A Review Of The Books That I Have Read Thus Far This Summer

I have really enjoyed reading for fun this summer. In these reviews, I will do my best to keep spoilers to an absolute minimum.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows by JK Rowling

A Simply Beautiful Book

 Yes, I have finally finished the Harry Potter series. As you can see all of the books that I have read this summer have been young adult books, but the Harry Potter books have a quality to them that the other books simply do not have. The world is so detailed and real, and everything so intricately woven together that I am simply amazed by Rowling genius. There were definitely sections that I read several times because they were so beautifully written.

[SPOILER ALERT] This is not to say that they are perfect. I was not impressed with the Epilogue, and I don’t get why Harry dropped the resurrection stone in the woods.  When I saw that in the movie, I thought that it was something that they added. Maybe I missed something, but it seems odd. Also, I thought that the romantic relationships should either have been more developed or not a part of the book. This is not to say that I want them to become the sole focus of the book though. I just thought it seemed like there wasn’t much of a relationship and then all of the sudden they were married. This might be a fault of the Epilogue and not of the books themselves. Despite these minor flaws, I thought that the books were brilliant.

I know that a lot of Christians get all up in arms over these books, but I cannot help but see the parallels. They are not as strong as say Narnia but rather more like Lord of the Rings.  The top two virtues in these books are love and sacrifice, and I believe they are also the most important tenants of Christianity. This is not to say that you can simply take everything in these books at face value. We must read everything with a critical eye, which I might suggest that some people do not do if it is labeled a Christian book. I think that there are far more dangerous thoughts that have been put into our media that Christians do not seem to have a problem with.

Love Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

What a let down after Harry Potter!

When I saw this book in the library, I thought I loved Stargirl when I was in middle school. They didn’t have the first book, but I figured that I could still enjoy this book without rereading the first one. However, if I wanted to read the diary of teenage girl pinning after her former boyfriend, I would go back and read my old journals (except that I have don’t have a former boyfriend, but you get the picture).

I think that the plot of this book has potential, but we are too close to the narrator. I remember when I was taking creative writing in college I wrote a story and my professor suggested that I switch from first person to third person because the story would be better if we could get out of the narrator’s head. I would say the same is true for this book. I will be honest I did not actually finish reading this book because I was so annoyed.

One thing that I did not remember about the first book was how many Buddhist ideas were put into this book. Once again one most read with critical eye. I know I read the first book in middle school, but I think that this is a book that should be discussed if middle schoolers are going to be reading it.

A Crack in the Line by Michael Lawrence

A Very Interesting Book

A boy whose mother was killed in a train accident discovers an alternate reality in which a girl version of himself lives and his mother is still alive. This book was very interesting and it made me want to keep reading. However, I thought that the author introduced too many plot points that were unresolved by the end of the book. The ending was still good, but it left me with some questions. I did not realize until I began to write this review that this is the first book in a trilogy, so maybe these questions will be resolved in the next two books.  When I finished the book, I was not looking for a sequel; I just wanted a few plot points wrapped up a bit. Now that I know there are two more books, I am not sure how I feel, and I am not sure if I will read them.

I also wanted to note this book has a decent amount of language. Most of it is British swear words (Actually, that is how I figured out that the story was taking place in the UK. Is that sad?), so I was not particularly offended by it because I have not been conditioned to do so, but I know that others might be.

Match and Crossed by Ally Condie

A typical dystopia novel

In a future perfect word, the Society picks your perfect spouse for you except somehow Cassia has two matches: one is the one the Society wants for her, and one with unmentionable secrets. The world of this book very much reminds me of The Giver. I don’t think that the world itself was unique enough or developed enough to make it interesting. Also, I don’t know why all these authors think that love triangles are in and of themselves a good premise for a book. I still enjoyed the book, but I would not go as far to say that it is “storytelling with the resonance of a classic” (as it says on the inside front cover). I think that this author attempted to be literary, but she falls short. The concept of the story is interesting, but the pacing of the story is pretty slow, and it was very obviously written to be two books. I think that this is rather lazy writing though because she cannot make the reader interested enough in the plot to want to keep reading, so she drags out the plot until there finally is conflict and ends the book. That way the reader will feel obligated to read the second book. 

