A couple nights ago I finished reading "Crazy Rich Asians" by Kevin Kwan. The novel is a piece of fluff, although it was enjoyable light reading. I suppose it has some literary merit as social satire. It deals with a Chinese-American economics professor, Rachel, who falls in love with one of her colleagues, Nick, a history professor born in Singapore. Nick invites Rachel to accompany him to Singapore for the wedding of his best friend. Upon arriving, she learns to her astonishment that Nick is a member of one of the richest families in the island state... rich beyond all imagining. The economic disparity between them is going to have serious consequences for their relationship.
I saw the movie some years ago, and it was quite different from the book. Unlike the movie, the book does not conclude with Rachel confronting Nick's mother, who views the American as an unsuitable bride for her son, and finally winning her blessing. Perhaps that occurs in the author's sequel.
After that light reading, I have turned to something much weightier... "The Discoverers" by historian Daniel Boorstin. The word "discoverer" here is used to refer to much more than explorers such as Columbus or Magellan. It refers also to those who have made discoveries in fields such as science, medicine and mathematics. So far, I have only read part of the first chapter which deals with the development of the calendar. He discusses how some cultures based their calendars on the phases of the moon, while others used the movement of the sun. It seems that it will be an interesting book, although it is a rather massive tome of 684 pages in fairly small print. I will take some lighter books (both figuratively in subject matter and literally in weight) when I leave for Mexico in a couple of weeks. But this is the type of book that I can put aside and then pick up again when I return from my trip.
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