Here's a quick update on the two books I bought on Saturday. I can't think of which one is more interesting: James Clavell's Tai-Pan or Merriam Webster's Vocabulary Builder. As you can tell, I'm not giving Tai-Pan the best early review.
The vocab builder is what I expected...fairly dry, but interesting in a way too. Tai-Pan is not what I expected. It's really boring! It's informative though, and I'm learning a lot about Hong Kong and Macau's history, as well as the reasons for the Opium Wars. So that's positive. But it's such a tough slog I wonder how long I can persevere for.
I think I'll go try and read some more of Tai-Pan. We'll see how it goes.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Books!
Carol and I went to the Guangzhou Book Centre today. It's a six-story mega-bookstore that is always busy when I'm there on the weekends. Think of the busiest Boxing Day sale you've ever been to and multiply it by pi. That'll give you an idea of how many people I have to battle in the aisles.
On the fourth floor, there is a small sub-store called The New Page. It's where all the English books are, and is about the size of a small bookstore you'd find in a mall. It's about as busy too, which is nice respite from the mobs in the bookstore proper. There are a few spots for you to sit and read, and nice music plays. It's very calming and enjoyable. I like being there.
The books in The New Page are all imported, so they're expensive. Books are priced according to the list price on the back, using current exchange rates. So a book that is listed at US $19.99 will have a price tag on it for about 125RMB. That's expensive! So in my hunting today, I found that some books had been priced in British Pounds, but converted using US/CAD rates. A bargain! It'll be important in the future to hunt these down.
I found a book that cost 75RMB, and looked good. It's James Clavell's Tai-Pan. A quick skim tells me "It is the early 19th century when European traders and adventurers first began to penetrate the forbidding Chinese mainland..."
Excellent! Hopefully it'll be action packed and I'll learn about my area. Guangzhou was a main shipping port at that time, used by many countries to gain access to the rest of China. I bet my town will be mentioned in the book.
While I was checking out, I saw Merriam-Webster's Vocabulary Builder for the affordable price of 30RMB. A steal! So I picked that up as well. It organizes words by Latin and Greek roots, and provides explanations and examples of modern usage. It's really quite interesting. It's divided into themed chapters, and even has quizzes after each one to help engage the material. Exercises asking me to fill in the blanks, match, and find the odd word out appear every five pages or so.
I found out at the till that there was a three-day sale on, where all the books were 20% off! There were signs all over for it, but they were in Chinese so I had no idea. Nevertheless, I was surprised and happy to find my books costing a lot less than expected. Since books are so expensive here, I may go back tomorrow, the last day of the sale, and pick up more.
So, my Saturday evening is planned. I'll be spending it with Mr. Clavell and Ms. Webster!
On the fourth floor, there is a small sub-store called The New Page. It's where all the English books are, and is about the size of a small bookstore you'd find in a mall. It's about as busy too, which is nice respite from the mobs in the bookstore proper. There are a few spots for you to sit and read, and nice music plays. It's very calming and enjoyable. I like being there.
The books in The New Page are all imported, so they're expensive. Books are priced according to the list price on the back, using current exchange rates. So a book that is listed at US $19.99 will have a price tag on it for about 125RMB. That's expensive! So in my hunting today, I found that some books had been priced in British Pounds, but converted using US/CAD rates. A bargain! It'll be important in the future to hunt these down.
I found a book that cost 75RMB, and looked good. It's James Clavell's Tai-Pan. A quick skim tells me "It is the early 19th century when European traders and adventurers first began to penetrate the forbidding Chinese mainland..."
Excellent! Hopefully it'll be action packed and I'll learn about my area. Guangzhou was a main shipping port at that time, used by many countries to gain access to the rest of China. I bet my town will be mentioned in the book.
While I was checking out, I saw Merriam-Webster's Vocabulary Builder for the affordable price of 30RMB. A steal! So I picked that up as well. It organizes words by Latin and Greek roots, and provides explanations and examples of modern usage. It's really quite interesting. It's divided into themed chapters, and even has quizzes after each one to help engage the material. Exercises asking me to fill in the blanks, match, and find the odd word out appear every five pages or so.
I found out at the till that there was a three-day sale on, where all the books were 20% off! There were signs all over for it, but they were in Chinese so I had no idea. Nevertheless, I was surprised and happy to find my books costing a lot less than expected. Since books are so expensive here, I may go back tomorrow, the last day of the sale, and pick up more.
So, my Saturday evening is planned. I'll be spending it with Mr. Clavell and Ms. Webster!
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