Every once in a while I find myself in a bookstore, idly wandering the shelves and noting books of particular interest to me. I have to say that despite the proverb, I usually do judge my books by their covers.

So you can imagine why someone like me, who is always looking for a laugh and has spent some time in China, couldn’t resist peeking into the pages of Lost on Planet China by J. Maarten Troost.

The guy is hilarious. Several times I chortled and chuckled and quoted lengthy passages to my fiance, who I’m sure was half-amused half-annoyed by my persistent interruptions. He soooo well captures the bizarre, almost inexplicable spirit of being in China; the befuddling contradictions and culture confusion that so pervades even the simple(?) act of crossing the street or watching television.

He makes me laugh, but he also makes me smile in fond memory. I can’t wait to read more of his stuff, and I think you should too!