Thaiger Talk Quiz #283 - Book shops in Thailand

[BigHewer]

Quiz #283 - Here's a Thailand-themed quiz topic for the more scholarly out there among us. Wandering into an air-conditioned book store on a hot day with free time to browse and a ton of curiosity must be one of life's great pleasures (for some, anyway). If this is the case for you, you'll enjoy this quiz and 5 out of 5 could be heading your way. Good luck, folks and let us know how you get on.

 

And now for the answers...

[NonThaiKiwi]

3/5  pure guess work.  Can't remember last time I read a book! 

Have several back in NZ waiting but never had the time to do so. 

Work 12hr days then sleep, weekends busy with other stuff.. Maybe next visit I'll get a chance! 

Still waiting for the bar hopping quiz! 

[BigHewer]

21 minutes ago, NonThaiKiwi said:

Work 12hr days then sleep, weekends busy with other stuff.. Maybe next visit I'll get a chance! 

I’m pretty much the same. But I always take a book when I fly or have a long bus trip or train ride. Usually get through 1 or 2 books each trip.

When I’m at home though, hardly at all.

[Marc26]

1 hour ago, BigHewer said:

I’m pretty much the same. But I always take a book when I fly or have a long bus trip or train ride. Usually get through 1 or 2 books each trip.

When I’m at home though, hardly at all.

I'm a massive reader

At home and definitely on holiday

 

My whole family has been since I was a kid 

My Mom would take me to water parks, etc

Park herself on a bench and read a book for the whole day and never move...

 

Loved libraries 

Complete book nerd from like 5 years old

 

I will often read 3 or 4 books at the same time unless I get really into it and rip through it in a few days

 

When traveling I like to read some fiction that is based in the country I'm holidaying

 

I don't often not read, but the times that I am not reading regularly, my brain goes to mush

It's like not getting to the gym, but for your brain 

 

 

Got 4 out of on the quiz 

Got the last one wrong 

[BigHewer]

1 hour ago, Marc26 said:

When traveling I like to read some fiction that is based in the country I'm holidaying

I like to do the same. Used to read a different John Burdett book whenever I went to Thailand.

Read “Burmese Days” when I was in Myanmar and “Russka” when I was in Russia. Adds to the experience, for sure.

I used to read a lot when I was younger, but not so much now as far as printed material goes. Too much screen time

[ChicagoExpat]

My usual 3.  I also read Burmese Days though Russka is new to me, wish I'd read it in Russia!

Agree that the screen is the biggest enemy of reading.

[Marc26]

6 hours ago, BigHewer said:

I like to do the same. Used to read a different John Burdett book whenever I went to Thailand.

Read “Burmese Days” when I was in Myanmar and “Russka” when I was in Russia. Adds to the experience, for sure.

I used to read a lot when I was younger, but not so much now as far as printed material goes. Too much screen time

In Thailand I have read most of the Vincent Calvino series

 

And now been read a lot of Jake Needham books that are usually based in Thailand 

[Marc26]

6 hours ago, ChicagoExpat said:

My usual 3.  I also read Burmese Days though Russka is new to me, wish I'd read it in Russia!

Agree that the screen is the biggest enemy of reading.

Yes

 

As @BigHewer and then you both said

 

Sometimes you lay at the pool and the phone takes over

 

But you just don't get the relaxation that comes from reading a book

 

I really do try and limit my screen time when on holiday 

Especially anything political 

 

But doesn't always work 

[rattlesnake]

Only got the 2 first ones, d'oh…

Fairly keen reader here too. Fiction but also political/sociological/economic books. Though as I do intellectual work, I tend to do things which don't involve too much thinking in my spare time!

[Marc26]

6 hours ago, rattlesnake said:

Only got the 2 first ones, d'oh…

Fairly keen reader here too. Fiction but also political/sociological/economic books. Though as I do intellectual work, I tend to do things which don't involve too much thinking in my spare time!

I fell off fifiction for a long time and was reading more real financial books like from Michael Lewis or the amazing Billion Dollar Whale

 

And I still read them but forced myself to get back to reading fiction as well

 

Fiction just gives me more relaxtion

[ChicagoExpat]

So, what are people reading now?  @Marc26 @rattlesnake @BigHewer  I just finished the battle of Trafalgar -- I didn't realize how important it was, that it set the stage for British political and military dominance in the 19th century.  And that inspired me to pick up one of Patrick O'Brian's books on Jack Aubrey, of "Master and Commander" fame -- I read them all many years ago but they're as good or better on a second read.

