Tập truyện ngắn của Phan Việt viết về đời sống người Việt trên đất Mỹ được mở đầu với câu chuyện sex táo bạo. Phan Việt diễn tả: “Tôi cứ đàng hoàng để cho các cô gái ve vuốt dương vật và làm tình với tôi. Tất. Oral Sex. Anal Sex. Tóc vàng. Tóc nâu. Tóc đen. Tất. Fucking America”. Tuy ngôn ngữ thô tục và câu chuyện chỉ là hư cấu nằm trong fantasy (khả năng tưởng tượng) của tác giả, đọc cũng phê phê. Bài “Cách mạng baby” rất hài, nhất là cảnh tả về công việc “baby making”. Tuy nhiên có phần ngôn ngữ tiếng Anh viết rất phô trương. Chẳng hạn như khi vợ dùng câu “Fuck thiên hạ” còn chồng thì nói vợ “Bullshit” và “Yes! Fuck you”. Dường như tác giả viết với cái nhìn của một người mới đến đất Mỹ và còn chưa nhập vào cuộc sống và văn hoá Mỹ. Tuy nhiên không phải bài nào cũng viết về sex.

Taylor diagnosed with melanoma at sixty. She planned her death with an euthanasia drug she bought online from China and a suicide note before her brain surgery. Taylor’s memoir, however, is not about her dying days. It’s a reflection on her life, childhood, and relationships with her parents and siblings. She writes:

A slow death, like mine, has that one advantage. You have a lot of time to talk, to tell people how you feel, to try to make sense of the whole thing, of the life that is coming to a close, both for yourself and for those who remain.

Instead of focusing on the gruesome details of dying, Taylor chooses to celebrate life. It’s a brief, beautiful read.

Tôi thường tránh đọc những bài viết về chiến tranh Việt Nam dù cách nhìn trong hoặc ngoài nước. Nhưng khi đã lỡ đọc tập truyện ngắn của Trần Kỳ Trung thì đọc cho hết. Mặt dù tác giả viết về thời kháng chiến chống Mỹ sau năm 1975, những câu chuyện của ông nói lên những tình mẫu tử, anh em, và trai gái. Khi thoát khỏi được cái chính trị trong những bài viết, tôi thích cách viết mộc mạc và cái nhìn đời và đạo đức làm người của tác giả.

2017 sets a new record for the number of books I have read in a year. Based on my reading history, I read almost twice as much as I did last year, which was 50, and 20 more than the numbers in 2014, which was 70.

In retrospect, I can see how I pulled it off. I have started a reading ritual. Each morning I wake up at 5 am and read until 7:30 am—before the kids get up. Each night, I read from 9:30 or 10 pm, depending on when the kids are fastened asleep, until midnight or one in the morning. During the day, I read whenever I have a few minutes here and there like half an hour at lunchtime or while one of my kids napping in the car on a Saturday afternoon. I always carry a book with me everywhere I go just in case I have to wait in a long line for coffee.

Over the summer, I took a trip back to Vietnam to see my dad. During the 20 plus hours of flights and connections, I read rather than slept. Even in Vietnam, I did not take any tour. I spent most of my time with my dad, my family, and my books.

Before went back to the States, I gave my iPhone 5s to one of my nieces. Back home I didn’t have a cell phone for three months. During that time, I read even more. I did not check social media as often as before. I did not follow the news vigorously like I had with a smartphone. If it were not for work, I would not have bought a new phone.

With Trump dominating the media since he has become president, I needed to find an escape route. Books came to rescue. They kept me sane and away from politics and Trump’s idiotic tweets and stupidities.

As for the type of books, I still read mostly nonfiction. In addition to English, I have read quite a bit of Vietnamese books this year. The trip back to Vietnam rejuvenated I love for Vietnamese. Having used much Vietnamese since fifth grade, I have a lot of relearning and catching up to do, but it feels great to read and write my native language again. Because accessing Vietnamese books are limited in Fairfax public libraries, I get my hands on whatever the latest books available. They have more fiction than nonfiction. Although the collection is small, I am very grateful that Fairfax public libraries have a section for Vietnamese books.

