More of a reading/books diary? Also, new books

I read a recommendation for a book, The Imposter Heiress by Annie Reed, and I had that "I need to read this" feeling that has led to the TBR stacks. That didn't stop me from ordering a copy (since it comes out tomorrow, I couldn't find a copy to request through interlibrary loan). 

I was excited to learn that Ovidia Yu has released a new book in the "Mystery Tree" series, The Angsana Tree Mystery, though the print copy doesn't come out until September. I have really enjoyed this series, but I have to admit, I'm glad that the latest book takes place after the end of World War II. I recently read Hawker Dreams, by Oanh Ngo Usadi, a memoir of her family relocating to Singapore from the US for three years, for her husband's work. Singapore is one of the places I hope to visit one day, in no small part thanks to Ovidia Yu.

One of my favorite books of last year, To Shape a Dragon's Breath, by Moniquill Blackgoose, won a Nebula award last night. I am so happy to see that. It is an amazing book, an alt-history where America was colonized by Scandinavians rather than the British, but the Native American population suffered just as much - as did their dragons. 15-year-old Anequs finds a dragon’s egg and bonds with its hatchling, only to be forced into an academy for dragon companions, where as a Native American women she is most unwelcome. I have high hopes for a sequel. Probably not coincidentally, I am currently reading The Penguin Book of Dragons.

Just read off the TBR stacks: My Fair Concubine, by Jeannie Lin. A version of My Fair Lady, set in China's Tang dynasty. It has a really vivid sense of place, and I loved Yang Lin, the foundling from a tea house who is recruited for a diplomatic marriage (to replace the hero's sister, who eloped to avoid the marriage).