Today has been an excellent day so far. It is Qing Ming holiday, where the Chinese visit the graves of their relatives and light incense sticks in their memory, sweep the gravesite, leaving roast pig and paper money to appease them and bring luck to those still living. For me, not being Chinese and not really into ancestor worship, Qing Ming simply means that I have a day off school.
I awoke to my regular cell-phone alarm at 7am, and stumbled around my apartment trying to find it to turn it off. I rued the early morning wake-up, and wished I didn't have to teach. Then in my stupour I remembered that it was a holiday, and I could go back to bed!
I slept for another four hours, then woke up and read my book for two hours. I took a break, went for a run, then tucked back into my book and finished it.
The book is The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. It was fantastic, and I read it in about a week.
I had heard about the book over the January break in Stratford, when I was in Fanfare books. The owner and another customer were talking about it, but I decided not to buy it because after I read the first page, I felt its premise was too similar to The Thirteenth Tale by Dianne Setterfield which I had recently finished.
Back in Guangzhou, I spied a copy of the Shadow of the Wind being used as part of a display in an Irish Pub that serves great burgers. I asked the manager if I could borrow it, and she said that would be fine. So I took it home last week, and just finished it today.
What a wonderful day, just running and reading The Shadow of the Wind. Read it! It's definitely good, and stirred up my emotions like Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven did.
Have a good weekend everyone, and while you're out and about, pick up The Shadow of the Wind.
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