ASIAN BOOK CHALLENGE 2022 - GENERAL THREAD

OVERALL PLAN

These will be the monthly jaunts for the ABC challenge.

JANUARY - Europe of Asia - Turkish Authors
FEBRUARY - The Holy Land - Israeli & Palestinian Authors
MARCH - The Arab World - Writers from the Arab world
APRIL - Persia - Iranian writers
MAY - The Stans - There are 7 states all in the same region all ending in "Stan"
JUNE - The Indian Sub-Continent - Essentially authors from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
JULY - The Asian Superpower - Chinese Authors
AUGUST - Nippon - Japanese Authors
SEPTEMBER - Kimchi - Korean Authors
OCTOBER - INDO CHINE - Authors from Indo-China
NOVEMBER - The Malay Archipelago - Malaysian, Singaporean and Indonesian Authors
DECEMBER - The Asian Diaspora - Ethnic Asian writers from elsewhere

I was able just about to cover the whole of the continent and I didn't include one for Russia as most of the authors are decidedly European in their ethnicity and leaning.

JANUARY



January 2022 - EUROPE OR ASIA / TURKISH WRITERS

Turkey is part of Europe. Well to be specific 3% of Turkey is considered to be in Europe whilst 97% of Turkey's land is Asian according to that "infallible" source wikipedia.

It's writers are very much influenced by Europe and a sense of identity often pervades the writing.

Turkish writers to consider :

Orhan Pamuk - who won the Nobel Prize and is easy to find
Elif Shafak - whose European-ness means she also writes often in English

Sabahattin Ali - whose Madonna in a Fur Coat is in print in English and not obscure
Yasar Kemal - most famously wrote Memed, My Hawk
Ayse Kulin - who has several books available in English including Farewell
Ahmet Altan - recently released from Prison who has about ten novels in Europa translations
Latife Tekin - influential modern realist.
Leyla Erbil - First Turkish author to be nominated for the Nobel Prize though she didn't win

Turkey issues something like 30,000 new titles per year and Istanbul (again according to Wikipedia) has almost 5,000 bookshops. I hope you can join me in exploring Turkey in January.

Our own Ursula is based in Istanbul and I am hopeful she can give some insights to Turkish life to accompany the January thread.

FEBRUARY



February 2022 - THE HOLY LAND / WRITERS FROM ISRAEL & PALESTINE

Writers from the Holy Land. Israel & Palestine. I'm not taking sides but they are currently separate states and this is one subject I really don't want to put my Size 9 shoes into.

Israeli Writers have long been a source of joy for many of us and here would be some suggestions:

Amos Oz
David Grossman
AB Yehoshua
Etgar Keret
Assaf Gavron
Yoram Kaniuk
SY Agnon
Yuval Noah Harari
Eshkol Nevo
Ruth Almog
Dalia Betolin-Sherman
Maayan Eitan
Lizzie Doron
Zeruya Shalev

Arab Israelis or Palestinians would include:

Sayed Kashua
Mahmoud Darwish
Edward Said
Susan Abulhawa
Mourid Barghouti

May seem a little daunting but many of these authors are quite readily available and all of these do have books that can be ordered on Book Depo. Oz, Grossman, Yehoshua and Keret in particular are very easy to find.

Writers from this region are great storytellers and memoirists.

MARCH



March 2022 - THE ARAB WORLD

I have taken a very slight liberty and included the Levant here too as many Lebanese obviously consider themselves to be Arab.

Some less obscure options :

Lebanon

Amin Maalouf
Kahil Gibran
Elias Khoury
Hoda Barakat

Jordan

Jamal Naji

Saudi Arabia

Abdelrahman Munif
Raja Alem
Abdo Khal

Syria

Khaled Khalifa
Rafik Schami

Iraq

Dunya Mikhail
Ahmed Saadawi

Oman

Jokha Alharthi

Kuwait

Saud Alsanousi

APRIL



April 2022 - PERSIA / IRANIAN WRITERS

You must never mistake a Persian (Iranian) for an Arab so I wouldn't have dared mix up their literature. For all that the country may be associated these days with fundamentalism it does tend to produce a proportionately high number of female writers who are generally marked by their free expression and feminism.

