RITZ-CARLTON LUMINARA: Day 9--Books

The Luminara departed the Port of Saigon, and is heading for the Port of Danang.  Tomorrow will be an at-sea day.

Lunch was at Mistral.  Basically, Antipasto Misto, Truffle Fries and Sausage Pizza, with white and red wines, plus beer.

Did not do much shipwise, for it was beginning to get a bit rough at sea.  Dinner at Haesu Bit began with a sake pouring and Pho.  Also, tuna and hamachi sashimi.

Decided to watch TV in our stateroom tonight because it was too dangerous to walk around, and expected to get worse.  My lowest number of steps/day since I got my pedometer.  Only 901 steps.

Just finished reading the 2024 Eruption, by Michael Crichton and James Patterson.  I reviewed this novel last year..  Took me a long time because I finally got around to it this summer, and, through my iPhone, only read a few pages when I was waiting around for something.  Took me many months to complete.

I am now reading two books:

• A soft-back, A History of Japan, Revised Edition, by R.H.P. Mason and J.G. Caiger, originally written in 1973, but updated  in 1997.  I've had this book for almost three decades, and finally got around to taking it on one of my trips a couple of years ago, than also around the world, and never once opened it.  Finally did on this trip and am on Chapter 15 of 18.  Rather boring.  I mostly wanted to better learn when in Japan's history the various samurais were active.  Nothing much said, and I'm now into Modern Japan, from 1867.

• 
  In my iPhone, Gods Without Men by Hari Kunzru, first published in 2011.
• Kunzru is a 57-year old British novelist and jounalist, whose parents are from Kashmir, India.
• In his teens, he was opposed to how religion was being used to police people.
• Is fascinated by UFOs.
• This is his fifth novel.  He is now up to #10, Blue Ruin, published in 2024.
• Married to novelst Katie Kitamura.

I have long wondered why we have Rotten Tomatoes for films, but nothing universal for novels and books in general.

• Bookmarks by Literary Hub collects professional reviews, and assigns letter grades, from A+ to F.
• Bookmarks Magazine provides a 1-5 star rating.
• Amazon.com gives score from 1 to 5.
• Goodreads uses user ratings and offers user-generated scores.
• In short, Book Marks for professional review and Goodreads for general reader buzz.

On that basis Goodreads scores:

• Eruption  3.75
• A History of Japan, revised edition  3.5
• Gods Without Men  3.65
• I'm almost shocked, but Goodreads did rate my SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Planet Earth, and I got a 4.6 rating  First time I saw this.  Never checked before.

Amazon.com.

• Eruption  4.1
• A History of Japan, Revised Edition  4.3
• Gods Without Men  3.9
• Simple Solutions for Planet Earth  4.5.  Also too, first time I've seen this score, and again am astonished.  Did not know this  book was so highly regarded.

I asked Google AI, what is the most sold book in the world:

• The Bible  5-7 billion copies
• Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung, not certain, but maybe from 0.8 to over 6.5 billion
• The Quran  over 0.8 billion 
• Don Quixote  around 500 million (best selling novel)
• 

  One of my favorite songs, The Impossible Dream, comes from the Man of La Mancha, who of course was Don Quixote.
• There seems to be some consensus that Jack Jones's version on The Andy Williams show in 1966 was the best version.  Williams too sang this song.
• 
  I think Richard Kiley's performance from the Broadway show was better.  Here he is on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1966.
• The Impossible Dream from the 1972 film.  Looks like Peter O'Toole is singing, but the voice is that of Simon Gilbert.

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