Author: mauracunningham
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Bookshelf — Knitlandia, by Clara Parkes
I read a lot of books about knitting, and a lot of books about travel, but I’ve never read a travel book about knitting before. There’s a reason for that, as Amazon tells me that this might be a genre with precisely one title in it: Knitlandia: A Knitter Sees the World, recently published by…
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Two Wurms and a Bird
During that freezing winter in Beijing back in 2005, I became a fan of the knit earflap hat: there was simply no better way to stay warm outside than to keep my head nearly encased in wool and Polarfleece lining. I’ve had several earflap hats over the years, and while they’ve all looked ridiculous on…
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Five Photos from China in 2005
Mid-February always makes me think of my first trip to China, which began when my plane landed in Beijing late at night on February 16, 2005. As I wrote last year, the six months that followed were simultaneously exhilarating and challenging: as much as I loved living on my own and getting to know a…
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Romance in Hong Kong, Both Light and Dark
When thinking about the world’s most romantic cities, Paris and New York probably leap to mind—they are, after all, familiar settings for romantic comedies and novels. But a new book and movie, both released this weekend in tandem with Valentine’s Day, use Hong Kong as the backdrop for their love stories and prove that the…
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Ms. Magazine blog: “The Faulty Logic of China’s Most Radical Experiment”
I have a new post at the Ms. Magazine blog, a review of journalist Mei Fong’s recent book, One Child: The Story of China’s Most Radical Experiment. An excerpt: On Oct. 29, 2015, the Chinese government announced that it was moving away from the one-child policy it had enacted more than 35 years before. After nearly four decades…
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Panda-monium at the Bronx Zoo: A History
Last week, the New York Times ran a long article detailing the efforts of Representative Carolyn B. Maloney to secure two pandas for the Bronx Zoo. Maloney’s quest faces political hurdles in both New York and Beijing: Mayor Bill de Blasio won’t support any panda plan that requires public funding (building a habitat, leasing the…
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Declaring To-Do List Bankruptcy
I have three to-do lists, in three different formats, going at all times. First, there’s the legal pad that lives on my office desk that contains my work to-do list. That one is straightforward. Second is my daily home to-do list, a habit I picked up from my mother. Like her, every morning I take…
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The Uncompromising Jill Lepore
I’ve mentioned here before my enormous history-geek fangirling for Harvard professor and New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore. Lepore is an excellent example of someone who works inside and outside “the academy” (aka the university) with equal success, which is one of the reasons I have so much admiration for her (the other being the…
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On Resolutions and Resolve
I have traditionally been very cynical about the idea of making new year’s resolutions. Yes, we all have good intentions, and often get off to a strong start, but it’s hard to maintain the momentum of going to the gym every day, or committing to a frugal lifestyle, or whatever vow we’ve chosen that will…
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LA Review of Books China Blog: Documenting Public Space in China
I haven’t been blogging much lately—life, work, and longer-term projects need to come first right now—but finally got a chance a few weeks ago to sit down and write a post for the LA Review of Books China Blog. This is one that I’d been meaning to write for months, ever since seeing two excellent…
Maura Elizabeth Cunningham 