I would never require anyone to read any book. That seems antithetical to why we read – which is to choose a book for our personal reasons. I always shudder when I’m told my books are on required reading lists. – Amy Tan
You can get sucked into the idea that, ‘Gosh, this is impressive. Maybe I should do this. It will look good.’ Or ‘I’ll write like this because it will impress that critic.’ – Amy Tan
My breakfast is usually a wholegrain cereal or porridge, with walnuts sprinkled in it, berries, a tablespoon of honey, and chia seeds. I have coffee and a little cherry juice with seltzer. I have a seat by the window, and I look out at the view. – Amy Tan
I grew up with Bible stories, which are like fairy tales, because my father was a minister. We heard verses and prayers every day. I liked the gorier Bible stories. I did have a book of Chinese fairy tales. All the people except the elders looked like Italians. But we were not a family that had fiction books. – Amy Tan
I have survivor skills. Some of that is superficial – what I present to people outwardly – but what makes people resilient is the ability to find humour and irony in situations that would otherwise overpower you. – Amy Tan
My favorite anything is always relative to the context of present time, place and mood. When I finish a book and want to immediately find another by the same author and no other, that author is elevated to my favorite. – Amy Tan
My writing often contains souvenirs of the day – a song I heard, a bird I saw – which I then put into the novel. – Amy Tan
Popularity is given to you, and if you think that just because you’re really popular you’re a better person, it could be a real crash when you find the popularity goes down. – Amy Tan
I did not lose myself all at once. I rubbed out my face over the years washing away my pain, the same way carvings on stone are worn down by water. – Amy Tan
People think it’s a terrible tragedy when somebody has Alzheimer’s. But in my mother’s case, it’s different. My mother has been unhappy all her life. For the first time in her life, she’s happy. – Amy Tan
I thought I was clever enough to write as well as these people and I didn’t realize that there is something called originality and your own voice. – Amy Tan
My parents had very high expectations. They expected me to get straight A’s from the time I was in kindergarten. – Amy Tan
I am an American, steeped in American values. But I know on an emotional level what it means to be of the Chinese culture. – Amy Tan
In the mid-1800s, they were known also as ‘singsong houses,’ and the courtesans were actually master musicians. – Amy Tan
My mother said I was a clingy kid until I was about four. I also remember that from the age of eight she and I fought almost every day. – Amy Tan
I wanted to write stories for myself. At first it was purely an aesthetic thing about craft. I just wanted to become good at the art of something. And writing was very private. – Amy Tan
