I feel like I’m back to obsessively reading — believe it or not, there was a time during quarantine that I was so frazzled that I couldn’t read. I know many people have expressed similar issues this year, and I’m thankful it hasn’t happened again because reading is really the only safe escape these days.
So, as soon as I finished reading “How to Save a Life”, I grabbed the latest read from Blanche’s Book Club off my shelf and started it. It’s “Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune” by Roselle Lim.
I heard about this book from Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke — an author duo that is always sharing their book recs.
This book follows Natalie, who is coming back to San Francisco after her mother dies. She originally left the city after her and her mother got in a fight over Natalie’s dream: to own a small restaurant in Chinatown.
Natalie’s mother says it’s not the right path for her, that if she were to do it, there would be no time for life outside of work. So, Natalie left, and to her discovery, the neighborhood slowly deteriorated as San Fran’s tech industry boomed and small businesses suffered.
While mourning the loss of her mother, Natalie discovers that her grandmother actually had a restaurant in Chinatown that really brought people together with her classic Asian recipes.
Should Natalie try and reopen the restaurant in attempts to live her dreams and save the neighborhood?? She has to jump through several hoops to see!
I loved this book! I’ll admit that when I read the description before I bought it, I was a little nervous given that the plot revolves around a parent’s death and that is triggering for me.
I went ahead with the purchase in hopes that the other part of the plot — the restaurant — would be light enough to makeup for the possibly triggering part.
And for the most part, it was. I found lots of similarities in the relationship between Natalie and her mom and mine with my dad, which made me cry a little. But, for the average reader, I don’t think this would be a sad book.
I found that San Francisco and Chinatown also had such a nice little place in this book, which warmed my heart. I traveled to SF three times in 2019 and a part of me certainly misses it and it’s unique vibe — not to mention the food!!
I read a majority of this book in a single sitting (all but about 30 pages) and I was just so happy to have come across it. I would definitely recommend it to foodies everywhere, because there are several recipes and food descriptions… do not read while hungry!
Roselle Lim actually has another book out: “Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop” and I’m excited to read it!
The next book Blanche’s Book Club will be reading is “The Other Wes Moore” by Wes Moore.
Vice Presidential Debate BINGO Cards
Last week, I made BINGO cards for the Presidential Debate… and yeah. If you’re brave enough to watch the Vice Presidential Debate tonight, I made BINGO cards specifically for that, too!
For more book recommendations, be sure to subscribe to the blog (look to the right) and follow me on Goodreads @thebitterlemon – where I share more of my book picks. Need help with your blog? I can help with all of your digital marketing efforts – just let me know!
The Bitter Lemon 
One Comment