Book book review book book review book book review, we're back baby we're back at last i read book now i tell you first off we have i'm a cat by soseki natsume, it's a japanese writer who spent some time in england and then he came back and Then he published this in a magazine only, i think the first chapter he wasn't planning to make it into this beast that it is today, but people liked it so much that he kept publishing it and uh yeah. Maybe that's how you're supposed to read it. Just like in parts here and there, it is the story told from a cat, that's what i knew about it going in and it's supposed to reflect on the meiji period in japan, which is transitional period between the westernization of japan, at least that's what i thought So i made one of these to make it simple. So this is what i read what i expected some weird major period stuff.

You know some commentary about it: uh some cat stuff, some sexy cats - maybe i don't know the cat's name is chibi. So i expected like a cute little chibi cat uh. Here's what i got. I wonder if anyone's read this book is actually going like yeah yeah, that's about right, so we have uh some boomer hitting on his wife.

This pretty much summarized it right here. The cat kind of just glancing, we got some jam, we got a fat cat, we got angry, uh, japanese men and something about a glass bowl. I don't really get it guys check out new g fuel while we're at it. So this book is a satire.

It's a very old satire, but that doesn't stop it from being enjoyable, just like donkey shot or any other book that is well written. You know the fact that this is so sicky's uh. First novel is incredible because it's you know it's up there. After reading this, it feels like a hidden classic like a hidden gem uh.

That's what i thought at least, because i've never heard about it before, and i've done that mistake in the past, where just because i haven't heard of a book before that doesn't mean no one else. Has i'm like no one's talking about this book with a nobel prize award writer but uh? No, that's not the case, but i i did look into it and uh. It clearly left an impact on uh in japanese culture, so the japanese title is wagahai neko. So i am a can wagahai being a pronoun that i i thought is so unusual that it doesn't normally exist, so bowser uses it, for example, here referring to himself in high regard same with the the cat in persona 4., so seki also is depicted in the Anime voice - something i don't remember and he's also in phoenix friday's attorney, look at it uncanny.

So he clearly left an impact on on japanese culture uh. What's the book about then well, it's about a bunch of characters, mainly just speaking to each other. That's pretty much! It there's no real story and it's chibi the cat who just observes these characters: communicating uh the main character is chibi's owner, which is mr sneeze uh. There's his wife, mr sneeze, there's beau champ, the poet or the artist there's cold moon, the scientists.

And then there is waver house the the prick and there's a couple, others too, but i love the names of the characters by the way they're. So good. The story is something about a burglary and they steal their jam. Mr sneeze complains about his wife constantly.

He goes to report the crime and then a bunch of kids start being annoying, and then it ends really bleakly and sadly story. The story is not the most interesting thing here where this book shines is really when the characters are communicating and talking about different subjects or sharing different ideas and anecdotes. Uh, it's highly allegorical, and it's feels like you're, almost like a stage play where everyone is interacting. In the same space, in this room, talking to each other and it's being observed by the cat and to me that's one of the reasons why i enjoy reading so much because you can immerse yourself in discussion and topics and ideas that transpires time and culture and Place you feel, like you, are there contemplating the same thoughts that the characters are and being part of the discussion almost and it's just, i don't think, there's any other medium that can properly do that.

I feel like this book style of writing reminds me of dostoyevsky. A lot, i remember, there's a part in dostoevsky's, the idiot where they are talking about public execution and uh. I remember reading that and just feeling so part of it and contemplating this weird concept that we used to have in a way. I never would have thought about before, and i mean obviously it's not like it's just random things, but i think that's what makes reading fun to me.

I don't necessarily care that much what happens, to characters and and different things like that. I think it's more fun to share ideas and that this book is packed with that, and especially with the the idea of the execution. This book talks about the mechanics of hanging very similarly for for a great length, and you know it's not like. I went in wanting to read about that, but it was very interesting and fun to follow, and nevertheless the book is also obviously commenting about a lot of western literature and culture, which i find very fun to hear.

