Book reviews aren’t just good for when you’re looking for something new to read. I find them particularly interesting after I’ve finished a book just to see if my impressions jived with others.

Today I came across Sunday Salon member King Rat’s assessment of The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. His well thought out comments on this feminist classic are particularly interesting because they’re coming from a male perspective. I read The Feminine Mystique two years ago and found her description of a housewife’s life to be terribly depressing. My situation has changed tremendously because I am now gainfully employed, albeit part-time, and Stephen spends six hours a day in school which gives me plenty of breathing space. When baby #2 is born in June, I’ll have to figure out a new arrangement but it won’t be half as bad as most of the situations described by one of my favorite parenting blogs, WSJ’s The Juggle.

Besides parenting and other obligations this February, I juggled a number of books (like the smooth segue? heh) and am up to 278 on my list of books read since 1995 with mini-reviews.

278. Inheritance by Lan Samantha Chang
277. Curious Minds by John Brockman
276. A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo
275. Tough Choices: A Memoir by Carly Fiorina
274. A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon

changing face of china gittingsMy current “assigned” reading for my own good is The Changing Face of China: From Mao to Market. I’m reading a chapter a day and should be done by end next week. It seems that no matter how many books I read about the Cultural Revolution and the period of time surrounding it, I can’t keep the people nor the events straight. My grandparents and older aunts and uncles were affected but I don’t know how and to what extent. One of these days, I’ll have to ask for details if I think I can handle them. In any case, with all the many business opportunities in China, it seems important to understand the underlying motivations of the Chinese government and to be vigilant for signs of history repeating itself. Scary thought.

So that I’m not too burdened with reading about China, I’ve started reading the first book in the Diana Gabaldon Outlander series called Cross Stitch in the UK. I read book 6 in the series this month without knowing it was part of a series so I’m now playing catch up. It’s a fascinating tale involving time travel, European and American history, and love. Kerri’s going to read book 1 with me and I hope she’ll enjoy it as I have. It was fun to learn that Liz Strauss is a fan too. Anyone else?

What are you reading right now?

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