Saturday 23 December 2017

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Little Fires Everywhere
A very entertaining novel about the seemingly perfect life of an upper-middle-class American suburb. The author describes skillfully the ups and downs of the wealthy Richardson family and the struggling Warren mother and daughter.

Two characters attracted me above all: Mrs Richardson and Izzy.

Mrs Richardson seems to lead an accomplished life with her successful husband, her beautiful house and her four children. However, she resents the simple fact that her poor tenant Mia just doesn't care about what people think about her and is happy with just a quarter of what Mrs Richardson has. As a matter of fact, Mia is passionate about what she does and Mrs Richardson isn't. " All her life, she had learned that passion, like fire, was a dangerous thing".

Izzy, the youngest daughter of the Richardson family speaks her mind and does what she think is fair no matter what. I admire her courage although she is reckless more often than not.

The plot raises some very controversial issues that will make the reader think about love, parenthood and human nature.


Wednesday 20 December 2017

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panta Breeding: how to get there .

You can get to The Research Base of Giant Panda easily from Chengdu if you take a bus to Zoo bus stop and then transfer to bus 87 or 198 to Panda Base bus stop.  A taxi there from the centre of the city will cost you around 50 RMB .The trip takes about one hour and a half and it is really worth it, especially if you've never seen a panda bear.

The centre is open from 7:30 in the morning until 6:00 in the evening all year round and the price per person is 58 RMB. There are four gift shops in the park and two restaurants, a Chinese one, a Western one and a café as well.


Remember to bring comfortable shoes, because you'll have to walk a lot. There may be crowds but since the place is quite big, this won't be a problem. You will also see some peacocks, red pandas and black swans.






















These are red pandas even if they look like cats!







Click here for more information.





Friday 8 December 2017

Remember Me Always by Renee Collins: review.

Remember Me Always
I liked the beginning of the book a lot, but then I began losing interest as I figured out where the story was heading and then towards the end, I was surprised by the decisions the main character made.

I felt that the novel was a bit of a cautionary tale for very young YA readers who dream of falling in love with a mysterious boy but with an unexpected ending showing personal growth.


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Wednesday 6 December 2017

Food in Chengdu , China.

Around Wenshu monastery tourists can enjoy some wonderful street food in Chengdu. My favourite treat was glutinous rice balls, the best I have ever had!

For the bravest ones, there is stinky tofu and insects!






















Wenshu Monastery (Manjushri Monastery) in Chengdu, China: how to get there.

This beautiful monastery with two names is located at nÂş 66 Wenshu Yuan street. You need to take the underground line 1 and get off at the station with the same name. Then ask a local if you can't see any signs, take into account that it is also called Manjushri Monastery.



You can also take buses  16, 55 and 98 and get off at WenShu Yuan station.



There are magnificent buildings and lovely gardens and of course, just like everywhere else in China, lots of tourists. So the earlier you go the better for you.