Comments for Books I Read

Comment on Google Glasses are Coming by Diana

Diana — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:01:37 +0000

These glasses sound annoying.

On another note:
My attention span can only handle one social media at a time. Even FB is starting to take up to much of my time, and I only spend about maybe 10 min a day on it.

Comment on On Listening to Audio Books by Good Audio Books For Kids | All On Audio Books

Good Audio Books For Kids | All On Audio Books — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:16:26 +0000

[...] On Listening to Audio Books [...]

Comment on Google X, a Top Secret Lab by Google Glasses are Coming « Books I Read

Google Glasses are Coming « Books I Read — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 02:43:24 +0000

[...] project is currently being built in the a secretive laboratory of Google X. What can I say? This is something that I am not looking forward to (unlike the self-driving cars). [...]

Comment on On Listening to Audio Books by Bookish Hobbit

Bookish Hobbit — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:37:32 +0000

I think it really depends on the narrator. Some keep me hooked and others put me off the idea of listening to them for eleven or more hours. Jeremy Irons has a voice made for narrating! And I really loved hearing Christopher Lee read The Children of Hurin.

Comment on On Listening to Audio Books by amanda large (@amandafiona)

amanda large (@amandafiona) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:56:43 +0000

I listen to them while travelling (mostly so I can fall asleep, lol) and while walking to work, etc. I find it hard to really get into stories on audiobook, so I mostly listen to non-fiction where the information is interesting but the prose less than poetic does that even make sense?

Comment on Alain de Botton on Religion and Society by George

George — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:34:45 +0000

A bit of context, which I omitted above. The Archdiocese of Washington comprises the District of Columbia and five counties of Maryland. It has approximately 130 parishes. Assuming an average of around three Masses per weekend per parish (which is probably quite low), roughly one in 400 Masses on a given Saturday or Sunday will be Novus Ordo Latin–except for the first Sunday of the month, when it’s two.

Comment on Alain de Botton on Religion and Society by George

George — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:25:58 +0000

De Botton seems to me to write from a deep fund of self
admiration. Unable to share his enthusiasm for Alain de Botton, I have
not read any of his books since How Proust Can Change Your
Life. This essay does not tempt me to pick up his book.

“The building in which it is performed is almost always sumptuous.”
American church architecture is at its best seldom more than
inoffensive. If de Botton means that there is usually stained glass,
then I agree.

“As the congregants start to sing ‘Gloria in Excelsis,’ we are likely
to feel that the crowd is nothing like the one that we encounter at
the shopping mall or the bus stop.” Sorry, this is simply practising
on the naivete of the reader. For one thing, only at a Novus Ordo
Latin Mass will you ordinarily find the congregation singing the Gloria in
Latin. In the Archdiocese of Washington, this means one Mass every
Sunday at the cathedral, and one every month in Laurel. For another
thing, Catholic congregational singing is in general not that good. If
you want to hear a congregation sing well, you’re better off with the Lutherans.

“We gaze up at the vaulted, star-studded ceiling and rehearse in
unison the words ‘Lord, come, live in your people and strengthen them
by your grace.’” I am not acquainted with this bit of liturgy, unless
de Botton is giving a free rendering of “Veni Creator Spiritus”.

“Though there wouldn’t be religious imagery on the walls, some kind of
art that displayed examples of human vulnerability, whether in
relation to physical suffering, poverty, anxiety or romantic
discord…” Why? Remember that there is some great religious art,
there is a lot that is mediocre or worse. A bad St. Sebastian has its
place in a church, but makes little sense purely as art.

The project seems to me to partake of the silliness of Robespierre’s
cult of the supreme being.

If one wishes to consider the role of the parish in society, a few
dozen pages of J.F. Powers will serve better. If one wishes to
consider the faults of American gathering places, there is a
suggestive essay in George Kennan’s Sketches from a Life.

Comment on Date a Girl Who Reads by Christine Dana

Christine Dana — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:42:27 +0000

I’ve always loved this quote, and I tear up every time I read it. I sent to to my boyfriend when we were first dating…. it’s been a year now, we’re both readers, and give each other books for gifts!!

Comment on The Remarkable Story of the Caltech Beavers Men’s Basketball Team by Jeremy Lin: From Harvard to the NBA « Books I Read

Jeremy Lin: From Harvard to the NBA « Books I Read — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 03:59:47 +0000

[...] this piece on Jeremy Lin reminded me of the Remarkable Story of the Caltech Basketball Team. Share this:MoreEmailLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. Filed under: links of the day [...]

Comment on The Culture That is Japan by Greg

Greg — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:44:02 +0000

I think the main reason for Japan’s place as a great tourist destination is because they actually believe in customer service. If they treat someone disrespectfully, it’s a source of much shame, whereas in most places, making money has replaced taking care of customers.

Also, the culture values perfection, and so everyone strives to be perfect or as close to perfection in everything as they can be.