Good Reads in 2022

I read so many good books in 2022 and wrote reviews on Goodreads.com for some of these. I would say the most memorable is the speculative fiction set in New York City and Shenzhen, China where a virus changes the world. I always enjoy this genre, but when this book was published in 2019 I had my eye on it and indulged in a lot of this type of novel in 2020. I read the Mad Adam trilogy in 2020, a great story by Margaret Atwood. I enjoy tales of survival, especially with young people at the center. I got my hands on Severance by Ling Ma in 2022 and read it with Erik. 

My other favorite discovery of 2022 is the well known children's author Deborah Ellis. I am lucky to have read her late than never, but her books address extremely heavy issues in the world such as child poverty and children living in war. I read Parvana's Journey about a child managing survival in Afghanistan-- even in the desperate situation children are facing in the world these days, these books give a voice to the vulnerable and it gives me some hope that with this knowledge there will be a future with solutions. 

Finally, I got around to reading "The Story of Ove," which was special to Erik and I because it is about a practical Swedish man who has trouble expressing himself, yet still waters run deep. I don't think the new movie version of this will be any good, but I will watch it and find out. We have several jokes from the book, which was mostly read aloud to me. Mainly, "doing an inspection" for quality of work seems very funny to the type of person who takes details of quality very seriously... 

I hope you will connect with me on Good Reads and share your books that are worthwhile. I am looking forward to another year of good reading, perhaps in 2023 I will read 23 books. https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/368741-melanie

Guangzhou Opera Performance

A lot of incredible things happened to me in 2022, I moved to China, got my dog, met some really cool people, started working with some clever students who love to read-- I'm grateful for so much good stuff that has come my way. Excellent food and cultural experiences top my list of reasons why I really enjoy the Guangzhou experience. On October 29, 2022 there was a beautiful moon over the Pearl River and I was swept away by the magical folktale performance of dance, singing, and traditional Chinese instruments. The stage and costumes were mesmerizing, and I literally had front row seats in one of the most beautiful opera houses in the world. As soon as I learned about this Zaha Hadid designed performance hall I wanted to go, but getting tickets was challenging for me because tickets are sold in Chinese language. I got very lucky and was invited by my friend Sylvie's Chinese teacher Jaime. I still owe those ladies big time for their kindness and generousity! It was a performance of several acts, like short stories, serving up stories that moved even those of us in the audience that did not understand the language. I knew I was seeing something special, I could feel it no matter the language. I made a video just a few days after the experience, here is that with my own photos and recordings: https://youtu.be/wBWV1TR92XU It's a bit late to write this blog, but I wanted to share the official photos from the Guangzhou Opera photographer and remind myself how good I have it, living GZ Style.