“‘Classics’ – books people praise but don’t read”, said Mark Twain with his wan humor. Yet, according to Stephan Kind, all books are “portable magic.” A negotiation between these two great men is to choose the right book, not the impressive book, and read it voraciously. This is especially true if you plan on lying in bed during the sweltering summer of a Covid-19-ridden Beijing, for a list of intriguing volumes should decorate your afternoon.

Here are five recommended books, which can not only be bought via apps like Taobao, JD, or DangDang, but can also be downloaded free in numerous formats (such as PDF, EPUB, and MOBI) from https://z-lib.org/

My Year of Rest and Relaxation, a 2018 literary fiction by Ottessa Moshfegh, has been all the rage in American high schools and colleges. The prose is wry, New-York obsessed, depressingly beautiful and curiously distinguished.

The young, pretty protagonist is a recent Columbia Art graduate with inherited wealth and tries all sorts of medications to sleep continuously for one whole year. She records the journey of her ambition in a diary, where the longings and flaws of privileged young people alike are whispered poignantly without truly leaving our minds, yet if they do, it is through a trail of eternal echoes.

The Secret History by Donna Tart is regarded as a cult leader for the burgeoning “Dark Academia” aesthetic and lifestyle on social media in the 2020s.

It is florid in language, suspenseful in storytelling, and full of the esoteric allure of Greek and Gothic arts. The young Californian student Richard is enrolls in a liberal arts school in New England, fictionally named “Guardian College” and in reality was modeled on the Bennington college in Vermont.  Richard pursues a Greek major, and in turn joins four classmates and a mysterious professor to explore the depth of intellect, friendship, murder, and most of all, the beauty searched for and inevitably found in terror.

The Secret History seems to be inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, a classic novel written by Oscar Wilde which explores the philosophy of art: aestheticism. This argues “art for art’s sake” in order to free the purpose of art from Victorian morals, yet still makes art an expression of purposeful or purposeless beauty.

This tale of love, suicide, and killing, of bewitching talkers, lovesick scholars, boring artists, and arrogant socialites, resulted in the book first being criticized as immoral. Later, it became the epitome of social satire and clever language. Nowadays it a philosophical and psychological thriller, recording the disintegration of a portrait and its person of muse: The devil-souled and angel-faced Dorian Gray.

Delayed Rays of a Star is a 2019-2020 Henfield prize winning fictional novel written by Singaporean writer Amanda Lee Koe.

It’s about two actresses and one female director in the WWII era: Marlene Dietrich, Anna May Wong, and Leni Riefenstahl (respectively). Within their periphery in Berlin, New York, Paris, Beijing, and Los Angeles are incredibly fleshed out secondary characters that touch on illegal migration, political controversies, cultural discrimination, and so much more in that nostalgic, turbulent flow of time.

Norwegian Woods is perhaps the most realist novel written by Haruki Murakami, peaking as a true tragicomedy. Set in the politically progressive late 60s and early 70s of Tokyo Japan, the pen pinpoints on three college students grappling with love, depression, societal shifts, and the meaning of life. The melancholic bildungsroman is told through a simple, intimate prose that does not pour out tragedy, but rather soaks the reader quietly with its tart, pitter-pattering rain.

To all the splendors of the old and the young in this city’s summer, may you always possess the unassisted power of dreaming, the unrestrained desire for romanticism, and may you always indulge in it through the paragraphs of a book as much as you do on the face of earth.

Images: Ann Carter-Cash, Wikipedia, Aesthetic Wiki, Rakuten Kobo, a, Amazon, Livinia, Sofia S, Owen Zhang

It’s rainy and it’s humid, which makes doing anything outside increasingly difficult, lest you drown in a pool of sweat. But school’s out and this is pretty much the only time we have for some unfettered fun. Eager to help you and your kids make the most of vacation, I have compiled a list of indoor places that you can visit with your clique, family, or even solo. Let’s turn the air-con and fun up to 11!

Enjoy The Space Trampoline Park 跃享空间蹦床公园

Trampoline parks are the perfect place to spend an entire day. Enjoy The Space Park offers more than five big trampolines and dozens of tunnels and basketball hoops. From recreating Michael Jordan’s iconic jump-man move to leaping headfirst into a ball pit, there’s something for everyone. For those who are worried that your kids could get injured from all the crazy stunts they’ll attempt, fear not. There’s plenty of staff ready to assist with the stunts so that your kid can look super cool while also staying super safe. Aside from trampolines, there’s plenty more to do at Enjoy The Space including rock climbing walls and giant tube slides. It is accessible from the second gate of the mall.

Price: RMB 60-120, depending on time and day of the week
Address: Jingyu Old Line Songzhuangzhen Liuhe Qiaoxi Happy Songshenghuo Square East (Tongzhou) 京榆旧线宋庄镇六合桥西欢乐宋生活广场东2.门 
Hours: 9am-9pm, Monday to Sunday

Le Cool Ice Skating Rink

If it’s a chill environment and a bit of exercise you’re after, you can’t do much better than ice skating. And for those of you who have never tried ice skating, I highly recommend it. It’s much easier than it looks, and Le Cool provides the necessary skates, but be sure you get a pair that fits, otherwise, your ankles will be in a world of hurt. Le Cool Ice Skating Rink can be found on B2 of the World Trade Center, and there are some helpful directions inside the mall so you won’t get lost.

