#amy tan

[whilereadingandwalking]

The Joy-Luck Club is such a treasure. I will say, even on reread, it’s hard to remember which are the mother-daughter pairs. Two different characters having divorces and the random-seeming order of chapters doesn’t help. But the book is gorgeous. The little connections, the richness of the story, and the emotion, authentic, honest, raw behind both the daughters and mothers are stark and beautiful. Amy Tan is such a good author, and her gift for last sentences is genuine. With my little chart to keep people straight, an all-time read.

[fir-fireweed]

Author question, if you're okay with it. :)

I'm curious what writers you look up to (doesn't have to be IF) or admire?

I LOVE THIS ASK!!

Lol, totally ok with it, if you can’t tell. 🥴

I wrote about my favorite books and authors in this post here. But I’m pulling out the paragraph on Amy Tan and focusing on her specifically:

I was/am a big fan of Amy Tan. She’s best known for “The Joy Luck Club”, which is excellent, but my favorite book of hers is “The Kitchen God’s Wife.” She also has an auto biography called “The Opposite of Fate”, which I highly recommend.

I admire many authors, but if I had to choose one it’d be Amy Tan. Looking back, I think her books affected me (and my writing) more than I realize. She writes about culture and the loss of it. She’s Chinese American, born to Chinese immigrant parents, and her stories draw from personal experiences. She writes about the power of language and communication, and about complicated relationships, particularly mothers and daughters. Her stories deal with some heavy traumatic aspects, but there’s always a thread of hope in them, a belief in the indomitable human spirit, that I’ve always greatly admired.

If you’ve never read her, I highly encourage you try her books, starting with the 3 mentioned above. ❤️

[nadisalementriche]

Books I want to read! (From our last trip to the book store)

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

I And The Village :: Marc Chagall

* * * *

"The world is not a place but the vastness of the soul. And the soul is nothing more than love, limitless, all that moves us toward knowing what is true. I once thought love was supposed to be nothing but bliss. I now know it is also worry and grief, hope and trust. ... If people we love die, then they are lost only to our ordinary senses. If we remember, we can find them anytime with our hundred secret senses."

~ Amy Tan, 'The Hundred Secret Senses'

[mad-girlslove-song]

[theinquisitxor]

April 2025 Reading Wrap Up

I read 5 books in the month of April, and wrapped up two series! Five books is a little below average for me, but I got myself in such a reading slump at the end of the month trying to read The Luminaries. It's been very slow going with this book, and while I don't want to dnf it, it's just taking me forever. Making this post today (May 4), I'm still only 1/2 way though. The first 3/4 of April was good reading, so let me dive in:

1.The Crow (The Books of Pellinor 3) by Alison Croggon, 4/5 stars. I remembered scenes from this book vividly because of the emotional damage it did to me when I was young. I know many people don't like this book as much, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I like the change of perspective, place, and character this book brings.

2.The Singing (The Books of Pellinor 4) by Alison Croggon, 4/5 stars. The conclusion to this series, and tbh I did not remember almost anything from when I read this years ago. It was almost like reading it new. I feel like this book is a satisfactory conclusion, the ending probably could've been written better, but it's good enough imo.

3.The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan, 4/5 stars. This is a published version of Tan's nature/birding journal, and a lovely account of the birds who visit her backyard over the course of several years. I love birds and this was a simple book, but joyful, emotional, and thoughtful. I really enjoyed reading this, and highly recommend!

4.Cybele's Secret (Wildwood Dancing 2) by Juliet Mariller, 4/5 stars. This is a companion novel to Wildwood Dancing and follows one of the sisters, Paula, as she travels with her merchant father to Instabul in search of a lost relic. I actually enjoyed this more than the first book, and it was very different from book 1. This is more of a plot driven adventure story with secret societies, scholars, ancient artifacts, trials and tests.

4.A Northern Gardener's Guide to Native Plants and Pollinators by Lorraine Johnson. As I was getting ready for spring planting, I wanted to learn more about native plants and pollinators, and how to garden with those in mind. I've always been anti-lawn and pro native gardens, and learned more from this book!

I was hoping to have The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton finished in April, but that did not happen. I'm hoping to buckle down and get this book finished soon. I am enjoying it, but it's just taking me forever to get though. Since this has put me in a reading slump, I haven't though of my May tbr very much. I didn't get to my Random TBR book for April (because reading slump), so that is a priority in May.

May tbr?:

finish The Luminaries

read April's Random TBR pick: Child of a Hidden Sea

May Random TBR pick, tbd

something shorter and easier!-- maybe The Demon King or Some Desperate Glory ?

[haveyoureadthisbook-poll]

Have you read The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (1989)?

yes

no

I didn't finish it

I've never heard of it

Voting ended onDec 25, 2024

[litandlifequotes]

I was strong. I was pure. I had genuine thoughts inside that no one could see, that no one could ever take away from me. I was like the wind.

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan