirit and ambition. Years later, when Charles Wang, the business tycoon, loses his makeup empire and his assets to the financial crisis crippling the econom When Charles Wang moves to America as a young man, all that he possesses are his indomitable spirit and ambition. Years later, when Charles Wang, the business tycoon, loses his makeup empire and his assets to the financial crisis crippling the economy, all that he has left are his indomitable spirit and ambition. That, and a family in tow.
In order to get back all the material wealth he has lost, he embarks on a cross-country trip with his second wife Barbra (Yes, like Streisand!), his daughter Grace, and his son Andrew. They pack up their left-over possessions into an old Mercedes, and drive towards where his oldest daughter, Saina, lives. Charles dreams of going to China, reclaim his ancestral land, and thus some of his wealth.
The question is, is Charles' spirit alone enough to weather all that has happened? Grace and Andrew have lost their places in their school and university, Barbra loses her comfort and luxury. Saina, in the meanwhile, is grappling with a disastrous career move, and a rather calamitous love life. The sudden poverty they've been plunged to is startling to all of them, and even the very vocabulary of poverty seems strange to them.
None of them, it seems, can catch a break. How,then, are the Wangs going to make it across the country, settle down with Saina, and help Charles make his way to China, where he surely will have to battle the State to get his land back? Even if he does so, is that enough?
The journey that the Wangs undertake in the book is both literal and metaphorical. As they travel from Bel-Air to Catskills, the Wangs piece themselves back. They reclaim bits of themselves, their roots, their identities. As a family, they move from being dysfunctional to realizing each others' worth. Perhaps what indeed does matter is the journey, not the destination.
This book is endearing, insightful, and humorous. The characters are very well written, and their stories blend in very comfortably. There are some scenes that are just very touching, and the kind that tend to stay with you long after you've finished the book. There are wry observations that make you go, damn, that's spot on! Overall, the Wangs vs the World is a delightful read, and deserves all the buzz it's been getting. ...more "

Oct 22, 2016 10:54AM · see review

RJ is currently reading

A Fraction of the Whole

by Steve Toltz

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Aug 17, 2016 04:20AM

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RJ’s Quotes

“A childhood without books – that would be no childhood. That would be like being shut out from the enchanted place where you can go and find the rarest kind of joy.”
― Astrid Lindgren

tags: books, children, children-s-literature

3107 likes

“Just three words? Nothing about his physical health? His equipment? His supplies?'

'You got me,' she said. 'He left a detailed status report. I just decided to lie for no reason.'

'Funny,' Venkat said. 'Be a smart-ass to a guy seven levels above you at your company. See how that works out.'

'Oh no,' Mindy said. 'I might lose my job as an interplanetary voyeur? I guess I'd have to use my master's degree for something else.'

'I remember when you were shy.'

'I'm space paparazzi now. The attitude comes with the job.”
― Andy Weir, The Martian

tags: bureaucracy, paparazzi, sarcasm, smart-ass, smart-ass-comments, space-paparazzi

219 likes

“later that night
i held an atlas in my lap
ran my fingers across the whole world
and whispered
where does it hurt?

it answered
everywhere
everywhere
everywhere.”
― Warsan Shire

tags: atlas, hurt, painful

1560 likes

“Because I said so." She paused again. "Sweetheart, I know you're an adult, but adults are like vampires. The older ones are much more powerful.”
― Karin Slaughter, Pretty Girls

47 likes

“Yes, of course duct tape works in a near-vacuum. Duct tape works anywhere. Duct tape is magic and should be worshiped.”
― Andy Weir, The Martian

2239 likes

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