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Sky Burial (Revised)
Sky Burial (Revised) | Xinran
60 posts | 36 read | 73 to read
An epic story of Tibet from the author of The Good Women of China As a young girl in China Xinran heard a rumour about a soldier in Tibet who had been brutally fed to the vultures in a ritual known as a sky burial: the tale frightened and fascinated her. Several decades later Xinran met Shu Wan, a Chinese woman who had spent years searching for her missing husband who had been serving as a doctor in Tibet; her extraordinary life story would unravel the legend of the sky burial. For thirty years she was lost in the wild and alien landscape of Tibet, in the vast and silent plateaus and the magisterial mountain ranges, living with communities of nomads moving with the seasons and struggling to survive. In this haunting book, Xinran recreates Shu Wen's remarkable journey in an epic story of love, loss, loyalty and survival. Moving, shocking and, ultimately, uplifting Sky Burial paints a unique portrait of a woman and a land, both at the mercy of fate and politics.
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erzascarletbookgasm
Sky Burial | Xinran
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#AlphabetGame

I choose to highlight this favourite as it stayed with me long after I finished it. Such a haunting and moving book. ❤️💔

Another favourite #letterS is The Sense Of An Ending, Julian Barnes. Elegantly and melancholy told, a brilliant examination of memory.

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thank you for playing 📚 2y
37 likes1 stack add1 comment
review
Bookworm54
Sky Burial | Xinran
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Pickpick

My attempt at mountain pose while holding my kindle... harder than it seems 😋

This book was so interesting with its insight into Tibetan nomads, sky burials, the conflict between the Chinese and Tibetans, and one woman‘s search for a husband she refuses to believe is dead. This is a semi-fictionalised versions of true events. While some people haven‘t liked the ending, I liked the possibilities it left.

#PosedByTheBook #Mountain #JumpStart2021

Lizpixie Sounds really interesting🤔 #stacked (edited) 3y
AkashaVampie Great job sweetie! Can't wait to see the other poses. 3y
Megabooks Random aside - cute pants! 3y
Bookworm54 @Megabooks Thanks! 🥰 3y
47 likes1 stack add4 comments
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Bookworm54
Sky Burial | Xinran
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AkashaVampie Love it. 3y
38 likes1 comment
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Bookworm54
Sky Burial | Xinran
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#PosedByTheBook #TBRCrew #Mountains

The image is from a google search, and is of the Simila Mountain in Tibet (the book is mainly set in Tibet)

i.besteph Beautiful quote! 3y
AkashaVampie love it! 3y
UwannaPublishme 😍🙌🏻 3y
43 likes3 comments
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Bookworm54
Sky Burial | Xinran
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Starting my #PosedByTheBook pick today.
This is one of the #TBRCrew reading challenges, combining yoga poses with books. This month is #Mountains 🏔

I am really excited for this one, based on a true story! And I am sucker for a map in any book 🤣

AkashaVampie great job sweetie. Hope its a good read!! Do u got ur pose worked out? 3y
Bookworm54 @AkashaVampie Not yet 🤣 3y
AkashaVampie @Bookworm54 take ur time. u still have at least half a month... and if u cant do it this month, try for next month. I know i set a different pose for every month, but who says u cant do 2 poses in a month. u will get it!! i got faith in u hun. 3y
Bookworm54 @AkashaVampie very true! It‘s good so far (I am half way through). I‘m looking forward to reading some more another day :) 3y
31 likes5 comments
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Macnjen
Pickpick

Translated story about a woman searching for her husband in Tibet. Amazing story, though I think it‘s probably better in the native Chinese. This was my LAST book for the #litsyAtoZ challenge, for the letter X. I‘m done! @BookishMarginalia

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Macnjen
Sky Burial | Xinran
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This is my LAST book for the #litsyAtoZ challenge for 2019. This is the toughest letter in the challenge, in my opinion, but I'm excited because this looks like a good read! @booksishmarginalia

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jmtrivera
Sky Burial | Xinran
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Thought I'd fail miserably at #pinkbooks, but what do you know? #SpringIntoReading

Seekingtardis Yaaaaaasss Jem!!!! 5y
jmtrivera @Seekingtardis Outrageous! 5y
vkois88 Some great choices! 5y
29 likes3 comments
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xicanti
Sky Burial | Xinran
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Today I realized I've got a short U-authored novel on La TBR (BREADCRUMBS by Anne Ursu), so I've got a fighting chance of completing my 2018 A to Z Authors list after all. I promptly borrowed SKY BURIAL by Xinran, X being the other letter I was missing, and dug right in alongside a bowl of red curry tofu & sausage and a bottle of Tsingtao.