A japanese perspective on. There was a story that i've even brought up on my own and with on this channel, which is the story of the ancient greek story of the writer that tried to escape his prophecy that he was going to die inside a house. I don't know if you guys remember, watch the video, but it's so funny. I think they said in the book that he was a writer, though, that he went out to write to avoid dying.

But then there was an eagle flowing by who wanted to drop a turtle that he was holding onto a rock to smash open his shell. While he thought he saw the rider's thick head, because, according to this book, riders are just so thick-headed. He dropped the turtle. On the head and that's how the writer died a lot of random stuff like that being shared in this book, which i i don't know, i really enjoyed that.

I thought it was fun. I think a lot of people, probably at least what i expected too, is you know being more focused on the cat uh. There are some bits here and there, where the cat describes typical cat-like behavior like how why they watch themselves a certain way or what they do for exercise or why they meow and other cat-like behavior. But it's explained in a sense that if there was a human explaining it with perfect logic, even though there's these uh things that make no sense why cats do - and i probably at least uh from a human perspective.

At least you still get to follow it, and those bits are great. I really enjoyed those and i think, that's. Another reason why i enjoy entering the mindset of this cat is very fun. This kind of crazy introspection where what they're saying doesn't really make sense, but you're still in their mind following it, so it's still fun anyway.

So yeah you just follow the characters along in this book with different small events happening here and there there's not much to talk about. I think uh. You know i gave some examples of it. It finishes very bleakly and darkly about predicting the future of japan and their culture with this, this shift that they're going through uh that there will be no marriage in the future, which there's certainly less of and that the rise of individualism is the cause of this, Which is definitely a case considering this was written 100 years ago, but then again i don't know you know.

Maybe the signs were already there back then and that everyone in the future will commit suicide, which i'm thankful hasn't happened, at least, but you know it's definitely a problem. I would rate this book four out of five very good. I would be cautious to recommend this book, though i think there's a lot of other books. I think that you can read before it, but if you haven't heard of in then uh yeah, maybe someone to check out next book, we have quite random.

Actually, it's uh zero to one by peter thiel, which is a billionaire investor in paypal or creator, founder uh, early investor in facebook. That's what i knew at least i know he's the guy that sued gawker into non-existence he's a controversial figure, but i think most billionaires are to be fair. My point is, i don't really know much about him. Besides that, this book was recommended to me by a friend, and i have no interest in what it's about, but i thought it's fun to read different stuff.

Sometimes i sometimes when i get into reading, i don't really care what i'm reading. It's like yeah sure i'll check that out it's true well, whatever this is the book on startups. It says notes on startups, but as far as i understand, this is like the bible of startups. According to people - and i guess that's a topic that i'm not necessarily that interested in most things i hear about startup sounds kind of cringeworthy and horrible and that whole culture of silicon valley just seems uh something i don't i don't like, and even though i you Know i didn't really find myself like oh hey, while reading it when i was writing down my thoughts on the book.

I they all tended to be quite negative, which - and i'm not entirely sure why anna, but i think it's just the overall culture around these type of things. That probably makes me look at it in an unfair light. I'm not saying this is a bad book by any means, but just i feel like i skipped a couple of steps. Maybe i should explain what the book is.

Sorry, i guess that's the thing. The book isn't very structured, it's just random ideas kind of here and there sprinkled out it almost feels like peter, is holding back with a lot of things. I think he's a little crazy, but he doesn't want to let people know how crazy he is. I i definitely felt like he was holding back reading this, but their main gist of this book, and, if i had to summarize it with one thing, is that okay, what i read zero to one, what i expected a bunch of money stuff - and i have no Idea what i expected to be honest, i just put right into it.

What i got was uh something about the unabomber, ai monopolies and founders being important kind of random right. That's, i guess that's what i meant with there's a lot of just random thoughts that i think he's interested in being shared. The main gist of this book is the idea that, if you want to go from zero to one, if you want to a startup that really makes it a the banger, you want to come up with something that isn't just replicating what other businesses are doing. But something that's unique in a sense that it highly stands out.

