Oh, and I should tell you that during the summer we did take a month off to travel in Europe. So later I will be talking about our trip through five countries there--Germany, Switzerland, Leichenstein, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary. Although I was doing research for the new book, there was lots of fun involved as well.
For now, I've been doing a lot of reading and so I will tell you about some of the best books I read this winter. Today is an anthology about China written by John H. Rydzewski. Here are my comments:
As one who loves to travel, I have long desired to
visit the mysterious countries of Asia. But even though I did manage to tour Japan,
I have never been to its huge neighbour, China. So I was delighted when Author
John Rydzewski offered me a copy of his book, “China Diaries & Other Tales from
the Road.”
John is an itinerant writer who has travelled
through more than forty countries on five continents and decided, not only
travel through China; but to live and work there for three years.
His book is an anthology of stories about his
adventures there and gives the reader insight into everything from dating the
beautiful, northern Chinese policewomen of Dàlián to traveling along the mysterious
Silk Road. The book gives an excellent overall perspective of an expatriate’s life
in this huge country that is well on its way to being one of the top economic
leaders of the world.
There are some funny moments and some poignant
moments and Rydzewski’s ability to draw word pictures brings it all to life. He
doesn’t spare himself in some of the episodes such as one entitled “Do You
Smell Something.” The beauty of the book is that you don’t have to read it all
at once. Each chapter is a story in itself and you can enjoy the entire book
over a period of time.
Whether you have a trip to China in mind, or fear
that you will never make it there, this is a great read and I highly recommend
it. Five stars for this fascinating collection from John Rydzewski.
