I just read The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, and it's also a really good book. It's rather sad, about a farmer and how he struggled for a better life for his family, but in the end even when he's rich, there is no peace in his household and his sons know nothing about farming, his lands or hardship. I didn't really like the main character much though, I found he was too obsessed with richness and power and cared too much about what people thought of him, but I suppose he was also a very hardworking man and deserved what he got. The thing that struck me most is his children's attitude toward his land. I realised that it's quite true, children will grow to a certain age when they realise that, or rather they think that they are wiser than their parents. That their parents are of an older generation and are ignorant and old fashioned and do not understand the modern ways of the world. While that may be true to some extent, even in the present, where many of the older generation are not as technologically inclined, I still feel that there has to be some sort of respect for the elders and that you cannot just dismiss their opinions and not fulfill their wishes especially if it's something very dear to them (I'm referring to the book here btw). Anyway, it's a really touching story. I like reading stories like these, stories set in foreign Asian countries like China and India and in the early 1900s or 1800s. So this is my second favourite book then. A Suitable Boy is still my favourite.

I think I'm entering this reading phase again where I just read and read non-stop and that's not very good cos school has started and I'm supposed to be reading textbooks, not storybooks.

Anyway, the rendang smells damn good and I'm going to go eat now :)