For my reading habit, I experimented with switching between English nonfiction and Vietnamese fiction. I find the alternating to be quite rewarding. I like the balance and the ability to read both of the languages I love so dearly. I will continue with this approach.

For 2018, I won’t try to break my record. Instead I want to focus on reading thicker books (between 400 to 500 pages). Reading has become my obsession and I will read as long and as much as I can. It is one of my joys in life.

In her brave, heartbreaking, and riveting memoir, Merkin reveals candid details of her life-long struggle with depression. She grew up in an unnurturing and abusive environment. She fantasized of killing herself at a young age. Merkin’s relationship with her tough German-Jewish mother was cold, critical, controlling, and complex. She despised her mom, but had a hard time without her. In addition to depression, this is an eye-opening book on parenting. It’s a dark yet beautiful read.

Quyển tiểu thuyết ngắn của Đỗ Bích Thúy bắc đầu với câu chuyện “Cướp vợ”, nghĩa là một anh chàng con nhà giàu (muốn gì được nấy) bắt cóc một cô gái về hãm hiếp và bắt buộc làm vợ. Mỗi ngày lôi vợ lên giường làm như thú vật tuy người đàn bà không có một cảm giác gì cả. Tác giả viết về bối cảnh ấy như sau:

Một ngôi nhà to, đầy gia súc, một thằng chồng lúc nào cũng đội cái mũ nồi màu đỏ, đi một chiếc xe máy đỏ, đêm nào cũng thè lưỡi quệt khắp người, cấu véo khắp người vợ. Cả cuộc đời từ khi về làm vợ, đêm nào cũng chịu để cho thằng chồng làm như thế. Ôi, sống làm sao được chứ. Sống làm sao được cho đến lúc già, làm mẹ rồi làm bà nội, bà ngoại? Chồng nào cũng ăn vợ như thế hay sao?

Đây là một câu chuyện nói lên những cay đắng và đau đớn trong bạo lực gia đình. Đọc tuy hay nhưng thảm thương lắm.

Graphic designer Chip Kidd is a keen observer. In Judge This, Kidd shares things that piqued his interest and rates them from clarity to mysterious. He points out, “Clarity gets to the point” and “Mysterious gives us hope.” Kidd incorporates both end of the scales in his own projects. The way he applies judgement to his design is simply brilliant. Judge This is a quick, inspiring, and informing read, particularly for designers.

A few weeks ago, I came across Jenny Allen’s reading her essay “Would Everybody Please Stop?” on the New Yorker Radio Hour and I couldn’t stop laughing. Her humor on words such as iteration, my admin, sweet spot, and deplane are spot on. We need to stop using them and go back to the original words.

Her book with the same title is a collection of humorous, heartfelt essays, which appeared in various publications including the New Yorker. Her piece on college dining hall’s food gives me nostalgia. In my days as an undergraduate student, I loved dinning at La Salle’s cafeteria. At dinners, I usually went for second or third plates. “It’s About Time” is another piece I can see myself in the future. She writes:

I live alone. These things happen. Your children grow up, your husband leaves, and then you are one. This is a happy story, I promise, but I do need to say this: Get ready. You may be next. And if you are, please, please try to remember what I am telling you now: You know how you never have enough time? You will have it.

Hopefully, my wife won’t leave me, but our children will grow up and have their own lives. After reading her advice, I will be fine. I will know what to do with my time. Thanks Ms. Allen for all the enlightenments you have shared with us in this book.

In his compelling, heartfelt memoir, Sahre reveals his personal stories through his passion for design. From designing book covers to posters to his own brother’s casket, Sahre takes readers into a tumultuous life of a designer, shows us how he got into graphic design (starting with the ice machine), and shares the thinking and problem-solving behind his work. It’s a beautiful, honest, and engaging read.

Walter Nikkels is an influential typographer and this book showcases a monumental body of his work ranging from books to posters to exhibitions. In addition to over 1,000 images, the book is written in three languages: English, Dutch, and German. Nikkles’s wise words on design and typography are worth noting and studying.