He starts off by making a case for monopolies, which i thought was interesting. At least i don't know if i agree with it, but it's fun to hear different thoughts. You know most people were all taught growing up, that monopolies are bad and it's better for competition. If there's many businesses according to peter.

What this just does is that it squeezes uh companies drive for making a profit and that prohibits them from doing bigger ideas and bigger things. You know, businesses like restaurants and businesses, like uh airlines, have famously really low profit margins, because they're so competitive um. So, even though they're massive businesses there's not much else, you can do for that. I guess there's a case there.

You know we're still flying the same airplanes from like from the 70s right hasn't been any innovation and change, maybe that's a symptom of it. I just a random thought in my head, but then again they buy the planes from other companies. So i'm not sure i don't know, but that's an example of of it. He brings up google as a secret monopoly.

If you ask google, hey, are you a monopoly? You can't be a monopoly. Google just go like hey yahoo. You want to go yeah who exists. Okay, i'm not a monopoly, but that's there's like alta vista right there.

You guys can check it out. So it is. Google has monopoly it. Just uh doesn't want anyone to know about it, and that makes it possible for google to do a bunch of different things and whether that's good or bad, i think, is not very clear.

At least and the way to become a monopoly like google is to have a product that is just so good that you are not going to want to go anywhere else, which is pretty much the case. You know we use google because there's they are by far the best option because they invested an ungodly amount of becoming that product. I think probably the more interesting thing in the book. If there's one thing i had to take from it is the idea that, if you want to create a business that goes from zero to one like a business that makes it you have to answer peter thiel's question that he asks if you want to hire someone Which is what is one view you hold on an important matter shared by a few other people, i'm not sure entirely.

If that was the quote, what is something that you know that other people? Don't? I guess you could phrase it and if you can answer that, then you have the foundation of a business that could really make it big. Obviously, airlines, restaurants, wherever there is, they will always be profitable businesses and very successful in these areas, but the businesses that really take off and you make a ton of money on. If that's your goal, they are the ones that don't just improve, but rather change. The world kind of like facebook did, which peter was an early investor in same with paypal, really paypal's goal, i think, was to become an online currency.

That was the original goal, which i mean bitcoin came along and did the job properly. I think i think it's a good example of something that a lot of people knew, but not most people. I think, but a lot of people knew there would be a digital currency in the future. Obviously, paypal becomes something else, but i think it's a good example of that share of answering that question of what is something that you know that a lot of people don't and that's how you create a successful startup, which i think yeah.

I probably i agree with that. That's a good advice, it's not bad, but i will have to rate it two out of five because just because i think he's holding back and i think he is, it felt a bit random. To be honest, i would like to hear more from peter i i wouldn't mind hearing if you make something else next book. This is the book that truly matters.

This is the book that changed my life: okay, the useful notch book: how to tie the 25 plus most practical notes, nuts, hell yeah. This is what it's all about. Why did i buy this book and not just look up online? I i thought it could be nice for once to not stare at a screen. Okay, so i used to sail a lot when i was younger and i used to know all these nuts and then i realized i completely forgot them.

I got ta know my knots. I got ta know my knots check this out, so in sweden the way they would teach us this knot. I don't know what it's called in english uh, but we would have a lake right. So if you go with a boat and you want to tie up your boat to a round-up or something you have a lake - and i would say here comes the dragon and it goes, he goes under the lake and then he grabs the bunny.

This is supposed to be the bunny, i'm like what do you mean bunny? That makes no sense, there's no bunny, and then he go back into the. What do you mean? He didn't grab anything, but there you go it's a beautiful night. I will never forget you again, very strong, very strong knot. I guess that's the thing with the book.

