Opening Sentence of the Day: The Last Chinese Chef

. "Maggie McElroy felt her soul spiral away from her in the year following her husband's death; she felt strange wherever she was." -- The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones According to the back cover, this is a novel about "the hidden world of elite cuisine in modern China." I am reading this as my fiction choice for the Spice of Life challenge. I am particularly looking forward to it because I have been jonesing for good Chinese food lately -- one of the things I miss the most now that I don't live in San Francisco any more. .

My Life According to Literature

. I do not know who started this, but it sucked me in when I read it on We Be Reading. It will probably pop up on facebook soon enough. "Using only books you have read this year (2009), cleverly answer these questions. Try not to repeat a book title. It’s a lot harder than you think!" Here is my life, according to literature (links to reviews): Describe Yourself: The Innocent How do you feel: Great Expectations Describe where you currently live: The Amateur Marriage If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Atget’s Paris Your favorite form of transportation: A Yellow Raft in Blue Water Your best friend is: The Fixer You and your friends are: Kiss Kiss What’s the weather like: All Quiet on the Western Front Favorite time of day: The Mating Season If your life was a: Crime and Punishment What is life to you: The Floating Opera Your fear: Underworld What is the best advice you have to give: Water the Bamboo Thought for the Day: Sometimes a Great Notion How I would like to die: Au Revoir to All That My soul’s present condition: Mere Christianity OTHER LITERARY AUTOBIOGRAPHIES The Noisy Daisy (Please leave a comment with a link and I will add it here.) .