-
Weekly Wanderings: January 12, 2025

Thanks for joining me this week. Recommendations China Stories Chinese leaders often proclaim that “the East is rising and the West is declining”; some U.S. leaders now also seem to accept this forecast as inevitable. Arriving at such a broad conclusion, however, would be a grave mistake. China’s progress and power are substantial. But it…
-
Jakarta and Yogyakarta: A Trip Told Through Photos

The biggest trip I took in 2024, in terms of distance traveled, was to Indonesia, where I spent a week in July. Since I traveled there for work, however, I didn’t have much of a chance to play tourist—I flew in a day early at the beginning, then took off a few hours one afternoon.…
-
Bookshelf: After the Last Border
Books published in 2020 often didn’t get the attention they deserved. Kept at home by Covid-19 restrictions, authors weren’t able to tour and promote their new books in person; instead, they tried their best to reach readers through Zoom, podcasts, and social media. Unfortunately, a lot of wonderful and important titles fell through the cracks.…
-
Weekly Wanderings: January 5, 2025

Two weeks without recommendations meant I saved up a bumper crop for today—I hope everyone can find a story or two in the links below to read with their coffee on a cold winter Sunday. Thanks for joining me this week. Recommendations China Stories The recent shift in exile rhetoric suggests a realization by the…
-
Niagara Falls from (Almost) Every Angle

Eight years after moving to Southeast Michigan, I finally made the four-hour drive to Niagara Falls, Ontario last June. During our five days there, my brother and I saw the falls from virtually every vantage point available on the Canadian side. We started off on our first morning there by walking down Clifton Hill to…
-
Out With the Old, In With the New

Happy New Year! I decided to ring in 2025 by signing up for a New Year’s 5K duo: Out With the Old (December 31) and In With the New (January 1). The course loops around Bloomer Park in Rochester, MI; the first day’s race goes counter-clockwise, the next one clockwise. While it was cold both…
-
Weekly Wanderings: December 29, 2024

These past few weeks have been filled with year-end “best of” lists and assessments of 2024. I thought about putting together that kind of post for today, then decided … eh, I’d rather not. As this year draws to a close, I’ll simply say: I appreciate everyone who reads, shares, and comments on my work,…
-
Weekly Wanderings: December 22, 2024

In lieu of musings and reading recommendations, this week I’m sharing photos from an August 2021 visit I made to the house from A Christmas Story in Cleveland, Ohio. Open for tours (you can also stay the night!), the house is dressed for Christmas year-round and features all the iconic props from the movie—including, of…
-
Weekly Wanderings: December 15, 2024

Syria, Korea, China, pandas, pizza, museums, hockey, Rancho Gordo beans—this reading round-up is jam-packed and truly has something for just about everyone. It’s also my final reading round-up of 2024, as I’m going to publish some holiday-themed posts next week and the following. Thanks for joining me this week! Recommendations Events in Syria Rania Abouzeid,…
-
Weekly Wanderings: December 8, 2024

On the morning of Tuesday, December 3, I got up early and started writing right away. I was working on a book review and had suddenly hit the zone where words were flowing, so my focus was unusually unshakeable. At 9:00, I reluctantly left that document and switched to Zoom, where I spent the next…