A Monk’s Alphabet by Jeremy Driscoll is one of the best reads I’ve had in quite a while. The book isn’t long on plot or blood and thunder. Its 210 pages contain ideas, essays and anecdotes, all short and each listed in alphabetical order. Sounds mundane. But what soaring ideas! What whimsical stories! What common sense observations! They can be read at random, but please, don’t try to finish the whole book at once. The pieces are much better enjoyed in moderation, like caviar and vodka before dinner or rich chocolates after. To Read More...

Problem: Kim Jong-Il is the dictator of North Korea. It is a very poor country, and he is a textbook paranoid schizo. To Read More...

We got started late for a number of reasons. The first was that the steering of my buddy’s car required “adjustment” because, although it had been fixed the day before, turning the wheel created bothersome noises. Metal grinding against metal noises that made you think bits and pieces were being left behind on the roadway. “But it’s perfectly safe,” the shop owner assured us.
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