Year of the Asian Reading Challenge Sign-up & Update Post

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Hi everyone!

I feel like I’m kinda late to the party, but I’ve recently come across CW, Lily, Shealea & Vicky‘s 2019 “Year of the Asian” reading challenge, and it sounds too awesome not to join, however belatedly. Basically, the goal is to read as many books by Asian authors as possible.

Looking back on 2018, I’ve read quite a lot of diverse books that I really enjoyed. But I also know that I can (and should) always do better. This challenge seems like a really fun way to diversify my reading more!

Challenge goal

Of course the year has already started, and I’ve read 8 books by Asian authors so far. Which means I’ve already gained the Philippine tarsier, yay!!

A quick count of my 2018 Goodreads challenge tells me I’ve read around 50 books by Asian authors last year. Since I want to do better this year, that means I *should* definitely be able to reach the ultimate goal: the Bengali tiger!

I’ll write an update post every once in a while, to share my progress. But for reviews and recommendations, I would like to refer you to #ownvoices reviewers, like the challenge hosts!

Current progress

• Natasha Ngan – Girls of Paper and Fire
• Em Ali – Soft on Soft
• Heidi Heilig – For a Muse of Fire
• Roshani Chokshi – The Star-Touched Queen
• Helen Hoang – The Bride Test
• Marie Kondo – The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
• Traci Chee – The Reader
• Yoon Ha Lee – Dragon Pearl

Immediate TBR

To get me started, I’m going to try to prioritize the books by Asian authors that I already own but haven’t read yet:

• Roshani Chokshi – A Crown of Wishes
• Emiko Jean – Empress of All Seasons
• Sara Saedi – Never Ever
• Min Jin Lee – Pachinko
• Zen Cho – Sorcerer to the Crown
• Gene Luen Yang – American Born Chinese
• Roshani Chokshi – The Gilded Wolves
• Evelyn Skye – Circle of Shadows
• Sabaa Tahir – An Ember in the Ashes (reread)
• Sabaa Tahir – A Torch Against the Light (reread)
• Sabaa Tahir – A Reaper at the Gates
• Kevin Kwan – Rich People Problems
• Jeannette Ng – Under the Pendulum Sun
• Marjane Satrapi – Persepolis

Anticipated releases

One of the reasons for this challenge was the sheer amount of books by Asian authors coming out this year. And a lot of those are on my wishlist. I’ll list some of them below, but again, please keep in mind I’m not an #ownvoices reviewer, and so I’m not able to judge the representation in these novels.

• Hanna Alkaf – The Weight of Our Sky
• Soniah Kamal – Unmarriageable
• Sabina Khan – The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali
• Samira Ahmed – Internment
• Helen Hoang – The Bride Test
• Mariko Tamaki – Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me
• Maurene Goo – Somewhere Only We Know
• Tahereh Mafi – Defy Me
• Sona Charaipotra – Symptoms of a Heartbreak
• Roshani Chokshi – Aru Shah and the Song of Death
• Julie Kagawa – Soul of the Sword
• Sandhya Menon – There’s Something About Sweetie
• Abdi Nazemian – Like a Love Story
• Joan He – Descendant of the Crane
• Mai K. Nguyen – Pilu of the Woods
• Aminah Mae Safi – Tell Me How You Really Feel
• Jenn P. Nguyen – Fake It Till You Break It
• S.K. Ali – Love From A to Z
• Somaiya Daud – Court of Lions
• Sarah Kuhn – I Love You So Mochi
• Gloria Chao – Our Wayward Fate
• David Yoon – Frankly In Love

Do you have any more recommendations for me?