On #Holocaust Remembrance Day as well as the week that Lunar New Year begins, I am starting this very important book by Iris Chang which details the massacre of Nanking by Japanese forces during #WWII. Much less well-known than the genocide in Europe, but no less horrifying.
pick*Not the tagged book* Audible produces a Words + Music series, which allows listeners to consume a brief overview of various music artists. I enjoyed learning about legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma in this Audible Original, Beginner‘s Mind. Yo-Yo Ma immediately had my attention when the audiobook opened with him describing a remote home he and his wife enjoy that is immersed in nature.
Full review at abookandadog.com/blog/beginners-mind-yo-yo-ma
pickI‘m on a roll with the tough memoirs of horrible lived experiences. This is a topic I had little to no knowledge of prior to reading this book: the oppression of the Uyghur people in China. Izgil, an intellectual, recalls his life under strict rule with lyrical writing, a sharp contrast to what he calls and his family endured. Constantly scared of reprimand, never knowing who may sell them out for owning the wrong book. Unbelievable but real.
pickIt‘s baffling what people do to inflict pain on other people. I don‘t understand it, yet I know how capable I am of doing it. Even in small ways like how I might talk to someone who upsets me.
Of course, the Rape of Nanking was a massacre not a mild social interaction. Iris Chang describes a lot of atrocities. At first they turned my stomach (literally) but she never stops describing them. Is it intentional?
I‘m still left with WHY.
pickNot all about the Forbidden City but a nice little book.
Mine is from 1972.
Goes well with my medal from the Conqueror Challenge
pickFollowing 4 young people and their families, this book looks at life in Shanghai during the Japanese occupation in WWII then on to the communist takeover of China and thereafter. It‘s a terrific, personalized way to explore history and excellent narrative nonfiction. I can‘t recommend it enough.
pickA vivid portrayal of China from 1976-81:
"...Informative, disturbing, poignant and absorbing...personal encounters with individual Chinese that (were) almost unprecedented for any American journalist (at this time this book was written)." - NYT Book Review
Fascinating. I learned that I know less than I ever could have imagined.
pickI found this narrative history to be a good introduction to this amazing woman.
Cixi arguably laid the groundwork for modern China, she was a moderate reformer who made hard decisions but was not a harsh ruler. She accomplished a lot while working around centuries of tradition and laws that made it difficult for even the most talented women to lead.
3/5, read to learn about this amazing woman, & what the author thinks about Cixi
pickThis was a sometimes difficult but also fascinating listen. It tells the story of three generations of women in China and provides a personal perspective to life through and after the Communist Revolution.
#audiobook #nonfiction #1001books #ReadTheWorld #ReadingTheWorld #China #DeweysReadathon #DeweysOctober2023
Good morning! I‘m looking forward to listening to lots of audio and reading some print today as I participate in the 24 hour Dewey‘s readathon. I‘m starting my day by listening to Wild Swans while I have breakfast and read some early posts.
#DeweysReadathon #DeweysOctober2023 #Readathon #BookAndBreakfast #audiobook
