Monday, July 4, 2011

Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found

Suketu Mehta
online access from ebrary
check holdings in CityU Library Catalogue
check print books on the same subject in CityU Library Catalogue

A brilliantly illuminating portrait of Bombay and its people–a book as vast, diverse, and rich in experience, incident, and sensation as the city itself–from an award-winning Indian-American fiction writer and journalist.

A native of Bombay, Suketu Mehta gives us a true insider’s view of this stunning city, bringing to his account a rare level of insight, detail, and intimacy. He approaches the city from unexpected angles–taking us into the criminal underworld of rival Muslim and Hindu gangs who wrest control of the city’s byzantine political and commercial systems ... following the life of a bar dancer who chose the only life available to her after a childhood of poverty and abuse ... opening the doors onto the fantastic, hierarchical inner sanctums of Bollywood ... delving into the stories of the countless people who come from the villages in search of a better life and end up living on the sidewalks–the essential saga of a great city endlessly played out.

Through it all–as each individual story unfolds–we hear Mehta’s own story: of the mixture of love, frustration, fascination, and intense identification he feels for and with Bombay, as he tries to find home again after twenty-one years abroad. And he makes clear that Bombay–the world’s largest city–is a harbinger of the vast megalopolises that will redefine the very idea of “the city” in the near future.

Candid, impassioned, funny, and heartrending, Maximum City is a revelation of an ancient and ever-changing world.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

一路走來一路讀

林達 著
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林達的《帶一本書去巴黎》不僅讓讀者深刻“閱讀”巴黎的歷史,更使得雨果的《九三年》一書再現風潮。同樣延續從旅行中重新審視旅行地的歷史、文化、風土民情的創作風格 ……《一路走來一路讀》,走遍美國幾十個城市與鄉鎮,以歷史為主軸,將相關人物與事件串連起來;每走過一個城市或鄉鎮,便如同走過一段歷史、一則感人的陳年故事。

林達在「後記」寫道:「美國是一個歷史很短的國家,開拓初期的日子裡,又惟求能速速安頓,因而村鎮都因陋就簡,也就始終少有東方和歐洲的巍峨古跡。可是,逛得多了,覺得美國有它特別的韻味。它的開拓者中有著一批來自歐洲的思想者。他們從歐洲傳承了思想,到了北美的荒原上,卻有了實實在在的精神。我們隨著他們留下的足跡,在樸素的土地上行走,閱讀他們留下的紙頁發黃的字跡……」

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)

Monday, June 27, 2011

Marco Polo Didn't Go There: Stories and Revelations from One Decade as a Postmodern Travel Writer

Rolf Potts
online access from ProQuest Ebook Central
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“Potts encourages us to think about travel in a way that has been almost lost.” —Tim Cahill

For the past ten years, Rolf Potts has taken his keen postmodern travel sensibility into the far reaches of five continents for such publications as National Geographic Traveler, Salon.com, and The New York Times Magazine. This book documents his boldest, funniest, and most revealing journeys—from getting stranded without water in the Libyan Desert, to crashing the set of a Leonardo DiCaprio movie in Thailand, to learning the secrets of Tantric sex in a dubious Indian ashram.

Marco Polo Didn’t Go There is more than just an entertaining journey into fascinating corners of the world. The book is a unique window into travel writing, with each chapter containing a “commentary track”—endnotes that reveal the ragged edges behind the experience and creation of each tale. Offbeat and insightful, this book is an engrossing read for students of travel writing as well as armchair wanderers.

(Excerpt from travelerstales.com)

二十世紀中國文化名人散文精品:名人遊記

範橋、張明高、章真 選編
online access from SuperStar Digital Library
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遊記是文學中的一個重要門類,古今中外作者眾多,例多不朽的傑作。就大要而言,遊記所記一為流連光景,一為社會風土人情。中國是遊記文學發達最早的國家。山水詩文勃興於六朝,晉宋之際謝靈運傑出一時;北魏酈道元《水經注》是傳世不朽的偉大名作。柳宗元、蘇東坡、袁宏道至徐宏祖是唐宋至明遊記文學中的佼佼者;新文學中酷愛寫遊記的作者,實繁有徒,可見傳統之深遠。以遊記體寫小說的《鏡花緣》、《老殘遊記》是中國的名篇,《格列佛遊記》是外國的傑作,這都是中國人熟知的 ……

本書選錄了60餘名作者90餘篇遊記,謳歌山川之美,描述異域情調,優美而甜的作品居多,讀之可當卧遊;專寫世相或間寫世相的,或苦或澀,涉筆成趣,讀了也不會乏味。

(摘錄自書中前言)

Monday, June 20, 2011

Numbers Rule Your World: The Hidden Influence of Probability and Statistics on Everything You Do

Kaiser Fung
online access from ProQuest Ebook Central
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… How long will your kids wait in line at Disney World? Who decides that “standardized tests” are fair? Why do highway engineers build slow-moving ramps? What does it mean, statistically, to be an “Average Joe”?

… this fascinating book from renowned statistician and blogger Kaiser Fung takes you inside the hidden world of facts and figures that affect you every day, in every way.

These are the statistics that rule your life, your job, your commute, your vacation, your food, your health, your money, and your success. This is how engineers calculate your quality of living, how corporations determine your needs, and how politicians estimate your opinions. These are the numbers you never think about even though they play a crucial role in every single aspect of your life …

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

哈哈笑過苦日子

何權峰 著
online access from SuperStar Digital Library
check holdings in CityU LibraryFind

日子就像芥菜入口的滋味,有淡淡的苦味,如果拌上好的調味料,就會是一道美味的菜餚。這樣的日子雖然清淡,但如果不忘每天一笑,不僅可以延年益壽,還可以返老還童哩!來!笑一個吧!

人雖然正值壯年,頭髮卻已白了一大半,他的朋友好奇地問:「你的頭髮怎麼都白了?」「因為我常擔憂一件事。」「什麼事?」「擔憂頭髮白!」你是否莞爾一笑,認為擔憂頭髮白的他是傻子呢?其實,每個人都脫不了傻,總是在為自己找苦吃。從今起,訓練自己遇著一件麻煩事大笑一聲,相信用不了多久,沒啥事能再讓你愁眉苦臉的。不信嗎?敢跟你打賭喔!

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)