Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Japanese and other stories

I know i have been commiting a lot of blog misdemeanours lately like not blogging oftenly, i haven't been blog hoing and so and so. It has nothing to do with lack of blog mojo rather NO INTERNET ACCESS. I am in a cyber cafe doing this. Usually, i love to write my posts on word, read through, correct spelling mistakes and grammatical errors early in the morning before work begins. But now i have to pay for every single minute i spend on this machine and WHO SAYS TIME IS NOT EXPENSIVE.

Anyway, on Sunday as usual i went to church and we had this Japanese Priest. What was most interesting is that he confessed that it was his first time before such a huge congregation in his 26 years of priest hood. In his church, it is a predominantly old age congregation and usually about 50-80 people max. It is even more interesting that he is only allowed 1 hour of mass, greater than that guys complain.

It is that Africans worship more? Basically, Africans believe that if there business fails, it has something to do with God and not their low managerial skills. To win a football game, an African prays rather than spend endless time practising in the field. This is a topic which needs more time, i will think about it.

MY BOOKS

Now that i am so not occupied, i spend time reading and buying books. Currently i am reading these ones

Cashflow Quadrant- Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad

Fearless Living- Rhonda Britten- i avoid the so called self help books but this one is fantastic

Copper Beech- Maeve Binchy- Interesting one

The Fifth Mountain- Paul Coehlo, author of alchemist

The Greatest Secret in the World- Og Mandino, trust me i was very curious but this simple book was written almost 30 years ago and that is why i bought it.

The Art of Seduction- Robert Greene. Don't ask why i am reading, i am just curious

Odds are that when you have all those books, idleness persist. Through living one day at a time, you create your destiny well. That is the art i have to master. LET BYGONES BE BYGONES, so they say.

Who has an idea any excellent book i have omitted before i am enslaved again by some pay check?

Lets just say i have learnt too much than i would if i had stayed where i was.

15 comments:

  1. Copper Beach is a good book. If you can get Freakonomics, Please do read it. Am trying to get as many people as possible to read it and tell me if they agree with the guys.

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  2. Yes, Freakonomics is an enjoyable read .. loved the chapter where Levitt explains how your name can affect your destiny.
    If you enjoy philosophical discourse, try 'The Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand. An excellent read.
    About Africans ascribing too much to God, I guess some ascribe too much and others too little. But then again, a healthy balance is also difficult to achieve .. we learn as we go along... I like the quote "Pray like everything depends on it, and then work like everything depends on it." Partnering with God is ideal, but we must also hold up our end of the bargain.

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  3. I see you are spending your time off in a most constructive manner!Do you have a computer at home?What I would do when I had one but no net access was to write my post in notepad, put it on diskette and then paste the contents when I was in a cyber cafe.
    I can't say I am reading too many constructive books.I am reading some fiction because my mind needs to rest after reading all these public admin books!
    I havent done church in eons but I do feel that Africans can be a tad bit too spiritual.A balance is needed.Do what you can and let God do what he has told you he will do is what I say.

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  4. dada welcome to bloggin from cyber cafes...thats how my blog begun with typos

    i havent read a book since last year da vinci code...i need to style up

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  5. Because of you dear, I have read all of Sophie Kinsella books. That was last week. This week I am reading Gabrielle Marquez [100 yrs of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera]......

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  6. Been bila kitabus for two months now si u lend a sista one then we do it the libu style on delay i pay an interest?

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  7. been also blog hoing.... i love Maeve Binchy's books, have read quite a number.

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  8. Thanks to you, I now have an idea re: how to spend my summer hols. Someone did recomed Rich dad poor dad but I never made an effort to get bit. Will do so asap.

    Many thanks 'Girl in the meadow' or should I say Ms Jones?...Adam

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  10. Kiyosaki is pretty good.
    You should take a look at "Blink" though, very interesting read.
    Also, anything by Seth Godin is great, especialy "Purple Cow"

    Writing in random internet cafes around Nbo has caused me to understand your pain... Hopefully you'll have a better option soon.

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  11. have read Robert Kiyosaki's books ... somehow concluded that it was like Nebudchadnezzer telling me how to build a Babylonian empire ... or Wangari Maathai telling me how to plant trees and win a nobel prize as an eventuality ... i mean some of those things only happen to very certain individuals at very certain times ... nways, there was some little financial titbits to be gathered here and there ...and about the Art of Seduction ... well, i do not think it is safe to be caught in campo reading it

    speaking about books you should definitely try the following:
    the god of small things ... by arundhati roy
    angela's ashes ... by frank mccourt
    i know why the caged bird sings ... by maya angelou
    and A Place called Freedom ... by Ken Follett ... just like Wangui said is a real treat
    and good old timers are:
    uncle tom's cabin ... by Harriet Beecher Stowe... the novel stirred up such a sensation in america that slavery eventually came to an end...
    and Out of Africa ... by Karen Von Blixen ... loved the way she described the Kenyan landscape

    yes , reading books is a nice way to relax ... and kenyans do read ... as far as bloggers are concerned ... it is said that the best writers are the heaviest readers ... and everytime i read more i write better and much more expansively...

    about writing in a cybercafe ... never been my style ... i hardly visit the place that much for like in campo the net is ever present ... but once in a while i do pop there when i want a fresh environment and faster access ... posted there one time

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  12. Glad to see u constructively engaged .
    Some people are too religious for their own good in act like those who are always kesharing and doing nothing else to make them progress.


    Take a look at Wole soyinka's -The man died
    have a lovely week

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  13. I'm with mama mia, the fountainhead is an excellent read, as are Atlas Shrugged and We the Living also by Ayn Rand. If you're into classics, read The Count of Monte Cristo. Siddhartha is short but sweet also for some philosophical fiction. 1984 is thought provoking...I'll make myself stop coz I could go on forever.

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  14. Reading, reading, reading...how i miss you. havent read in like forever. I find that so many books written today literally end with introduction section, everything else after that is re-wordings and silly "examples", anecdotes, or "cases".

    I love anything from the African Writers Series. http://www.heinemann.co.uk/secondary/series/index.aspx?d=s&skey=2013&authorid=Ousmane2312

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  15. I LOVE reading books esp on business/self-help. Check out...

    1. Who Moved My Cheese.
    2. Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive.
    3. Freakonomics.
    4. The World Is Flat.

    I've 2 books by Ayn Rand (Atlas Shrugged & Fountain Head) but i've never read them. Everyone says they are great so i think i'll start.

    I have & have read Rich Dad. If you're in Kenya its a good book. If you come to the US he has been criticized left-right & centre. They say the dude exagerates/lies too much. I watched his interview on 20/20 where he admitted he does NOT teach....he simply motivates.

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