Here are 96 books that Where the Past Begins fans have personally recommended if you like
Where the Past Begins.
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I have enjoyed personal experiences that are probably unlike those of most women my age and background. I thought it would be a unique example to write about myself, growing up as a local child in British Colonial Singapore, at a time when most other local children who grew up in Singapore during the early 50s and 60s had lives fraught with hardships, poverty, and distress. The common theme is extensive in all the book references I have made, as every story is about someone’s growing-up years in an Oriental or Eastern environment, and their relationships or lack thereof, with their respective parent(s).
I found the book reminded me so much of my own ‘tiger mother’ during my childhood and growing up years, where ‘good’ was never enough. It had to be ’best’. Her writing was plain and uncomplicated, whilst the relationships she had with her musician daughters were quite the contrary, and I found this juxtaposition rather extraordinary.
I found the book satisfying to read, and the incidents in it were uncannily similar to my own experiences with my mother.
A SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER: the most talked-about book of the year
'Blissfully funny' India Knight, Sunday Times
'Entertaining, bracingly honest and, yes, thought-provoking' New York Times
'A treat from first to last: ruefully funny, endlessly self-deprecating, riven with ironies .. I relished this memoir' I
Updated with a new postscript by Amy Chua and a letter from her eldest daughter, Sophia
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother is a story about a mother, two daughters, and two dogs. It was supposed to be a story of how Chinese parents are better at raising kids than Western…
Hope, Laughter, Survival on the Refugee Trail
by
Eileen Kay,
Dramatic true story with a wacky sense of humor.
Retired English teacher in Budapest meets foreign medical students fleeing the war in Ukraine, producing a sweet and unlikely friendship, spicy soup, and wicked joking. A sense of humor, however dark, can keep us from despair.
I have enjoyed personal experiences that are probably unlike those of most women my age and background. I thought it would be a unique example to write about myself, growing up as a local child in British Colonial Singapore, at a time when most other local children who grew up in Singapore during the early 50s and 60s had lives fraught with hardships, poverty, and distress. The common theme is extensive in all the book references I have made, as every story is about someone’s growing-up years in an Oriental or Eastern environment, and their relationships or lack thereof, with their respective parent(s).
This brilliantly written memoir is set in Hong Kong in the 1950s and 60s. It was written by an author who had quirky experiences as an expat child in British colonial Hong Kong. It evoked my own experiences growing up in colonial Singapore and triggered a nostalgic roller coaster ride of emotions, humor, and intrigue.
Booth also grew up in a colonial British territory–Hong Kong. He relates all his adventures and experiences as a young child, accessing all aspects of colonial Hong Kong, which were unavailable to other expat children his age. His descriptions made me feel like I was with him, learning local games and partaking in local activities in a colonial-administered country.
That narrative emulates mine in my book, which focuses on my experiences as a child in British colonial Singapore—the same quirky experiences of the 1950s and 1960s.
In this compelling memoir of his colonial childhood in Hong Kong in the 1950s, Martin Booth writes from his child's perspective of the years where he was able to roam freely around the streets of Hong Kong. Filled with an enormous curiosity about the exotic and colourful world around him, Martin quickly gains a grasp of pidgin-Cantonese and uses it to roam the streets and gain access to some of the most colourful parts of Hong Kong, including opium dens, the headquarters of ruthless criminals and a leper colony. In honouring a promise that he makes early on to a…
I have enjoyed personal experiences that are probably unlike those of most women my age and background. I thought it would be a unique example to write about myself, growing up as a local child in British Colonial Singapore, at a time when most other local children who grew up in Singapore during the early 50s and 60s had lives fraught with hardships, poverty, and distress. The common theme is extensive in all the book references I have made, as every story is about someone’s growing-up years in an Oriental or Eastern environment, and their relationships or lack thereof, with their respective parent(s).
