Asia

[close] Crazy Rich Asians is the outrageously funny debut novel 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.

When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and quality time with the man she might one day marry. What she doesn't know is that Nick's family home happens to look like a palace, that she'll ride in more private planes than cars, and that with one of Asia's most eligible bachelors on her arm, Rachel might as well have a target on her back. Initiated into a world of dynastic splendor beyond imagination, Rachel meets Astrid, the It Girl of Singapore society; Eddie, whose family practically lives in the pages of the Hong Kong socialite magazines; and Eleanor, Nick's formidable mother, a woman who has very strong feelings about who her son should--and should not--marry. Uproarious, addictive, and filled with jaw-dropping opulence, Crazy Rich Asians is an insider's look at the Asian JetSet; a perfect depiction of the clash between old money and new money; between Overseas Chinese and Mainland Chinese; and a fabulous novel about what it means to be young, in love, and gloriously, crazily rich. [close]

[close] *autographed paperback copy*

A Hundred Thousand White Stones is the fearlessly told, unvarnished story of life as a Tibetan woman and refugee. Kunsang Dolma writes from her heart of the hardship and struggle she experienced as a girl in Tibet, as a woman in India, and as an immigrant refugee in America. Yet despite the many moments of sadness her story contains, she manages to find hope and levity in her memory of even the worst of circumstances.

A Hundred Thousand White Stones offers an honest, first-person assessment of what is gained in pursuing life in the developed world, and what is lost.

digital ARCs available at NetGalley.com [close]

[close] Thai Lottery... and Other Stories from Pattaya, Thailand is a collection of thirteen works set in the country's infamous bar scene.

Thai Lottery:

Sarai wasn’t like the other go-go dancers. They knew that a few thousand pounds a year would be enough to take care of their whole family, but Sarai wasn’t dancing just to send money home every month. She had discovered that selling tickets for the illegal Thai Lottery was more dangerous than she could ever have imagined, and now she owed a great deal of money.

Thai Lottery is the story of the lengths a girl will go to when a debt becomes a matter of life and death, and of the westerners who have bought their own tickets to a more personal lottery. They come to Thailand looking for something that's missing from their lives. Some may be lucky but for a few the result will be utter despair. [close]