Price: RMB 30 on weekdays, RMB 50 on weekends and public holidays
Address: China World Shopping Mall 建国门外大街1号国贸商城中区B2层NB211
Hours: 10am-9.30pm, Monday to Sunday

LingYun Go Karting 凌云致速卡丁车

Do you want the adrenaline of Formula1 but can’t stand the heat of the track? Then go-kart racing is up your alley. Even if you don’t like racing, this is still a fun activity to do with friends as you zip around the track at your own pace. The arena is huge and there are plenty of other activities including archery and laser tag. So grab a couple buds and head on over for a fun day at the track, with some really rewarding Instagram photos.

Price: RMB 108, average
Address: Jingang Avenue, Jinzhanxiang Golden Port Motor Park Unit A 东苇路金港汽车公园A区2号二层
Hours: 1-10pm, Weekdays. 10am-10pm, Weekends 

Gold-Silver Arcade 金银岛电玩游戏中心（朝阳大悦城店）

Arcades have existed for what seems like forever now, and although home consoles have made most of these games redundant, there are still plenty of things that you won’t find anywhere else. From claw machines to ping-pong games and lucky dips, it’s a place that’s fun no matter how many people are in your group. You could go with your bestie and have fun with VR racing, or go with the entire fam and challenge each other to the claw machine. Whatever it is, fill up your entire afternoon with friendly competition. When you’re done, enjoy some dinner and dessert at Chaoyang Joy City. Happy gaming!

Price: Varies
Address: Joy City (Chaoyang) 朝阳北路101号朝阳大悦城8层（青年路口）
Hours: 10am-10pm, Monday to Sunday

KEEP READING: Awesome Places Around Beijing for Quality Family Fun

Images: Muhammad Rao,宝, 大众点评

To brighten your home with even more cute handmade crafts made by little hands, here’s a step-by-step glass stained kite craft that can occupy the kids. Kites are very common in Beijing, just head out to the local park and you can be sure to find at least one person flying or attempting to fly a kite. Read on to find out what you’ll need and how to put those materials together.

Things you’ll need:

• A4/A3 black construction paper
• 1/2-inch strips of black construction paper
• scrap pieces of black construction paper (from cutting out the kites)
• assorted colors of tissue paper – you can cut it into squares or let your kids tear pieces
• clear Contact paper
• yarn or ribbon
• colored construction paper scraps

Steps:

1. Tape a piece of clear Contact paper, sticky side up, on the table. Stick your kite frame down and create a design with black paper strips or shapes. You could do traditional cross-shape strips, or something of your own creation.

2. Start covering your kite shape with colored tissue paper squares or pieces.

3. When your kite shape is completely covered with tissue paper, seal with another piece of clear Contact paper. For best results (less wrinkles and trouble), stick the cover sheet to one end and slowly smooth it down over the tissue paper.

4. Cut out your kite shape, cutting off the extra paper strips and contact paper.

5. For the tail, staple a piece of yarn or ribbon to the bottom of the kite. We also added a few construction paper flags to our tail – cut out a simple bow tie shape and staple to the tail.

6. Tape your colorful kites in a window to brighten up a gloomy day.

Sourced from makesandtakes.com 

Photo: Makesandtakes.com

Photos courtesy of Thomas Rydberg of Flickr and Pixabay

Put the analytical left side of your brain to the test while exploring right-brained creativity at the same time!

Difficulty Level:
Easy

Time:
20-30 minutes

Materials:

• Pencil
• Ruler
• Cardboard (cereal boxes work well)
• Exacto knife or scissors
• Markers
• Paints
• Old magazines
• Glue

1. Using a pencil, draw ten squares measuring 6cm x 6cm on a sheet of cardboard.

2. Cut along lines using scissors or an Exacto knife (parental supervision recommended).

How to Play:

Mix up the squares and turn them all face down. Flip over one card and try to guess which card has the same pattern on the other side. Turn over your guess to see if you’re right; if not, flip both cards back over and try again. Take turns between each flip, always flipping the squares back to their original spot. Whoever collects the most matching pairs wins!

This post first appeared here on June 18, 2008 and was first published in the beijingkids June 2008 issue.

Autumn collages
Each time you go out, ask your child to collect any interesting leaves, conkers, bark or twigs that interest them and store them at home in a box or bag. Once they have a healthy collection in place, set out some paper, glue and craft materials and help them make a collage. This could be one big collective scattering or you could encourage them to build it into the shape of a tree, squirrel or bird. You could add extra materials like colored tissue paper, string and glitter or let them add color to the finished article with paints, crayons and felt tip pens.   