I have a number of dear Iranian/Persian friends and I will use the labels interchangeably (although most of my friends seem to prefer the older name) technically as I understand it Persians are the majority ethnic group in Iran so it would probably depend which Iranian you were talking too. Most of my friends are filled with fun and joy and the love of wonderful food and drink. Dinner in an Iranian household is quite the experience.

Some options (all my selections born in Iran)

Bahiyyih Nakhjavani
Sadegh Hedayat
Marjane Satrapi
Mahmoud Dowlatabadi
Azar Nafisi
Laleh Khadivi
Reza Aslan
Shahrnoush Parsipour

MAY



May 2022 - THE "STANS" / WRITERS FROM THE SEVEN NATIONS ENDING IN "STAN"

Geographically close (I cannot use the word "compact" given the sprawling and often forbidding geography they collectively contain) Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan is a collection of countries replete with remote spaces and intensity of conflict, belief, ideology and poverty. Out of these conditions comes a very strikingly mixed bag of writing. The previous Soviet "stans" are still opening up and therefore not too many of their number have too much exposure to Western readers. A few that have:

Hamid Ismailov - Uzbeki but Kyrgyz born and possibly the most well known outside that region
Chinghiz Aitmatov - from Kyrgyzstan
Ak Welsapar - Turkmenistani but now having Dual nationality with the other being Swedish.

Afghanistan
Khaled Hosseini of course
Fatima Bhutto
Atiq Rahimi

Pakistan
Mohsin Hamid
Kamila Shamsie
Khushwant Singh
Nadeem Aslam
Bapsi Sidhwa

JUNE



June 2022 - THE INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT / WRITERS FROM INDIA, SRI LANKA AND BANGLADESH

I will let you into a secret. I love Indian fiction. Favourite novel of my lifetime if I had to choose one I would take A Fine Balance. Best Booker Winner would quite possibly be Midnight's Children and I got hours of enjoyment reading and re-reading the books of RK Narayan.

India really ought to get its own month but I had a whole continent to fit into the year! Some of the authors you could choose (I don't mind if you take Rushdie or Mistry in this month or in December as part of the Diaspora as both were born in India but moved overseas at an early age)

Vikram Seth
Anita Desai
Vikram Chandra
Kiran Desai
Chetan Bhagat
Arundhati Roy
Amitav Ghosh
Gita Mehta
Aravind Adiga
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Amit Chaudhuri
Neel Mukherjee
Raja Rao
Jeet Thayil
Tishani Doshi
Kishwar Desai
Mulk Raj Anand
Amrita Pritam

and the list could go on and on.

Sri Lanka is also developing a fine storytelling tradition:

Anuk Arudpragasam
Shehan Karunatilaka
Ru Freeman
Romesh Gunasekera

and Michael Ondaatje could be counted here or in December as he was born in Sri Lanka but moved very early on to Canada.

Similarly Monica Ali and Tahmima Anam would fit both months as both were born in Bangladesh but have spent most of their lives in England.

JULY



JULY 2022 - THE NEW SUPERPOWER / WRITERS FROM CHINA

The world's most populated nation and one of the first sufficiently civilised to publish works by Confucius etc. The choice of writing available in English is largely from the dissident tradition but still has an enormous variety to choose from. In all honesty it is one of the Asian literatures that I am least familiar with. Some of the writers will also fit into December.

You have the option to go back a "few" years.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guangzhong
Monkey by Wu Ch'eng-en
The Water Margin by Shi Nai'An
Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin
The Art of War by Sun Tzu

Or nearer to today through the works of:

Eileen Chang
Gao Xingjian
Mo Yan
Ha Jin
Yan Lianke
Mai Jia
Li Yiyun
Guo Xiaolu
Liu Cixin
Yu Hua
Jung Chang
Han Suyin

and many more

AUGUST


AUGUST 2022 - NIPPON / WRITERS FROM JAPAN

I don't understand much about Japanese literature but I do keep trying. Kazuo Ishiguro won the Nobel Prize and is hailed as one Britain's finest but he was born in Japan and his early work bear the influence of his upbringing. He can be counted here or in December as part of the Asian diaspora.

Twenty Japanese Authors to try with an example of their work.

