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“Forerun thy peers, thy time, and let Thy feet, millenniums hence, be set In midst of knowledge, dream’d not yet.”

Lord Tennyson
  • Personal essays

    Musings on When reading stops being discovery

    Published by

    Anda

    on

    August 11, 2025
    Musings on When reading stops being discovery

    In an age when the entire breadth of human knowledge is literally at our fingertips—where fact-checking is nearly instantaneous and alternative perspectives are just a few clicks away—there has never been a better time to embrace this intellectual daring.

    Continue reading →: Musings on When reading stops being discovery
  • China, USA

    Musings on Four treasures of the sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

    Published by

    Anda

    on

    August 5, 2025
    Musings on Four treasures of the sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang

    Keywords: Chinese literature, modern Chinese history, Chinese exclusion act, calligraphy, Jenny Tinghui Zhang Genre: Literary fiction Length: short medium long Country: China, USA Review “Your intentions were good, she said, but your actions betrayed you. From now on, Daiyu, you must learn that the two cannot ever be separate. No…

    Continue reading →: Musings on Four treasures of the sky by Jenny Tinghui Zhang
  • China

    Musings on Imperial woman by Pearl S. Buck

    Published by

    Anda

    on

    July 9, 2025
    Musings on Imperial woman by Pearl S. Buck

    Keywords: Chinese literature, historical fiction, Empress Dowager CiXi, last empress of China, Pearl S. Buck Genre: Historical fiction Length: short medium long Country: China Review “Who rules well is always hated.” I read Imperial Woman during a time when I was overwhelmed with exam preparation, mentally and emotionally exhausted. I…

    Continue reading →: Musings on Imperial woman by Pearl S. Buck
  • China

    Musings on Second sister by Chan Ho-Kei

    Published by

    Anda

    on

    June 26, 2025
    Musings on Second sister by Chan Ho-Kei

    Keywords: Chinese literature, Hong Kong, mystery thriller, Chan Ho-Kei Genre: Thriller Length: short medium long Country: China Review “Dear Stranger, By the time you see these lines, I might no longer be here. Recently, I’ve been thinking about death every day.” Going into Second Sister, I wasn’t exactly brimming with…

    Continue reading →: Musings on Second sister by Chan Ho-Kei
  • China

    Musings on Lady Tan’s circle of women by Lisa See

    Published by

    Anda

    on

    June 6, 2025
    Musings on Lady Tan’s circle of women by Lisa See

    I’ve seen that setup so many times before that I felt almost impatient. Nothing seemed particularly original. The characters felt like they came from a template, and I prepared myself for a fairly generic historical fiction experience. But then, quietly and without much ceremony, the book began to shift.

    Continue reading →: Musings on Lady Tan’s circle of women by Lisa See
  • USA

    Musings on James by Percival Everett

    Published by

    Anda

    on

    May 10, 2025
    Musings on James by Percival Everett

    There’s a certain dissonance that comes with reading a highly decorated book and walking away unmoved, or worse, unconvinced. James by Percival Everett—winner of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize and several other major literary awards—was, for me, one of those reads. While I understand the cultural importance and symbolic power of…

    Continue reading →: Musings on James by Percival Everett
  • Austria

    Musings on Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig

    Published by

    Anda

    on

    April 27, 2025
    Musings on Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig

    Keywords: Austrian literature, disability, maturity, tragedy Genre: Literary fiction Length: short medium long Country: Austria Synopsis (from Goodreads) “Hofmiller, an Austro-Hungarian cavalry officer stationed at the edge of the empire, is invited to a party at the home of a rich local landowner, a world away from the dreary routine…

    Continue reading →: Musings on Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig
  • China

    Musings on China Dream by Ma Jian

    Published by

    Anda

    on

    April 19, 2025
    Musings on China Dream by Ma Jian

    “But utopias always lead to dystopias, and dictators invariably become gods who demand daily worship.” China Dream | Ma Jian Keywords: Chinese literature, Chinese fiction, dystopia, political commentary Genre: Fiction Length: short medium long Country: China Review . The “China Dream” is a political slogan introduced by Xi Jinping in…

