Aug 2025 Reading Log

7. Hoang mạc Tarta - Dino Buzzati

To me, this book is an absolute masterpiece. About words and the art, it’s enough, not too fancy to be stunned, not too little to furrow my eyebrows. But it’s enough and balance, between the haunting beauty of the landscapes and the inner war of main protagonist. About the story, is it an epic story? No, or even it’s slightly a peaceful-but-hopeless tragedy. But why do I consider it a masterpiece? Cause I can see myself in it. It’s like someone bang the pagoda’s bell next to my ear. It shakes my soul, makes me can’t stop reading to finish within 2 days. I had to take a reflection to make myself different than the main character.

Rate: (Will re-read in English version later)

8. Digital Minimalism - Cal Newport

Cal Newport’s books are my favorite ones in non-fiction category, I quite a fan of his “Deep Work”. But with this book, I feel a wave of unsatistification. The value doesn’t make me feel inspired or motivated.

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9. The Practicing Mind - Thomas M. Sterner

It’s a pretty short read but the writing is kinda good. The ideas in the book isn’t new, tbh. A similar book we can tell is Deep Work by Cal Newport. But the way the author explained, is soothing to read. The most valuable thing I learn from this book is: focusing on present, every will be better?

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10. Hà Nội ta đánh Mỹ giỏi - Nguyễn Tuân

The first time I know about this work, it is kind of negative, as they believe he must be forced to write this. So when I approach this work, I have a kind of worry, wonder if Nguyễn’s figure in my heart will be broken.

But that feeling vanishes as soon as I start reading. God knows if any force can break this frickin’ stubborn soul. He is himself, the man that can spend endless pages to yap about a single blossom to the ancient history, from the wet rice culture to the sentimental of spring days. He is himself, the one who can trashtalk, curse, yell at anyone he feels uncomfortable around.

He is not brain-washed or whatever you can blame when he doesn’t act like you expected. He is more than some articles in “Vang bóng một thời” that he wrote in his young age. He is a serious, hardworking writer. He writes to express, or flex himself. And human is complex, not to mention an artist soul like him. More than the love for beauty, for travel, he is also a Vietnamese, a son of Hanoi. In the war, he is the one observes its cruelty and he is a victim of the war when he lost his beloved ones. So what did you expect from a straightforward person like him?

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1. Mưa Đỏ - Chu Lai

It’s unexpectedly good. I admit, I read it because of the trending movie. But you can’t deny that this is a good book. It makes me have a feeling, or have a related feeling to War and Peace by Leo Tolstoi. Of course it’s about the philosophy or massiveness of the work, you can’t compare to War and Peace like it. But the history background of the story, it is lively and gives me a delusion. The characters are diversity in their appearances and mindsets. The author’s mindset when explaining this battle is also similar to mine. Very gud.

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