Kobe Abe - The Woman in the Dunes
Haruki Murakami - Sweetheart Sputnik
Ryu Murakami - In the Miso Soup
Yasunari Kawabata - The Master of Go
Yukio Mishima - Runaway Horses
Masuji Ibuse - Black Rain
Banana Yoshimoto - Kitchen
Miyuki Miyabe - All She Was Worth
Yuko Tsushima - Territory of Light
Kenzaburo Oe - A Personal Matter
Shusaku Endo - Silence
Hiromi Kawakami - Strange Weather in Tokyo
Soseki Natsume - I am a Cat
Junichiro Tanizaki - Some Prefer Nettles
Natsuo Kirino - Grotesque
Keigo Higashino - The Devotion of Suspect X
Yoko Ogawa - Hotel Iris
Sayaka Murata - Convenience Store Woman
Mieko Kawakami - Breasts and Eggs
Kazuo Ishiguro - The Remains of the Day

SEPTEMBER



SEPTEMBER 2022 - KIMCHI / WRITERS FROM KOREA

If you think that Japanese novels can be inscrutably difficult then wait until you delve into the nooks and crannies of Korean writing.

Here are some Korean authors and a representative work to help you:

Cho Nam Joo - Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982
Park Sang Young - Love in the Big City
Kim Un-Su - The Plotters
Kim Ae-ran - My Brilliant Life
Shin Kyung Sook - The Court Dancer
Bae Suah - Untold Night and Day
Kim Sagwa - b, Book and Me
Pyun Hye Young - The Hole
Han Kang - The Vegetarian
Lee Hyoseok - Endless Blue Sky
Kim Young Ha - Diary of a Murderer
Gong Ji Young - Our Happy Time
Yi Kwang-Su - The Soil
Lee Seung-u - The Private Life of Plants
Hwang Sok Yong - At Dusk

The other problem of course is Korean names - 30% of Koreans of thereabouts are called Kim and Lee or Yi and Park or Bak make up a very significant proportion of the rest.

OCTOBER



OCTOBER 2022 - INDO CHINA PLUS INDO CHINA & OTHER COUNTRIES NEIGHBOURING CHINA

I have slightly expanded this section as - if I merely concentrate on Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand there may be few takers and some difficulty in finding readily available options. Therefore I have added other countries neighbouring China (and not included elsewhere) which adds Mongolia, Nepal, Burma/Myanmar and Bhutan (not that I can find much) into the equation.

Some Choices :

Mongolia

The Blue Sky by Galsang Tscinag
Mongol by Uuganaa Ramsey

Nepal
Arresting God in Kathmandu by Samrat Upadhyay
The Land Where I Flee by Prajwal Parajuly (Indian but has a Nepali mother and writes about Nepal)
Mountains Painted With Turmeric by Lil Bahadur Chettri

Burma
The River of Lost Footsteps by Thant Myint-U
From the Land of Green Ghosts by Pascal Khoo Thwe
The Road to Wanting by Wendy Law-Yone
Letters from Burma by Aung San Suu Kyi

Bhutan
The Circle of Karma by Kunzang Choden

Vietnam
The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh
Paradise of the Blind by Thu Huong Duong
The Lotus and the Storm by Lan Cao
The Book of Salt by Monique Truong
The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai

There are also numerous writers now based in North America and Australia such as Kim Thuy, Ocean Vuong and Nguyen Thanh Viet who can be read here or in December.

Cambodia
First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung
Cambodia in My Dream by Santel Phin

Laos
Mother's Beloved by Outhine Bounyavong

Thailand
Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad
The Blind Earthworm in the Labyrinth by Veeraporn Nitiprapha
The Judgment by Chat Kopchitti
The Sad Part Was by Prabda Yoon
Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER



ASIAN BOOK CHALLENGE

DECEMBER 2022 - THE ASIAN DIASPORA TWENTY-NINE NOVELS IN THE ASIAN DIASPORA

In 2022 I will have been in Asia for 29 years. 29 years which has seen Asian influence over literature and especially literature in English expand exponentially. Here are my pick of 29 novels by Asian who have gone or remained west whilst I ventured in the opposite direction. Something you like here>