[BigHewer]

18 hours ago, ChicagoExpat said:

My usual 3.  I also read Burmese Days though Russka is new to me, wish I'd read it in Russia!

Agree that the screen is the biggest enemy of reading.

Russka is by Edward Rutherfurd, highly recommended. Best opening page of a novel I’ve ever read (check it out).

He’s best known for the novels ‘Sarum’ and ‘London’, which you may know.

[BigHewer]

11 hours ago, Marc26 said:

Sometimes you lay at the pool and the phone takes over

But you just don't get the relaxation that comes from reading a book

I really do try and limit my screen time when on holiday 

Good move. I was in Chiang Mai in August, p*ssing down with rain on two of the days, wifi went out, ended up being a good thing as I got stuck into my novel.

[Marc26]

56 minutes ago, ChicagoExpat said:

So, what are people reading now?  @Marc26 @rattlesnake @BigHewer  I just finished the battle of Trafalgar -- I didn't realize how important it was, that it set the stage for British political and military dominance in the 19th century.  And that inspired me to pick up one of Patrick O'Brian's books on Jack Aubrey, of "Master and Commander" fame -- I read them all many years ago but they're as good or better on a second read.

I'm reading Jake Needham

Shepherd in Bangkok 

 

It's a series but I didn't read any previous one and not needed

 

 

Some of my favorite books of all time(sorry all mostly financial)

 

Billion Dollar Whale

J Lho scammed Malaysia funds....just an incredible story

 

Ugly Americans......Ben Mezrich book

Hedge fund traders thriller in Japan

 

Billion Dollar Loser.....the WeWork story

Just a bizarre human being

 

 

 

[BigHewer]

56 minutes ago, ChicagoExpat said:

So, what are people reading now?  @Marc26 @rattlesnake @BigHewer 

Right now, I’m reading a book called ‘Very Thai’. 50 chapters, each dedicated to something typically Thai that we see in daily life. 

 

Each chapter is about four pages, illustrated and explains the background of each aspect. Informative read and answers a few questions on things one might wonder about.

I only read fiction when on vacation (vacations themselves are a kind of fiction :)))) and non-fiction when I’m at home.

[BigHewer]

9 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

Billion Dollar Loser.....the WeWork story

I like reading company histories. I recently read ‘The Last Empire’ a cracker about the de Beers company, what a clever but evil entity. I’ll never ever buy a diamond.

I wish my wife would read it

[Marc26]

1 hour ago, BigHewer said:

I like reading company histories. I recently read ‘The Last Empire’ a cracker about the de Beers company, what a clever but evil entity. I’ll never ever buy a diamond.

I wish my wife would read it

Yeah same here

Those books are always interesting 

 

We may do an upgrade to my wife's ring

 

The thing is I bought a close to flawless 1 carat ring

 

But she's fine with a much bigger lab grown and it's basically the same price trading it in...

 

She doesn't care, as long as she can show it off to her friends. 

 

And I'm not sentimental at all to any of that stuff

[rattlesnake]

On 10/10/2024 at 1:51 AM, ChicagoExpat said:

So, what are people reading now?  @Marc26 @rattlesnake @BigHewer  I just finished the battle of Trafalgar -- I didn't realize how important it was, that it set the stage for British political and military dominance in the 19th century.  And that inspired me to pick up one of Patrick O'Brian's books on Jack Aubrey, of "Master and Commander" fame -- I read them all many years ago but they're as good or better on a second read.

A good book I read recently was The Heart of Everything That Is: The Untold Story of Red Cloud, An American Legend.

The gist of the book is set during the American Civil War and follows the epic quest of Sioux warrior and leader Red Cloud, a strategic genius who managed the extraordinary feat of uniting enemy native tribes for the greater imperative of their own survival. He inflicted the US Army their only defeat and was a feared and respected opponent… though ultimately the US had a never-ending supply of cannon fodder and also technological means (the invention of the Colt was decisive) and nothing could be done to change the tragic outcome.

It is also a very interesting depiction of the American Civil War and its aftermath, the talks and decisions made behind the scenes during Red Cloud's War, the protagonists of the Oregon Trail, and last but not least, this fascinating yet dubious notion of a “promised land” and everything good and bad it entailed.

It is a great immersion in some of the most tumultuous times in US history, well written, gripping and factual, and essential, IMO, to fully grasp what is happening in the US in current times.