Book Of The Week: "Peony" by Pearl S. Buck

Peony 

by

Pearl S. Buck

This month's selection for my Library Book Group is Peony by Pearl S. Buck.   Having finished reading it this evening, I am struck by how much I learned about China by reading this book.  Peony is the story of a Chinese bonds maid in a Jewish home in China around the turn of the century - late 1800s early 1900s.   But it is more than that.  It delves into  the struggle of the Chinese Jewish community  to remain intact and avoid assimilation.  In fact the book deals with the question as to whether or not assimilation may not be the better choice.  The following is a quote from the book at location 4224 (I can't quote a page number as I read it on my kindle):

It was inevitable, as he himself had said, when people were kind and just to one another,  that the walls between them fell and they became one humanity.

Peony is also as love story.  She is in love with the young man, named David, who  she was purchased to be a playmate for as a child and then later was his servant.  There are two other women in love with David.  One being a young Jewish girl who his mother wants him to marry and the other being a young Chinese girl who his father thinks would be a good match as far as furthering the family business interests.  While David loves Peony he will not realize  it for most of the book.  The author does a good job of showing the limits in choices that women had in China at the time frame of the book.  

I was about half way through the book before I got really into it.  But overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend it as a story to read to deepen one's understanding of both Jewish and Chinese culture.  Be sure and click on the title and author's name above to follow the links to learn more.  And enjoy the following video.

Book For The Week 1/4/13: Financial Peace Revisited by Dave Ramsey

Financial Peace Revisited

by

Dave Ramsey

It is that time of year.  Time for either a money management book or a diet book.  Perhaps even one of each.   And those of you that know me know I spend a lot of time agonizing over my debt level.  After listening to  me complain a friend loaned me his copy of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace Revisited to read and I finished it up this morning.  When I was in high school,  there was a period of several months that under the watchful eye of my father I was required to manage the family budget as far as writing in the ledger,  making out checks and physically going around and paying utility bills.   Therefore,  much of what is in the book I had been exposed to since early in my life.  Nevertheless,  the book provided a good review of those facts.   In addition,  in my family of origin,  there was a house payment and a car payment and no other debt was allowed.  So when it comes to paying off debt I had no basis of knowledge prior to reading this book.  In the early chapters of the book,  what I saw quickly was that I am not as bad off as a lot people are.  I feel like I am in a room that the debt is like water rising and I wonder when my head is going to hit the ceiling but it is a little ways up there still and I have always so far managed to tread water.  The examples given in the first parts of the book make me feel very fortunate.   A little ways into the book the "snowball"  method of paying off debt is explained and I can see advantages to it.  Chapters  12 (mutual funds)  and 19 (written budget)  were a bit beyond how hard I wanted to think.  I mean surely there is an app for that?  But chapter 21 was worth reading the entire book for and is highlighted partly in the video that follows.   The author is writing from a Christian perspective so I caution those with other belief systems to be prepared to "dub over"  quite a few parts with the phrase " the belief system meaningful to me".    Which anyone who lives in the part of the country I live in and has the relatives I have is good at doing any way. . .  darn near a dub over expert here.  All in all,  the books explains hard concepts fairly clearly and shows advantages to being out of debt and saving for the things we want.  It also is motivational to encourage people to work toward the before mentioned goals.  I am sure it is being like a diet and one will do good for awhile and fall off the wagon occasionally.  I recommend the book to people who seek some easily understood concepts for money management.  Be sure and click on the title and the author's name above to follow the links to learn more.  And enjoy the interview with the author in the video below.