1. Vincent Lam - The Headmaster's Wager
2. Rohinton Mistry - A Fine Balance
3. M.G. Vassanji - The In-Between World of Vikram Lall
4. Ruth Ozeki - A Tale for the Time Being
5. Jhumpa Lahiri - The Interpreter of Maladies
6. Min Jin Lee - Pachinko
7. Krys Lee - How I Became a North Korean
8. Amy Tan - The Joy Luck Club
9. Iris Chang - The Rape of Nanking
10. C Pam Zhang - How Much of These Hills is Gold
11. Celeste Ng - Little Fires Everywhere
12. Ken Liu - The Paper Menagerie
13. Ocean Vuong - On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
14. Ha Jin - Waiting
15. Daniyal Mueenuddin - In Other Rooms, Other Wonders
16. Chang Rae Lee - The Surrendered
17. Guo Xiaolu - I am China
18. Timothy Mo - An Insular Possession
19. Kazuo Ishiguro - The Remains of the Day
20. Hanif Kureishi - The Buddha of Suburbia
21. Sunjeev Sahota - The Year of the Runaways
22. Salman Rushdie - Shame
23. Monica Ali - Brick Lane
24. Zia Haider Rahman - In the Light of What We Know
25. Rana Dasgupta - Solo
26. V.S. Naipaul - A House for Mr. Biswas
27. Charles Yu - Interior Chinatown
28. Madeleine Thien - Dogs at the Perimeter
29. Michelle de Krester - Questions of Travel

Pick from the list or surprise me.

I've added this thread, and will add the monthly threads, to the group wiki.

Australian writer Michelle de Kretser was born in Sri Lanka and moved to Australia when a teen. Both countries feature in her novels.

>16 avatiakh: Yes, Kerry, I have a few of her books and there is a strong chance that I will finally read something of hers in 2022.

Starred!

I'll try to participate some of the months. For January, I'm aiming to read an Orhan Pamuk book.

I'm going to follow this challenge with interest, and have a number of the authors represented on my shelves. I won't commit to anything, but I do hope to broaden my Asian reading this coming year.

I have started reading Snow by Orhan Pamuk a few days early, so far it's excellent. It's quickly becoming apparent, however, that I would benefit from reading a short history of Turkey. Does anyone have a suggestion?

>21 labfs39: - The Pamuk book I have cued up to go is Istanbul. It will be my first by himk. Maybe there is some history in that one that might help, but I honestly don't know if that is what you are looking for.

I'll join Lisa in reading Snow, starting next week. BTW, the US Kindle version of it is currently on sale for $1.99.

>21 labfs39: I have Turkey : A Short history by Norman Stone on the shelves but I have to admit to not having read it yet, Lisa.

Stone was a controversial historian with very decided opinions especially on the Armenian genocide which he apparently quibbled about its definition. That said and despite my politics being the polar opposite of his, he was a very accomplished and thought-provoking historian whose writing flowed.

>21 labfs39: I don't have a suggestion for a history of Turkey, but for Snow, this Wikipedia article on headscarves in Turkey is probably most appropriate.

In short, for a long time they were banned in public institutions - meaning that if women wanted to work for the government, they couldn't wear a headscarf at work. Public universities were included, so in order to go to one, a woman had to attend without a scarf.

Erdoğan overturned the ban in 2013. (Here's an article about it from the time.) Pretty recently, the ban was also lifted for the police.

I have My Name is Red on my shelves, so why not? : )

>21 labfs39: >24 PaulCranswick: I recently had reason to look up Norman Stone and came across this obituary in The Guardian. It is probably the most scathing I have ever read of someone who wasn’t either a mass murderer or a dictator.

https://amp.theguardian.com/books/2019/jun/25/norman-stone-obituary

After reading that I probably wouldn’t turn to Norman Stone for any unbiased and factually correct history!

>27 SandDune: In all honesty, Rhian, it was a ridiculously mean spirited obit by Richard Evans, whose own histories of Germany I have on my shelves and I have to say they are turgid to the point of being unreadable. The Guardian's own political viewpoint (quite close to my own actually) doesn't exempt them from criticism in this regard. It was disrespectful.

I also have to say that I have two friends who studied under Professor Stone at Oxford in the 1980s both reading Modern History. One of the two consider Stone the greatest historian of the last century whilst the other - a lady - couldn't abide him. He was apparently a chauvinist of the highest order and a little, erm, touchy-feely to boot. I don't think he was a particularly nice person but that isn't a guide to their ability to write history.

There is no such thing as unbiased history and Stone was a policy advisor and speechwriter to the dreaded Mrs. T, but for all that he was an accomplished historian though definitely a contrary one. We shouldn't read just accepted views of history as differing perspectives are helpful to inform our own. Our great historians Christopher Hill, Eric Hobsbawm and EP Thompson on the left are balanced by AJP Taylor, John Keegan and Niall Ferguson and we should read history as critically as possible.