It tells you the philosophy of knots. You know any idiot can tie a knot, but the goal is to tie a knot that it's fast, strong and also easy to untie. That's the goal of knot. I mean this is the easiest knot, but it's so good a lot of times with boats.

You want to tie around a cylindrical object, beautiful knot, beautiful knot, it's strong this way. It's strong! This way very good knot, love this knot. I don't know what they're calling english. I remember i'll, never forget this night, you do the you.

Do the thing all right: it's if you want to tie two uh ropes together. That would always make us do this. This is like one of the most basic knots, so pretty too pretty not actually will hold, which is good. If you want to extend your thumb as we call it in sweden, another thing at the end of your rope if you're sailing, especially you, don't want your uh, you don't want the rope to fall through the winch or the uh, the uh, the thing.

So you would always have to tie something at the end of it and i would always do the eight. I love the eight look at that eight. That's a nice eight that that rope ain't going nowhere. You know what i'm saying useful nuts guys check it out book review last book, guys the remains of the day by casual ichigo.

I've read another book from him in the past called. Never let me go which was kind of interesting. It was a weird one. I also read the sleeping giant from him, which i hate.

I don't ever want to think about that book, but i decided to give it another go because i saw the cover never judge book by cover they saying. Well, i do it okay, i thought it looked. Nice minimalistic - i am an epic minimalist, so what i expected was that it's a story about a butler and what i got was this and i will explain this: that's the actual uh, the original uh cover for the book. The book is old as hell.

Okay, i have no idea, it's not like it matters, but it's more like i thought it was a new book and it turned out to be old book. I don't want to read an old book. The way i knew it was an old book was because uh i googled the title eventually and this old movie showed up and i'm like what they made it. It's it's made from a movie.

It's like no. The the book came first with anthony hopkins and emma thompson, so yeah. The story follows a butler. His name is mr stevens, and he reflects on his past when he was serving as a butler in the house called kensington hall.

I think mr steven's care is anime level of dedication to his work of being in a butler. It's all he cares about and he aspires to be the greatest butler. There is, and it's very fascinating to hear him talk about how seriously he takes this job as a butler and so how he. This has been something passed down from his father, who was also a butler, and it's seen as something very noble when people really dedicate their life to their craft.

But the more you read, you start to realize that uh him wanting to be a butler. The best butler there is, has come with a great price of of a lot of things. Uh, for example, his relationship with his father is him sacrificing his morals with who he serves as a butler in the past and maybe, most importantly, he sacrificed his own happiness and and possibility of finding true love. These are things and sacrifices that he's made but seems completely oblivious to, but as a as a reader, it's obvious this book is so damn well written castle is a nobel prize awarded author and it's very clear reading this just because you feel like you are reading The words from a butler there's, never a doubt in my mind that that's the case it's written in this most utmost british posh, eloquently spoken.

I can't do it, but you know what i mean like this super push i feel like. I should read this book in a suit - it's very captivating, just just by and by that um, but going in finally on what i meant with this picture is what i feel a lot of times, especially reading his other book. Never let me go uh and other british authors too, like virginia woolf. I appreciate them and i appreciate that they're great books, but i can't stand them.

I i don't know why i even read them because they are so dreary, my god, everything is so difficult. Okay, when there's characters and emotions between them that can't get us expressed properly. I appreciate melancholy, but this is just too much man to say how you feel. Why can't you just i understand these are complicated emotions and the fact they're, even able to depict them in the fiction is impressive, but i hate it stop it.

It reads like that's what i get out of it: okay, stop it three out of five! I give it three out of five: that's all the books for this month. I wanted to continue for next month. I've already started reading blood meridian, but then uh. So i thought we'd do that for next month, because i can already tell it's amazing but uh other ring came out and i just dedicated my life to that, but i'm excited to get back into it.

This is an what some people say: it's the greatest um american novel. It said western anti-western, if that's interesting to you, but yeah excited for more book review, leave a like and smash like and smash like for more and like smash like, and i see you smash like see you next time - bye, bye.