Growing up, we didn’t usually eat dessert or get it when we went out—except at Chinese restaurants, which gave us treats for free. Sometimes we’d receive orange slices, but other times, we got fortune cookies! Not only did I enjoy crunching into them, but I also appreciated the fortunes inside.
I started amassing the messages. It helped that when we got into the restaurant business, we ordered huge boxes of fortune cookies. But I didn’t have a system to organize all those slips of paper; they’d be strewn across my desk or lodged in corners of my backpack. Nowadays, I keep them in tiny Ziploc bags. If I were more particular, I’d place them in an actual collecting folder like this one: https://www.etsy.com/listing/828111189/fortune-cookie-fortune-collection-case
All the sayings I’ve collected have been interesting. In fact, I use some of them as sources of encouragement. Case in point: This old Moleskine notebook has a message on the outside and the inside…
Fortune cookie messages can literally pay off for the recipient. Example: Lotto officials were puzzled by a weird spike in winners. What happened? Fortune cookies. People had used the “lucky numbers” for their picks. To read that fascinating story and other interesting foodie tales, check out Jennifer 8. Lee’s The Fortune Cookie Chronicles.
In Ill-Fated Fortune, my main character’s godmother uses enigmatic sayings (straight from fortune cookies) to dole out advice. What a great use of my fortune cookie message collection!
P.S. Ill-Fated Fortune comes out soon—on February 20th! Link: https://read.macmillan.com/lp/ill-fated-fortune/
What do you like collecting?
Chicks on the Case 
I collect author signed books. Also sports cards from the when I was a kid, I guard my Bobby Orr card with my life.
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Love it! Thanks for sharing!
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I had to look twice to see that Jennifer hadn’t taken MY ziplock bag full of fortunes!! I love trying to learn new Chinese words from them. I also collect original story Nancy Drew books, some are war-time editions from the 1940’s. (My fortune collection is much bigger).
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So funny, Emily! Also, what an amazing collection of original Nancy Drew books!
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I have collected various things at different times. I collected dolphins as a kid and unicorns as a teenager. I love snowmen and collect them somewhat now. I have gone overboard in the past and have learned not to do that anymore lol. BTW, I didn’t get a chance to comment on your post earlier this month. I have actually been to the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Company! It is exactly as you described it. I love visiting Chinatown when I am visiting my brother and his family in the Bay Area. You never know what treasures you’ll find in Chinatown. I am looking forward to reading Ill-Fated Fortune. But it will be a while before I get to it. I am trying to catch up on a number of series before I begin any new series this year. At least that is what I am telling myself now. I am not sure how long I can stick to that goal.
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At first, I thought you were collecting real dolphins (I need more caffeine!)… Glad my description of the fortune cookie factory was accurate, Sue. And I always have a goal of “catching up” in my reading–so hard!
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I don’t collect much these days, but I do have a collection of stuffed bears.
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Aww, stuffed bears… My younger daughter can’t bear to give away her stuffed animals. She could probably fill up another bed (or room!) with them.
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I collect cats! : ) I also have a teacup collection, though it was inherited and I have not added to it due to lack of space. But I love the look of pretty, mismatched teacups and plates. Very whimsical.
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Cats are great to collect, Diane! 🙂
I also have mismatched plates and cups…but I’m not sure the effect is quite as whimsical–ha!
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I collect everything. Just ask my wife. Books. Teapots and tea cups. Butterpats. Ocean liner china. Knives. T-shirts. Board games. The list goes on…
Tom Burns
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Ooo, ocean liner china!
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So funny, Tom! And I just went to look up what a “butterpat” is…
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My best friend collects many things, but one of them is butter pats. She has wainscoting in her dining room that has an edge and she has displayed the butter pats all along the dining room walls. It looks great with her antique furniture.
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We should all use our collections as decorations…
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I couldn’t think of anything I collected until you said this. Then I remembered I have an entire wall of my living room covered with a wave of all kinds of suns. And then when you mentioned coins, I remembered that when the kids were young, we all collected the state quarters. I’m still missing some! (I never said I was a very good collector!)
I’m curious about your making the fortune cookies. My sister did that once and said it was a pain in the patootie!