If you read Timothy Snyder's views on Richard J Evans you wouldn't read his books either but the range of views are there to glean perspective from and not only confirm our own existing world views.

>28 PaulCranswick: I don’t know Paul. It sounds like he could be disrespectful enough himself in real life. If you deal it out you have to be prepared to take it, in my opinion. The reason that I looked him up in the first place a few months ago was that I read an article by him (I think about Turkey) and was stunned to discover that it was by someone who I thought was actually considered a serious historian, as it seemed complete twaddle. (Alan has his Hitler book, so I was familiar with the name).

Alan was at Oxford in the 80s, and from what he has said about his own tutor, anyone who was considered ‘touchy-feely’ there then, would probably be up on a charge of sexual harassment today, so I don’t have a lot of sympathy.

>29 SandDune: No sympathy for him as a person, Rhian, though I didn't know him but I don't have to like him to read him. Ezra Pound is the supreme example of that.

I have read his World War One history and it was lucid and insightful.

I swore I would not commit to any monthly challenges for 2022, and I'm sticking with it. BUT this one is particularly appealing so I'm starring this thread and I'll participate as time and inclination allow.

Thanks for hosting, Paul!

>31 EBT1002: Would be nice to have you dip in wherever you like, Ellen. x

I am planning on reading at least 3 books a month for this challenge. Upcoming in January for me: My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk, 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak, and Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali.

We will have two shared reads there, Stasia. Pamuk & Ali.

>33 alcottacre: I just started reading 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in the Strange World. So that's a shared read for you and me! Yay!!

I am >thisclose< to finishing Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak as my early book for this challenge. I wanted to have read something by her before everyone dives into this, and I had tried last year to read her The Bastard of Istanbul. I just couldn't finish that one.

I've read a bunch of Pamuk, but I'm hoping to get to another one in January and maybe another Turkish author whose name escapes me at the moment.

>34 PaulCranswick: >35 SqueakyChu: Woot!

I have 2 set for January: Istanbul by Pamuk and the one I mentioned earlier called Ali and Nino that is about Azerbaijan, which Paul said could slot into this month with Turkey. I am not a fast reader so may or may not get both read by the end of January but they will get read!

I know I once had My Name is Red but for the life of me, I cannot find it. I am wondering if I lent it to someone and didn't get it back or maybe it ended up in a donation box when I was trying to cull books left long unread on the shelves. No matter, as I found the other Pamuk. I am making a concerted effort to find books already on my shelves for my challenges this year. We'll see how long that lasts. I had the Elif Shafek one out from the library a month or so ago but had to return it unfinished as there was demand and thus, no renewal option.

I am currently reading The Doctor's Wife by Sawako Ariyoshi. It's a fictionalized version of the life of an actual late 18th/early 19th century Japanese physician who developed the use of anesthesia long before Western medicine managed that. It is told from his wife's POV, and presents a fascinating glimpse into family life in Japan at that time. I see that @Squeakychu has read and reviewed it in the past. My copy was sent to me by the author of This review, who was once an active LT member.

>39 laytonwoman3rd: I am so excited that this group will be delving happily into just the kind of Japanese fiction I love later this year. I can't wait to hear the thoughts of others about the books I've read in the past. :)

Not sure what I will read for January, probably something by Elif Shafak.

I am scheduled to read Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa for my RL book group in March, so I will read it at the end of Feb, and kill two birds so to speak.

I'm going to try to read the first book in the Ottoman trilogy by Ahmet Altan in January.

I'm with Paul on the Norman Stone obit. It felt like trashing someone after he has no ability to reply. I'm equally averse to hagiographies, but -- and I'm speaking as a journalist here -- I felt queasy reading this. The vitriol felt personal, and that annoyed me as well. As an op-ed, fine. As an obit? Well, if someone is worth writing an obit about, ideally it shouldn't be written either by the family member who adored them OR by someone looking for a chance to dance on a grave. And nope, I'm not suggesting bending over backwards and legitimizing being touchy-feely: there's a way to refer to that in an obit without making it sound gleeful, as if being dead is his punishment. That said, I did like the reference to biased historians making for good reading, citing Niall Ferguson on the right and AJP Taylor on the left. I'll be reading Ferguson's latest sometime in the coming months.

