Posts Tagged “
Jennifer 8. Lee
”Times Reporter Jennifer 8. Lee: Your Source for Numerology
The Olympic Games in Beijing start on 8/8/08. That's no coincidence—8 is a lucky number to the Chinese. Numbers-obsessed NYT reporter Jennifer 8. Lee must be so excited! She wrote yesterday's Times article about Chinese couples getting married on dates and times that include the number 8. And she adjusted the number of chapters in her book, The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, to have 18 chapters instead of 19. (But that was to appeal to the Jews, who love Chinese food.)Stuff Jews Like: Chinese Food and Books
You might have already known that Jews love Chinese food, especially on Christmas. But did you know that "Jews as a group buy 23 percent of all hardcover books printed"? That's according to according to Stuart M. Matlins, EIC and publisher at Jewish Lights and Skylight Paths books. Jennifer 8. Lee, NYT reporter and author of Chinese food book The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, subjected herself to an "audition" to have her book included in the Jewish Book Network. In fact, she changed the number of chapters in her book from 19 to 18 (a significant number meaning "life") simply to appeal to the chosen tribe! So a Chinese-American author walks into a room of 200 Jews at the Book Expo... More »
fameballs
Please Respect Jennifer 8. Lee's Chinese Name!
New York Times city reporter and author of new book The Fortune Cookie Chronicles Jennifer 8. Lee is sad. As she notes in her blog, "Someone added my Chinese name to my Wikipedia entry in simplified :( form." Oh, the perils of fame! "I have never in my life used the simplified character," Lee adds, "even when I was in Mainland China, I always wrote my name out with the traditional character... In case you are wonderig, my Chinese name means competitive. It's an unusual name for girls, and very striking. In traditional character it looks like two men running side by side (competition, get it?). You lose that in the simplified, sadly." Sad! (Click for offending entry.) More »
Oh, Jenny
Book-pimping Times reporter Jennifer 8. Lee is confused about why her book is being so steeply discounted, even though it's, like, the number one Chinese food book on Amazon. "Not sure why, but Amazon just upped the discount on The Fortune Cookie Chronicles from 34% to 40%." [Fortune Cookie Chronicles]
struggling writers
How To Game Stephen Colbert, By Jennifer 8. Lee
When Times reporter Jennifer 8. Lee worked out of the Washington, DC bureau, she became famous for hosting a blizzard of parties that upended the beltway social scene and no doubt required a tremendous supply of energy on Lee's part. The writer put no less work into her appearance on Comedy Central's Colbert Report to promote her book on Chinese food. To prepare for the five-minute appearance with tricky, tongue-in-cheek host Stephen Colbert, Lee consulted with at least four buddies — Daily Show writer Rachel Axler, Lee friend "Dana," an unnamed Random House editor and Lee friend "Alexis." Their overwhelming advice? Don't try to be funny, and for the most part Lee didn't. But she did study some talking points, presented along with video of her on the show after the jump. More »
books
Jenny 8. Lee's Acknowledgments Could Use a Good Edit
The acknowledgments section of your book is not really the place to get all flowery and "express yourself." You thank your agent, the publisher you probably haven't met, your 'rents, and the friends who put up with your bitching over the last two years. If you're Times reporter Jennifer 8. Lee, however, and you've just written a book about the Chinese food diaspora called The Fortune Cookie Chronicles—well, the acknowledgments section might take on an overlong, strange life of its own. (Remember her totally adorable blog overshares?) In four pages of hugs and kisses, she probably thanks you! Excerpts, plus shots of the whole damn thing, follow. More »
writers write
Jennifer 8. Lee's Editor Lavishes Her With Praise
At first, we thought Jenny 8. Lee's oversharing was just on this side of adorable, if mildly grating. We're reconsidering our assessment in light of her latest blog post, which reproduces, in full, the gushing letter she received from her editor, Jon Karp, upon the submission of her first draft. We can't help but think that Jenny has just bought herself a one-way ticket on the Schadenfreude Express. More »
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