Amy Tan Quotes

Amy Tan
Amy Tan
American Novelist
Born: Feb 19, 1952
Me Mother People Think Time You
Related authors: Elie Wiesel Ernest Hemingway H. P. Lovecraft James Baldwin John Updike Leo Rosten Nathaniel Hawthorne Richard Bach
I have a writer's memory which makes everything worse than maybe it actually was. Amy Tan
Memory Everything Worse Writer Makes Than Maybe Which Actually
I read a book a day when I was a kid. My family was not literary; we did not have any books in the house. Amy Tan
Day Family Book Books Kid House Read Did Any Literary
I started a second novel seven times and I had to throw them away. Amy Tan
Seven Throw Had Times Them Novel Away Second Started
I wanted to write stories for myself. At first it was purely an aesthetic thing about craft. I just wanted to become good at the art of something. And writing was very private. Amy Tan
Art Myself Good Writing First Become Purely About Something Write Aesthetic Private Very Craft Just Wanted Stories Thing
My mother said I was a clingy kid until I was about four. I also remember that from the age of eight she and I fought almost every day. Amy Tan
Day Age Every Day Remember Mother Every Kid About Almost Almost Every Day Until Also She Said Eight Fought Four
My parents told me I would become a doctor and then in my spare time I would become a concert pianist. So, both my day job and my spare time were sort of taken care of. Amy Tan
Time Day Me Doctor Care Job Parents Become Would Both Pianist Taken Day Job Concert Sort Concert Pianist Were Spare Spare Time Then
Placing on writers the responsibility to represent a culture is an onerous burden. Amy Tan
Culture Burden Responsibility Writers Represent Placing
We are the kind of people who obsess over one word... but we have only one shot to get it right in concert. It was hard the first time I practiced with them. I was so nervous that my vocal chords were paralyzed for about a half-hour. Amy Tan
Time People Word Nervous First Kind One Word Paralyzed About Vocal Only Obsess Over Concert Practiced First Time Were Get Them Shot Hard Who Chords Right
I'm open to reading almost anything - fiction, nonfiction - as long as I know from the first sentence or two that this is a voice I want to listen to for a good long while. It has much to do with imagery and language, a particular perspective, the assured knowledge of the particular universe the writer has created. Amy Tan
Good Knowledge Perspective Language Long First Reading Universe Assured Voice Writer Open Almost Almost Anything Particular Know Nonfiction Listen Want Fiction Anything While Sentence Much Created Imagery Two
I don't steer clear of genres. I simply haven't steered myself toward some of them. Amy Tan
Myself Some Steer Steered Clear Simply Toward Genres Them
I would never require anyone to read any book. That seems antithetical to why we read - which is to choose a book for our personal reasons. I always shudder when I'm told my books are on required reading lists. Amy Tan
Book Reading Our Books Would Seems Never Read Always Personal Any Lists Anyone Personal Reasons Which Require Required Choose Reasons Why Shudder
Chinese artists have been subversive over thousands of years, taking what they think of the government and embedding it in their art. There might be censorship of not going as far as they might. Amy Tan
Art Government Censorship Think Thousands Thousands Of Years Taking Over Been Years Going Artists As Far As Chinese Subversive Might Far
My writing often contains souvenirs of the day - a song I heard, a bird I saw - which I then put into the novel. Amy Tan
Day Song Writing Bird Saw Put Contains Heard Often Which Then Novel
I'm usually woken by a vibration on my up-band. It's the gradual vibration for about ten seconds, and then the chimes of my blue light. It's just a way to wake gently. It all gently puts me into awake-mode. I play music off of my Sonos playlist. 'The Rachmaninoff Concerto 3 in D-minor', 1st movement. Amy Tan
Music Me Light Seconds Way About Ten Puts Concerto Gently Off Wake Gradual Blue Just Movement Vibration Then Play Play Music
For many courtesans, it was over by age 22. Amy Tan
Age Over Many
I measured my success by how many clients I had and how many billable hours I had. Amy Tan
Success Had Hours Clients How Measured Many
Until the age of five, my parents spoke to me in Chinese or a combination of Chinese and English, but they didn't force me to speak Mandarin. In retrospect, this was sad, because they believed that my chance of doing well in America hinged on my fluency in English. Later, as an adult, I wanted to learn Chinese. Amy Tan
Sad Me Age Speak Parents Fluency Later Adult Spoke Combination Until Retrospect Well Force Learn Because Doing Five America Wanted Chinese English Believed Chance
I have many reasons why I think reading is really important. It provided for me a refuge, especially during difficult times. It provided me with the notion that I could find an ending that was different from what was happening to me at the time. Amy Tan
Time Me Ending Important Reading Difficult Think Find Could Provided Times Refuge Different Happening Really Notion Reasons Many Why Difficult Times
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