I was eating lunch today with a substitute teacher whom I have never met before and who had a trade paperback book with her. In the midst of our conversation I asked her what book she was reading, and she said, “I’ve been reading a lot about Asian history lately.” I was not too surprised at this since she was Chinese herself. The book was WILD SWANS, by Jung Chang, a book which I have read myself (also not surprisingly since Chinese history and culture is one of my many interests), and which I recommend heartily to anybody interested in 20th century Chinese history. The book examines three generations of women in the same family and runs the gamut from foot-binding to the Cultural Revolution. Each year I select one book which I consider the best book I read all year, and WILD SWANS was my choice for 1995. You can’t go wrong with this book.

CURRENTLY READING: MARUNE, another book in Jack Vance’s series of mysteries set in the Alastor Cluster. This will probably be the last book in my Jack Vance kick though, as it is time to move onto something a bit more serious.

CURRENTLY LISTENING: SIX DEGREES OF INNER TURBULENCE, by Dream Theater, a fine hard progressive rock band which deserves a lot more popularity than they currently have.