바람이 분다 당신이 좋다
바람이 분다 당신이 좋다 – 이병률
Favorite Quote
#38
등대
어쩌면 우리 인생의 내비게이션은 한 사람의 등짝인지도 모릅니다.
좋은 친구, 아름다운 사람, 닮고 싶은 어떤 사람.
그리고 사랑하는 누군가의
등.
그걸 바라보고 사는 것만으로도 충분히 방향입니다.
27th Apr2013
0 Comm
19th Jan2013
The Snowman by Jo Nesbø
The Snowman, a Norwegian Crime Thriller
This novel is very well-plotted, descriptive, several twist-and-turns throughout and very addictive.
Strangely, I somehow drawn to this book after my husband and I decided to go to Finland for our honeymoon. I knew this book is a crime thriller and sometimes I feel quite scared until I finish the book to figure out the whole story. I guess it was not a great choice for my honeymoon read to Finland. I was too scared to see any random snowman in Finland.
During the flight ride from Helsinki to Ivalo, I started this book and Oh my god, it was so addictive. First couple of chapters that I finished reading during this flight were very descriptive and graphic. We checked-in to our accommodation which was surrounded in the woods. There are some other people around, but it was isolated and quiet and very dark, just like how it was depicted in the crime scene in this novel.
Snowman… Snowman….
After reading this novel, snowman became no longer a winter fantasy, but an object that gives me a second thought. While I was reading this book, I had to check out some times whether this snowman just outside of our neighboring glass igloo, had turned to and was facing our glass igloo.
About the author – Jo Nesbø
This is my first novel by Jo Nesbø, however, I learned that he is really famous and popular in Europe and of course in Nordic countries. He has quite unique background as well.
After finishing this book, I did a quick search about him. A Norwegian film that I watched a while ago, called ‘Headhunters’ was written by him.
Here’s his website: Jo Nesbø
Wikipedia about the Snowman : The Snowman Novel
Amazon :
I’m very keen to read his other books! Highly recommend this book!
19th Sep2012
통찰에 의한 꿈
김미경의 ‘언니의 독설’
30대 결혼 후, 자기계발이 인생을 결정한다.
Some of phrases from her book.
“욕망에 의한 꿈은 실현 가능성이 없어. 꿈은 구체적으로 통찰을 해가면서 꿔야 해. 통찰에 의한 꿈은 정확히 말하면 ‘데이터에 의한 꿈’이야.
지난 세월 내가 가지고 있는 데이터를 분석하고 그것을 통찰하다 보면
내가 어떤 꿈을 꿔야 할 지 알게 돼. 그 데이터가 말해줘서 말야. 그리고 그 데이터가 말해 준 꿈이 가장 나다운 꿈인거야.”
19th Nov2011
Skunk Works
Stealth Fighters
Have you every wondered how ‘stealth’ thing works? Now, we take it for granted for having stealth bomber, stealth fighters, and vessels… but do you know how it works and how it started? Still, not many countries (U.S is pretty much the only one in the world) developed this technology. China has recently tested its first stealth fighter (prototype).
Stealth technology means, in short, it’s making the object to be less visible or ideally invisible under radar, sonar, or infrared and other detecting method.
Skunk Works
I kept asking questions to a friend who used to work in Lockheed Martin and he recommended this book, called ‘Skunk Works’.
For those who are interested in military stuff or fighters, this is a MUST read!
Skunk Works is about the background of the development of the first stealth fighter, F-117 (Night Hawk), and the behind story of it. It’s really fascinating and simply ‘COOL STUFF’ Period.
After I read this book, whenever people say about weird looking objects in the air, or UFO, I don’t usually believe it. I think.. ‘woo.. maybe somebody is testing a new secret project! 
’ Let’s say.. if anybody saw the prototype of F-117 back in 1981, I’m sure they thought that it would be UFO or something.