BookBabe Looks delicious! 😋 Want. 5y
BookNAround I enjoyed Sky Burial and in a six degrees of separation way, I went to high school with Anne Ursu. She was a year behind me but it was a very small school so I actually knew her. I sent her a congratulations after her first book was published. 5y
8little_paws That food looks deeeeeelicious 5y
xicanti @BookBabe @8little_paws it was seriously good. I'm glad I've got enough left to have it again. 5y
xicanti @BookNAround that's so cool! I keep hearing great things about her books. 5y
46 likes5 comments
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razmanda
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Almost done with #LitsyAtoZ minus a few outliers...

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Birdsong28
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I have chosen the tagged book for this prompt for my #popsugarchallenge

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Birdsong28
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Pickpick

Very good. Even though this is a very short book it is powerful as it is one women's quest to find her lost husband and what she learns along the way. Recommend.

Also thank you to @Libby1 as you bought it for me for the Christmas swap last year.

#Vintage

Libby1 Hi! I‘m still getting round to books I received last year, too! 5y
38 likes1 comment
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erzascarletbookgasm
Sky Burial | Xinran
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Two books I loved set in the #mountains , one in Iceland‘s landscape, the other in Tibet. ❤️💔
Interestingly, note the titles. 🙂

#AugustIsATrip

vkois88 Burial Rites is on my TBR. I love that cover 😍😍😍 6y
Kalalalatja Fun coincidence 👏 6y
eanderson I have Burial Rights... I really need to read it! 6y
97 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Bookalong
Sky Burial | Xinran
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"No one likes crying, but tears water our souls."
~Xinran,
Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet
I have yet to read this one but I LOVE this cover so much!
Have you read it?
#penguindropcaps #skyburial #bookworm#booklover #bookish #prettybooks #bookcover

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Cindyelizavaz
Sky Burial | Xinran
Pickpick

Oh, Tibet, I‘ve fallen utterly in love with you!

This is a must read if you truly enjoy learning about the cultures and beliefs of other country.

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Cindyelizavaz
Sky Burial | Xinran
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#nowreading Sky Burial by Xinran #asianlit

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LauraJ
Sky Burial | Xinran
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Mehso-so

Eh. This is written very simply, like a middle school book. The set up is intriguing, but the anticlimax was stupid. Who martyrs themselves for demons in this day and age?
#litsyatoz #x #catsoflitsy had to get in every pic I took.

Leelee.reads “Who martyrs themselves for demons in this day and age?” 😂😂😂 (edited) 6y
47 likes1 comment
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LauraJ
Sky Burial | Xinran
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Abby the Tabby: Two husbands!? You couldn‘t even handle one.
Me: Don‘t remind me. Those Tibetan women must be tough as nails!
#litsyAtoZ #x

vivastory How is this? 6y
LauraJ @vivastory written (or translated) at about a fourth grade level, but interesting. 6y
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DivineDiana
Sky Burial | Xinran
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Pickpick

Nonfiction book that seems impossible to believe about a Chinese woman‘s incredible search across Tibet for her missing husband. There is some discussion of the Dalai Lama and his role. This satisfies my Litsy A to Z letter “X”! On to “Z” and looks like I will complete the challenge!

merelybookish Congrats! I finished the challenge with this book too. (The story was fascinating but I found some of the narration annoying and wondered if it was a translation issue.) 6y
DivineDiana @merelybookish Congratulations! I agree the writing was choppy and disjointed at times. I too attribute it to the translation. (edited) 6y
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LauraJ
Sky Burial | Xinran
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It‘s so pink, I could die!
#litsyatoz #x #almostthere

julesG Gosh! You need a dust jacket to protect your eyes. I think it's burned itself into my retina, I'll be able to still see it's afterglow in an hour. 😝😝😝😝 6y
CoverToCoverGirl I need to put my sunglasses on!😎😎 6y
ValerieAndBooks Wow, now I want this for the cover! Story seems intriguing, too 😁. 6y
LauraJ @ValerieAndBooks The only letter I had to buy for #litsyatoz was x. My library had nothing and it‘s a topic I haven‘t read much about, so it‘s worth a splurge. 6y
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DivineDiana
Sky Burial | Xinran
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Only have X and Z to finish Litsy A to Z. This is #letterX . Not sure who you are, but thank you Litsy friend for your recommendation! Interesting easy read.

