From the category archives:

Reading

What I’m Reading

April 11, 2010

in Aviation, China, International Affairs, Reading, Thailand, What I'm

What I’ve been reading this past week (er, weekend actually.)
China:

Five Myths About China’s Economy – Washington Post 11 April 2010 – HT to @NiuB
Stability Preservation in China – ChinaGeeks 10 April 2010 – HT to @GraniteStudio

The World:

Unrest in Thailand – The Big Picture from The Boston Globe 9 April 2010
If You Want to Understand Kyrgyzstan, [...]

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What I’m

March 24, 2009

in Interesting, Randomness, Reading, What I'm

Reading today:

Rethinking the American Dream by David Kamp in the April Vanity Fair

“…that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement.” Looking at it that way, the American Dream still exists, as it always will. But I [...]

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Good-bye Mr. Crichton

November 6, 2008

in Reading, Thailand, Travel

It was a hot afternoon in Chiang Mai, Thailand and I was trying to keep to the sliver of shade at the edge of the narrow street. My arms were full of books. I had just spent a couple of hours combing through the used book stores along the road. I was anxious to get [...]

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What I’m

January 28, 2008

in International Affairs, Politics Light, Reading, What I'm

reading right now (And what I think you should read, too!)

Has AT&T Lost Its Mind? by Tim Wu – So I hear AT&T wants to filter the Internet. Bad idea, here’s why. Last time I checked, we were living in 2008 not 1984.

Waving Good-bye to Hegemony by Parag Khanna – just what will the new [...]

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Chinese Lessons

January 24, 2008

in China, Culture, Expat Life, Reading

Today I have a book recommendation. “Chinese Lessons” by John Pomfret. Pomfret first came to China as a foreign student in the early 80s. Later, he returned as a journalist. “Chinese Lessons” presents the stories of his fellow classmates, among the first students to return to university post-Cultural Revolution. Through Pomfret’s writing, these classmates share [...]

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A New Nobel Prize Winner

October 12, 2007

in Reading

Doris Lessing, one of my favorite authors has won the Nobel Prize for Literature. I couldn’t be happier.

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Celebrate the Freedom to Read

September 30, 2007

in Censorship, Library, Reading

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” Ray Bradbury

This week is banned books week in the US, and it is all the more pertinent to me since I live in a society where books are frequently banned, movies are censored, protests are squashed, news is [...]

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Link of the Week

August 13, 2007

in Culture, Reading

I wanted to share an interesting website.
Saudi Aramco World
Saudi Aramco World is a magazine devoted to sharing the culture, history and geography of Arab and Muslim lands, through articles and photography. It is available online, as a downloadable PDF and, free, as a print subscription.
It is of great interest to anyone who wants to know [...]

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Freakonomics and Gangs

August 7, 2007

in Culture, Reading

And one more post, before I get washed away with yet more rain… It has been raining here in Linyi for weeks now! Thunderstorms every other day!
I’d like to share a blog post that I think is fascinating, although it has nothing to do with China, or Asia, or travel, or any of the things [...]

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Burning Books is Not the Answer

June 1, 2007

in Philosophy, Reading

Is burning books ever a good idea? I’m not sure how I feel about this. A bookstore owner in Kansas City had a warehouse full of books he was unable to sell – close to 20,000 books. After libraries and thrift shops refused the books, he decided to hold a monthly book bonfire. He views [...]

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