Gurmit Singh is a funny man. His sense of humor and his love of life have turned him into a well-known celebrity in Singapore, as he plays the most notorious character, “Phua Chu Kang” in the TV Hit Comedy series of the same name.
A book written in the same style as the author’s voice, with all the same characteristics as the role he plays in the Comedy Series Phua Chu Kang. I found his writing witty, funny, and laugh-out-loud humorous, which at the same time, is peppered with a spritz of melancholy and a deep-seated emotional yank every now and then.
Singh outlines how the events of his upbringing and the impact of his mother’s influence on him sculpted him into the person he is today.
If Phua Chu Kang's yellow boots and permed hair are all you know about Gurmit Singh, you need this book. The actor, host, singer and now entrepreneur, shares not just his funny moments in life but also bares his personal moments in What Was I Thinking? and proves that the funnyman image is just one of his many Real facets. Read about the first car he drove as a child, the neighbour with the EYE, the rat that almost ate his finger when he was a baby, how he dealt with the loss of his parents and many more stories.…
The Drum Tree explores an Earth equivalent world at the cusp of ecological and economic uncertainty through the discoveries and explorations of four exceptional teens and their families.
In this book, you will meet Delan—a drummer and forest wanderer, Hali—a dancer and free spirit, and Jase—a blacksmith and martial artist.…
I have enjoyed personal experiences that are probably unlike those of most women my age and background. I thought it would be a unique example to write about myself, growing up as a local child in British Colonial Singapore, at a time when most other local children who grew up in Singapore during the early 50s and 60s had lives fraught with hardships, poverty, and distress. The common theme is extensive in all the book references I have made, as every story is about someone’s growing-up years in an Oriental or Eastern environment, and their relationships or lack thereof, with their respective parent(s).
It helped me identify my childhood trauma of having a histrionic mother and being cast aside in favor of an older sibling.
This is very simply written in plain English and is fraught with the sadness and misery of a young girl who was ostracised by her family and siblings for a very old-fashioned traditional reason. I was taken in by the way the author captures her sorrow and disappointment, yet elucidates her resilience and strengths in overcoming the obstacles she faced throughout her growing-up years.
I found her narratives are compelling, and as a reader, I wanted to know “what happens next…” or “how does she get out of that one?”
Rediscover the A Puffin Book series and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this 25th anniversary edition of Chinese Cinderella, complete with a special introduction by Julia Eccleshare.
Born into the world with her story already written and woven with bad luck, Adeline turns her attention to school, where she discovers that she is a talented writer, much to Father's disapproval.
'Writer! You are going to starve!'
But with a pen in her hand, she can't help but wonder what it would be like to be a writer - no, an author! It won't be easy,…
I am a Northern Irish crime writer. I worship storytellers, no matter if the stories are relayed on the page, the screen, or in songs. As long as the stories come across as real, then I am happy.
I, as a storyteller, endeavor to be more of a "camera" than a “writer.” I believe it’s all there waiting for me, and as a “camera,” I am allowed to go deep into myself and record all that my imagination is producing. I believe all the books I have selected have helped me in some small way understand why some of us can commit crimes while others can’t.
This time the detective whose shoes I am allowed to tread in are those of Cliff Janeway, a Denver Homicide detective, investigating the murder of a local rare books scout.
I grew to know what it feels like to be a detective. To someone like myself - who prefers to pick up my rare first editions, not on the internet but by rummaging around for hours in bookstores - this and the other titles in John Donning's atmospheric Janeway titles are pure mana from heaven.
The author ran the Old Algonquin Bookstore in Denver for a decade. Mr. Donning's writing voice is so authentic, I have to keep reminding myself that Janeway is the detective and not the author.
"A joy to read for its wealth of inside knowledge about the antiquarian book business and its eccentric traders." -The New York Times Book Review
In the bestselling first novel of the Cliff Janeway bibliomystery series, former Denver homicide detective Cliff Janeway trades his badge for a bookstore-and quickly finds that rare books and murder make a volatile mix.
