Chinese Education in Singapore

Title: Chinese Education in Singapore Author: Zhang Zhixiong Genre: Nonfiction Length: 142 pages (paperback) Rating: 3 out of 5

When this book crossed my path, I opted to grab it.  The education system in China and Singapore is not something that I would naturally dive into.

Having spent time in Dongguan for work, I had a reference point for some of the items in the book.  However, my reference point is very recent history and not the level that this book covers.

I like how the author began by sharing the cultural history.  I was fascinated by the early migration policies.  While I knew that Singapore had been a colony, I was still amazed to learn that most of the early schools were taught mainly in English.

If you are interested in this topic, then this book will be a valuable read. 

Twelve Days of Christmas

Title: Twelve Days of Christmas Author: Debbie Macomber Genre:  Holiday, Romance Length: 212 pages (paperback) Rating: 4 out of 5

Julia is bubbly and friendly while her neighbor Cain keeps to himself.  They are clearly opposites in every way.  When Julia confides in her best friend that Cain stole her newspaper, she decides to conduct a "kill him with kindness" experiment which she blogs about as a finalist for a new career.

She decides to make an effort to run into Cain every day in order to be nice to him.  Little things like propping his newspaper by his door and prepaying for his coffee appear to hit his irritation point.  She begins to call him "Ebenezer" on her blog.  Her readers are initially mixed on encouraging her to continue her experiment to saying he won't change.  Slowly Cain begins to open up and Julia feels herself doing the same.

The center of this story is questioning whether or not being kind to someone can have an impact on their life and those around them.

Rather predictable?  yes.  Overly cheesy?  Absolutely!  However, it's a fun and quick holiday read.

A Charming Nightmare

Title: A Charming Nightmare Author: Marie Kammerer Franke Genre:  Science Fiction, Fantasy Length: 376 pages (paperback) Sensitive Content: Violence, Sexual Rating:  2 out of 5

Aylin wakes up, not certain what has happened.  She is a captive of an individual that is not quite human.  They are on the run, not certain what she is running from, not certain where she is.

She learns from Catch that she is from the past, roughly 40,000 years.  The Earth ended with a few years of her wedding.  A group of humans were saved, she wasn't one of them.  He was sent back to obtain an original human to help obtain a cure to a virus that is impacting the evolved humans, who are dying off fast.

She's swept into a whirlwind of activity from being a lab rat to constant fighting with Catch to causing issues for Elpis (the planet she is now on).  She's found that she's actually uncovering something much deeper than just the virus.

The story was difficult to follow.  Franke shifted from the distant past to the present to the recent past.  While she said she was inspired by Doctor Who, Bill Nye, Cosmos and a few other shows and books, all that I love, it was often difficult to follow the train of thought.

I honestly had a hard time reading this book due to all of the grammar and spelling issues.  Sentences are hard to follow as words appear to be missing.  Their/they're/there as well as your/you're are used as if they are the same.  Clearly this book needed an editor's or publisher's review.

This is the first of four books in her series.  I will not be picking up any of the others.

Who Gives A Crap

So...not a traditional review, but one that the family thought would be fun given that it is toilet "paper" and books are written on paper...

We have spent the last few years being aware of what we consume (bring into the house, not what just what we eat) and the longer term impact on the environment.  I have also instituted a guideline that when something comes into the house, something else needs to exit.  So, if a new pair of shoes comes in, an old pair needs to go out.  While our recycling garbage can volume has increased, we are down to one bag of actual garbage a week (sometimes every two weeks).

Now for our Who Gives a Crap review!

I came across this toilet paper on Pinterest.  I definitely didn't want the family towels (yes, totally gross), but I wanted to move away from the large sizes that we purchase at Costco and all of the waste that goes along with it.  I also wanted something that is kinder to the environment.  Along came Who Gives a Crap.  I love that it is made with bamboo and not trees.  I am also willing to pay a little more as they donate 50% of the profits to help build toilets.  I really like the fact that it is shipped to the house and I don't have to run out to get it and lug it home.  (OK, so maybe this one isn't the most environmentally friendly.)  It's soft and has no dyes!

If you are interested in trying it out, feel free to use our referral link to obtain $10 off your purchase (valid through March 2020).