Welcome to Litsy!

Impressively researched Chinese historical fiction that was fascinating and heartwrenching. In a society in which a woman's worth is measured by her ability to produce sons, Snow Flower and Lily use a secret women's writing called nu shu to communicate and develop a lifelong friendship. As they go through life's trials and tribulations, they are considered of little value to their families of origin, but they mean everything to each other.

Thanks to these Litsy folks for today‘s prompt:

#BIBLIOPHILE
@Eggs
@AlwaysBeenALoverOfBooks

TODAY‘S PROMPT: ASIAN AUTHOR

Have you read it?

The feet binding was interesting but made me cringe.

“Everyone knows that the human body is a miniature version of the universe—the eyes and ears are the sun and moon, breath is air, blood is rain.”

#Secret

#SpringSkies

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Bailing on this, not because it‘s bad, but because I‘m not in the mood for this type of historical, women suffering type read.
#roll100 off the TBR

#Secrets

#AutumnPlease!

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

A beautiful story but many parts are tough to read 👣

Litsy is glitching so I can't post my #20in4 time screenshot, but I'm at 3 hrs 41 min for the end of day 2. I may not make my time goal, but I did finish In the Lives of Puppets and am onto my second book! (tagged)

@Andrew65

Great book!

#Snow #DivineDecember Definitely one of my standout reads this year. It will probably make my top 22 list, but I always have such a hard time weighing fiction against non, so maybe not… @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

It took me a little to get into this historical tale of two girls in 19th century China bonded as “old sames” as they await their marriage matches and beyond. Once I got into it, I was totally immersed. See brings to life the lives of rural Chinese girls whose one hope is to marry well and bear sons. Her abundant research is evident and enriches the story with realism. Lily and Snow Flower are vivid and unforgettable characters. #bookspin

It's #manicmonday!

📖 Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
✍️ Gary Soto
🎬 The Santa Claus, Saturday Night Live, the Sandlot, Simpsons, the Shinning, Shanghai Noon, Shaun of the Dead
🎤 Selena, Santana, System of a Down
🎶 Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole), She Bangs (Ricky Martin), Stand by Me (Prince Royce)

#LetterS
@CBee

I got a few Asian books. I've noticed that I'm currently quite interested about literature set in that area. Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 and Snow flower and the secret fan have been on my TBR for a long time and I've heard a lot of good things about the Memory police.

I am a fan of Lisa See. Read many of her books, and was privileged to attend an in person author event. She signed this book,and I told her about Litsy! This one was another beautifully written story of women in 19th century China. Women were told to “obey, obey”, be it parents,husband or mother in law. The friendship between Snow Flower and Lily was complicated and filled with love. The concept of laotungs (old sames)was new to me. #authoramonth

I really wanted to like this book. The first third was intriguing and educational. I had never heard of foot binding until I read Iron Widow. This book details the excruciating process along with the risks and potential rewards. I abandoned ship about 2/3 through. The timeline went from a stately march to a sprint and my interest got left behind in the dust. The detailed recounting of big events which pulled me in disappeared.

This was my first book by Lisa See (apparently I live under a rock), and I‘m gutted. Beautifully written but positively heartbreaking all the way through… the story of women in 19th century China and the story of a beautiful relationship between two girls throughout their lives. The hardships that women suffered in that time and place their whole lives are horrifying and foreign, but See‘s characters are so painfully relatable as humans.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I re-read this for #AuthorAMonth2022 and the friendship lessons hit me even harder than when I first read it in my 20‘s. This is still my favorite Lisa See book.

Finally have time to read an #authoramonth #lisasee selection!

Next read on my March tbr . I am excited to read this book and loving this author. This book also for #authoramonth @Soubhiville and bingo list for #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks . I do got the movie form my library & planning on watching after I read the book.

I‘m reading this one for #AuthorAMonth, and gosh, chapter 2 was difficult. Beautiful writing, which made the painful events that much more visceral.

I think I‘ll put it down for tonight and hope tomorrow‘s chapter is a bit brighter.

Tough read for a woman of the 21st century. Excellent writing of history for sure.

I love Lisa See! As usual for one of her books, I learned new things about a corner of women‘s history I was previously unaware of, and I cried. #AuthorAMonth #Booked2022 #SetInChina @Soubhiville @BarbaraTheBibliophage @Cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft

Just might want to share this that there also a movie based on the book for anyone who reading this #authoramonth @Soubhiville @Birdsong28

Two books from previous #weeklyforecast and two new books. Bolla is book in progress (so far I like it very much), I‘m probably gonna finish reading a collection of short stories of African writers today, and since Thursday my reading life will be devoted to the #InternationalBookerPrize2022 longlist.

“I am what they call in our village ‘one who has not died yet‘ - a widow, eighty years old.”

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Sunday, March 6th: Lisa See free author event! For those of us doing #authoramonth I just came across an event from Paper Lantern Writers. The link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWRDW4dKHvPOYk1-t7Ws_bg or https://www.paperlanternwriters.com/events/lisasee It plays at 5pm EST but the recording will be available afterwards.

