I have been looking for a novelization about Empress Wu Zetian for a while. I gave Empress by Shan Sa a try, but it was god-awful. So I was very excited to come across The Moon in the Palace by Weina Dai Randel. About The Moon in the Palace There is no easy path for a Read More
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Book Review – Soundless by Richelle Mead
Richelle Mead, the hugely successful author behind the Vampire Academy series, stepped into new territory this year with Soundless, a fantasy novel set an a China-inspired world. About Soundless For as long as Fei can remember, there has been no sound in her village, where rocky terrain and frequent avalanches prevent residents from self-sustaining. Fei Read More
Book Review – The Red Princess Mysteries by Lisa See
I read a lot of historical mystery books, but I got really tired of the same protagonist – a white widow of means. So when looking for a mystery with a non-white heroine, I came across Lisa See’s Red Princess Mysteries. While it isn’t exactly a historical series, the Red Princess Mysteries is a solid Read More
Book Review – Buy Me The Sky by Xinran
I am a big fan of Xinran’s books. It is still difficult to find female Chinese writers writing about women’s issues in China in English. While more Chinese women are taking up the pen regarding these issues, Xinran was one of the first. She was in China collecting women’s stories when many people in China Read More
Interview with Xinran, the Author of Buy Me The Sky
Most readers of this blog know that I am a huge fan of the author Xinran. I reviewed her book “The Good Women of China” here and wrote about her book “Letters From an Unknown Chinese Mother” here. Her latest book “Buy Me The Sky: The remarkable truth of China’s one-child generations” talks about the children Read More
Two Americans in China in Bali
This year, for the one week national holiday, Seth and I went to Bali, Indonesia. While we didn’t get to stay as long as we wanted and didn’t see nearly all the island has to offer, we had a great time and would love to go back. We mainly stayed in Ubud. Ubud is in Read More
Interview With Lisa See, Author of The Red Princess Mysteries
Lisa See is best known for her historical novels, especially Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, which I reviewed here. But she also wrote a fabulous mystery series back in 1997. I recently read all three of the Red Princess mystery books and really enjoyed them. Lisa was kind enough to answer a few questions Read More
Dozens of SZ Expats Swindled in United Airlines Flight Scam
The following was originally published in the Shenzhen Daily. I have added a little more information for clarity and an analysis to the end. DOZENS of expats in Shenzhen have been swindled out of tens of thousands of yuan in a United Airlines fraud case allegedly perpetuated by a well-known Shenzhen international student, an investigation Read More
Interview With Annie K. Wong, Author of Children of Lightning
Annie K. Wong is the author of fantasy adventure Children of Lightning! The Chinese-Canadian writer agreed to stop by and tell us more about her book. Be sure to check out the giveaway at the bottom of the page! About Children of Lightning childreSecrets beget secrets. The curse that befell the Hollows clan has left Read More
Be A Good Landlord
The following was originally published by the Shenzhen Daily. Two weekends ago, I spent a couple of days helping a friend look for an apartment. She is a young professional whose company relocated from Shanghai to Shenzhen. However, our excitement over her move quickly gave way to despair after looking at over a dozen apartments Read More