Book Description from Amazon
From the development of the U-2 to the Stealth fighter, the never-before-told story behind America’s high-stakes quest to dominate the skies Skunk Works is the true story of America’s most secret and successful aerospace operation. As recounted by Ben Rich, the operation’s brilliant boss for nearly two decades, the chronicle of Lockheed’s legendary Skunk Works is a drama of cold war confrontations and Gulf War air combat, of extraordinary feats of engineering and human achievement against fantastic odds. Here are up-close portraits of the maverick band of scientists and engineers who made the Skunk Works so renowned. Filled with telling personal anecdotes and high adventure, with narratives from the CIA and from Air Force pilots who flew the many classified, risky missions, this book is a riveting portrait of the most spectacular aviation triumphs of the twentieth century.
Get this Book:
Amazon.com : Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years of Lockheed
Book Depository.com (Free Shipping Worldwide) : Skunk Works
Anybody read this book yet? Please leave a comment what you think of this book!
15th Nov2011
Finding Myself- 3 Books that helped me… (Part 2)
George Bernard Shaw said “Life isn’t about finding yourself but Life is about Creating yourself…”
To read, Part 1, Click Here!
2. What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20 by Tina Seelig
Yes, the title of this book is quite cliche…I thought so,too.
The translated version of this book was a best-seller in Korea. This book was everywhere in major bookstores and I thought I would just give it a try. It was early January this year when I read this book and at that time, I was all about “starting my own business”. I had a business idea, pretty much a conventional one with high fixed cost. This book made me realize what I needed in business and also in life in general. I always thought I lacked creativity while I was working in Microsoft Operations and I regarded innovation is something that only Steve Jobs can achieve.
But, with a refreshing perspective and realistic tips in this book, I learned that those are not far from me. The author, Tina Seelig, is the executive director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, guides people to challenge the assumptions, to defy the expectations. And she provides many interesting examples and inspiring advice.
After reading this book, I was excited about my possibilities as an entrepreneur.
And…I was very glad that I read this book when I was still 29. 
Get this Book:
Amazon: What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20: A Crash Course on Making Your Place in the World
BookDepository.com (Free Shipping to Worldwide) : Click Here!
Her book starts with an interesting assignment that she gave out to her students in Stanford University and please check it out!
15th Nov2011
Finding Myself – 3 Books that helped me… (Part 1)
George Bernard Shaw said “Life isn’t about finding yourself but Life is about Creating yourself…”
I found this quote totally randomly the other day, how I wish I knew this quote earlier. Truly, I spent so much time in an attempt to find myself or discover my talent so that I can find my ‘perfect’ job. But not until recently, I realized that life is not about finding what I’m born with, but about making things happen that I want and creating myself that I want to be.
People who have known me would affirm this that I’ve read a fair number of books in personal development or Self-help whether in Korean or in English. Among all those books that I’ve read so far, here is 3 books that I found helpful in the journey of finding myself.
1. The Enneagram: Understanding Yourself and the Others In Your Life
I’ve got to know about Enneagram from my Korean ex-boss who was visiting Singapore. We were catching up over dinner and he told me about Enneagram and now he’s become a certified Enneagram trainer. Enneagram is somewhat like personality test, categorizing people in 9 different types. (Type 1: The Perfectionist; Type 2: The Giver; Type 3: The Performer; Type 4 : The Tragic Romantic; Type 5: The Observer; Type 6: The Loyal Skeptic; Type 7: The Epicure; Type 8: The Protector, Type 9: The Mediator), but it gave me a profound impact on how to understand other people, and further more, how to interact and communicate with them.
What I liked about…
It’s a great introductory book to Enneagram. First, I thought Enneagram is just about personality categorizing, but…unlike other personality test, Enneagram approach is more dynamic. One person shows different sides when he/she is at peace or stressed, or other situations. This approach does not fix someone’s personality in one category but explains how it moves to different categories depends on certain situation. I liked the way Enneagram explains ‘what motivates people’ and ‘what are core fears” for each type. After I read this book, I tend to guess which type the person would be whenever I meet new people.
I’m typical Type 3: The Performer…
I’m Type 3 : The Performer and my boyfriend is Type 5: The Observer. Finding about myself through Enneagram gave me some kind of peace in my mind. Type 3 is motivated by vanity or image (e.g. the image that people have about you) and Type 3s are very goal/task-oriented and recognition-seeking people. Deep down, I’ve felt guilty about myself, being image-conscious, recognition-seeking, but now I’ve accepted who I am and stopped feeling guilty about it. I’m Type 3 and all other Type 3s out there are like me, too. Not only that, knowing each type, I’ve had a better understanding of why people say certain things and act certain ways. Of course, it helped my relationship and communication with my boyfriend as well. (I believe Type 3 and Type 5 cannot easily get along well.)
