Kildare Library Service

Post By Dolores, Celbridge Library

With Chinese New Year just around the corner, why not check out some of these contemporary eBooks and audiobooks with a Chinese connection on our free app BorrowBox? Who knows you might even select one of these titles to read along with us on Ireland Reads Day February 25th 2021.

A Chinese Affair – Isabelle Li
Sixteen exquisite stories exploring recent Chinese migration to Australia and elsewhere, exploring intergenerational and interracial relationships, the search for meaning, and the effects of isolation and the inability to express oneself in a second language.

Available to Borrow on Bolinda Borrowbox as an ebook.

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress – Dai Sijie
1971: Mao’s cultural Revolution is at its peak. Two sons of doctors, sent to ‘re-education’ camps, forced to carry buckets of excrement up and down mountain paths, have only their sense of humour to keep them going. Although the attractive daughter of the local tailor also helps to distract them from the task at hand. The boys’ true re-education starts, however, when they discover a hidden suitcase packed with the great Western novels of the nineteenth century.

Available to borrow on Bolinda Borrowbox as an ebook.

Lonely Planet China
#1 best-selling guide to China!
Lonely Planet China is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Try dumplings in Beijing, visit the Great Wall or cruise down the Yangzi River; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of China and begin your journey now!

Available to borrow on Bolinda Borrowbox as an ebook.

Mao’s Last Dancer – Li Cunxin
This is the true story of how, by the thinnest thread of a chance, one moment in time changed the course of a small boy’s life in ways that are beyond imagination. One day he would dance with some of the greatest ballet companies of the world. One day he would be a friend to a President and First Lady, movie stars and the most influential people in America. One day he would become a star: Mao’s last dancer, and the darling of the West. This is also on BorrowBox as a short children’s audiobook.

Available to Borrow on Bolinda Borrowbox as an audiobook.

Know My Name – Chanel Miller
She was known to the world as Emily Doe when she stunned millions with a letter. Brock Turner had been sentenced to just six months in county jail after he was found sexually assaulting her on Stanford’s campus. Her victim impact statement was posted on Buzzfeed, where it instantly went viral – viewed by eleven million people within four days, it was translated globally and read on the floor of Congress; it inspired changes in California law and the recall of the judge in the case. Thousands wrote to say that she had given them the courage to share their own experiences of assault for the first time.

Available to Borrow on Bolinda Borrowbox in both ebook and audiobook format.

Braised Pork – An Yu
One morning in autumn, just after breakfast, Jia Jia finds her husband dead in the bathtub of their Beijing apartment. Next to him is a piece of folded paper, a sketch of a strange creature from his dream. He has left her no other sign. Young, alone, and with many unanswered questions, Jia Jia sets out to discover what this this mysterious clue might mean. From the high-rises to the hidden bars of contemporary Beijing, she crosses paths with people who call the city home, including someone who may be able to offer her the love she had long thought impossible. Her journey takes her to the high plains of Tibet, and even to a shadowy, watery otherworld, a place she both yearns for and fears.

Available to Borrow on Bolinda Borrowbox as an ebook.

The House of Yan - Lan Yan
The history of the Yan family is inseparable from the history of China over the last century. One of the most influential business leaders of China today, Lan Yan grew up in the company of the country’s powerful elite, including Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Deng Xiaoping. In recounting her family history, Lan Yan brings to life a century of Chinese history from the last emperor to present day, including the Cultural Revolution which tore her childhood apart. 

Available to borrow on Bolinda Borrowbox in audiobook format.

Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking – Fuchsia Dunlop
Fuchsia Dunlop trained as a chef at China’s leading cooking school and is internationally renowned for her delicious recipes and brilliant writing about Chinese food. Many of the recipes require few ingredients and are startlingly easy to make. The book includes a comprehensive introduction to the key seasonings and techniques of the Chinese kitchen, as well as the ‘magic ingredients’ that can transform modest vegetarian ingredients into wonderful delicacies. With stunning photography and clear instructions, this is an essential volume for beginners and connoisseurs alike.

Available to borrow on Bolinda Borrowbox in ebook format.

Number One Chinese Restaurant – Lillian Li
The popular Beijing Duck House in Rockville, Maryland, has been serving devoted regulars for decades, but behind the staff’s professional smiles simmer tensions, heartaches and grudges from decades of bustling restaurant life. When disaster strikes and they find themselves in a dangerous game that means tragedy for the Duck House, their families must finally confront the conflicts and loyalties simmering beneath the red and gold lanterns.

Available to Borrow on Bolinda Borrowbox in both ebook and audiobook format.