BACKDATED: Circuit Breaker Reads 2020
When there is no social life, reading books become the daily thing to do
Just one day before the circuit breaker started in Singapore, I went to the National Library since I had to collect my newly renewed passport at ICA,
I borrowed 3 books:
1 Lost Hong Kong : a history in pictures
2 Super pumped : the battle for Uber
3 Billion dollar whale : the man who fooled Wall Street, Hollywood, and the world
In a short summary, the first book was a short picture book to show most places in Hong Kong that no longer exist that was build around 100 to 200 years ago.
The second book was a slight disappointment though, I assumed it would uncover some dark secrets of Uber, but it will result in one pitying the Founder for being pushed into every corner despite his bad doings.
The third book was pretty exciting, I was stoked and enticed and read it all within two weeks. The book’s plot is even more exciting than of a typical Hollywood movie as Jho Low managed to pull off such scams through sheer lying and scamming through his way in the name of power and networks.
I had estimated that I would finish reading these 3 books before the circuit breaker ends, so that I can carry on to borrow more books right after it.
As the situation did not permit, the Circuit Breaker measures taken by the government did not end. I am now starting with some books that I actually own and placed in my bookshelf for display.
- Hard At Work: Life in Singapore
This was a good book on what kind of jobs actually exist in Singapore in the background, definitely something I will let my future children to read to understand what people do to survive in Singapore during those times. - Principles by Ray Dalio [Did not finish, attempted twice]
I also began to read a Chinese book called: 香港：第一课
This book talks about the intricacies of Hong Kong, why is Hong Kong unique (a different currency running within the same country), how Mainlanders of China actually misunderstand Hong Kong. I really love reading this book, maybe one day I will read it again to re-learn the small differences between Hong Kong and its motherland. You can get some details of the book from this Github link https://github.com/Syukkic/HKlesson1
^ For those who can read Traditional Chinese, you can refer to the ‘Chinese Medium’ clone matters.news. Sometimes I straddle between the world of English and Chinese too much and lose myself in thoughts.
Ok, to be continued, I am finishing up this backdated entry because life went into a positive spin in 25th May 2021 where I finally met my wife in person after not seeing her for close to 1.5 years. I count my blessings everyday and today I reflected on how was my mental state then and now. A time to reflect is also the time to write.