The second book Crossed begins pretty exciting, but towards the middle the pacing slows down and once again it is a bit boring. Then at the end she makes it exciting and once again ends the book. I was reading other reviews on this book and one of them said this, “It's like Condie had enough material for 2 books but the publisher's wanted to squeeze out three, and Crossed resulted.” I, personally, disagree with this reviewer. I think that Condie had enough material for one book, but dragged it out into three. These books are quick reads though, and if you want fluffy books that attempt to be literary and, mostly, fail then go for it.

I feel like I have been really critical in these reviews, but I have been very grateful for the time to read for pleasure. Even if I have not loved all the books, I have enjoyed reading them.

On my reading list for the rest of the summer

The Help – I saw the movie, and I really want to read the book.

Cat’s Eye– I loved the Blind Assassin, and ever since I wanted to read another Margaret Atwood novel.

Redeeming Love – I have heard mixed reviews on this book, but those who like it, love it, so I want to come up with my own opinions.

On Blogs

I love blogs. Call me a creeper, but if you post your blog posts on Facebook and if I know you at least semi-reasonably well, then I read your blog. I love seeing into a little window of your life. However, I do not feel like I contribute as much as I take from the blogging world. I never comment on other people’s blogs, and I don’t write nearly enough blog posts. So in order to remedy this unbalanced relationship, I am writing a blog to say that I love blogs, and this is my general comment on all of your blog posts that I have read. Thank you for letting me step into your life even if it only for a few short paragraphs. Also please do not take this blog post as a sign that you should block me or unfriend me on Facebook. :)

The Other Buzz Word

The more I live here the more I like the metaphor of a rock tumbler. That's what we are a bunch of rocks being thrown into this machine and being spun round and round. We run into each other and sometimes it hurts. Yet what we get in the end is something more beautiful than what we could be if we were on our own. Yes of course I am talking about…community. Yes, it sounds incredibly cheesy, but I do think that it’s true. I started this blog post about a month ago, and now I have forgotten where I was going with it.* However, it has really been on my heart for a while. Several things happened all at once that brought this topic so close to my face that I had to smack into it. Anyways, I guess that I just wanted to say that I thankful for the community that I had in Qingdao. Now I am acclimating myself to a new community, and while things are going well, change is hard.

*I know that’s not how blogs are supposed to work. You are supposed to write one in one sitting and then publish it. None of this begin one, stop, revise it, rewrite it, then publish it nonsense. I think that I am just too much of an English teacher to sit and write one in one sitting and be satisfied enough with it. I might also be too ADD to write everything in one sitting.

On Transition

This past weekend, a friend asked me how I was doing, and I started crying. I have heard of other people doing that, but never in a million years did I expect to do that. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I am not normally this emotional, but this semester I have been on the brink of tears more times than I can count.

Transition is so hard, and I don’t know how other people make it look so easy. I feel like I am such an emotional mess, and I don’t know why I am so upset. The truth is I have not had that many transitions in my life. I lived in the same house until I was 19. My entire life up till last year, I went to the same fellowship. While I had the normal transitions that come with growing up, I have not had earth-shattering changes in my life. This is not to say that I wish that I had moved or had more instability, but I think that it might make coping with this situation much easier if I had. This is the first transition that I have ever made that has not been a natural and joyous one (such as the ones from High School to College or from College to working a.k.a. China). I have had no control over this transition, and it is not the logical next step in life.

           At the same time, I feel like I don’t even have a right be upset; I mean I barely made it through my first school year. People who have become much more settled than I have are leaving and going to a different country, so how dare I be upset that I am moving to a different city that is only a five hour train ride away.

