Book #6 was "On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family" by Lisa See. See is the great-granddaughter of a Chinese merchant who married a white woman in California back when the transcontinental railroad was being built. Her family history - both from the caucasian and Asian sides - is laid out, along with context about racial relations and societal attitudes toward immigrants and interracial marriage. It's very informative, but it's also very personal, and See uses more novel-like narratives to make the past come alive. She doesn't shrink from family secrets, ranging from infidelity to alcoholism, discussing them very matter-of-factly. The book has three sections of photos from 5 generations in her family, both in American and living back in China. I had read two of her novels previously, and I can see where she mined her life and her relatives' life for some of the details. This book was fascinating and a joy to read. I'm curious to read a book or two by Lisa's mother, who is also a writer/novelist/journalist.
1. Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time" [nonfiction]- David Oliver Relin and Greg Mortenson
2. The Detroit Electric Scheme [fiction]- D.E. Johnson
3. Classic Philip Jose Farmer 1964-1973 (Volume 5 in the Classics of Modern Science Fiction series) [fiction/short stories]- PJ Farmer
4. "The Aspern Papers" and "The Turn of the Screw" (omnibus volume with notes and commentary) [fiction]- Henry James
