5 weeks & counting: books, more books, Vietnamese deliciousness, hong kong,

...that I've been at my new job. Has it been so long already? I can't remember who links here and how, so I don't want to say too much: if you want details, you must email. But it's true, I'm back in book publishing, specifically English books on Beijing, China, Chinese culture, & the like.

It's not Let's Go and never will be, which is not to say that one is better or worse. They're completely different in method and methodology, and if anything, this is even more relaxed than what you might expect from an office of college students.

In other news, it seems that I will be abroad for yet another Harry Potter release (by abroad I mean in a non-English-speaking country). Let's cross our fingers that the Chinese bookstores ordered enough copies to survive the expat-onslaught - I now regret not pre-ordering, even though this time I was vaguely determined not to get into the anticipation. Ever since Book 5 (Phoenix), I've become more ambivalent, though that didn't keep me from running around Munich trying to grab a copy of Half-Blood Prince the day of my flight to China. More than that, I dislike endings, I don't want closure: I prefer to think that the story goes on somewhere, that the adventures continue, that somewhere someone is telling the tale.

That said, there's plenty of books I love more, and recent reads too. Good Omens is one of them, the perfect blend of humor and speculation and a brilliant dash of the unexpected and the whimsical. It'll turn on your head all your expectations about good & evil, demons & angels—who knew that they could work so well together—and of course, the end of the world. It also has a self-fulfilling prophecy in the foreword: your copy of Good Omens will invariably get damaged in some way, possibly in the Vietnamese ocean.

(Speaking of which, I had real Vietnamese coffee today, at the Vietnamese restaurant at Wanda Plaza. Definitely the best pho I've had in Beijing so far, though the broth could have used more flavor & depth: fortunately there were chilis and sweet chili sauce to add some zing. Crowning moment definitely the rich, aromatic, real Vietnamese coffee, served in individual drip filters and poured over a tall glass of ice cubes. Nothing compares.)

I'm heading off to Hong Kong in 2 days, where I will replenish my stock of English reading material as well as Lush soaps. Yes, this trip is definitely becoming pricey, with all my planned purchases, and then just think of all the unplanned ones!