Where the Past Begins: A Writers Memoir | 
Starting this one next! I‘m planning to sit out here and read until it gets too hot.
pickAn in depth look into her writing process - a delicate balance of memory, imagination, creative license, inspiration, and insight. I enjoy her NF as well as her F, or as it is applicable, her HF!
#authoramonth2021 @Soubhiville
#bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks
pickI learned more about Tan's relationship with her father in this book. I enjoyed knowing what makes her tick : music, dead languages. #AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville
pickI really enjoyed this memoir and getting to know more about Amy Tan‘s mother and the family stories that have inspired many of her books. #AuthorAMonth #BookspinBingo
She questioned everything, from fishy odors to fishy explanations, both of which pointed to a faulty character.
#AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville
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Kindle edition is on sale today! πππππβ€οΈππππππ§‘πππππππππβ€οΈππ§‘
We took a drive today and stumbled upon a used bookstore. $5 for 5 books!
βMemory...gives you no choice over which moments you can erase, and it is annoyingly persistent in retaining the most painful ones. It is extraordinarily faithful in recording the most hideous details, and it will recall them for you in the future with moments that are even only vaguely similar.β So true! #Memory is a mixed blessing when the mind forces you to relive past pains & humiliations over & over. #QuotsyAug19
pickThe writing is excellent - evocative, poignant, reflective, dry, and honest. Tan writes about being a writer as well as family history. I liked that it wasn‘t chronological βthis happened, then this, then this.β It‘s more deep thinking in different directions.
You go, Amy Tan! Great idea! Anyone tried this? Want to give a try?
Ladies and gentlemen, I have my volunteer assignment! I will be an usher for the main stage 1:00 to closing. Looks like a great lineup of speakers! Also, the app is super helpful.
#NationalBookFestival
pickAmy Tan has an odd mix of analytical and whimsy in her writing. She snatches a lot of physical details out of the air and presents them as something that supports a point that is never quite clear to me. It is like wandering around in a magnificent hedge maze, where Iβm completely lost, but totally enthralled.
For full review: http://www.amyyuki.com/books/2018/08/19/where-the-past-begins-a-writers-memoir-b...
So excited to find this in a used book store today! I heard her speak many years ago, and I‘m hoping this is as much a delight as that was. β€οΈ
pickThank you, Amy Tan! Your memoir was perfect for me in all ways that I can find a book to perfect. I resonated deeply with almost every heartfelt message of yours, including, βthe loneliness of never fully sharing the truth of who I am because I have not yet found it...β I learned lots about different things that I did not know, like βcavingβ. You gave me a new perspective on my life. have cherished the time with you. βοΈβοΈβοΈβοΈβοΈ
Memory gives you no choice over which moments you can erase, and it is annoyingly persistent in retaining the most painful ones.
In reading this, for me, its like spending a wonderful time with a great friend.
pickI loved the behind-the-scenes look into Tan's writing process. But I feel that because I haven't read more of her work, especially her most recent novel THE VALLEY OF AMAZEMENT, I missed out on a lot of the book's depth. While I enjoyed this nontraditional memoir, I would recommend reading some of her novels first. But rest assured, hardcore fans will adore all of the insights included in WHERE THE PAST BEGINS.
Whew! I thought I was the only one! π Really excited to be reading this fascinating peek into Amy Tan‘s creative mind. There‘s great reassurance in being reminded that even the best writers struggle.
My newspaper changed the format of the book reviews. Not sure if I like it.
Amy Tan is an #autoreadauthor for me and I‘m #currentlyreading Where the Past Begins: A Writer‘s Memoir. I‘ve been following her Facebook page where she sometimes posts her bird sketches. I was happy to see this drawing in Chapter One!
Couldn‘t resist one final book haul of 2017. I‘m a big Amy Tan and Alice McDermott fan. This will be my introduction to Claire Messud. #booksbywomen
The Amy Tan is a signed first edition, you guys! @kspenmoll This is amazing. Thank you β£οΈβ£οΈ#secretsantagoespostal #wintersolsticebookexchange
pickWhat is there to say? Amy Tan is such an insightful person and a fabulous author. Whether she's talking about about the fugue state she enters when writing a new novel or retracing the supposed story of her mother's mother.
For me it was a bit hard to follow on audio because the sections were so long, but also allowed me to delve properly into her life as she emotionally narrates.
Wandered into Amsterdam Billiards in Manhattan to sink some balls while in my own world, Amy Tan recounting her life and best writing advice into my ears.
My aunt gets me, belated birthday mail. π
My TBR pile grows Sissy is good to her Mama ...
pickPart autobiograhy, part essay, and a philosophy of the writing process, author Any Tan weaves personal stories and insights that inspired and influenced her to write The Joy Luck Club. Whether it is the cultural traditions of the time, her mother's struggles with mental illness or the tragic death of her father and brother, Amy paints a moving portrait of herself and her family.
pickI really liked this kind of unstructured look at the life of a writer, a 1st-generation American, a survivor . . . π§ She does a good-enough job as narrator. You can tell she‘s not a professional, but it doesn‘t matter much in this context. The photo has nothing to do w/ the book, but *shrug*
I‘m almost done with this book on audio - Amy Tan reads it herself so how could I resist?
This collection is so eloquently written and her vulnerability is striking, as is her most curious mind. There is a familiarity in the way she writes and what she chooses to write about that resonates deeply with me. When I heard her speak she said, βI like the way I am! Stay disturbed!β and I also tend to agree; I like the weird, inner-workings of my mind.
Seeing Amy Tan tonight. Swoon. Big time π.
#TBRtemptation post 3! An intimate memoir from an important author on how she became an unlikely and inevitable writer. Tan delves into her traumatic childhood, her self-doubting journal entries, and heartbreaking letters with her mother. She discusses her parents' lies regarding their backgrounds and family histories, and she relates, publicly for the first time, her complex relationship with her father. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook π
@thereadingwomen here is my entry for your #thereadingwomen #readathon mini-challenge!
Amy Tan is an incredible woman and her writing works are stellar. I treat her books like I treat my game of Pokemon - I gotta catch em all! (Even her new memoir released this week!)
Without a doubt my local independent bookstore, Politics and Prose, delivers the best events! What an amazing night with Amy Tan! I can't wait to read her latest memoir? Has anyone read this one yet??
#spinesvines #books #wine #toread #wherethepastbegins #amytan
pickThe first thing you‘ll notice is the writing. The second will be the almost casual references to her incredible family history & personal tragedy. You‘ll be drawn in by the insight of one of our greatest living writers. Orbiting an emotional core, this collage of poetic thoughts & essays on art & language are intermingled with chapters of Tan‘s heart-breaking real-life, creating a unique memoir that I can‘t stop thinking about. - Jocelyn
Amy Tan speaks about 3 influential books in this month's Elle Mag.
The Kitchen God‘s Wife and The Joy Luck Club are 2 of my all-time favorite books. Tan‘s last few novels have been underwhelming, and after reading the first 40 pages of this it makes sense. She‘s really playing heavy on the tortured artist stereotype.
I love Amy Tan's writing and I can't wait for everyone to get their hands on this! The finished copies are SHINY. (Both literally and in the Firefly sense of the word.) β€οΈπβ€οΈ
A new memoir coming out in mid-October.
so-so
