Book 48: Peony in Love

I've read a couple of Lisa See's other books (Shanghai Girls, Dreams of Joy, On Gold Mountain) and enjoyed them, especially On Gold Mountain. I thought I'd try this one as well.

Some of the "ghost" elements of the story were a little too wacky for me and I really didn't relate at all to the narrator. But it gave me some historical perspective on the Ming and Qing dynasties. Surprise surprise, the Chinese had a movement of female writers and poets long before the West did.

Book 47: The Fish that Ate the Whale

Who knew there was so much to know about bananas growing and banana sales?

Not that long ago, the banana was quite a mover and a shaker in world politics. In addition to helping me understand the ol' slipping-on-a-banana-peel gag, this was really fun to listen because it was so engagingly written.

Book 46: Debt Free on Any Income

Ironically, I can't really remember anything from this book.

Um, spend less, debt snowball, stop using credit cards?

Book 45: 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess

This is one of those kind of gimmick-y life experiment books that I always say I'm not going to read anymore.

This one gave me a lot to think about, in terms of recognizing the overabundance around me, and how I might simplify and at the same time enrich my life.

Book 44: Gilead

This was a re-read for me, which almost never happens.

I first read this when it was first published, about 10 years ago. This time, I listened to the audio book. Some of it was wonderfully read, but some parts of the reading reminded me a little bit of Santa Claus or some other stylized "older man" character. The knowing chuckle got to be an irritating disruption in the beautifully written narrative.

Book 43: The Cooked Seed

A few years ago, I read Anchee Min's memoir of her early years in China, Red Azalea. This second volume recounts her experiences coming to the United States as a student and making her way as a writer.

If you have had cross-cultural experiences or you work with international students, you might find this interesting and relevant.

Book 42: Second Suns

If you're interested in global health and global poverty, this is a very readable look at the power of eye surgery to improve lives. Second Suns follows the lives and work of two eye surgeons and the work they do to provide cataract and other eye surgery to people with preventable blindness.

The methods used by these two surgeons to bring sight to as many people as possible are inspiring.

Book 41: The Swerve

Not sure what electromagnetic field affected my brain to such a degree that I haven't posted anything in two months, but here we go again!

This one will blow your mind.

I had no idea that so many of our "modern" ideas originated in ancient Greece, or how many of them were lost in the Middle Ages. It poses some interesting, challenging questions about religion, as well.