Where Is Your Bookmark: A Glimpse Into Yellowface (& Other Friday Fun)

A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the amazing Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.

The night I watch Athena Liu die, we're celebrating her TV deal with Netflix. [opening of Yellowface]

Now that opening has caught my attention! Yellowface by R.F. Kuang is next up on my TBR pile, and I am excited to finally be able to start it. 

Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars: same year at Yale, same debut year in publishing. But Athena's a cross-genre literary darling, and June didn't even get a paperback release. Nobody wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks.

So when June witnesses Athena's death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena's just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers to the British and French war efforts during World War I.

So what if June edits Athena's novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song--complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn't this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That's what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree.

But June can't get away from Athena's shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June's (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface takes on questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation not only in the publishing industry but the persistent erasure of Asian-American voices and history by Western white society. R. F. Kuang's novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable. [Goodreads Summary]

Have you read Yellowface? If so, what did you think? Does this sound like something you might like to read? 

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. It is co-hosted by Linda Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell, Roberta from Offbeat YA, Jen from That’s What I’m Talking About, Berl's from Because Reading is Better than Real Life, and Karen from For What It’s Worth. Join in by answering this week's question in the comments or on your own blog.

What is your favorite season? Why?

My go to answer to this question is usually autumn when the weather starts to change, growing cooler at night with darkness settling in earlier, leaves turning colors and falling from the trees, open windows, the smell of fires in the fireplace, pumpkin bread, walking and driving through the neighborhood to see the elaborate Halloween decorations, all the costumes and children trick-or-treating, painting pumpkins, and many good books.

But then I think of winter (Southern California style) and how it means beautiful snow on the distance mountain tops, the chill in the air, frost on the grass, hopefully some rain, comfy sweaters, cozy socks, cuddling under a blanket, peppermint hot cocoa, holiday music and decorations, our traditional drive around town to see all the Christmas lights, end of the year favorite book lists, setting new reading goals, and even more good books.

Oh, but how could my favorite season not be spring! The time of year I can keep the windows open practically all season long (allergies be damned), blooms on the tree and in the gardens, a sense of newness and freshness in the air,  foggy mornings, hopefully more rain, sunshine, and good books. 

I used to like summer least because of the heat, which is dumb because it's one of the best seasons. No school for Mouse, slightly slower days at work, evening walks, more daylight which make the days feel wonderfully long and like I can do all the things, visits to the mountains, waking up to the sunrise instead of the darkness like the rest of the year, and, yes, plenty of good books!

Now that I think about it, I think they are all my favorite. 

Which is your favorite season and why?

Every Friday Coffee Addicted Writer from Coffee Addicted Writer poses a question which participants respond on their own blogs within the week (Friday through Thursday). They then share their links at the main site and visit other participants blogs.

Have you ever become disoriented in a bookstore? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

 When visiting a bookstore for the first time, I may take a moment to orient myself to what type of books are where, but disoriented? No, I cannot say that I have been. 

Sometimes when I am shopping for books online or in bookstores, I get sidetracked by interesting looking books that weren't initially on my radar--now that's a fun rabbit hole to go down! While maybe not disorienting, I can lose track of time. Does that count?

What about you?

 I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading and are up to!

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