Lily

A lot of the books I read qualify for the 'Must-Reads before the end of high school' thread, but some others didn't, so here they are:

1) Moment in Peking, by Lin Yutang
-This is a novel written in the early 1900's about generations of a family trying to survive in a troubled China. It's REALLY hard to find- I picked it up in my school library and haven't been able to find it anywhere else except online. It's definitely worth a read, though it's quite long and it gets rather slow in some bits.

2) Enchantment, by Orson Scott Card
-This is a skillfull retelling of the 'Sleeping Beauty' story as well as several Russian folktales. Beware of Baba Yaga!

3) The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan
-No explanation necessary

4) Cosmicomics, by Italo Calvino
-Another really hard-to-find book- a collection of whimsical short stories. The one about the moon is my favorite.



Darn it! I created this thread just for one book and now I can't remember what it was . . . I knew I should've put that one on first . . .

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Fantasia

Also, "Like Water for Chocolate" by Laura Esquivel and perhaps Arlene Chai's (mostly because I could relate to *this* particular book of hers) "The Last Time I Saw Mother."

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Lily

Arlene Chai? I can't say I've ever heard of her, actually . . . must look that up! Here are some others that I've forgotten:

'Falling Leaves' by Adeline Yen Mah

'Red Scarf Girl' by Ji-Li Jiang
-This is a book oriented towards younger readers, but I find that it's a read all generations can relate to. It's about a young girl trying to survive during China's Cultural Revolution

'The Piano Shop on The Left Bank' by Thaddeus Carhart
-A great book for anyone even vaguely interested in piano! It's a bit slow, but it's definitely worth a read through

'A Murder for her Majesty' by Beth Hilgartner
-This book is also really hard to find, for some reason, but it's well worth the effort. It's also oriented towards a younger audience, but the writing is fantastic and the plot still intrigues me to this very day.

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Watakshino

My list:

Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal by Thomas Harris

followed/preceded by

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

Kittie

Ooooh... Lily... I would guess you have a fascination with either Chinese culture or Chinese writers. I know I do. It all started with The Good Earth. I don't know if the fascination lies with the similarities between Eastern and Western culture... or with the differences. More likely I am fascinated with the similarities existing within the differences.

I just started reading The Joy Luck Club. I'm loving it.

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Lily

Kittie: I definitely have a fascination with all things Chinese- it's my way of keeping my identity, as I'm Chinese in a school that only has about 10 non-Caucasians in the entire population! But somehow, I've also developed a fascination for all things Jewish. Go figure

More books I recommend:

My Name is Asher Lev, by Chaim Potok
Night, by Elie Wiesel
The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, by Thad Carhart

P.S. Once you've read The Joy Luck Club, you really don't need to read any other Chinese novels- most of them are all spin-offs from Amy Tan, especially Adeline Yen Mah's stuff. Of course, there are some 'Chinese books' that are completely different, but for the most part, it seems that most authors are imitating Amy Tan, and if I can, I'm going to change that

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