Buy the book:
Amazon: The Enneagram: Understanding Yourself and the Others In Your Life
Take the online Free Sample Test and find out what type you are!
Online Free Sample Test (You need to scroll down to see the test.)
The author’s website has a great deal of information. Please check out: http://www.enneagram.com.
Maybe you can watch this video for an overview of Enneargram.
It would be fun to get to know other people’s type. Let me know by leaving a comment!
25th Oct2011
The Devotion of Suspect X : Brilliant Japanese Novel (Thriller)
Japanese Literature
I’m not sure how popular Japanese literature in other parts of the world, but in Korea, Japanese literature has been very popular since Korean government policy allowed the imports of Japanese films and literature in early 2000s. (It was banned before.) Murakami Haruki (very popular worldwide), Kaori Ekuni, Banana Yoshimoto and other authors are now popular in Korea and I hope many more of their works translated in English so that more people can enjoy the unique style of Japanese literature.
Brilliant Japanese Thriller Fiction
the Devotion of Suspect X
I can’t highlight this book enough that this is a must-read. This book introduced me to the world of Japanese Thriller/Mystery fiction and I have been reading this author’s other works whenever available. Also, I’ve been reading other Japanese Thriller authors and I found that Japanese Thriller fiction has its unique and refreshing styles of storytelling. It is quite different from that of English or Western fictions and you may want to give it a try.
Lost in Translation???
When I heard the news that this book was to be translated in English, I was so pleased as a reader that now more people can appreciate this book and Keigo Higashino. BUT! at the same time, I was worried too that translating in English may ruin the beauty of this book and the simple style of Keigo Higashino. But as per the customer reviews on Amazon.com, it seems that this book is widely-well read in English. I’ve just bought English-version and started reading the couple of chapters and it’s going to be my holiday read this weekend in Langkawi.
Still Contemplating?
I will not reveal any of the plot or twist in this novel. But, I’ll just put it this way…
I read it in Korean but as I passed this book to 3 of my friends, all of them loved it! and… in Japan, a TV drama series and a movie were made from this book.
You can buy it from Amazon or Bookdepository.com. (I like Bookdepository.com because it’s FREE shipping to pretty much all countries worldwide.)
Amazon: The Devotion of Suspect X
Bookdepository.com: The Devotion of Suspect X
Happy Reading!!!
Please leave a comment what you think about this book…
24th Oct2011
Korean Study Guide – Survival Korean by Stephen Revere
‘Survival Korean’ by Stephen Revere
Best Korean Study Guide Book
For those who want to learn Korean language and wish to buy a Korean study guide, I strongly recommend this book. To buy a book for my boyfriend, I visited the biggest bookstore in Korea to select one and I found this. I think this book is the best Korean language study book for beginners from English-speaking countries or Western culture.
I’ve seen the author teaching Korean on TV many times and Stephen Revere is the first native English speaker with a degree in Teaching Korean as a Second Language from the most renowned university. One particular reason why I like this book is this book is not written by a native Korean explaining how to pronounce, etc. but it is written from a westerner’s perspective with many of English pronunciation references. Also, he explains certain things that Koreans would neglect while non-Koreans would find foreign.
Korean Cultural Tips
Another good point is that he spends one page per each chapter explaining some Korean cultural tips. It comes from his rich experiences living in Korea more than a decade. It is useful for Koreans like myself to teach or explain certain cultural things to non-Koreans.
Contents & CD
This book comes with 2 CDs and as you can see the table of contents, it is not so overwhelming for beginners to learn Korean.
Be Careful!
It seems that there are other Korean study books named the same as ‘Survival Korean’, so please make sure that you buy the book written by Stephen Revere.
Amazon : Survival Korean: The Korean study guide written by the host of Arirang TV’s Let’s Speak Korean
Stephen Revere has written another book called ‘Survival Korean – Basic Grammar Skills’, but I have not bought this book yet. I will write a post about review of this book later.