Janeway, a tough, book-loving cop with a penchant for collecting rare first editions, becomes obsessed with the death of local book scout Bobby Westfall-a gentle loner with a sharp eye for valuable volumes. When the lead suspect slips through the cracks…
I became a Christian when I was 16 and have studied the Bible throughout my lifetime. I have been a professional writer and author for more than 40 years. I have also studied literature at numerous universities and taught English, journalism, and writing. Combine all of these, and it is understandable why librarians at a library convention once surrounded me and said, “We trust your research!” You can see why I am adamant, even in fiction and poetry, about the piece being well-written, well-researched, and three-dimensional believable characters who tap into our emotions. I set high standards for myself, and high standards for books I read and recommend.
I loved Lioness because it took such incredible inner strength for the daughters of Zelophehad to stand before Moses, as judge, and argue their case for equal rights for women regarding inheritance laws.
The characters and time period became so real to me that I read through this novel series, following the daughters to Canaan. The author spun a fiction tale around the biblical account and filled it with deep historical background, plus touched on the emotional core of Mahlah and her sisters.
I love Britton’s writing, too; it reminds me of Joyce Landorf’s fiction style.
While the Israelites struggle to occupy the Promised Land of God, Mahlah bat Zelophehad is orphaned and left to care for her four sisters. But daughters of the dead are unable to inherit land, and it will take a miracle for Mahlah to obtain the means to care for her sisters and uphold the vow she made to her dying mother.
Mahlah must seek Moses, the leader of her people, and request something extraordinary--the right for a daughter to inherit her deceased father's land. A right that will upset the ox-cart of male inheritance and thrust her into the role…
Kidnapped. Blackmailed. Now, she must choose the future of the empire.
18th-century Kashgar. Hidligh has only ever wanted safety and a full belly. On the street and living hand-to-mouth, the beautiful young woman is rapidly running out of any option but prostitution. So when she’s abducted by a Muslim noblewoman,…
I am a professor of International Communication at Tel Aviv University. I am fascinated by the complex relationship between information and power. In my studies I often use cross-national comparisons to understand how information helps us to develop identities and cultures. I am also very interested in technology: What are the latest technological developments? How do people use them to gain power? What are the consequences of technology use on our lives? In my books, I try to share this passion with the readers and address these questions with the hope of making our world a more equal and peaceful place.
As promised by its title, this book indeed reveals the DNA of big tech companies. I learned about the strategies that helped them to rise to power and transform our economic and social landscape. It unveils their sophisticated manipulations that affect every aspect of our daily life. Reading this book changed the way I think about tech companies ever since!
For all that's been written about the Four over the last two decades, no one has captured their power and staggering success as insightfully as Scott Galloway.
Instead of buying the myths these compa nies broadcast, Galloway asks fundamental questions. How did the Four infiltrate our lives so completely that they're almost impossible to avoid (or boycott)? Why does the stock market forgive them for sins that would destroy other firms? And as they race to become the world's first trillion-dollar company, can anyone chal lenge them?
People behave rationally and irrationally. Observing and thinking about human nature is the sport of my lifetime. In literature and art, I worship real wit. I thirst for the unusual, the deadpan, the acknowledging of one thing while another slips in unseen. Wit has been, for me, a shield and a tool for good. I try not to use it as a weapon because wit as a weapon often damages a wider target than one intends. I strive to endow my fictional women, my protagonists, with sharp yet understated wit that spares no one, not even themselves. Especially not themselves. The books I recommend here live up to my standards.
Protagonist Vera Kelly’s personality is the kind I grew up with in my blue-collar neighborhood. Sample line: “In fact I could tell she wanted to like me, which was probably why my first instinct was to lie to her.” Right on: If you didn’t have a cynical edge, you’d be somebody’s toast sooner or later.
Vera, a tech-savvy spy in the midst of the South American political upheaval of the 1960s, makes no big announcement about being queer, and she doesn’t consider herself some frail victim either. Cheers to that! I can relate.
