Thursday, January 26, 2012

What's on My Nightstand?

Well, I'm happy to say that what's on my nightstand is a brand new Kindle, but the book I'm currently reading is an honest to goodness real old fashioned paper variety. It's called The Last Days of Old Beijing, by Michael Meyer, and I can't put it down (except for now, because I need to type).


Meyer spent some time living in the hutongs south of Tian'anmen Square, hutongs being the Mandarin term for narrow alleys and one story courtyard homes that characterized Chinese living for most of its recent history. These hutongs are being destroyed rapidly to make room for development, and most of the residents are forcibly transplanted to new housing developments outside the main city.

I'm loving this book because I am sucker for anything historical, and I generally err on the side of wanting to preserve it regardless of how impractical it might seem to do so. It also gives a fascinating picture of the culture - not only what it would be like to live in a hutong community, but how the government treats its citizens.

So now I'm feeling sentimental about the hutongs, and want to go explore them more before they're gone completely.


3 comments:

bekahcubed said...

Sounds like a good book. I'm not quite a history buff, but I do enjoy nonfiction--memoirs and sociocultural-type stuff especially. So maybe I'll have to give this one a read!

Cassandra said...

That does sound like a good book. Hopefully February will also have some really good reads!

I think this is the first time I've come across your blog. I'm going to take a look around because my husband and I hope to move to Japan in a few years. You've posted some beautiful pictures of Thailand! Nice to "meet" you! :)

Gina Marie said...

Cassandra - nice to meet you too! Yes, take a look around - we've lived in China for a total of 8 years with 5 years in Singapore in the middle. You'll find a lot about Asia here. :)