What We Were Promised | 
pickLoved it! Lucy works with me and I‘m stoked to start hand-selling her book. I genuinely loved it. Her characters are so flawed and yet you can feel the author‘s empathy towards them all as they try to understand each other. Total freaking grand slam of a book.
so-soGood book about Shanghai and the travails of a Chinese couple who return there from the US. The wife has always loved the husband‘s brother; the ayi of course is too good for the whole thing but for a girl from the country, it‘s a great job. I enjoyed it but glad I don‘t own it.
so-soThis has been on my #mountTBR for awhile, and it wasn‘t as good as I hoped.
Lina is married to Wei but had originally fallen for his brother Qiang. When Lina and Wei return to China after working in the US for 20 years, Qiang gets in touch, and Lina must confront her feelings.
The other storyline involves Sunny, their maid turned personal assistant, a theft, and working as a single woman in Shanghai.
The book has potential but lacks sizzle.
pickFinished this book last night and I really liked it. I liked the multiple perspectives and the shifting back and forth in time. A great debut and I hope it‘s the first of many.
Today's #libraryhaul from both libraries I live between ( I had books due back at both & a hold to pick up from one). It looks bigger than I can possibly get to, but five are cookbooks, so not so bad.😉I am most excited for the tagged book which seems to have plenty of Litsy love. The bottom is a Donna Hay cookbook for a friend. I already own it but it was 1/2-off, so .50 cents-such a bargain for the gorgeous pics & easy recipes. #cookbooklove 😋
My Inter Library Loan arrived, not a minute too soon!
pickThis was a lovely book about family, tragedy, and love in many forms. I was most drawn in by the haves vs the have-nots parts of the story. A very good read 👍
pickOh man, I loved this book. I‘m at a loss for words to even explain why. This book is about family, friendship, promises, who we become and how we change as we grow.
I‘m in awe of Lucy Tan and the fact that this is her debut novel. I hope to read more from her in the future.
Someone is not tired. 🙄🙄
Reading until Queen B decides its time for bed.
We made it to Tuesday folks and there is coffee.
A good thing to keep in mind. Sometimes I have to remind myself to be more present. 🌼
1. Christmas shopping! 🛍️
2. Hoping to get a tree but it looks like rain ALL weekend 😥
3. Sugar cookie with icing 🍪
4. What We Were Promised 📚
5. Tagging @howjessreads 😏
#friyayintro
pickI went into this thinking it would be another MFA novel but Tan delivered so much more. There‘s a lot here: global economics; the generational gap in China - those who remember Mao and those who were born afterwards; But at the core is whether we are born into someone or whether we become someone: a mother; a thief; a wife; a son; a model employee. And how much does free will or fatalism decide who we are born into and who we evolve into?
pickI think I picked this one up solely based on its cover and I‘m so glad I did. I was getting a “Behold the Dreamers/Crazy Rich Asians mash-up” vibe when I started reading but this easily stands on its on. Incredibly rich, vibrant characters navigating the cultural and social mores of Shanghai. A wonderfully impressive debut. 4⭐️.
Take that hump day!
Teeny Ginger never grew a tail...
pickIn the first chapter of this book, I learn a surprising fact about China – it has one standard time zone, despite it spanning five geographical time zones! How confusing is that? Luckily this book, despite its interweaving stories of an expat family, a long-lost brother, and a housekeeping staff-turned-ayi, isn‘t confusing at all, and instead is a confident study of contrasts and an exciting debut.
“Cooking, she said, was an act of love and creation.”
Trying to read and have a coffee (and a biscuit or two) when someone decided to offer me some of his Halloween loot - of course it‘s stuff that‘s either minty or sour or has nuts in it.
pickExhausted after a long week capped off by a busy as fuck Friday at work, and my brain is just like WE CAN HAZ SLEEPS NOW PLS? so I‘ll just say this is a beautifully written story about family and secrets and what it means to get or not get what you think you want. Really enjoyed it. Good use of multi POV too. 4/5 ⭐️
The heart was the most senseless organ there was—yet the most essential. No wonder people were doomed to be fools from the beginning.
Just downloading some books for the upcoming readathon. Leah on the Offbeat and Normal People are books I‘m currently reading though so I probably will need to download two more to fill that space - not that I need that many books but who knows what my reading mood will be!