Although I consider most contemporary novels to be tricked up and dumbed down, this one’s an exception. The writing’s unapologetically smart. I dig it. I’m in Mensa; what can I say?
New York City, 1962. Vera Kelly is struggling to make rent and blend into the underground gay scene in Greenwich Village. She's working night shifts at a radio station when her quick wits, sharp tongue, and technical skills get her noticed by a recruiter for the CIA.
Next thing she knows she's in Argentina, tasked with wiretapping a congressman and infiltrating a group of student activists in Buenos Aires. As Vera becomes more and more enmeshed with the young radicals, the fragile local government begins to split at the seams. When a betrayal leaves her stranded in the wake of…
I became fascinated by the origin and evolution of life as a chemistry student after watching the TV series The Ascent of Man by Jacob Bronowski. I have been thrilled by the dramatic breakthroughs that have occurred since then, and I’ve written many articles and reviews on this and related topics for newspapers and magazines such as the Guardian, Independent, The Times, Daily Mail, Financial Times, Scientific American, New Scientist, New Humanist, World Medicine, New Statesman, and three books on various aspects of the evolution of both life and technology, including Thinking Small and Large.
I have spent a lifetime researching the deep history of life.
All the books I’ve chosen demonstrate a convergence of exciting ideas, and I love the way Peter Brannen’s book joins the dots in a totally fresh way, showing how life gained energy at key stages, all involving CO2. It is the starting point for every living thing on the planet; it has regulated the climate throughout 4 billion years, and through the fossil remains of ancient photosynthesis has powered our world since the Industrial Revolution.
In a world seeking answers to deep-rooted problems, this is the most powerful message for the future that we need. I have never before been so mindblown by a book.
How carbon dioxide made planet Earth, shaped human history, and now holds our future in the balance
Every year, we are dangerously warping the climate by putting gigantic amounts of carbon dioxide into the air. But CO2 isn't merely the by-product of burning fossil fuels—it is also fundamental to how our planet works. All life is ultimately made from CO2, and it has kept Earth bizarrely habitable for hundreds of millions of years. In short, it is the most important substance on Earth. But how is it that CO2 is as essential to life on Earth as it is capable…
Think how tough it is to reach adulthood in today's complicated world. Now imagine doing so in front of a global audience. That's what growing up in show business is like. Every youthful mistake laid bare for all to see. Malefactors looking to ensnare the naive at any turn. Each…
I have long been curious about why we eat the way we do, and how that is shaped by culture and history. I grew up in an immigrant family in a pretty homogenous place in the American South, so our diet was a marker of difference that I noticed as early as kindergarten. I also was curious about how entrenched the fast food, convenience food mode of American eating was, despite it being a pretty new phenomenon. These interests led me to study food history and environmental history and to become a professor in these fields. Reading books about these topics had opened my eyes to a whole hidden world!
Pollan was an important guiding voice in the food movement of the early 2000s, both with Omnivore’s Dilemma and with this book, which got less attention, but which I think is so important for understanding how Americans’ current relationship to nutrition, dietary advice, and changing food fads has developed.
This book helped me understand how the food industry and food science have contributed to the widespread confusion about what foods we should and shouldn’t eat, what is and isn’t healthy for us.
Pollan points out how the mania for or against one macronutrient or another (Low fat! Keto! Low carb! High protein!) has been used to sell products but has done little to actually improve consumers’ health.
"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." These simple words go to the heart of Michael Pollan's In Defence of Food. Humans used to know how to eat well, Pollan argues. But the balanced dietary lessons that were once passed down through generations have been confused, complicated, and distorted by food industry marketers, nutritional scientists, and journalists- all of whom have much to gain from our dietary confusion. Indeed, real food is fast disappearing from the marketplace, to be replaced by "nutrients," and plain old eating by an obsession with nutrition that is, paradoxically, ruining our health, not to mention…