Tagged book is for #Booked2022 and #AuthorAMonth, Dnevnik nezvestobe by Emilios Salomu (I can‘t find English translation, my literal translation is Diary of Infidelity) is for #FoodAndLit , and I‘m still reading collection of short stories for #ReadingAfrica . Lost in The Valley of Death is my current audio companion and book for NonFiction2022
Happy reading week 🤓
#weeklyforecast

My pick for #Booked2022 #SetInChina A beautiful, poignant story of friendship and resilience. I thought I knew what foot binding was all about, turns out I knew nothing! Love books that not only entertain, but also educate.

This book was superb. It was thought-provoking. I love sweeping sagas over life spans.. We learn about the Chinese practice of footbinding in excruciating details.

Watched a program with Lisa See last night sponsored by the WildChina Book Club. Although she was discussing a book that I have not yet read, I am currently reading her book “Shanghai Girls”. I have loved every one of her books that I have read. Just wish I had captured a better image of her.

@monalyisha It arrived! Thank you for sending the pretty bookmark as well. I love Lisa See and I look forward to reading this. I have seen the movie and thought it was wonderful. ❤️

During this last week I have rediscovered Lisa See. Although I enjoy all of her books. The tagged book is my favourite. The strength and celebration of female friendship is a gift to behold. See is a gifted story teller!

#China #litsyspringbreak @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @TheKidUpstairs

Found on my daughter s dusty bookshelves. Read a few pages before passing it on. . . Then couldn t pass it on. Feudal China cultural backdrop to lifelong female friendship. The invention of Nu Shu writing. #China #backlist #historical fiction #lisasee #nushuwriting

I loved this story about two lifelong friends and couldn‘t put it down. I found the focus on Chinese culture to be a refreshing and exciting read.

A friend told me about this beautiful book and coerced me into reading it. It is such a poignant story, full of the heartache of loss and the joy of expectation and I am haunted by the pain these girls endured, both in the agonizing practice of foot-binding and the belief they are indoctrinated-with that, as girls, they were worthless. This is an exceptional book and one that I am glad to have read.

#AugustAuthors - Lisa See: A few years ago I read three books back-to-back that set me on a firm endeavor to study many aspects of Chinese culture. This was one of those three books. I think that Lisa See‘s strength as a writer of historical fiction lies in the exorbitant amount of research that she must do to achieve such great detail about particular customs and events.👇🏽

#augustsuthors #lisasee

Surprised to discover this is the only title I've read by See. Thought I would have read more since I absolutely loved this book.

I have to admit that I am not a fan of Lisa See's. I will say she is an excellent researcher, and she is able to really get into Chinese history like few others can. If you are interested in her here is a link to the PRH site that is all about her work:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/the-read-down/lisa-see/?ref=PRHBDD527B1BD&aid...

#AugustAuthors #LisaSee

I‘ve not read any Lisa See, but do plan to read the tagged book as a first choice.
#AugustAuthors #LisaSee

Day 9 - #LisaSee #AugustAuthors #SnowFlowerandtheSecretFan

I‘ve only read and enjoyed Snow Flower and the Secret Fan In 2016.

July was a #bookspin fail for me so let's try this again, shall we?
@TheAromaofBooks

The content of this book is so fascinating. While I didn't find the writing amazing, I was caught up in the story. While these women had so little value in their society, it appears they truly had deep meaningful relationships amongst each other. A strong story of friendship, pain and love.

#cleartheshelf Day 8 - 96 pages read

Geez, the heartbreak in this book! About 20 pages to finish this one up. I'm looking forward to a much lighter read next!

Total - 853/1,692 pages
2/5 books

#cleartheshelf Day 7 - 104 pages read

The margins in this book seem strangely narrow to me and the lines are close together, like they were trying to cram as many words as they could on a page. It would have been fine by me to have more pages so that everything could be easier to read! 🤷‍♀️

Total - 757/1,692 pages
2/5 books

#cleartheshelf Day 6 - 71 pages read

I finished My Life in Middlemarch this morning, and now I'm on to this one, whose cover I just love looking at!

Total - 653/1,692 pages
2/5 books

Tagged-just finished=😁

#talkaboutittuesday @BayouGirl85

I‘m in book coma - this book...
As a Chinese female in 18th-19th century, it was near impossible to have a status greater than a dog. 😢

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs
1. Sunny, blue skies. Wearing summer clothes. 22 degrees Celsius.
2. I've got some very pretty tulips here. Tulipa crispa honeymoon, tulipa icecream and tulipa upstar.
3. No titles, just authors: Lisa See, Kate Atkinson, Philippa Gregory, Arnaldur Indridason, Jasper Fforde, Roald Dahl.

#momreviews @Doll8455

I wish I could rate this book higher than just "Pick". This is an absolute 5 star, 10/10, brilliant book that will stay with me for a very long time. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, as it is wonderfully written. As for the storyline... I have mixed emotions between fascination, sadness, wonder and amazement. What a great book!