#teabookpairing "Unease: Life in Singapore Families" by Teo You Yenn with @pekoeandimp Handpicked Sundried Awa Bancha. While I usually seek comfort in the imagination of fiction stories, "Unease" was such a healing read because it helped put to words some of what unsettled me about the local education system and perhaps even society at large.
Never have I highlighted a book so much - something would hit every few pages. The final chapter, "How We Live is Who We Become", is especially impactful.
"We don't hold much space for genuine empathy: appreciation that there are different and many ways to be human, that people are all valuable. Since we cannot even accept, in our everyday lives, that our own children may be unruly, playful, nonconforming, it is not a surprise that genuine diversity is hard for us to embrace. Since much of our lives is oriented around ensuring we (and our children) do not fall below average, it follows that behaviours, lives and persons outside that range sit uncomfortably." (Pg. 226)
Accompanying this read is Awa Bancha, a fermented Japanese dark tea with pickled ume and yogurty notes that feels unsettling to me, but it does seem a suitable unconventional drink to pair with this book that does not flinch from questioning the norms.
It is rare to encounter a book that offers a clear framework and accepting space to consider one's own reality. Every Singaporean should read this.
#melteabooks #bookstagramsg #teoyouyenn #teastagram
#teabookpairing Song of the Yellow Dragon by @lowyingping with Longjing (龙井- Dragon Well）from @instagrahamteo ‘s China business trip stash 🙏
Happy #worldbookday with a double dragon combo 🐉 🐉 ! I'm not quite sure if this is a resurgence of #melteabooks but the recent confluence of receiving this lovely ARC, binge watching The Pursuit of Jade and a friend passing me some super fragrant greenish-yellowish pan-roasted Longjing made me finally get round to some bookstagramming!
I have read my fair share of Asian fantasy #kidlit over the years but this one stands out for some truly dreamy worldbuilding, two extremely likeable protagonists, Mengyao and Kai, and a perilous quest with a twisty ending that left me gasping (but very pleased at the last page). Excited for its launch next month ✨ (Many thanks to Ying Ping for passing me this ARC because I will be moderating one of its launch events; more details to come soon.) #bookstagram
#teabookpairing "When They Burned the Butterfly" by @wenyilee_ with 2011 Liu Bao (a Chinese tea received with much love in Southeast Asia) from @pekoeandimp
I haven't read an angry woman story in a while and this book reminded me that I should actively seek more of them 🔥 I read this story during a damp December period and felt considerably toasty (in a good way) with this scorching plot and ashy earthy black tea. What I appreciate most about this adult historical fantasy: 1970s Singapore setting (definitely a country with more sass then), inspiration from an actual girl gang called Red Butterfly, and fiery superpowers that are manifested in such fascinating ways. Looking forward to the 2nd book of this groundbreaking Singlit duology! #melteabooks #liubaocha #wenyilee #whentheyburnedthebutterfly
#teabookpairing Greetings from a rainy beachhouse! The weather has been mostly wet these past few days of our nuah vacation, which means I finally had the time to get through a thick book heh. Katabasis by @kuangrf with a roasty Tieguanyin. It did feel a bit disconcerting to go through the various layers of hell in a very pleasant abode but Kuang once again delivers an imaginative and epic story with characters that seemed more tortured by their own memories and actions rather than the bizarre circumstances and creatures they face #melteabooks #oolong #katabasis #rfkuang #chinesetea #bookstagram #teastagram #meltravellingteapot #bookstagramsg
#teabookpairing Finding Chopin by Rachel Tey (@rapunzelinparis ) with Phoenix Dancong #oolong It has been a while since I've been here and it took an old friend's new book to inspire a pairing!
