Đã theo dõi đọc blog của anh Quốc Bảo khá lâu. Tôi thích cách viết mộc mạc, lối sống nhẹ nhàng, và những sở thích sâu đậm của anh. Được biết anh ra sách 50: Hồi ký không định xuất bản tôi tìm ngay khi đến Việt Nam. Được sách trong tay tôi đọc ngay và những bài viết rất đúng với phong cách Quốc Bảo. Viết về bất cứ đề tài nào (cha, mẹ, bà, bạn, âm nhạc, nước hoa, hay chụp ảnh), anh cũng bộc lộ được những cái nhìn rất riêng của mình. Như anh, tôi rất thích đọc. Và đây là một quyển hồi ký rất nên đọc.

Qua 15 tình thư, nhạc sĩ Vũ Thành An viết riêng cho những người yêu đã từng làm cho trái tim ông rung động và mang lại nguồn cảm hứng cho ông sáng tác những tình khúc không tên để đời. Chỉ có người trong cuộc mới hiểu được những mối quan hệ đó nên đọc giả cũng không rõ những hình bóng trong đó là ai. Hơi thất vọng vì không được đọc sâu hơn về những tình khúc của ông. Quyển sách được thiết kế theo một bì thư rất đẹp. Những trang giấy màu sắc lúa mì cùng những tranh vẽ minh hoạ rất ấn tượng. Đáng tiếc cách xếp chữ (typesetting) có một vài chi tiết không đúng.

I read this book eight hours straight while sitting on the plane. Alter’s writing is as addictive as his subject. He explores various types of addictions including drugs, video games, and social media. His deep dive in behavioral addiction is both fascinating and frightening, especially dealing with young children in modern technology. Fortunately, Alter does offer some suggestions to help us change our behavior before it gets worse. A required read if you find yourself and your kids can’t live without a digital device.

Design is problem solving; therefore, using a design process to build your own life is a perfect concept. From defining your problem to researching your passion to prototyping your next move to designing your dream job to finding happiness, Burnett and Evans, design educators at Stanford University, provide step-by-step instructions to help you build a life that works for you. If you’re looking for a change in your career but still hesitating, this book will be a great resource.

Reading Dr. Mintz’s guide to orgasm is like eavesdropping on women’s conversations about their vulvas. When it comes to clitoral stimulation, Dr. Mintz doesn’t beat around the bush. From looking under the hood to “making a clit sandwich” (masturbation) to fooling around to reaching orgasm, her instructions are straightforward, descriptive, and enlightening. Although the primary audience for this book is women, men will also learn a whole new level of appreciation for the clitoris. Highly arousing yet educating read.

Last year I spoke with Thomas Jockin about Vietnamese typography for TypeThursday. Since then, I looked forward to my inbox every week for other interviews, especially related to typography on the web. Now TypeThursday, Year One 2015–2016 compiles photos from its monthly meet-ups, profiles of type designers, and interview excerpts from typographers on various topics including web fonts and multilingualism. The rapid growing of TypeThursday is a proof that they have created a community “for people who loves letterforms.” Congratulations and thank you for including me in the book.

Whether organizing protests or disseminating fake news, social media is both a powerful and dangerous tool that allows instant connections and viral communications. With firsthand observations, insightful interviews, and thorough researches, Tufekci provides compelling analysis into the roles of the social networks, including blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, that had changed political outcomes around the world. A must-read, and the typesetting in beautiful Scala makes it pleasurable to dive in.

In her compelling memoir, Barbara Freinman Todd reveals the craft of ghostwriting: “Writing other people’s live is a bit silly, like playing dress-up, clomping around in your mother’s pumps that don’t quite fit, but it also lets you have a momentary sense of what it’s like to be someone else.” She began her career as a copy aide at the Washington Post, advanced to be a researcher for Bob Woodward in the investigative unit, and became ghostwriter for high profile politicians in Washington. Her work for the First Lady Hillary Clinton led to mistreatment from Clinton herself who refused credit her for ghostwriting It Takes a Village and the betrayal from her mentor Woodward. A fascinating read.

Sedaris is a keen observer of the world around him. Through his dairy, spanning from 1977–2002, he recorded many incidents including racist remarks, domestic violence, and personal struggles. Through dark humors and compelling storytelling, Sedaris found his own voice as a writer. Reading over 500 pages of his entries inspired me to keep writing on my blog for personal recollection.

In his new memoir, Franken reveals his journey of how a successful satirist became a sophistic senator. To prove that he was serious about politics, Franken and his team had built a DeHumorizer. Fortunately, the humors never left him and they have made their way into this book. He had plenty jokes for politicians, and the best one is reserved for Ted Cruz. Despite the funny moments, the politics became robotic, especially in an almost 400-page book. The content probably could have been cut in half.