On top of this, I am also dealing with this sense of homelessness. Where is my home? In a way Munroe Falls will always be home because I lived there for almost 19 years of my life. But in a way Qingdao is my home, but I don’t actually have a home in Qingdao because we moved out of our apartment this weekend. Now, Amy has made it very clear that her home is my home while I am here, but it is just not the same. Also, I was reminded that I do have a home in Tianjin, but since I am not currently living there, it is hard to consider it home. I have also been told that I have a home in Heaven, but once again it is hard for me to focus on that when I can’t see it. Before I moved to China someone who has been in China for a long time told me that the longer she lives in China the more she realizes that her real home is not on this earth. She has learned to focus on that fact and take comfort in it. I think that I need to do the same.

             I actually have been in the process of writing this particular blog post for the past two weeks or so. I have just have had a lot to mull-over in my mind, and I have gotten to the point that I really want to move onto a new topic. However, I don’t feel like I can move on until I have finished this one. Right now, I am doing better with this whole idea of transition, but ask me tomorrow, and I might burst into tears. (This reminds me of a Relient K song. I kinda feel like my life is a Relient K song.)

Great is His Faithfulness: An Account of the Father’s Provision

I think that the Father has been trying to show me that I can trust him. This entire school year has been a trust exercise, but throughout this past year, He has continued to prove Himself. Here are the many ways that He has provided for me throughout the past few weeks:

• Stephanie and Monica were able to go to Hong Kong with me, so I was not stuck emotionally distraught and alone in a foreign country.
• I went to the visa agency several hours before my passport was supposed to be done because I was at the airport to pick up a friend. Even though the visa situation was not what I would have wanted, being there early expedited the process. Since I picked up my passport early, I was able to go to the consulate that day. If I had waited until 4 o’clock, when I was supposed to pick up my passport, then I would not have been able to go to the consulate until Thursday, 2 days later, because the next day was a Chinese holiday. All of this would have elongated my time in Hong Kong.  
• I was provided with emotional stability throughout this whole situation.
• I had two friends with me who provided me with some wonderful distractions: shopping, going to the movies, eating good food, sitting on the beach, getting lost, and seeing the sights of Hong Kong.
• It was actually significantly less expensive for me to leave Hong Kong on Good Friday rather than to wait until the next week.
• I had a row of three seats to myself on the airplane, so I was able to lie down during the flight. I don’t usually sleep well on airplanes because I have to be lying down to sleep. Well, this was not a problem this time.
• I was able to be with my family for Easter.
• I have been able to see numerous friends and family members.
• I got my letter of invitation, which led to my work visa. I will be returning to China on Saturday.
• I will be able to finish off the school year.
• I know that until I get back my students are in good hands.

Luk Fook and other Hong Kong Misadventures

It has taken me over a week to be emotionally stable enough to write this blog post. You see my trip to Hong Kong was multiple disasters after another. After talking to my therapist, I think that I need to write about my experience in order to process the events. (Please note that this paragraph is written entirely tongue in check.)

            Anyways, I shall begin at the beginning – the airport. Stephanie and I got to our gate, and we were enjoying talking. I am a nervous traveler, meaning that I am always afraid of being late or of missing my flight. Now I have never missed a flight, but I don’t want to start. As Stephanie and I were talking, I realized that we had been waiting at the gate for a long time. I looked at the flight listed by the gate, and it was not our flight. We asked a woman who worked at the airport where we were supposed to go. (By ask, I mean we pointed at out ticket and gave her a quizzical look.) She pointed to the 16A on our ticket and pointed at the 16A on the gate. A woman who spoke both English and Chinese heard our confusion told us that we were supposed to go to 13A, so Stephanie and I went to that gate. At that gate, there was indeed a flight going to Shenzhen, but it was not our flight, so Stephanie and I ran back to gate 16A. Once again we asked someone where we were supposed to go, but they said that we were supposed to stay at 16A. After a little while a man came up to us and told us that we were supposed to go to gate 18. When we got there, we learned that we were indeed supposed to be at gate 18. I don’t know how everyone else knew that the gate had changed, but apparently the foreigners were the only ones who were running around the airport confused.

            The rest of the flight was uneventful, which is always good, but when we were trying to get a taxi from the airport our taxi driver did not want to use a meter, which is not such an unusual event, but even though we eventually got him to use the meter, he still overcharged us for the taxi.

