Chinese New Year Book Tag

Hey, everyone! I hope you’re all doing well. As some of you know, the Chinese/Lunar New Year began on Sunday. Lunar New Year is one of the most important celebrations of the year for many Asian countries. It usually begins on a new moon in January or February, and the festivities last 15 days, up until the first full moon of the lunar calendar.

The zodiac cycle for Lunar New Year is different than that of Western culture. In Asian countries, there is a twelve-year cycle of zodiac animals. Your zodiac animal depends on the year you were born. For 2023, it will be the Year of the Rabbit. Previous Years of the Rabbit include 2011, 1999, and 1987. If you’re born in January or February, you might be the previous year’s animal, depending on when the Lunar New Year started. For example, my older brother was born in 1999, but he is a tiger, which is the animal before the rabbit. His birthday is in February and it landed before the Lunar New Year began.

Okay, enough info-dumping. In celebration, I’m doing the Chinese New Year Book Tag! I celebrated with some friends I hadn’t seen in a while on Sunday; we went over to their house and made dumplings. They turned out really good! We also had some other food from a restaurant they knew about.

Rules:

• Answer the questions and share your zodiac animal (Only if you’re comfortable with it! If you don’t know, you can look it up online based on your birth year!)
• Pingback to the creator of the tag (hammockofbooks) and whoever tagged you so we can read your responses!
• Tag some of your friends! (But not four because that’s unlucky!)

My Zodiac Animal: I’m a dog! 🐶

“Dogs are loyal, courageous, and firm. They have a strong sense of justice. Although they may be not so good at expressing themselves, they are willing to dedicate themselves to the person in their hearts.”

chinatravel.com

That’s a pretty accurate description of me.

1. New Year | a book with a phenomenal beginning

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

I love the beginning of this story, and really the whole book itself. The writing immediately pulled me in and the worldbuilding was amazing. Everything in this story is connected in some sort of way which I thought was really cool. I loved piecing everything together and recognizing how things fit.

2. Chinese New Year | a book by an Asian author

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

This book was so good! I love that it took place in San Francisco Chinatown. I haven’t read a historical fiction book about the Red Scare, so it was really interesting to learn about it. The characters were entertaining and I loved seeing Lily grow over the course of the story.

3. Lunar New Year | a book that takes place in space

Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1) by Beth Revis

This was on of the first science fiction books I read. It takes place on a spaceship, Godspeed, that’s traveling to a new planet. I’ve never been a huge fan of science fiction, which I’m kind of surprised about because fantasy is my favorite genre and those two usually go hand in hand. Nevertheless, I read this trilogy and enjoyed it. It wasn’t my favorite, but it sparked something in me to look more into the sci-fi genre.

4. Zodiac/Year of the Pig Rabbit | an animal sidekick

Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves by Meg Long

Iska was the best in this book! She was strong and fierce and willingly turned into a racing wolf, even though she was bred for fighting. She was a great sidekick to Sena and I love how their relationship grew. They were wary of each other at first and didn’t get along well at all. As time goes on, they grow closer and Iska gets very protective of Sena, which was so sweet to read.

5. Lucky Color Red | a book with a red cover

Our Violent Ends (These Violent Delights #2) by Chloe Gong

This is a really dramatic shade of red! It’s a great backdrop for the dragon and silver lighter in the center. Better yet, the story takes place in China! I loved the conclusion to the These Violent Delights duology. It was beautifully written and the characters just make you keep reading so you can make sure they’re safe. I loved getting to learn more about the side characters and can’t wait to find out even more when I eventually read Foul Lady Fortune.

6. Firecrackers | a book exploding with action

The Sunbearer Trials (The Sunbearer Duology #1) by Aiden Thomas

The Sunbearer Trials was definitely an action-packed book! All the trials that the competitors go through are unique and made for an entertaining storyline. I also loved the magic system and all the powers that the semidioses had.

7. Red Envelopes | a book you can’t wait to open

Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

I’ve had this on my shelf for a few weeks and am planning to get around it to it soon! I love the music aspect, especially that it involves violins. I’ve played violin for almost nine years and I’ve never read a book while the instrument being such a central part, so I’m excited to get to it.

8. Delicious Food | a book that made you so hungry

The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler

This book didn’t make me too hungry, but it made me want cupcakes when I first read it. In the story, Penny’s mom owns a bakery called the Cupcake Queen, where all they sell is cupcakes, if I remember correctly. They sound so good. At one point in the story, Penny makes a batch of cupcakes and decorates each one to look like a planet. She makes the whole solar system, complete with rings for the planets. I think that is so amazing; if someone did that and gave them to me, I’m not sure if I’d want to eat them.

9. Gathering With Family | an amazing fictional family

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

The March family seems like it would be a fun family to be a part of. The sisters are all close and even though they’re all different, they get along well. I love the book and the movie (the 1994 version). The characters are all so fun, especially Laurie of course.

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Do you celebrate Lunar New Year? What do you do to celebrate?
What’s your zodiac animal?