Sometimes things just come together. Not only colorwise. When we were in Bristol some days ago I bought this second-hand pocket for £3 in a small store in Clifton Village. I already have that book at home but since it is a translation to Swedish I quickly decided it wasn't a good idea to read this particular book, A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers, in that version. So happy I found the original version now. The language and the story is amazing. I love it! Few days after I bought it I realized I’ve actually met the author, Xiaolu Guo, at the Göteborg Film Festival in 2012. I hosted her Q&A after the screening of UFO in Her Eyes, a movie she’s the director of. It is both political and magic at the same time! Back to this book: The protagonist is right now on her way to Paris from London, by train under the English Channel. And that is the route we are taking later today. Then I saw my bookmark, from another venue for film festival screenings, Filmhouse in Edinburgh (a city which we are just now leaving for Paris). And then I spotted my water bottle. Yes, it is also red. It is from Friskis&Svettis (Healthy&Swetty 😂), the gym I use at home. But I've hidden the logo with two stickers from this year's Göteborg Film Festival. Stickers inspired by this year's artist Lap-See Lam. A Swedish artist exploring Chinese heritage in architecture and sites. The glasses are just golden, as are the stickers. And they are helping me read this book. Over and out from someone who is still on vacation, but still able to connect the dots. @xiaolu_impressions @gbgfilmfestival @friskisgbg @see__see #currentlyreading #xiaoluguo #connectingthedots #friskisochsvettis #goingbytrain #interrail #eurostar #filmhouseedinburgh (at Hensall, Doncaster, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf_SOevsnXk/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

"Fenfang, never look back at the past, never regret, even if there is emptiness ahead." My first novel of Xiaolu Guo as it should be to start off with in her writing journey. A raw & surreal narrative of a young girl named Fenfang who escapes her monotone life back in the nameless village to gain fame as an actress in the big city. Maybe she thought of being one is easy until she learnt it the hard way 🤷🏻 Even with the never-ending background roles and objectifying criticism of her looks, she's still determined to at least survive everyday that she got into script writing as a change in plans. Her story goes on with bad lovers, sexism, cursing, bad decisions and some days of herself watching pirated movies all day or meeting up with Huizi. How Fenfang described her surroundings and feelings seems quite normal but it was emotionally explained then. Her words woke me up from some things that I took lightly in life like when she describes on healing from a certain wound or her parent's appearance after a few years. All in all, Fenfang is a character that a number of us can really relate with. To me, it was relatable in parts of how lost she felt herself in some parts in her life with a dose of loneliness without her boyfriends even though she just wants company, how cynical she may seem along with her ambitious nature & unwillingness to give up on life. I did feel lost in the plot in the middle of the book just as she was but thankfully I've found my way back. I truly felt that in a certain way that Fenfang is finally ready to take on a new challenge in life at the end as she has already made quite an experience in Beijing. It was a content end to a youthful story. Rating :  🌻🌻🌻🌻 https://www.instagram.com/p/B1oYRSODj0Y/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link 

Xiaolu Guo - Vintage Minis: Language (Excerpted from: A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers) (2007) These vintage minis are really good. This is the second I've read and it's another hit, in some 90 pages this volume gives an example of how language is meditated upon by fiction in this case from an excerpt of what promises to be a really excellent book. It is actually a bit frustrating in how short it is because it really makes you want to read the whole thing. The story it tells is set out as a diary of a 20 year old chinese student which goes to the UK to study while having pretty bad English skills. The diary is in English, broken but understandable, and shows in a kind of autobiographical way how the discovery of a new language, of a new culture and of new love all intertwine. This is really fascinating, firstly it's quite funny, the diarist is really smart in her observations of her new world and very unsentimental about it in a way that might seem shocking at times. On the other hand there is also a deep poetry to the engagement with a new language, and some parts of the text are truly beautiful as she struggles to put her emotions onto paper in a strange language. Intimate first person account of the experience of immigrants are not as common as they should be and this is a beautiful book, it shows how you don't need to grasp perfect grammar to be a poet, funny and smart all at the same time. It shows also how hard it is to be a stranger in a strange land looking to build roots and looking for some love while everything around you is a puzzle that you have to figure out. Amazing stuff. (5/5) #xiaoluguo #vintageminis #book #books #bookish #bibliophile #bookgram #bookstagram #bookporn #bookworm #booklover #language #chinese #immigrant (at Lisbon, Portugal) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0OhmFrF7dS/?igshid=1vuz6plbbp501

Pues hoy después de muchos días por fin lo tengo el #calendario #calendario2019 de la #ilustradora y amiga @selenefonfria “Listen to your heart” #meencanta prima!!! “Es el corazón ❣ con miedo a romperse el que nunca aprende a bailar. #xiaoluguo #ilustrator #illustration #ilustrador #illustration #happy #corazonadas #❣️#🥰 #happy #instagram #instagramers https://www.instagram.com/p/BsQ7p9kg4h1/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=wkw5qitdnbaj

How author Xiaolu Guo was taught about Columbus during primary school in Wenling, Zhejiang Province during the early ‘80s. From her (so far fantastic) memoir “Nine Continents.” #books #china #reading #columbus #zhenghe #xiaoluguo #郭小橹 #ninecontinents

Xiaolu's "Village of Stone"

Mig i aften #autumn

Being literary with @coops26 #XiaoluGuo #IAmChina #100happydays #day85 (at The Broadway Bookshop)