Just as the sun started to light the sky this morning, I finished reading The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. 357 pages in 9 hours/5 minutes. Mmm…sexy stats. It’s December and I’m already excited to sit all day on New Year’s, calculating all my reading time, pages, and piling up books that I’ve read this past year. It will be the 5th year in a row!
Wait a minute. Am I starting to get back in the swing of daily writing? This is the second day of posting in a row, so it is looking good. Yes, I’m excited about two days writing streak. Baby steps! Celebrate the small victories!
Side note: I’ve gone back to using my notebook to track reading instead of the Bookly app. While I enjoy the graphs and awesome stats that the app provides, I found myself not taking notes and then missing out at the end of the read. I need a better system and I’ve been contemplating that for weeks now.
Back to the book!
Why did I choose this book right now? I found it in a used bookstore in Big Bear recently and recognized the title, so I grabbed it up. It’s written in 1931. I love old books. It’s about China, which I know very little about. And when my step-mom expressed an interest in reading it together, going so far as to watch the movie and buy the book, I shoved aside the long suffering books on my TBR shelf and started reading it right away.
And I was not disappointed. It’s not an exciting or action-packed story, just one man’s life in pre-revolutionary China, how he grew up, married, had children, and founded a great and rich family. A rags to riches story that comes full circle. I can’t imagine anyone not being able to see themselves in it. We all strive to make more of ourselves than our ancestors. We all want to leave a better life for our children.
I didn’t find any great quotes that stood out to me to share as I read this time. It’s a quiet, understated story. But I loved every page and groaned out loud when I saw the direction he was going, or when I wanted him to avoid problems. I commiserated with him when all he wanted was peace in his house. And I cried for him when he wondered what he would do next.
I’m glad I stumbled across The Good Earth, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone. The problem is that now I want more about China. Any fiction or non-fiction recommendations?