Have you read any of these?
#readathon
If she often felt lonely around strangers, she also sometimes thought that her “self” — that unformed possibility — might be the best company she‘d ever had.
How wonderful it was to discover that happiness could exist in the everyday like that, so overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time.
I‘ve been really wanting to read this since I listened to @thereadingwomen interview the author around the publication date. Excited to finally get to it because it sounds amazing and this cover is gorgeous! It feels quite timely, too... #nowreading
September 2018 Reading Wrap-up
What We were Promised 4 🌟
Thanks Obama: 3 🌟
The Unforgotten: 3.5 🌟
This Burns My Heart: 2.5 🌟
What Should Be Wild: 2 🌟
Where the Crawdads Sing: 2 🌟
Not a great reading month for me. I had trouble connecting with characters and in general found the writing flat in most of the novels I read this month. I am currently reading Melmoth, Washington Black, and have just started Crudo.
pickThis novel turned out to have much more substance than I first thought it would. After reading Crazy Rich Asians I was concerned that it would be another light read about the ultra rich. What We Were Promised explored much more of the history of China and how that history impacts today. I would be curious to read more of Lucy Tan's work.
My wife JUST arrived home from a weeklong business trip. “Who‘s at the door? Did you order something?” 😬 Impeccable timing, B&N. 🤦🏻♀️ #bookhaul #bookmail
I have 8 library books checked out...a house full of company...and this digital hold just came available. Problem of a book worm. All I want to do is read!!
Most of these books are about Chinese Americans rather than #China but these are from my shelves. I've read all but the tagged book, which I'm looking forward to starting soon. #AugustIsATrip @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @vkois88
pickI loved this quiet novel centered around a Chinese couple who return to China after living in the U.S. for several years. Beautiful writing and great character development. Themes of family obligation vs. autonomy, love, loss, and identity. If you like Janice Y. K. Lee‘s novels, you should definitely pick up this one. (And if you haven‘t read Janice Y. K. Lee, you should get on that!)
pickMany thanks to @littlebrown and @netgalley for the free digital review copy of What We Were Promised by @lucyrtan! This was an impressive debut and compelling family saga that delves into difficult themes of class, wealth and family loyalty. Full review: http://www.bornandreadinchicago.com/2018/07/what-we-were-promised-by-lucy-tan.ht...
What We Were Promised explores the question of what we owe to our country, our families, and ourselves...
Dinner! And new #bookmail. I really want to travel to Shanghai. We are thinking in April for my school spring break. I love this cover and it makes me want to plan the trip right now!
These library books and the tagged book, which I have as a physical book, are my #AugustTBR priorities. Those due dates are looming! Why do they all come in at once? #AugustIsATrip @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @vkois88
pickI enjoyed reading this look at modern Chinese culture. There is an Upstairs/Downstairs aspect to this story and I felt like it was mostly a deep look into society in Shanghai. But the backstory of all of the characters I also found captivating. And there are a couple of left turns in the plot that kept things stirred up, even though it is over all a quiet novel.
so-soThis book did not work for me on any level. There was absolutely no connection for me to any character. What a shame because the writing was good.
Next up the lovely Saturday. Usually I am out running errands on Saturday‘s but made the decision to do nothing this weekend with my husband, and I am thoroughly enjoying that decision.
pickWhat We Were Promised is an engrossing story about the Zhen family. Western educated, this family returns to Shanghai. In Shanghai, they live in an exclusive community of other white-collar professionals. The drama begins when a maid steals a treasured bracelet and then the husband‘s estranged brother comes for a visit. A very satisfying read!
2018 Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading Guide
https://modernmrsdarcy.com/summer-reading-guide-2018/
My first signing last night at a Barnes & Noble was a good one 😃 Felt like I was waiting so long for this to come out!!
Lucy Tan was a joy. And Rumaan Alam slowly teased out all the good stuff. She was inspired by her own experience being raised in the US and relocating to China with her parents just after she graduated from college. She says in America she feels so Chinese and in China so American. It looks like it‘s going to be a great read.
I will continue to scream this from the rooftops, THIS COVER IS B-E-A-UUUUUTIFUL 🤩
