Monday, July 4, 2011

Cool books

At the time of my fellowship in Beijing, air conditioning in the summer time was the exclusive privilege of high end shopping malls, luxury hotels, and haute restaurants. None of the rooms at the CASS American Studies department seemed to be air conditioned; fortunately, they were housed in traditional style courtyards where most offices had a window, and breezes could pass through the halls and corridors. However, in the high rise building of the one of the CASS institutes, there was a library reading room, tucked away on one of the middle floors. It was non-descript in off-white walls, fluorescent lamps, tables, chairs, magazines, but exceptional in its climate-controlled status. I used to visit regularly to partake of the air, not just of the breezes of scholarly concentration. It also housed a good selection of serious magazines, perfect for whiling away the time, imagining how my work could transform the academy, the city, the country, the world, if only the sweat would stop dripping from my brow. (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing)

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