Sibling love

“The love of siblings is the most unconditional love of all. It is pure and loyal. A love without demand, without expectations or pretense.”

     ― Anoir Ou-Chad

 

Bibliotheca Bar and Book Exchange

Us, girls at work, trooped to this lovely place to celebrate forged friendships. Ending the year with cocktails lifted from epic book passages (can you tell me if there's anything more wonderful than that?)

Bibliotheca Bar and Book Exchange

https://bibliotheca.com.au/
27 Gresham St, Adelaide
South Australia 5000
Tuesday – Thursday 5 pm til 12 am
Friday – Saturday 5 pm til 2 am
Phone: 08 8212 6979
bar@bibliotheca.com.au

Circe by the beach

A bestie sent photos of the beach where she was. I messaged her, “You should be reading 'Circe'. Perfect ambience.”  

Her reply? “I actually have 'Circe' with me right now.”

Cabalatian Island, Sual, Pangasinan
Philippines

Was I surprised? Not really. For is it not amongst great friends, a  gold-spun magical thread goes round and round, binding you together, even though you may be years and miles apart?

See also: The Reading Challenge (2)

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (April 2008)

I  recall 2009, the year I embarked on (another) master’s degree, as a year of multilinear regressions, decision making under uncertainty, cost benefit analysis, and writing up pages and pages of policy papers backed by quantitative evidence. I was sleeping an average of four hours, six days a week.

I made sure, however, that I’d read something different, uplifting, bizarre, at least one day each week. It was a year of Haruki Murakamis, Graham Greenes, and lots of memoirs and biographies. 

One of the books that particularly struck me that year was Randy Pausch’s “Last Lecture”. Coincidentally, Pausch was a professor at the university where I was studying at that time and who sadly passed away a year before. The book made such an impact on me that in the graduation speech that I delivered at the end of 2009, I quoted from the "Last Lecture": “Brick walls are there for a reason. And once you get over them – even if someone practically had to throw you over – it can be helpful to others to tell them how you did it.”

I have probably re-read the book three or four times and different parts of it resonated more strongly than others at various points the last few years. These days, I enjoy giving a copy of the book to welcome new hires in our organization (after all, this is the university where Pausch used to teach). It is a beautiful memoir full of optimism despite the circumstances under it was written, on overcoming challenges, the utter joy of doing what you love, achieving dreams, and being true to your core.  But what I treasure most about this book is that it drives home the point of the finiteness of life and of being made acutely aware of that finiteness.

I am not sure what our new hires do with the book but I was immensely thrilled when one morning, I got an email  from one of my favourite professors pointing me to his book review. 

(Scout’s honour, getting employees to legitimately want to work overtime after an induction is not one of the reasons in handing out the “Last Lecture”. But I share your sentiments Zbig, our heart is in the work.)

That was not a head fake.

Book Challenge (2)

These lockdowns and social distancing protocols have spawned various sorts of online challenges. I’ve revisited my Book Challenge a year ago and realised that the year has brought changes to the list of books (perhaps because the last few months have shown us what it is really like to be in isolation) that I will take with me should I be stranded on an island, get sent to the moon, or quarantined indefinitely.

 

Curious Creatures, Wild Minds

The COVID-19 pandemic continues its rampage and public activities have moved to virtual platforms. Luckily, the annual Book Week (barely) escaped from being turned into a Zoom activity. The show went on albeit very late this year and with several restrictions in place.

Very proud of my son who concocted his get-up this year following the 2020 theme (oh yes, we read the fine print of the memos). Double the joy, his best friend teamed up to be another character from this same series!

Check out Book Week from previous years:

Reading is my secret power

The Ninja and his treasure

Book Week

 

The Marcus Antonius Trilogy by Brook Allen

It is said that the victor will always be the judge and the vanquished, the accused.  A good historical fiction writer acts as defence lawyer for these accused and gives them an opportunity to be heard. The best historical fiction writers are those who can convince us, readers, that history has committed a great disservice to these vanquished. 

I started reading the trilogy last year on my way to a conference interstate. I was so enthralled with the story that by the time I was back home, three days later, I have finished Brook Allen’s two books.  

Part 1 (Son of Rome) of the trilogy provides a sympathetic narrative on the early years of Marcus and how these influenced his actions and decisions later - his mixed feelings about Julius Ceasar, his dogged enmity towards Cicero, his relations with Publius Clodius Polcher and Curio, his utter lack of sympathy for Octavius, and his position on the restoration of the Republic.

Part 2 (Second in Command) expands on how Marcus strived long and hard to prove himself to Julius Caesar but these did not seem enough - Caesar threw him into the snake pit of Roman politics with scant support, refused to consider taking him along on the Parthian campaign, and the last straw, struck out Marcus from his will and instead named Octavius as his adopted son and heir. This book is so well written that I got distressed, less enamoured with my heroes, and kept saying to myself all throughout the book, "Oh Caesar, how could you?", "Chickpea, surely you can rise above your prejudices and ambitions!" and "Octavius young man, pay heed to your betters!"

Part 3 (Soldier of Fate) concludes Antonius’s remarkable story. It narrates Marcus’s Parthian campaign which started on a high note and horrendously went all wrong at the end; his domestic woes being married to Octavia in Rome and Cleopatra in Egypt; the unceasing arguments with Octavian; the disillusionment of his soldiers, and the tragic Battle of Actium. The book also provided a good view on Antonius's conflicted position: on the one hand he had his trusted seasoned Roman soldiers and strategists; on the other hand, he had Cleopatra, who provided coin and who had no qualms of making known that she was a key political player and will take an active part in the campaigns. 

In between Brook’s second and third parts of the trilogy, we have exchanged messages, book recommendations, and thoughts on ancient Rome. She is both an amazing writer and a gracious person! I was thrilled to join her virtual book launch of Soldier of Fate – an exhilarating meeting of persons who share the same love for the Roman empire and excitement at the release of the third part and conclusion of Marcus’s saga.

Without doubt, Brook Allen has ably given Marcus Antonius his day in court. She has provided deep insights on what made Marcus tick – why he acted the way he did, his great points, flaws, generosity, exuberance, capacity for love, and inner demons. The beauty of the trilogy is that while it astounds readers of the extent of the power and might of Rome’s political and military machinery, it makes readers empathise of what it was like to be on the other side - continuously harangued by propaganda, bitterly abandoned by the troops, betrayed by perceived allies, and plagued by self-doubts on how a true Roman should carry himself.

Helmets off to Brook for this wonderful trilogy and significant contribution to the ancient Roman lore! 

See also:

Rome-ing!