            The hotel where we stayed was nice, clean, and a decent price. If you ever stay in Shenzhen, I would recommend the Green Oasis Hotel.

            The next day we took a bus into Hong Kong where we sat next to a man from Portugal, and we enjoyed pleasant conversation.

            When we got to Hong Kong, we went to the Hostel that we had booked. The website had given us instructions about taking a bus to the hostel, but it was not very clear about how to get from the bus stop to the hostel. We did not have a map, so we had to rely a few friendly people who gave us directions to the Hostel. However, when we got to the Hostel, we saw signs that the said that the hostel that we had booked was illegally run, meaning that it was run in a residential building. After much debate, we decided to stay there that night because we did not have anywhere else to go. 

            After we dropped off our stuff, we decided to explore the area around the hostel. We, of course, got very lost. (You will notice that this will be a theme of the trip). Eventually we found an Ikea where spent far more money than we should have. Right next to the Ikea there was an Outback Steakhouse, so after dropping our new treasures off at the Hostel, we enjoyed a Blooming Onion and steak. It was a beautiful thing. After dinner, we discovered that we had been taking the long way to and from this area. It was in fact just a block from our hostel. 

            The next morning we decided that we had to move to a different hostel, so we found another one online. Then we went to the Airport to pick up Monica. The afternoon I would like to label Visa Mafan day, and I shall leave it at that. After dealing with the Visa Mafan, we checked into the other Hostel. Now, I would like to recommend a clean, affordable place to stay in Hong Kong, The Yessinn. 

            After checking in, we went to go see The Hunger Games, which I enjoyed a great deal. It was a good adaptation of the book. After the movie, we tried to walk from the movie theater back to the Hostel, but we got lost, so we decided to take a taxi. I had forgotten the paper with the Hostel’s address on it (I know that it was stupid), but I had the address memorized. The taxi driver, who spoke English, did not know where the place was. We told the taxi driver that it was by a Seven-Eleven and a Luk Fook was across the street from it. At the time, we did not know that Luk Fook was a chain. So when we saw a Luk Fook, we just got out of the taxi so that we could walk. After not finding the hostel, we assumed that I had the wrong address (That was a major mistake because I am always right). We walked up and down that street for an hour trying to find the place. We even considered sleeping at McDonalds if we could not find it, but eventually we found it and low and behold, guess who had the right address all along? Yes, you should listen to me. 

            The next day we went to Stanly Market, which I would certainly recommend to anyone who visits Hong Kong. It doesn’t look like much when you first get there, but if you keep walking you find a huge market. If shopping is not your cup of tea, there is also a nice boardwalk and a beach where you can watch a man floating around on a mattress. There is also a temple, several restaurants, and a garden. 

            After shopping all day, we decided to go out for Indian food. Now I had remembered seeing a sign for an Indian restaurant near our hostel, so I lead our trio to where I thought the restaurant was. After walking for a little while, I realized that we must have passed it, so we turned around. Now, this is where you should not listen to me because the restaurant was in the same building as our hostel. I do not think that I need to say anything more about this. #Hides her head in embarrassment

            When we finished with dinner, we went up to Victoria Peak. WE DID NOT GET LOST! Unfortunately, it was very foggy that night, so we could not see much of the city.

            The next day, we took cable cars up a mountain, which was pretty cool. Actually, it is because of the cable cars that I would recommend the Yessinn hostel. I had asked the front desk about going to the cable cars. The website said that they were closed for renovations, but the women called the cable car place for me and found out that their reopening the next day. So we got to go on the cable with a glass bottom, which was good because once again it was very foggy. If it had not been for the glass bottom, we would not have been able to see anything. At the top of the mountain there was a giant Buddha, but we did not have enough time to climb up the steps to see the statue because Monica had to get to a job interview. It was too foggy to see anything but the base of the statue. 