Finding Chopin is the perfect pick if you'd like to return to reading a novel without too much fanfare. It is a seemingly simple story about a widow and her son coming to terms with their grief through a memory camino, and yet the details and little moments linger. Like this particular varietal of Phoenix Dancong that is named 一见钟情(love at first sight), this is a story that eases you in almost immediately with little pretension and a graceful idealism of how piercing pain can evolve to a mellower bittersweet nostalgia over time. #melteabooks #bookstagram #teastagram #readingnationsg #chinesetea #findingchopin #sglit
#teabookpairing Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir by Tessa Hulls with Peach Dancong #tea 蜜桃单丛
This was a dense and intense read, and I felt it needed a sweet stonefruity dancong to balance it out. And while this was a sweeping account of three generations of Chinese women in China and the United States, it also felt like a very intimate family story at heart. I thought the portrayal of the history of modern China was done in such an engaging manner, affirming my belief that the comics medium is great for capturing the past so evocatively (see: Maus). At the same time, I admire the author’s unflinching approach in recounting the trauma and mental health struggles of her grandmother, mother and herself. Both the writing and artwork are stunning, so it is no wonder that this graphic novel won the Pulitzer Prize (Memoir or Autobiography). I usually get through graphic novels pretty quickly, but I took a while to finish this one because there were many pages where a line or an illustration detail would make me pause to ponder just a bit more. #melteabooks #graphicnovel #comics #tessahulls #feedingghosts #memoir #asianlit #bookstagram #boostsgramsg #teastagram #readingnationsg #librarybook #chinesetea #dancong #oolong
#teabookpairing To the Last Gram by Shreya Davies and Vanessa Wong (@tradervans ) and Tiger Girls by Felicia Low-Jimenez (@aj_low_writers ) and Claire Low (@comatomato ) with Duck Shit Oolong (served in a super cute #teapot) from Phoenix Mountain in China.
I had the pleasure of beta-reading these two titles earlier this year and it’s interesting how re-reading them one after the other this time round makes me realise their parallels even though one is a personal account while the other is a fantasy tale.
They are both female responses to rejection by the world – whether because of one’s size or the year one was born in. These kinds of rejections are arbitrary and cruel, and it seems there’s no crawling out of them because they just. keep. coming.
The responses vary. With “To the Last Gram” there is repulsion but after going through some intense hurdles, there is a refreshing and restful resolution which feels realistic. With “Tiger Girls”, there is rage and then an impending reckoning that what was once their refuge is now a risk.
With both books, there is rebellion, which sometimes is the only way to keep the spirit intact. I have paired these beautifully written and illustrated graphic novels with Duck Shit Oolong. Legend has it that the tea farmer who discovered it didn’t want people to realise what a wonderful fragrant tea it was and gave it an ugly stinky name. I find it a fitting tea to embody the protagonists of these two books, Divya and Suling, for intrinsically knowing their worth despite the labels others have given them.
#comics #graphicnovels #youngadultliterature #sglit #feminism #chinesetea #oolong #dancong #duckshit #phoenixmountain #teastagram #bookstagram #melteabooks #teaware #readingnationsg
#teabookpairing The Original Daughter by @jemmawei with Golden Osmanthus (黄金桂）#oolong Hey everybardy, meet the new #meltravellingteapot (picked up for a steal from a recent China trip) I am naming Buntea for obvious reasons.
It is strange to read local stories far from home but it allows a refreshing distance to ponder upon why being able to craft (and be content with) one's own narrative is such a struggle for many people in Singapore (me included).
Jemma touches on this to some extent with the two sisters in her debut novel - Genevieve and Arin go on diverging paths despite growing up together in their quests to be someone special. However, even with contrasting fates, they are weighed down by the same baggage from the previous generation, and this not only stifles but also drives them apart. This realism is refreshing, though I would have liked more peeks into Arin's and their mother's POVs. This is a deeply thoughtful story on human relationships nevertheless, and a wonderful addition to the Singlit canon.
