Sunday, June 7, 2009

The Thief of Time

"Procrastination is the thief of time." Karl Marx

I'm not a particular fan of Karl Marx—everything I've researched pinpoints him as an arrogant, argumentative man always looking for a sparring partner. (And that was before he came up with Communism.) But I've been reading his works as well as books on the Korean War and the beginning of the Cold War. I learned some fascinating tidbits, such as the Korean War was Vietnam-Part I. General MacArthur enamored by the effectiveness of the atomic bomb in WWII requisitioned 26 (Yes, twenty-six) of them to use on North Korea and China. And "procrastination is the thief of time." Actually I knew that last one –but have never heard it put so succinctly.

**I'll be speaking about My Half of the Sky at the Martin Luther King Public Library on June 27th at 2pm. Please come join us for a fun afternoon in that amazing library.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

First of all, my apologies. I am not commenting on this blog post, but writing to say that i loved your book "My Half of the Sky." I just finished reading it and want to know what's happening with Li Hui after the elevator. I read somewhere that you are writing a sequel to the book. Is this true? I can't wait for it. Please do a blog post to answer my question. Thanks you very much.

Jana McBurney-Lin said...

Dear Anonymous,
Sorry to respond so slowly to your very kind comment. I've been in China all summer and did my best to stay away from the internet. I'm thrilled you enjoyed My Half of the Sky. I hope you'll leave your opinion of the book on Amazon.com or your favorite online bookstore. And, yes, yes, yes, I'm working on what happens next.
Best to you,
Jana

Anonymous said...

Jana, thank you so much for responding. I will definately leave my comments anywhere I can! I can't wait for the sequel to come out! I always reserve books that I that are about to be released at Borders and I hope I can do the same to yours soon!

Jana McBurney-Lin said...

I appreciate your enthusiasm. Readers like you keep the fires burning in my soul. Thank you.

What People Are Saying About My Half of the Sky

My Half of the Sky was the BookSense Pick for August 2006 as well as a Forbes Book Club Pick.

"McBurney-Lin tells a wonderfully entertaining story with the traditional coming-of-age theme (which is experienced universally)...weaving in the cultural challenges of growing up in China's rapidly changing social system."
Mary Warpeha, co-President of the Minnesota Chapter of US-China Friendship Association
March 2010


"The novel ...includes many of the tales and the folk ways of the people living in the rural areas of South China, still followed provincially. The story takes place in current China, but could relate the dilemma of any young woman in rural China through the ages."
Kitty Trescott, National Board of the Midwest Region of US-China Friendship Association. March 2010

"A lot is expected of a young Chinese girl. My Half of the Sky by Jana McBurney-Lin is the story of Li Hui, a young girl who has just achieved marriageable age. She seeks to make the most of herself, but the expectations all around her make it difficult, as her parents seek to use her as pawn to their advantage, she is faced with what she believes to be true love. She must balance career, romance, and family, all to somehow make everyone happy, a tough endeavor indeed. An engaging and entertaining read from beginning to end, "My Half of the Sky" is a poignant tale of the modern Chinese woman, and recommended for community library collections.
--Midwest Book Review November, 2008

“It is a rare women’s novel that sensitively describes the life of a young educated woman in modern-day China in its full complexity, without resorting to unnecessary sentimentalism. Jana’s deep knowledge of the realities of life in China and Singapore makes the reading extra rewarding. In fact, with every new page the novel gets harder to put down and you find yourself gobbling it up before you know it. Finally, the author has given a voice to the Li Hui in all of us, as we struggle for the golden middle between tradition and the modern momentum of our world.”
Isabella Sluzek
Friends of the Museum Book Review 2008
Singapore

You'll be rooting all the way for Li Hui as she struggles, ahead of the curve, to be her own woman in an emerging, modern China. Jana McBurney-Lin's My half of the Sky is a beautiful, witty, touching debut novel.
Thomas B. Sawyer
Head Writer TV Series "Murder, She Wrote,"
Author - The Sixteenth Man


A complex and mesmerizingly original tale of a young Chinese woman caught between the modern world and the pull of her ancient culture. McBurney-Lin’s intimate portrait of China sparks with insights and is peopled with characters so rich and alive, they seem to breathe on the page. Dazzling and unforgettable.
Caroline Leavitt,
Author - Girls in Trouble

McBurney-Lin's debut novel is a gift. Li Hui is a memorable heroine, a young woman torn between her heart and her culture.Her daunting journey is a trip into China's complicated soul, and a deeply moving exploration of love, honor, duty, and loss." Frank Baldwin, Author - Balling the Jack


My Half of the Sky is a wonderfully-crafted story that was obviously written with a piece of McBurney-Lin's heart. A masterpiece."
Lee Lofland, Author - Howdunit: Police Procedure and Investigation


My Half of the Sky heralds the arrival of a fantastic new storyteller. With artistry and precision, Jana McBurney-Lin's clear-eyed prose takes the reader on a new journey into a past world that speaks to a modern sensibility, a modern world, a modern woman. This is a book to be treasured.
Emily Rapp, Author - The Poster Child


Through vivid descriptions of sights and smells, Jana McBurney-Lin's My Half of the Sky is a haunting, emotional journey of what it means to be an honorable female in modern China. Jill Ferguson, Author - Sometimes Art Can't Save You