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@Becky: Yay about the suns! We once had a decorator “stage” our house with a sun decoration, so it must be all the rage. And one of my kids started collecting state quarters–but keeps on spending them!
The fortune cookies were so hard to make! I still didn’t get quite the correct recipe–they didn’t turn out super crunchy. (Sorry, readers.)
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I collect old cookbooks and pretty vintage bowls. I love the idea of keeping the fortunes!
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Wonderful! Cookbooks and vintage bowls are great items to collect!
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Jen, I love that you keep your fortunes. Clearly, they have all been coming true with your writing success! I am a serial collector, I think. One thing I can never resist is taking home cool (and clean) drink coasters from restaurants and pubs. My favorite says, “Every day should be like a Sunday in Brooklyn.” (That’s the name of the restaurant, but the sentiment works for me.)
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I might be a serial collector as well, Lisa. I’ve went through phases with other items: stamps, stones, etc.
That coaster is neat! And now I want to go to that restaurant!
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I love that you’ve kept those fortunes, Jen! Back in the day, my wife and I enjoyed collecting baseball cards. It’s probably fair to say that these days, I’m a book collector. So many books, so little time!
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Yes to baseball cards! (And that’s my motto, too–“so many books, so little time!”)
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Jen, I love love love your personal connections to fortune cookies. I collected Roseville pottery for years. Considering my stash of needlepoint canvases, you could say I collect those. And of course… vintage cookbooks!!
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Ooh, Roseville pottery. And your needlepoint (& general craftiness) is amazing! Hurrah for vintage cookbooks–and mysteries based on them!
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We rarely ate dessert growing up, too. Fortune Cookies were an exception because they were free.
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You’re speaking my language, Mark…
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I used to love that the Chinese restaurants gave orange slices and fortune cookies. Many do not anymore. We are like many of you and collect everything, so I guess that makes Hubby Dearest and I serial collectors. I started as a child with stamps and coins with my father and stuffed animals. Then movie star autographed photos in the 1950s and 1980s again. Then my mother gave me her collection of 1920-30 movie star photos and that started another whole collection. Old telephones, flashlights, bird cages and the list goes on and on and on. I have preordered your book and can’t wait to get it. I have a vintage doctor’s bag of matchbooks from restaurants we ate at all over the USA. I have some fortune cookies collected somewhere. I keep a journal with quotes, sayings, things I like, things my husband says among other things. One of the pages is on our beloved Needa dog that has passed on, but I have two of her fortune cookie sayings taped on that page. January 20, 2013–“A short stranger will soon enter your life with blessings to share” and “You will attain the highest levels of intelligence.” She died later that year unfortunately, and we got Texie–so Texie must be the short stranger and she is the smartest dog that we have ever had. I got longwinded again amongst all the short to the point comments. Ah well. Thank you for sharing about the fortune cookies and collections.
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Thanks for sharing your reflections! (And thank you for the preorder!) A few Chinese restaurants I’ve been to have started giving other desserts: mango pudding, tapioca, etc. As an aside, my dad started me collecting coins as a kid, but I never continued…
And sorry for your loss with Needa but glad that Texie came into your life.
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It’s been a tradition in my family since I was a kid (and still is) that you have to act our your fortune cookie fortunes as a charade at the end of dinner. Which has led to many hysterical scenes–and stares from other patrons–at Chinese restaurants over the years.
As for what I collect, these days it’s mostly rocks. And since my parents also collected rocks, Robin and I now have an enormous amount of rocks of all kinds from all over the world on display.
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Charades with fortune cookies sounds like so much fun, Leslie. I had a cousin who tried to make jokes by adding cheeky words to the end of the fortunes…
I think rocks are fascinating–this is coming from a science nerd who loved examining rocks, minerals, and fossils.
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Rocks ROCK! (And love the idea of adding cheeky words to the end of the fortunes!)
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That’s hilarious, Leslie! I’m going to start playing Fortune Cookie Charades!
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This should be a reader-connection event for us at a future conference… 🙂
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That’s a great idea–I love charades!
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I love your fortune cookie collection and can’t wait for release day! I don’t really collect anything, except maybe great books. 🙂
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I love this collection and can’t wait for release day! I don’t really collect anything, except maybe great books!
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Lottery wins, great story!
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