Random Musings
Weighing in: My response to Jennifer Livingston
Like many people, every now and then, I’ll see or read something I find interesting and will post it on my Facebook page. Sometimes I’ll post the article, video, etc., straight with no commentary. Other times, I’ll add a comment about how amusing or interesting I found it — usually no more than a sentence or […]
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Three tales of two countries
Here are my latest book recommendations for Northwest Asian Weekly: The Man Who Dammed the Yangtze By Alex Kuo Haven Books, 2011 In the Chinese city of Changchun, there lives a woman named Ge. In the city of Oshkosh, Wis., there lives a Chinese-American man named G. These two individuals have never met, nor have […]
Three tales of folk and fantasy
Here are my latest book recommendations for the Northwest Asian Weekly: Forgotten CountryBy Catherine ChungRiverhead Books, 2012 Ever since the Japanese occupation in Korea, each generation in Janie’s family has lost a daughter. Because of this, Janie is charged, at a very young age, to protect and keep her sister Hannah safe. When Hannah suddenly […]
3 stories on friendship — Some relationships strengthen and some don’t
Here are my latest book recommendations for Northwest Asian Weekly: Pearl of China By Anchee Min Bloomsbury, 2010 In the southern Chinese town of Chin-kiang during the late 19th century, two young girls meet. The first girl is Willow, the only child of a destitute family. The second girl is Pearl, the daughter of American […]
Love, it’s complicated
Here are my latest book recommendations for the Northwest Asian Weekly: Tiger’s Destiny By Colleen Houck Splinter, 2012 It’s three quests down and one to go for Kelsey Hayes, Ren, and Kishan, as they continue to work to break the curse that forces the two brothers to live part of their days as tigers. In […]
Short stories for a fast new year
Here are my latest book recommendations for Northwest Asian Weekly: The Indignation of Haruhi Suzumiya By Nagaru Tanigawa Little, Brown and Company, 2012 The SOS Brigade is back. This time around, they’re up against a student council president bent on shutting down the literature club — and by extension the SOS Brigade as they have […]
Living life after loss
Here are my latest book recommendations for the Northwest Asian Weekly: Isle of Dreams By Keizo Hino Dakley Archive Press, 2010 Shozo Sakai hasn’t seen much change in his life. He’s worked at the same construction firm for years, he has no ambitions of moving up the corporate ladder or pursuing a specific career, and […]
Strength in Youth — NWAW’s monthly must-reads
Here are my latest book recommendations for Northwest Asian Weekly: Saraswati’s Way By Monika Schroder Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2010 Akash, a 12-year-old boy living in a small village in the Indian desert, is not like the other kids. First of all, he loves school and would rather spend his days in a classroom absorbing […]
The “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet”
This month, I took a step back from my usual book recommendations for the Northwest Asian Weekly and wrote a review of the stage production of “Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.” For those who have long memories, you may remember I wrote a review on the book for the paper before I began […]
Scandals and mysteries abound in this month’s recommended reads
Here are my latest book recommendations for the Northwest Asian Weekly: Tokyo Heist By Diana Renn Viking, 2012 When Violet Rossi, a lover of all things Japan, finds out her father is commissioned to paint a mural in Tokyo, the 16-year-old is thrilled. In the wake of this excitement is a dangerous treasure hunt, as […]
Rooting for the underdogs in this month’s book selections
Here are my latest book recommendations for Northwest Asian Weekly: The Choke Artist: Confessions of a Chronic Underachiever By David Yoo Grand Central Publishing, 2012 Growing up, David Yoo hated everything that identified him as Asian: his slanted eyes, his slight frame, and others’ assumptions that he was academically gifted. So in an effort to […]