Treasure hunt
An autumn treasure hunt is a lovely way for children to have fun, use their imagination and get a healthy dose of fresh air. Set some treasures out in the garden with little clues at each stop or take the fun elsewhere by selecting a nice little spot at the park. Considering their age and level of ability, give clues that will get them thinking about autumn and all of its wonderful attributes or set miniature tasks they can get involved in such as collecting mossy twigs, a black stone or different colored leaves. Take somehot chocolate and chocolate brownies as a treat and reward them with stickers or badges for completing the tasks. 

Weather watch
Autumn is one of those adorable interchangeable seasons where we can watch the world around us change color in preparation for winter. There’s a chill in the air (though it’s not yet freezing) and the skies are often blue – a heady mix that can inspire kids and adults alike to enjoy the great outdoors. No doubt your child has already noticed the drop in temperature and the falling leaves everywhere so make the most of their inquisitiveness by talking about the seasons and explaining the changing patterns in weather.

A weather chart is a great way for them to keep track of the changing season and it provides a good opportunity to get creative too. Lay out some card and ask them to design a tab for sunshine, rain, cloud and fair weather. They can use these to mark each day and make a fresh new chart at the end of the month.

It’s been one hot summer, and you may not always want to spend a sweltering afternoon outdoors. Luckily, there are plenty of simple games and activities that can be done indoors. The ones we’ve collected here should please the young and the young at heart alike.

Masking Tape Play
You can create play areas with just one or two rolls of humble masking tape. Stick it on the floor to create roads or tracks for toy cars or a Hopscotch grid on the carpet. You can also try making concentric circles as a target area and throw bean-filled bags (or even balls or oranges, as long as all the breakables are safely stored away) into the circles to score points.

Balloon Ping-Pong
Ping pong (or table tennis) is the Chinese national sport, but this game won’t be included in the Olympics any time soon. Blow up two balloons, make bats from paper plates glued to sticks (or simply rolled-up newspaper), and play balloon volleyball.

The good part about this game is that you can make up the rules as you go along. You could even set up a net using two chairs with a skipping rope tied between. Or simply have fun rubbing balloons on your hair and get them to stick to walls or the ceiling.

DIY Bowling
This will require some rearranging of furniture. Fill plastic bottles or milk cartons half full with sand to make your own bowling pins. Optionally, you can spend some time decorating your pins with glue and glitter or paint. Then set up a homemade bowling alley in the hall or lounge and see how many pins you can knock over.

Hot Potatoes
This game is guaranteed to get you giggling! Blindfold one person from each team and then place potatoes all over the floor. When you say "go," the blindfolded person must crawl and feel around for the potatoes. If they find one, they must place it on their person (in pockets, down their top, under their belt) and find more. When the time is up, the one with most potatoes wins. The other players guide the blindfolded teammate to make sure they don’t bump into anything.

Photo Scavenger Hunt
Write out a list of things each child (or team) has to photograph. For example, "take a picture of something that reminds you of home" or "take a picture of someone dressed up in the wackiest clothes you can find." Then, give each child or team a camera and set them loose. When everyone’s done, set up a slide show to view the results and award points (or small prizes) for their efforts.

Get Quizzing
Have fun testing each other’s general knowledge with a family quiz. My parents are currently visiting my sister and I, so we quizzed each other on how well we know our extended family members. I kept seeing a dumbfounded look on my parents’ faces. Make sure there’s a prize to get everyone in the competitive spirit.

Button and Pasta Pictures
Get out your button box if you have one, or some dried pasta or rice (you can color pasta with food coloring or paint for added effect). Then get the kids to stick buttons or pasta to a card or piece of paper. You can also make necklaces by threading the buttons or painted pasta onto thread or yarn.

Activities sourced from netmums.com

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

• Use the same route when walking your dog so you’re familiar with the lampposts and metal plates along the way. “Eyeball the block and avoid a shock,” advises Street Zaps.
• Avoid any lampposts with open panels, which are electrical hazards whether the lamp is lit or not.
• Don’t tie your dog’s leash to a lamppost. Although it may appear to be safe, it could be leaking voltage. “Non-conductive objects and surfaces, unless salted, are always safer options year-round for you and your dog,” according to the website.
• Do not let your dog step on metal manhole covers or plates. “Metal on the street or sidewalk can be electrified if deteriorated or improperly installed,” Street Zaps reports. “Renovation and ongoing construction sites utilizing temporary wiring can create a higher possibility for a shocking incident.”
• Do not let your dog urinate on a power pole.

• Get on your knees and do a “dog’s-eye view” inspection of your floors, checking under furniture and inside lower cupboards for electrical cords and any other hazards.
• Throw away any damaged electrical cords in your home. “Even minimal contact with a bare wire can cause serious harm to your dog (making contact with the feet, nose, or tongue, for example),” reports PetMD.com.
• Keep cords at least 6 inches off the floor. “Your dog is much less likely to stand and chew a cord than she is to lie down and enjoy a “teething session” with it.”
• Coat electrical cords with a bitter-tasting spray (such as Bitter Apple) that makes them unappetizing to your dog.
• Unplug the cords for any appliances that are not in use.
• Give your dog chew toys and praise her when she chews them.