Having my novel appear in the U.S. was a real thrill for someone brought up on U.S. television, music, and books.
Writing the novel was a quick but intense process. This seemed necessary – not only did the narrative demand a certain amount of speed and reckless energy, but I could also feel myself as a first-time writer outgrowing it and becoming distracted by other newly forming ideas.
“Odd, dark, comical, confusing,” says RIFer Sharon. “It brought to mind Steve Erickson and David Foster Wallace.
The city of San Francisco is a character in the melee, and the most vivid one at that. I need to read it again and make a flow chart!”
Now in paperback wherever books are sold, The Dead Do Not Improve is the anticipated debut from Grantland editor Jay Caspian Kang. Named a #1 Critics Pick by Time Out New York.
Read It Forward talks with author Kevin Kwan about Crazy Rich Asians, the outrageously funny debut novel that bestselling author Plum Sykes says is “like a Chinese Dallas meets Pride and Prejudice.”
Crazy Rich Asians is about three super-rich, pedigreed Chinese families and the gossip, backbiting, and scheming that occurs when the heir to one of the most massive fortunes in Asia brings home his ABC (American-born Chinese) girlfriend to the wedding of the season.
Kevin Kwan talks about the “Crazy Rich Asian consumer” and his years as a fashion student and spectator.
Congrats to Janelle D., Jill M., Jen O., Tonya W., and Kristin W.! Their entries were selected at random to win a set of bestselling novels from Nichole Bernier, Jenna Blum, and J. Courtney Sullivan.
Make sure you’re subscribed at the top of this page. You’ll get a weekly email from us with info on how to enter our members-only Read It First giveaways.
Meanwhile, why not click around and get your first look at the next great book!
Nichole Bernier – author of The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D. – shares a list of books that remind us you never really know the hearts and minds of others.
“Books that reveal that things are not what they seem have always fascinated me,” says Nichole Bernier. “Here are some of my favorites that show the hidden pains and motivations roiling beneath the surface of us all.”
Nichole Bernier includes classics like Crossing to Safety, recent bestsellers like Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, and book club favorites like A Pilot’s Wife. Check out her list and tell us about a book you think should make the list!
“To me, those are the dual questions that are in the book: number one, what happened to the girl; and two, what happened in this marriage, really? Who are these people, actually? How much can you know another person?”
New York Times bestselling novelist Gillian Flynn talks with Office Hours at Google Play about Gone Girl – and why marriage can sometimes be as much a mystery as murder.
And check out the reader polls, reading recommendations, and more from Gillian Flynn, created just for you while she was our RIF Guest Editor!
