Welcome to Litsy!

I loved this book! Pin is an 11yo Sikh girl living in Singapore dealing with the difficulties of being a scholarship kid at a private school. But this story is predominantly about Pin trying to figure out her mother, a woman with secrets who is looked down upon by the local Sikh community & who expresses her feelings predominantly through the food she cooks. This is a great book for foodies! The writing is beautiful ⬇️

Wow. Thank you @batsy for your generosity. I love it. 💚💚

7 days 7 book covers .
Post a book cover you love. No explanation, no information on the book. Just a book cover you love.
Day 6
#7days7bookcovers

I enjoyed this one, which I read for #readaroundtheworld #singapore.

Pin gauges her mother's mood from the food she cooks. When her dying grandmother comes to stay, & the food loses its joy & flavour, she starts to learn of family secrets. The build-up of the mother's story was almost unbearable, even tho you know what's to come. I didn't always believe Pin's voice as a 10-year-old, but the sense of place, food & so many prejudices was 👌.

This is about ten-year-old Pin (going on eleven) growing up Sikh in early 90s multicultural Singapore. It's a coming of age tale that has at its heart family secrets, relationships between women, sexism, religion, & tradition vs modernity, & the meaning of food. It highlights the life of a minority & the casual racism that's prevalent. A nostalgic read; it reminded me of the Malaysia I grew up in. Predictable towards the end, but moving & hopeful.

Bay leaves & sour sauces were signs of sophistication- Ma was inspiring me to leave the narrow hallways of this block of flats where neighbours eavesdropped & tripped over each others shoes. Cinnamon sticks were Ma's way of comforting me when she noticed a flaw in the way the world worked & she was softening the blow. The sharp tang of cumin added to any dish meant that Ma was bothered about something. There were many cumin dishes.

Any one of these might be my #LastReadOfTheYear.

Reading Portrait of a Murderer with @Tamra (and anyone else who would like to join!) and I hope to start tomorrow. Kassandra and the Wolf is to complete my #LitsyAtoZ. The Christie is for #agathachristieclub and I hope to fit in Sugarbread for #readaroundtheworld Singapore since I skipped Syria. Will I actually be able to read all four? I will stay tuned to find out 😂😂

#AllTheBooksof2017

🎉🎉💐Congratulations Cindy! 🌺🎉 🎉

The wonderful @Cinfhen has reached a HUGE litsy milestone, and is holding a #CrushingOnGiveaway. Do hop across and follow her, if you aren't already!

I'd choose Sugarbread, which I have no hope of finding locally, do am going to *have* to buy at some point...

Well. I want to like this book very badly. And, for the most part, I do. I think it's much better organized than Inheritance. There is a purposefulness (is that a word? hah) to the way the themes are explored. But I can't get over the way the word "Singapore" keeps appearing everywhere. On page 70 alone, it appears 5 times. It's reaaaaally bugging me. #singlit

#TRUTH 😂😂😂 #desiproblems

My #singlit read over the weekend. While the first part tried too hard to establish the sense of place (too many needless "this is singapore" references), the book gradually came into its own with a distinct, graceful voice that seems to have seen a lot and felt a great deal and painted beautifully here with a thoughtful revelation of emotions through meals painstakingly prepared to capture defiance, relief, euphoria. Hence, the sponge cake. :)

When spoiled for choices with your bookshelves of TBR books, you go back to bookclub picks for the year. This is our book of the month for April (book club at my institution). :) I've already read required books until March.

#readjanuary day 29: #foodiefiction
I don't really own much foodie fiction although I've definitely read some. Delicious! is probably the only book here that really counts as foodie fiction. Sugarbread is more of a coming-of-age story that happens to have tantalizing descriptions of Singapore food. The title story of Simple Recipes is about food but I don't think the rest are!
Other faves of mine include 👇

#readjanuary day 13: #setinmycity

As some of you might know, I'm from Singapore (which the gorgeous Sugarbread is set in). For the past seven years I've been living in the San Francisco Bay Area (Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore) and a little before that, I got to live for a year in the beautiful coastal town (and party town) of Brighton! What about you? Where have you lived and which books are set there?

#seasonsreadings2016 day 7: #setonanisland

Singapore is an island, a small dot on the world map near the equator which holds a ridiculous number of people. Some days like this one, a quiet night in the Northern California suburbs, I miss the bustling city that never really sleeps. I miss the people, my family and friends, and all that crazy delicious food. 🇸🇬

Sorry I'm so late with this #booktober post today which is #wishicouldbethere. I love how books can transport you anywhere! Right now I wouldn't mind being back home in Singapore, at my parents' house eating all that delicious food (like the mee siam pictured here, rice vermicelli in a spicy gravy with all those toppings to the left). For now I'll have to be content w rereading bits of Sugarbread although that may make me feel more homesick! 😂