From May 3-17, you can join thousands of others around the globe in borrowing Grace M. Cho’s evocative memoir, Tastes Like War courtesy of the international reading program, Big Library Read. The ebook and audiobook are available for free without waiting on the Libby app or by visiting overdrive.com. All that’s needed is a library card. If they feel inclined, readers can then discuss the book online at https://biglibraryread.com/join-the-discussion/.
Tastes Like War tells the story of Grace M. Cho who grew up as the daughter of a white American merchant marine and the Korean bar hostess he met abroad. They were one of few immigrants in a xenophobic small town during the Cold War, where identity was politicized by everyday details—language, cultural references, memories, and food. When Grace was fifteen, her dynamic mother experienced the onset of schizophrenia, a condition that would continue and evolve for the rest of her life. Part food memoir, part sociological investigation, Tastes Like War is a hybrid text about a daughter’s search through intimate and global history for the roots of her mother’s schizophrenia.
Big Library Read is an international reading program that connects millions of readers around the world with an ebook through public libraries. Tastes Like War is the 30th selection of this program which began in 2013 and takes place three times per year. Find more information about Big Library Read.