By now, everyone who loves Amy Tan’s novels — a sizable chunk of the literate population — knows the story of how a photo of her Chinese grandmother, dressed as a courtesan, inspired her latest and most erotic novel yet, “The Valley of Amazement.” What they may not know is why it took her so long to finally write it. “I got myself into too many distractions,” sighs the author of “The Joy Luck Club.” First up was writing the libretto for an opera, “The Bonesetter’s Daughter,” based on her book of the same name. The other distraction, Tan says, was a house she was building: “This architect wanted me to choose everything, including the color of the switchplates. But you know what? It turned out so well!” So did her book. Here’s what’s in her library.
The Genius of Dogs
By Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods
I’ve had Yorkies for about 20 years — I think they’re the greatest! This book is about cognition and how dogs can read human expressions. No other animals can do this. I have a video on YouTube with my dog Bobo: I ask him if he likes “Genius of Dogs” or “The Joy Luck Club” and he looks at me and taps his paw on “Genius”!
Love Medicine
by Louise Erdrich
I was a beginner writer when I wrote the stories that became “The Joy Luck Club.” Someone said, ‘Nobody wants a collection of stories by a new writer.” But then I read “Love Medicine.” They’re stories about the Chippewa — stories of love and forgiveness — and I felt encouraged. Louise Erdrich was the first to comment on it, which meant the world to me.
Hallucinations
by Oliver Sacks
Oliver Sacks is a neurologist and I love his work. After I read his “An Anthropologist on Mars,” we became friends and he came to my house for a party. I have epilepsy as a result of Lyme disease, and I told him about the funny hallucinations I had. He said, “Can I use them [in the book]?” I said sure.
Annie John
by Jamaica Kincaid
Jamaica’s written for the New Yorker, and she’s very warm and very outspoken. She came from Antigua, a place with a long colonial history. This lovely book is about a girl and her mother. It follows the girl into her teens, when she gets very angry, an anger that has something to do with Antigua itself. I’ve probably read it three times. I love her prose style.