erzascarletbookgasm I loved this one. It might have been me, I keep recommending this to Littens when they ask about X authors 😁 6y
DivineDiana @erzascarletbookgasm I think it was you! Thank you! 6y
84 likes6 stack adds2 comments
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ScorpioBookDreams
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I‘ve decided to use one of my beautiful new bookmarks from @DeborahSmall for my next read. I absolutely love this one as it‘s so me! 😂

Yeah_I_Read This is the book I chose for the letter X of my ABC book challenge! Lmk how it is 😘 6y
erzascarletbookgasm Love the bookmark! That‘s a great read, too! 6y
LeahBergen What a fabulous bookmark! 6y
ScorpioBookDreams @Yeah_I_Read my choice too 😂 6y
83 likes3 stack adds5 comments
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Caterina
Sky Burial | Xinran
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#HumpDayPost
1. I've been wanting this edition of this book all year, but alas, I have no money.
2. I don't eat M&M's, so idk.
3. Hard to say... Harry Potter, probably.
4. A teacher, then an astronaut, but then the Columbia disaster happened ON MY BIRTHDAY and EVERYONE DIED, so back to teacher. ?
5. I don't have a "lucky number," but I grew up with OCD, and I had/still have a lot of compulsions based on 5's, and 8's if I was extra stressed.

Samwise_Gamgee I️ read this book a few weeks ago. It was great. 6y
Caterina @Samwise_Gamgee Someday, someday I will get my hands on it! 😂 My library doesn't have it, so I'll have to buy it! I'm glad you enjoyed it; I know it'll be worth it when I finally do buy it!! 6y
Bklover No astronauts for you!!!😳😳😳 6y
KVanRead 4. 😱😢 6y
43 likes4 comments
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ScorpioBookDreams
Sky Burial | Xinran
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Some very helpful littens helped me choose these books for my reading challenges. They all look so good. #bookmail

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merelybookish
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Sunday morning and starting my last book for #LitsyAtoZ. #letterX
Thanks for the recommendation @erzascarletbookgasm

erzascarletbookgasm Can‘t wait to hear your thoughts :) 6y
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BooksForYears
Sky Burial | Xinran
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#uncommonoctober day 18 - X marks the spot

Xinran certainly marks this spot!

2BR02B Love these editions. 😍 7y
Chelsey Drop cap? 😍 7y
BooksForYears @Chelsey Sure is! I love the drop caps 😍 7y
97 likes1 stack add3 comments
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RealLifeReading
Sky Burial | Xinran
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#uncannyoctober day 18: #xmarksthespot
Because I'm claiming the comfy chair today!

Cinfhen Pretty cover 7y
Laalaleighh Is that a drop cap? 7y
95 likes2 comments
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Samwise_Gamgee
Sky Burial | Xinran
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Thanks to #Litsy ... I have expanded on my usual taste and chosen books out of my norm. I read this just to complete #LetterX for my #LitsyAtoZ challenge. I loved it. Hard to believe this is nonfiction... such a powerful book. What an incredible story that I would have been unlikely to pick up otherwise. #1000Reasons

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BooksAtNight
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I had a productive Sunday. I started and finished Sky Burial which I found to be a straight forward read that was more a story of how someone acclimated to a new culture rather than the “love story” between two characters. Finished up Sekret - fun, fast paced YA novel kitty with psychic teenage spies Hi in Communist Russia. I DNFed My Favorite Thing is Monsters, finding it just too big and heavy for me at the moment. Good reading weekend though!

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erzascarletbookgasm
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This book is an unforgettable and remarkable portrait of a woman and a land. A newly married Chinese woman who travelled to Tibet in search of her missing husband and remained in the land for thirty years, amidst cultural differences and political developments. A tale of loss love and survival.
Day 19 #quest #fallintobooks

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DreesReads
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Pickpick

The novelized biography of a Chinese woman who spent 30 years in Tibet, looking for her husband who was killed while serving in the army. Novelized because the author could not locate Shu Wen again, and was never able to have her read the manuscript in any way. #litsyAtoZ #X #192019 #2004

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DreesReads
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I'm reading this for #litsyAtoZ, not the #1001books list. But hey there are two of the 1001 books mentioned!

