Recommended Books for John

John asked me for a list of recommended books. Here are some of my favorites, not listed in any particular order. Some of these books shaped the way I think. Others are just so darn good I had to add them to the list. Please add yours to the list if you feel so obliged.

1. Demian, by Hermann Hesse
2. Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse
3. The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
4. The Color of Water, by James McBride (non-fiction but reads like fiction)
5. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
6. The Alienist, by Caleb Carr
7. Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt
8. The Accidental Asian, by Eric Liu (non-fiction)
9. The Stranger, by Albert Camus
10. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
11. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, by Dai Sijie
12. Blindness, by Jose Saramago
13. Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
14. Devil in the White City, Erik Larson (non-fiction but reads like fiction)
15. Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
16. The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffenegger
17. The Winged Seed, by Li-Young Lee

The Artichoke Flower in China Town

The day after our evening of Art2Go, Margy, John, CJ and I spent the day walking around the city. We discovered this little tea shop -- a gem of a place in congested China Town. Hundreds of glass jars filled with tea lined the shelves on one wall. On the other, "tea bartenders" were brewing tea for customers to sample. The teas had names like "Yellow Sweet" or "Artichoke Flower." Margy said it sounded like poetry. We saw the "Artichoke Flower" tea transform from a shrivelled up pod to a full flower submerged in water.

Portrait of girl in soldier's uniform at the back of the tea shop. An icon of socialism? Or a design statement?

A very charismatic "Tea Bartender"

John browsing the hundreds of teas that lined the left wall

The tea bar

What is Art2Go

It would be wrong to say that Art2Go began only 14 years ago when a few of us software designers -- who had sold our dreams to be artists -- wanted to have a platform, an outlet, a place to share our artwork. Art2Go really began for me over 33 years ago, when I sat in a corner of the kitchen, stealing a look at my father and his friends reading poetry and performing original songs. In those days, Vietnamese poets and musicians often collaborated, since most Vietnamese music is poetry put to music. These evenings were informal and spontaneous. There may be 3 people or 30. They may have just tea, a bit of cognac, or a full 8 course dinner. Sometimes they would perform and talked about pieces that touched them. From that point on, I never heard a song or read a poem or a story the same way again. There was truly an atmosphere behind every word. Vietnamese artists called these gatherings, "Van Nghe Bo Tui" or literally translated as, "Art for Your Pocket" -- art that is free, shared, that you can take away with you after the night is over.

Since Art2Go has grown, this blog will be our connection. Send me your work in progress, stuff you want to share and I'll post it. Then I'll have a cup of tea or a bit of cognac...