[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fkHJY_0v-TzSYIbLWvLtSlmKu8iUPVYUlclLmgLZupTs":3,"$fxYywNH0M5vlQS_qFyTp5rV1c7kIS2cQBY1FEL9giJ5o":30},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"bio_jsonld":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},4850,"Celeste Ng","C",377,null,"celeste-ng",[12,15,19,23,27],{"tag_id":13,"tag_name":10,"tag_count":14},76790,46,{"tag_id":16,"tag_name":17,"tag_count":18},76792,"everything-i-never-told-you",45,{"tag_id":20,"tag_name":21,"tag_count":22},86,"family",6,{"tag_id":24,"tag_name":25,"tag_count":26},25,"love",5,{"tag_id":28,"tag_name":29,"tag_count":26},1765,"motherhood",{"quotes":31,"pagination":96},[32,40,46,52,59,65,71,77,83,89],{"id":33,"quote_text":34,"author_id":5,"source_id":35,"has_image":36,"author":37,"source":38,"quote_tag":39,"commentary":9},3596241,"Can fiction teach us? Absolutely. Fiction has the power to illustrate place, era, and atmosphere in vivid detail. But it is not Anthropology for Dummies.",7,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":41,"quote_text":42,"author_id":5,"source_id":35,"has_image":36,"author":43,"source":44,"quote_tag":45,"commentary":9},3596238,"Browse Amazon reviews, and you'll see a surprising number of readers who believe one novel can summarize a country, its culture, and its people.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":47,"quote_text":48,"author_id":5,"source_id":35,"has_image":36,"author":49,"source":50,"quote_tag":51,"commentary":9},3596236,"Even if Pearl S. Buck hadn't spent most of her life in China, she'd have every right to write about it.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":53,"quote_text":54,"author_id":5,"source_id":35,"has_image":36,"author":55,"source":56,"quote_tag":57,"commentary":58},3596233,"Before my son was even born, he already had two shelves of books.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nCeleste Ng's novel \"Little Fires Everywhere\" (2017) subtly hints at her own experiences as a writer and mother. While the specific origin of the quote is unclear, it reflects her attention to detail in crafting characters' backstories.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nNg's statement contains an unexpected nuance: **the assumption that one's existence precedes their identity**. This suggests that our sense of self is often shaped by external factors before we're even born or old enough to understand them, challenging the conventional notion of personal agency and identity formation.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset today, consider the power of inherited narratives in shaping your life's trajectory. Before making significant decisions, reflect on how they might be influenced by pre-existing expectations, whether from family, culture, or society at large, allowing you to make more informed choices about the person you want to become.",{"id":60,"quote_text":61,"author_id":5,"source_id":35,"has_image":36,"author":62,"source":63,"quote_tag":64,"commentary":9},3596230,"My husband's parents were both English teachers for decades.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":66,"quote_text":67,"author_id":5,"source_id":35,"has_image":36,"author":68,"source":69,"quote_tag":70,"commentary":9},3596227,"Short of the dishonest, the illegal, and the cruel, there's only one thing my son could do that would really disappoint me: not liking reading.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":72,"quote_text":73,"author_id":5,"source_id":35,"has_image":36,"author":74,"source":75,"quote_tag":76,"commentary":9},3596224,"Spend enough time wrangling a toddler, and you get good at being kind but firm. Like your child, you must be doggedly single-minded when it matters.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":78,"quote_text":79,"author_id":5,"source_id":35,"has_image":36,"author":80,"source":81,"quote_tag":82,"commentary":9},3596221,"As a historically voracious reader - pre-baby, I averaged a book every week or two, and when I was a kid, I'd routinely read a book a day - I never understood how some people could not read. When I heard people say they didn't have time to read, in my head, I simultaneously pitied and ridiculed them: there was always time to read.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":84,"quote_text":85,"author_id":5,"source_id":35,"has_image":36,"author":86,"source":87,"quote_tag":88,"commentary":9},3596217,"Spend too much time alone with your own words, and your writing grows anemic, in dire need of a transfusion.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":90,"quote_text":91,"author_id":5,"source_id":35,"has_image":36,"author":92,"source":93,"quote_tag":94,"commentary":95},3596214,"In 2011, I didn't read a single book.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nCeleste Ng's 2011 statement about not reading a single book is often attributed to her busy schedule as a writer and mother. At that time, she was working on her second novel, \"Everything I Never Told You,\" which would later become a bestseller in 2014. This quote might seem counterintuitive given her eventual success, but it highlights the pressure and intensity of creative work during that period.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nBeneath its seemingly self-deprecating surface, Ng's statement reveals an astute observation about the illusion of productivity. By acknowledging she didn't read a single book in 2011, she subtly critiques the notion that constant consumption is necessary for creativity and success, instead pointing to a more nuanced understanding of the creative process.\n\n**How to Use This**\nIn our fast-paced, digitally connected world, it's easy to fall into the trap of believing we must always be consuming or producing. Ng's insight encourages us to question this narrative by embracing periods of stillness, allowing ourselves time for introspection and recharge before returning to our projects with renewed clarity and focus.",{"currentPage":97,"totalPages":98,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":99},1,38,10]