Reflections of stuff read in 2004 (part 1)

I'm not sure how you choose to mark the passing of the old year. Me? I close the chapter to the previous year by publishing a list of (mostly) books read in the previous year.

The stuff I read in 2004 proved to be pretty much the same as previous years -- military-related fiction & non-fiction; Sci-Fi; Business & Management; a smattering of library/ book-related non-fiction. But I picked up a few YP fiction books and Graphic Novels though, to better acquaint myself with the YP collection. Also read one novel by Sandra Brown because I wanted to know why it was popular with women (hey, I always say, "A good salesman must know what he has to offer!")

A few colleagues asked if publishing a personal reading list would mean a loss of personal privacy. I suppose it depends on the individual's viewpoint. Frankly, I don't see it as a problem at all. So what if people know that I read certain stuff?

As a Mandarin phrase goes, “高兴都来不及”-- poorly translated as "Can't wait to be happy, let along being worried". Besides, one could always leave out any sensitive or controversial stuff (if any). Publishing a personal reading list does not make one's life an open book, does it? Which begs the question, "Does it matter if your life is an open book?"

Oh, contrary to certain public perception, Singapore is NOT a police-state. No one gets arrested if they read things like Karl Marx's "The Communist Manifesto" or Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf". These are available in our public libaries, by the way.