As a follow up to my other post about the fiction books I was trying to get through this summer, I thought I’d also share what I’d like to read by way of non-fiction. Since I’m living in China at the moment, I tend to read a bit more about Chinese issues than other countries but there are a few books you’ll see that discuss some other places. Above all, I want to cover these books because they discuss the histories of places that are currently going through some turmoil and I would like a better understanding of what’s triggering and enflaming these events.
Leslie T. Chang‘s Factory Girls. I went through this one pretty quickly and can recommend it for those who want to read about how China changed in the late-1990s to mid-2000s. The book follows the lives of three Chinese women who move away from their hometown (with populations hovering around a few thousand people each) into Dongguan, an industrial hub in the south of China, not far from Shenzhen (which is across the river from Hong Kong, for those who’ve never been to China). Although the main part of the book follows three women, Chang also gives her own family’s history over the last 100 years while also taking note of a country going through massive changes in such a short period of time. Chang is a great writer (she writes for the Wall Street Journal) and the book moves at a decent clip, though you might have some trouble keeping track of all of the names involved if you’re not careful. Overall, it’s a good book to see the state of China from the ground up particularly from the female point of view.
Thomas King‘s Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America. The year 2017 marked Canada’s 150th birthday, a campaign that also further ignited debate about how native peoples have been treated and/or pushed to the side in the country’s development. I recall hearing one lady being interviewed for the Canada Day 150 celebration say that the natives don’t have issues, they have colonial issues. Combine that with a few back-and-forths with others on Facebook and I decided I needed to brush up on my knowledge of my own country… from the natives’ perspectives. Although I have yet to finish the book, I can say that within the first two chapters of the book (in which he explains the title and then clarifies the terminology he uses throughout the book) were illuminating. King discusses what he means by “Indian” and by “white man”, citing that those are the most common, all-encompassing terms, even if they aren’t entirely accurate. The content of the book is, to say the least, unnerving as it challenges many of the common beliefs that one might find in regard to native rights. That being the case, King is able to deal with the subject matter in a humorous way and leads the reader through a series of historical happenings that got us to where we are today. Sadly, King concludes that there is no real answer but the process (not just apologizing) must be propelled further and the issues he discusses do need to be dealt with. It’s an aggravating book not least because it makes it sound like Canada has a deep problem that may unsettle it’s position as a “nice place” to visit, or even to live. That being the case, the book has spurred me to search out a few other books on the topic to come to a better understanding of what’s going on and how to deal with it.
Next on the list is to read Jung Chang‘s Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China. This book (whose author has no relation to Leslie Chang above, so far as I know) follows three generations of Chinese women from the last of imperial times (around the turn of the 20th century), throughout the world wars and the Cultural Revolution, and ends with the author herself as she makes a life for herself overseas. The book was a best seller and has been talked about by people I’ve met here in China so I do look forward to reading this one.
One book that I’m not looking forward to reading, especially after having visiting Nanjing city itself, is Iris Chang‘s The Rape of Nanking, which details the Japanese invasion of China and the massacre of the people of Nanjing during World War 2. It’s not an easy read in the sense that the subject matter is simply disturbing and the invasion still unsettles Chinese people to this day. The whole invasion almost foreshadows what would later happen in Cambodia during the 1980s. So why am I reading it? Well, because it is the authority on the matter as it is probably the most researched account from the Chinese perspective that has been translated into English. With such an important event in China’s history, it’s worth the time to read.
Another history book that I’ve been working through is Paul Robert Magosci‘s A History of Ukraine, a book I bought years ago and started reading around the time I came to China. I figured if I was reading about Chinese history then I should probably also read about the history of my people in Ukraine. This book is not the same one that most Ukrainian hyphenates read, opting instead for Ukraine: A History by Orest Subtelny, and I might just read that one too, but it does serve the same purpose: to give a good background of the country, his history and its people. Coupled with Sergei Plokhy‘s Gates of Europe, these two books provide extensive coverage of the history of a country that has been ravished by turmoil both inside and outside of its borders and shine light on why so many of the matters facing Ukraine remain unsolved.
Finally, two more books I’m working through are a little more “exciting” mostly because they don’t deal with death and dying as such. Instead, they deal with taxes and the stock market. Since my father passed away last year I’ve had to learn to do my taxes on my own. For that purpose, one of the books I bought was KPMG‘s Tax planning for you and your family 2017, which goes through a lot of information about doing Canadian taxes. This isn’t the only book I’m reading on the topic, the others being more business-oriented, but complements the CRA’s own guidebook (available for free of charge on their website). The sad thing is that Canadian expats don’t have as many sources of information as their US counterparts which means there is more researching instead of learning going on.
The last book consists of a series of interviews with Canada’s top money managers. Robin R. Speziale‘s Market Masters: Proven Investing Strategies You Can Apply is like the Market Wizards of Canada in which can be found stories, trading and investing advice (though no recommendations) in addition to an overview of what it takes to succeed in trading the Canadian markets. I can’t say a lot of the information is new, given that I myself have been trading for over a decade already, but it does present a few ideas and re-iterations that need to be heeded. Don’t lose money (easier said than done), resources for investors (to filter out the noise), and general trading tips (don’t try to day trade, you’ll get obliterated), all seem to be so common but here they are presented as told by the leading investors in Canada.
And so that’s what I’m trying to get through this summer. I realize, after writing these two posts, that it actually seems like quite a lot. The fiction books, however, I think will go rather quickly, while some of the non-fiction books are more for study than for simply getting through. What are you reading this summer? Tweet me @stevensirski!