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DreesReads
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Next up! This is fictionalized travel/biography--I'm reading it as my current fiction book. #litsyAtoZ letter X.

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RealLifeReading
Sky Burial | Xinran
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I saw these Penguin Drop Caps on Book Outlet the other day and just HAD to get them - what beauties and what a steal!

TheBookStacker So beautiful!!!! 7y
Megabooks 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🎉🎉 7y
LibrarianRyan I do love those covers 7y
See All 8 Comments
writerlibrarian Very beautiful 7y
LauraBrook Whoa, Book Outlet has those? 🏃🏽‍♀️💸 7y
RealLifeReading @LauraBrook hopefully they still have them! 7y
erzascarletbookgasm Beautiful! 💜 7y
readinginthedark I love Penguin Drop Caps! 7y
124 likes8 comments
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Julsmarshall
Sky Burial | Xinran
Pickpick

What a lovely little book! I felt transported to Tibet in the last century and loved learning about the culture and lives of its people. What an astounding journey Wen went on, I feel honored to have gone along. My heart is happy that this book exists! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Julsmarshall
Sky Burial | Xinran
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X for #LitsyAtoZ ! Only have 3 more to read!

DreesReads How is this? I need an X too!! 7y
Julsmarshall I like it! It tells the story of a Chinese Dr searching for her missing husband in Tibet in the 1950s. Fascinating to read about China and Tibet during that time and beautifully written. I'm only halfway through but it feels like I'm reading a fable. 7y
Megabooks I just got this drop cap too!! 7y
See All 6 Comments
DreesReads I just put a hold on this! 7y
erzascarletbookgasm Lovely drop cap edition! I really liked this one. Try her other book 7y
50 likes2 stack adds6 comments
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rockpools
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When newly-wed doctor Shu Wen hears of her husband's death, she won't believe it, and joins the People's Liberation Army on a Journey to Tibet to find him. This is the story of someone who takes the phrase #dontstopbelieving to the extreme, and in doing so finds a new way of life and belief system amongst the nomadic people of Tibet. #rockinmay

erzascarletbookgasm Good pick! 7y
Cinfhen I've seen this book mentioned for #readharder as a prompt for POC goes on a spiritual journey ~ I've been thinking of trying it - thanks for the reminder 💚 7y
rockpools @Cinfhen I used it for that too. Definitely counts. (And a handy X for LitsyAtoZ) 7y
See All 6 Comments
Cinfhen Yup! But I'm being Type A & only using titles, not author's for #LitsyAtoZ 🙄 7y
rockpools @Cinfhen 😂My criteria was to read books I already own (apart from X and Q, as I didn't have anything to fit those). I've read all of 3 books, and one of them was X. It's going well! 7y
Cinfhen Hahaha 😜😜 7y
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eraderneely
Sky Burial | Xinran
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My favorite book by an Asian or Pacific Islander author is Sky Burial by Xinran. I read it to fulfill an "X" for an A-Z author challenge years ago and it was fantastic.
I'm looking forward to reading Pachinko for @LitsyFeministBookClub in May. ??Here's hoping I win a copy!

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Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

This extraordinary little book is the novelization of the journey of Shu Wen, who wandered through Tibet for 30 years in search of her husband. It has a marvelous sense of place and delves deeply into the life of rural Tibetans. Without LitsyAtoZ, I'm not sure I would have read this, and I'm so glad I did.

Cinfhen Nice review 💕 7y
Hooked_on_books @Cinfhen Thank you! 😊 7y
britt_brooke This was to be my "X" for LitsyAtoZ until I abandoned my challenges. I think I'll still read it, though. Nice review! 7y
Hooked_on_books @britt_brooke Thanks! It's definitely worth a read. I couldn't put it down. It was fascinating. 7y
83 likes8 stack adds4 comments
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Hooked_on_books
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I can't imagine any way this could *possibly* go wrong. 💩😲

This is in Tibet in the 1950s.

Libby1 I remember reading something about this in Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. 7y
RealBooks4ever 🤣🤣 7y
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Hooked_on_books
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So my hold for Speaking American came in (thanks @Eyelit !) and I'm in a spat with the BF (I guess I shouldn't have called out the passive aggressive crap--it didn't go so well), so I grabbed whatever I wanted at the library. The tagged book is the only X author there, so that'll be my LitsyAtoZ, plus some lighter reads to boost my mood.