    Continue reading →: Musings on China Dream by Ma Jian
  • China

    Musings on The funeral cryer by Wen Yan Lu

    Published by

    Anda

    on

    April 19, 2025
    Musings on The funeral cryer by Wen Yan Lu

    Keywords: Chinese literature, Chinese fiction, death, marriage Genre: Literary fiction Length: short medium long Country: China Review . “She was Great-Great-Grandma to everyone in the village. I didn’t know how old she was at the time; we just knew she was alive. I felt a moment of surreptitious excitement and…

    Continue reading →: Musings on The funeral cryer by Wen Yan Lu
  • China

    Musings on Kinder than solitude by Yi Yun Li

    Published by

    Anda

    on

    August 30, 2024
    Musings on Kinder than solitude by Yi Yun Li

    Keywords: Chinese literature, Chinese fiction, loneliness, isolation, death Genre: Fiction Length: short medium long Country: China Review . “When people talk about starting over, it’s only wishful thinking: what came before, what happened yesterday, did not come or happen in vain.” Kinder than solitude | Yi Yun Li Three friends…

    Continue reading →: Musings on Kinder than solitude by Yi Yun Li
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I read and then I write about it. You’re welcome to join me.

For the latest posts and content:

Recent posts

  • Musings on Happy dreams by Jia Pingwa

    Musings on Happy dreams by Jia Pingwa

  • Musings on This story might save your life by Tiffany Crum

    Musings on This story might save your life by Tiffany Crum

  • Musings on Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

    Musings on Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

  • Musings on Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo

    Musings on Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo

  • Musings on The sky is not enough by June O’Sullivan

    Musings on The sky is not enough by June O’Sullivan

  • Musings on Even If: Trusting God Through the Fire by Bart and Shanon Millard

    Musings on Even If: Trusting God Through the Fire by Bart and Shanon Millard

Lilac, sun, coffee and books 🩷 "We’ve come to Xi’an of our own accord, and we have to accept it as it is. It isn’t as good as what we imagined, but it’s nowhere near as bad as you make it out to be. We have to put up with it, there’s no use complaining. It only makes it more difficult to have a good life here. We have to get Xi’an to accept us, Wufu. We have to believe we can live well here, and see things differently. For instance, if you see a tree by the road that’s been blown over by the wind, think of it as our tree and go straighten it." I'm only showing you the ebook version so you know what the cover looks like because let me tell you something! This book in audio format has been the best audio production I have ever encountered when it comes to books!! If you have the possibility, do pick it up as an audiobook, even if just to see what a well done one sounds like! 💯 In my bio you'll find the full review, but down here I'll leave you just some impressions. If you thought I died, well,  I didn't.  Don Quixote had me dragging my eyes through it, making me have a new appreciation for Moby Dick's (very!) generous details of rope. Teamwork 231/736 and this book is nothing like I expected I was in middle school when MercyMe became popular in Romania, and Even If was one of the songs that stayed with me, even years later. Coming across a book written by Bart Millard and his wife now felt both strange and unexpectedly heartwarming. Not the first book I started, but the first I finished. And oh, what a book it was!  The full review is on my blog - link in bio. I will leave some interesting stuff here too:

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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and James American literature asian literature Austrian literature Beware of Pity book-review book-reviews books chan ho kei china dream chinese dystopia chinese fiction chinese historical fiction chinese literature chinese thriller classics disability in literature fiction historical fiction hong kong hong kong literature james James by Percivall Everett kinder than solitude Korean fiction Kyung Sook Shin Lady Tan's circle of women Lisa See literary fiction Magical Realism mark-twain mystery thriller percival-everett Please look after mom Please look after mother retelling second sister slavery south korean literature Stefan Zweig Tan Yunxian the funeral cryer wen yan lu yan lian ke yiyun li

Musings of a reading addict

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