Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, and Language
By Deborah Fallows

You don't have to know Mandarin to be captivated by Dreaming in Chinese, Fallows' memoir of living in Shanghai and Beijing and learning the language. A journalist with a PhD in linguistics, Fallows wears her erudition lightly as she meets locals and tries to unravel the mysteries of their mother tongue. Why is it, for example, that a tableful of Chinese diners might seem to be barking orders at each other? Because they believe using "polite" terms (please; thank you; would you mind...) creates distance, and that direct language is more appropriate for intimates. Forget Berlitz—that just teaches words. Deborah Fallows shows us that the cultural implications of those words teach us about each other.

Get the reading group guide

Next: Marco Polo's tales of world travel