BookishMarginalia 💜💜💜 7y
Bookchipmunk I have the same letter X which was also the only X author at the library! 7y
Soubhiville 💕enjoy 📚. Hope your spat is over quickly. 😕 7y
See All 6 Comments
Eyelit Sorry to hear about the spat! Hope it's resolved soon. (Hope you enjoy speaking American - and sky burial is my x book too!) 7y
Eridau I really enjoyed Sky Burial. It was my letter x too. 7y
mcipher Passive aggressive comments are the worst. We are all bad about that in my house, too. 🙄 7y
52 likes2 stack adds6 comments
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Bookchipmunk
Sky Burial | Xinran
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Weekend TBR: Letter Y and Letter X for #LitsyAtoZ and some fun book protectors. Winnie is ready! Aloha Friday 🌺😎💃🐶#DogsofLitsy

Tanzy13 🐶 7y
Reviewsbylola I just got Yonahlossee! 7y
32 likes2 comments
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Julsmarshall
Sky Burial | Xinran
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#day21 #riotgrams @bookriot #coolspines My collection is growing!

Moray_Reads 😍😍😍 7y
Reviewsbylola Beautiful! 🌈 7y
Graciouswarriorprincess A rainbow of books! 📚🌈 7y
See All 8 Comments
KikiLovesBooks For some reason, this makes me exceedingly happy! Pretty books!❤🦉 7y
ThatBookishGal I love those editions!! I wish to someday have my own set! 7y
danimgill Aaah those are so beautiful! 😍🌈😍 7y
JayneChanger Gorgeous. 7y
EllieDottie I love these!! 7y
84 likes8 comments
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rockpools
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Pickpick

When newly-wed doctor Shu Wen hears of her husband's death, she won't believe it, and joins the People's Liberation Army to travel to Tibet and find him. 30 years later she tells her story to Xinran.

A beautiful tale of life amongst the nomads of Tibet, taking on a new way of life, language and religion, and following a 'quest' over decades. It feels like a legend - the jolts & corners have been smoothed out so you may need to suspend disbelief.

rockpools ...but I enjoyed it. This is my #letterX for #LitsyAtoZ and a spiritual journey for #readharder. 7y
erzascarletbookgasm I enjoyed this :) 7y
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Eridau
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Pickpick

This was beautiful story. A Chinese woman spends 30 years traveling through Tibet in search of her husband who went missing there after being sent to Tibet as a military doctor in the 50s. I learned so much about Tibet and its people and their way of life. So glad I found this gem for my letter X in the #litsyatoz challenge. It also ticks off a few other challenge books on my lists as well. Highly recommend.

Suet624 I have many Tibetan friends. I'm going to try to find this book. 7y
Eridau @Suet624 I found it in the fiction section of my local library. You might be able to get it from yours or see if they can get it through interlibrary loan. 7y
Suet624 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 7y
18 likes1 stack add3 comments
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Eridau
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#WhereIRead this is one of my favorite reading spots. The bathtub. Full of lovely bubbles with a hot cup of tea on the side. #riotgrams

LeahBergen I love to read in the bath, too. 💗 7y
25 likes1 comment
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BooksForYears
Sky Burial | Xinran
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#ReadJanuary Day 28 - Books by Asian Writers

Kali and I wish everyone a very happy Lunar New Year! 🎊🎆

#KittenLitten #booksbyasianauthors #lunarnewyear

RealLifeReading Happy new year! 7y
Nerdfins CAT BUTT! 🐈. May you and the cat that butt is attached to have a happy new year. 7y
ReadingRover I liked The Vegetarian a lot but it's a strange book. 7y
150 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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Jas16
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Pickpick

I never would have discovered this book without the #litsyatoz challenge. X was the only letter missing from my own shelves so I grabbed this one from the library. It is a slim 200 pages about a Chinese woman who heads to Tibet in 1958 in search of her Army doctor husband. They had only been married for 100 days but Shu Wen cannot accept the notice of his death she has received with its lack of details. Her journey takes her 30 years.

RanaElizabeth This is on my list to read for Book Riot's #readharder challenge, a spiritual journey. 7y
Suet624 Great review. 7y
Jas16 @RanaElizabeth I'll be interested to hear your thoughts. 7y
Jas16 @Suet624 Thank you! 7y
20 likes2 stack adds4 comments