Month: March 2018

Cyprus: Driving

2 comments

I thought for a while about what other topic regarding Cyprus might be interesting. Then I realized that for a Russian person, the answer is quite obvious: driving.

So, let’s talk about what makes the driving experience different. By the time I moved to the sunny island, I already had over ten years of driving experience with a Belarusian driver’s license.

Is it difficult to get used to driving with a right-hand drive?

As it turns out, it’s still a surprise to many that in Cyprus, the steering wheel is “on the wrong side,” meaning it’s not like the rest of Europe. But then you realize—it’s a former British colony, so what’s there to be surprised about?

Read more

Mark Goulston “Talking to ‘Crazy'”

No comments

I read the book in Russian, and the main issue with the translation is its title, which became How to Talk to Assholes in Russian. In the original, there’s no mention of “assholes”—the word used is “crazy.” However, to grab attention, the editors took liberties. This may have drawn some readers in, but the reality is the book isn’t about what its cover suggests.

I decided to read this book as a sort of follow-up to Robert Sutton’s The No Asshole Rule. But as it turned out, the two have nothing in common. However, the book was much better than I expected, given its strange title.

The author is a practicing psychologist who interacts with a lot of strange, even insane people through his work. He uses examples to demonstrate how one can communicate with people we find unbearable.

He starts with a brief classification of “crazy” people, explaining possible mechanisms of madness, and then moves on to discuss how to handle each specific case. Interestingly, through these examples, he shows that most problems stem from childhood, from the principles of upbringing. This, in turn, leaves a mark on the rest of one’s life.

Read more

Boris Akunin “Not Saying Goodbye”

1 comment

So, according to the author, the long story of Erast Fandorin has come to an end. He was “buried” before, like in Black City when he was supposedly shot in the head. But now, Boris Akunin has officially declared that it’s over—no more adventures. And it’s true; fifteen full novels have been released (or more, depending on how you count).

It all started with The Winter Queen, where an enthusiastic young man was fatefully drawn into a global conspiracy. Honestly, when the Erast Fandorin craze began, I was hesitant for a long time, since I don’t like following trends. But then the movie came out, and I finally decided to read it. And I was completely hooked. I binge-read everything that was available at that point and then eagerly devoured each new book as soon as it was published.

Read more

Neil Gaiman “American Gods”

No comments

The novel American Gods had been on my radar for a long time; the synopsis seemed intriguing. But for some reason, I never got around to reading it. Then, out of the blue, the Americans started adapting it into a TV series, and the book began getting advertised everywhere again. Several acquaintances read it, my wife too… so I had no choice.

I read the novel fairly quickly but took a long time to gather my thoughts to write a detailed opinion. I rated it right away, but as to why—that required some reflection.

Read more