I cannot remember the last time I read such an insightful, yet hilarious, assessment of modern China ... I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone interested in China and Hong Kong and how, despite their problems, they remain fascinating to both the traveller and the resident.

– The Culture Vulture

Within a few pages, readers begin to experience a surprising wish to meet the author. She conveys such a vibrant joie de vivre, making it easy to smile and adopt the same zestful attitude. She must be fun to know, a talkative live-wire. ... Readers share the sights, sounds, tastes and humor of the author's travels without facing the bad weather, hassles and long train rides. That's worth the price of a book. Don't Joke on the Stairs isn't the most comprehensive book ever written about China. It's not the best-researched, the most insightful or the most enlightening. But it may be the most fun to read.

– Cairns Media Magazine