#melteabooks #teastagram #bookstagram #teatravel #paris #france #sglit #fiction #jemmawei
#teabookpairing The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo (@yangszechoo ) with Tieguanyin #oolong served in my new flower power gaiwan. Besides showcasing tea and teaware from a recent China trip, this was also the perfect story to accompany my travels as the protagonist, Snow goes on epic voyages around China and Japan to exact revenge for her lost child. I like how her character and life slowly unfurls like the Tieguanyin tea leaves (this is the 8th brew in the photo and still going strong!) creating an enchanting and immersive story that totally vibes with plane rides. I also enjoy the supporting characters (even the smarmy ones), and how rounded the story is. While I was sad to leave this world when I finished the book, I felt the strings had all been tied giving it a sweet and lasting finish (just like the tea heh). #melteabooks #bookstagram #teastagram #readingnationsg #publiclibrarysg #ebook #thefoxwife #yangszechoo #chinesetea #tieguanyin #teatravel
#teabookpairing Songlight by Moira Buffini with Iron Goddess of Mercy (铁观音）#oolong served in @qipottery teaware. I picked this book purely because I liked the colour combination but it ended up being one of my favourite YA fantasy reads.
The protagonist Elsa lives in a dystopian dictatorship known as Brightland where people with telepathic powers (songlight) are known as Unhumans and are abhorred. She tries to keep her songlight powers hidden, especially when her boyfriend Rye gets caught using his. In her despair, she randomly connects with Nightingale, a sickly girl living hundreds of miles away, and together, they help each other through the turmoil of their lives.
I appreciate how all the female characters display strength in various forms, and hence a steely tea to go with this read.
I especially enjoyed how "synced" the story was even with multiple characters and settings and it turns out the author is also an Olivier Award-winning playwright and BAFTA-nominated screenwriter.
Can't wait for the 2nd book of this trilogy to come out later this year!
#melteabooks #bookstagram #teastagram #librarybooks #yafantasyseries #songlight #moirabuffini #chinesetea
#teabookpairing The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante with @newbyteas Majestic Himalaya black tea (many thanks to @doorstoasia for sending over a Newby Tea giftbox). Special spotlight on my 1st ever purchase from a TikTok live sale - a vintage Windsor teacup and saucer set ☕️
The rainy weather has brought about more hot tea reading breaks. I chose this book from the library as I thought it might help me feel like I was on a beach holiday, but it ended up being so unsettling (in such a brilliant way). The protagonist Leda is a late 40-something divorcee having a solo Italian holiday after her two grown daughters leave home, and in encountering a family there, the assorted skeletons in her closet come marching out while she looks on with amused disdain. The character's simultaneous self-awareness and self-absorption make her a fascinating narrator, and I'm still thinking abt the hidden pockets she kept away from the story.
This is the first book I've read by the acclaimed Ferrante, and I somehow felt I needed to pair it with a "European" tea experiece with this smooth-bodied highland tea which needed no sugar with its natural muscatel notes and this tea cup with an "old school" gold rim. #melteabooks #bookstagram #teastagram #vintageteacup #NewbyTeaSG #DoorsToAsia #TeaLover #readingnationsg #librarybooks #elenaferrante #thelostdaughter
#teabookpairing Marigold Mind Laundry by Jungeun Yun (and translated by @2eightytwo ) with @starbuckssg Iced Strawberry Mochi Pure Matcha Latte. So matchy-matchy hor! There's nothing like reading a light, enchanting story with a sweet, creamy drink on a sunny day 😌 I thought I'd had my fill of healing stories from Korea/Japan and I usually stick to a hot herbal tea at Starbucks but in both cases, I am glad I veered away from my usual decision-making processes. There's a lot of self-helpisms in this story which may not be everyone's cup of tea, but my mood improved measurably after reading it, if anything for the charming characters and settings. I'm not sure why, but it has been harder to pick up a book of late, and I'm glad that this one reminded me that immersing in pages is such a special sort of world transportation #teastagtam #bookstagram #matcha #marigoldmindlaundry #jungeunyun #shannatan #koreanliterature