            The rest of the day Stephanie and I did a lot of riding in taxis and buses. We got a little lost going back to the hostel because we were not sure which we bus stop to get off. When we got back to the hostel I booked my flight to come/go back to the States. After that was done, we decided that we needed to go see Mirror Mirror. After the movie we wanted to get a cheesecake to celebrate (not sure if that’s the right word) our last night in Hong Kong. So we walked about two city blocks to the bakery to find that it was closed. However, this event seemed very indicative of the whole trip. 

            Despite the many mishaps on this trip, it really was a fun trip. I would certainly go back, but hopefully next time it will be under happier circumstances.

A Chinese Scavenger Hunt/ Relay Race

Yesterday I had to go get a physical in order to apply for a new visa. For some of you, I need not say more, but for everyone else, I will elaborate. I arrived at the clinic, and they gave me a list of tests that I had to have done. Thankfully, I had a Chinese woman there with me to help me navigate the clinic because even though most of the people there spoke at least minimal English no one told me where to go. So my new friend took me to the first room, and I had to have an ultrasound done. When the lady was finished, I just lay on the bed looking like an idiot because I did not realize that she was finished. Eventually, I got the idea and scooted off to the next room. 

You see this was not like in the US where you have several tests done in one room. I mean you might have to go to a lab to get blood work done, but someone at least directs you to those places. Next I went to another room to get an EKG. Then another room to get my blood pressure, my weight, and my height checked. Between each room we ran as if we were hoping to win some sort of prize for finishing the test first. However, it was also like a scavenger hunt because no one told us where to go next, we just ran from room to room hoping to find the next hidden treasure (or medical test, whichever you prefer). 

After the blood pressure room, came my favorite room of all: the blood work room. They took my blood, which was not so unusual, but when they were done they put a q-tip (outside of the US more commonly known as a cotton swab) on the spot and told me to fold my arm to keep it in place. All the while, I had to continue sprinting for the prize by giving a urine sample. Let’s just say that the q-tip did not stay in place nor did it do a very good job of stopping the bleeding. In the US if you get blood work done they put a cotton ball on your arm and they tape it in place (or they at least give you a Band-Aid, aka an adhesive bandage). So there I am bleeding all over the place (ok, this might a bit of an exaggeration, but I did get some blood on the floor), and none of the nurses noticed. The Chinese woman who was helping me out looked as if she might faint at the sight of my blood, but she got me a Kleenex, tissue, and helped clean the blood off the floor. 

As I mentioned before, next was the urine sample, I will spare you the details, but I was given a tiny, flimsy plastic cup. Then I had to carry this little cup  to the urine test lab which was right across the hall, but it kinda grossed me out. They put a test strip in it and then I was told to throw away the cup in a trashcan full of other people’s urine cups. I would like to take this moment to say that I am very glad that I am not the person who had to empty that trash can. 

Lastly, we went to the x-ray room. One thing that was very interesting about this whole experience was that there was NO privacy as we were racing for the prize; we would go to various rooms, open the door and hope that they were not occupied. The same was true for the x-ray room. I would think that it could be dangerous for an unsuspecting person to simply walk into an x-ray room, but considering that they did not have any sort of protection for the person who was getting the x-ray (aren’t you supposed to wear a lead vest?), I don’t think that they were too concerned about it. Maybe it was not really an x-ray but some other machine that did something similar, or maybe the machine had some sort of built in protection, but it made me a little nervous. 

At last I had finished the race; I turned in my score sheet and received another piece of paper. I am not entirely certain what it said, but my Chinese friend said that she would take care of it. I had conquered the physical.

From this experience, I have realized a few things. 1) People in the US are very concerned about bedside manner, but when you live in a country with over a billion people, you don’t have time to care about such things. They also don’t have time to hold your hand and walk you to the next test room. Efficiency is far more important. 2) From this I also can see that as an American, I can be too uptight about these things. Doctors in the US are too afraid of being sued, and therefore, Americans are coddled when they could take care of themselves. 3) I did not think about this last one until I was actually writing this post, but we have many brand name items that have become synonymous with the item itself. While I do not think that this is a very significant observation, I do find it interesting. If you want in reading about such products here is a link: http://robdkelly.com/blog/marketing/top-100-synonymous-genericized-brands/