New Year's Eve is all about luck: wishes for good luck in the coming year, predictions, fortune-telling, and horoscopes. So I decided that today was the perfect time to review a book about fortune cookies.
Here's the short version of my book review for The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8. Lee: I loved this book. If you eat Chinese food, you need to read it.
Here's the longer version:
What I Liked Best
- The author is a professional writer (a New York Times reporter) and it shows. The book is well-written and a joy to read. The author knows how to turn a phrase and has a good sense of irony. Early on, for example, she writes: "Our benchmark for Americanness is apple pie. But ask yourself: How often do you eat apple pie? How often do you eat Chinese food?"
- The prologue and first chapter on fortune cookies and lottery winners was one of the most entertaining pieces I've ever read. If you read nothing else, get the book and read that first section!
- It's very well-researched and chock full of trivia, which I found absolutely fascinating. Did you know that there are more Chinese restaurants in the United States more than the number of McDonald's, Burger Kings, and KFCs combined?
My least favorite chapter was "The Greatest Chinese Restaurant in the World" where the author visits places like Lima, Peru and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, among other places. It was an interesting topic, but I kept wondering what kind of budget she must have had to write that section!
You'll Enjoy This Book If:
- You want to know more about Chinese restaurants and the people who run them. I had no idea how how restaurants were sold, how workers found their way to small-town America, and the toll that running a restaurant can take on a family.
- You're fascinated by obscure food trivia. (Did you know that the direction of the wire on those take-out boxes is different if you are on the East coast or West coast?)
Warning: You will want to order Chinese food during or after reading this book. I placed an order for Combination Lo Mein shortly after writing this blog post.
Highly recommended. Happy New Year!
P.S. For those of you following my inspired-by-a-book jewelry challenges, yes, I did create a pair of fortune cookie earrings in honor of this book.