Recent books I've read -From February

I've been getting back into reading lately as I attempt to learn more about China, it's culture and traditions. I plan to read about a book a month through the course of the next year as we wait the long long wait till we finally bring our daughter home. Good Luck Life was from February but I never posted, while Falling leaves was earlier this month.

Falling Leaves

This is the story about a girl, coming of age in China in the 20th Century, it tells of the kind of tragedy that being a girl in China can be. It is both heart wrenching and touching and makes you sit back and question who you are, how you've been treated and how you've treated others. If you have even the slighest bit of a "normal" family (normal meaning at least one person in your family or your husbands is 'disfunctional' to say the least) it's a book that can help you reflect, to get perspective, to realize how fortunate you are and how not to fall prey to the same things young Adeline fell prey to in her attempts to feel love from family, to feel wanted, to feel respect. This book is intertwined with historical events and personal perspectives and was wonderful to read.

Good Luck Life

The Good Luck Life was the first Asian culture/history book I selected to read. It was an easy read and really opened our eyes to some traditions in the Chinese culture. Though I've heard much of the traditions are 'old school', the book was a beautiful source of info about seasonal festivals that E and I have decided to take our daughter to see, in parts of North America where they are elaborately celebrated, the best part is that these are cities we both enjoy.

Chinese New Year (and the Lantern Festival), San Francisco
Dragon Boat Festival, Toronto or Vancouver or Boston

The book also explains the significance of the color red, of how the Chinese calendar works, Red Egg and Ginger parties, lucky money, etc. It's a wonderful resource to have as you guide your daughter through life to help her understand the significance of ancient Chinese customs and celebrations. Though outdated, as we've been told, in some aspects, it has a wonderful amount of current info to help guide you through the years.

Reading this book you can almost see the Dragon Boat Festival and Chinese New Year celebrations coming to life before your eyes, I really enjoyed it.