I'm very annoyed with myself that I didn't keep track of everything I read last year. I was just slack. My reading was fairly wide, a bit more nonfiction than usual and also more lighter books than I normally read. I felt a little run down after some bouts of flu, throat & ear problems … Continue reading My Reading in 2022
China
The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang
Between December 1937 and January 1938, the Japanese Imperial Army seized the Chinese city of Nanking (now Nanjing) and in a period of only six weeks carried out one of the most brutal massacres in the history of war. It is estimated that the number of Chinese killed in this massacre could have been more … Continue reading The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang
Living books for the 20th Century: Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng (1986)
'On the evening of 30 August when the Red Guards came to loot my house... I was sitting alone in my study reading The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich...' What an incredible story this is! Nien Cheng's memoir, Life and Death in Shangai is saturated with spiritual and soul stretching lessons from … Continue reading Living books for the 20th Century: Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng (1986)
The Small Woman by Alan Burgess (1957)
The Small Woman by Alan Burgess is an inspiring and very well-written biography of Gladys Aylward, missionary to China for twenty years. In her mid-twenties she went through a probationary period at the China Inland Mission in London but was rejected on account of her lack of qualifications and the belief that at … Continue reading The Small Woman by Alan Burgess (1957)
The Keys of the Kingdom by A.J. Cronin
Perhaps the greatest strain is thrown upon our moral vision by the spectacle of another's success. The dazzle hurts us. The Keys of the Kingdom is the moving story of the spiritual struggle of a young priest, Father Francis Chisholm. Often at loggerheads with the hierarchy of the church, Francis was unconventional … Continue reading The Keys of the Kingdom by A.J. Cronin
journey & destination 