Hi, all! Hopefully this isn't out of place here, but thought I'd drop in.

I tried putting out some feelers last year about doing a group or buddy read of Mahabharata with me - maybe not finishing in a year....very informal. I found two people on a Discord group I'm part of who want to join me. I was wondering if anyone here would like to join? I could either try to get them to come over here, or have you join us on Discord. Just putting it out there. 😊

Hopefully this comment doesn't feel like a hijack, Paul!

I have reserved two books from the library for the January challenge, that I will pick up next week:
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World - Elif Şafak
The White Castle - Orhan Pamuk

I might also get to: Zelfs de stilte is niet meer van mij - Aslı Erdoğan

>43 The_Hibernator: Not at all, Rachel - you'll always be welcome on any thread of mine.
The Mahabharata is unmistakably Asian isn't it so I am sure that you'll get one of two takers. It certainly qualifies for the challenge.

I'm hoping I can find mysteries to fill most of the months!

Message deleted - duplicate entry with incorrect link!

Of interest...a new Asian book store opened in Chinatown in New York City!

https://www.thelily.com/a-27-year-old-wanted-to-see-her-asian-american-story-ref...

>46 thornton37814: I'm sure that there are plenty.

For Turkey you could try:

Labyrinth by Burham Sonmez or
Hotel Bosphorus by Esmahan Aykol

The latter is by a German born author whose parents are Turkish and you could try her January or December..

>21 labfs39:, >23 kidzdoc: I am also reading Snow for this one. It's my first book by this author. Very good so far.

>25 ursula: Thanks for those links and for the info, Ursula!

>49 PaulCranswick: I was going to give The Architect's Apprentice by Elif Shafak a try since it was available on ebook, but it's checked out and has at least one person waiting for it which makes it doubtful I can get it in January. I'll look at the ones you mentioned and try ILL if I can't find something.

Is there going to be a January thread for Turkey? Or is the whole year going on this thread?
I am reading Memed My Hawk by Yasar Kemal for Turkey.

>52 arubabookwoman: ^^^what she said

I'd planned to begin my read of Like a Sword Wound today to start out the Asian Shindig but Godborn: Gods of Bronze grabbed my eyelashes and refused to let go of them. At least it made up for the truly *awful* "thriller" that London & I both foundered on earlier! But still...if someone could have a word with PC...?

>52 arubabookwoman: & 53 I had been pondering over whether to do it or not but you two pals have answered my own question. Thread up shortly.

>54 PaulCranswick: Teşekkürler!

I've decided to add this challenge to my reading plan for 2022. Just put in a "hold" at my library system for My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk. I see some others have also selected this book.

>54 PaulCranswick: Yay!! I'm a quarter of the way through my Turkish book! Thank you, Paul. :D

By the way...Wow! You have so much interest in your challenge. That is great to see.

Turkey in the spotlight as requested :

https://www.librarything.com/topic/338244#n7703220

HI! in 2022, Paul - with the help of Abe.com, I'll be joining the Asian Challenge for January.

(If you want to set this up as a "trade" as we did with your new favorite wizard, Harry Potter,
I suggest The 1619 Project if you can find it.)

>59 m.belljackson: Let me see if I can track that down, Marianne. I can't promise it for this month as I have a pretty overloaded tray already. xx

Hi all. I'm usually hanging in Club Read, but have heard so much about this challenge that I could not resist anymore and decided to join.
I do not plan to participate each month. I will only when reading a book for this challenge fits some other reading goals or reading desires that I have (including digging into my not-read-yet book pile).
But I do plan to discover new authors and new books and I'm prepared to add to my list of books I'd like to read!

>61 raton-liseur: Lovely to see you here. Drop in or dip in and out as you please you will always be welcome here!

>60 PaulCranswick: Paul, any month for The 1619 Project would be fine - I may save it for December in the NF Challenge.

Paul - Yes, you have a Great Listing of Months and Books here - just that a shorter version
that could be printed on one page would be welcome!

>64 m.belljackson: Do you mean thus:

JANUARY - Turkey

FEBRUARY - The Holy Land

MARCH - The Arab World

APRIL - Persia

MAY - The Stans -

JUNE - The Indian Sub-Continent -

JULY - China

AUGUST - Nippon

SEPTEMBER - Kimchi -

OCTOBER - INDO CHINE

NOVEMBER - Malay Archipelago

DECEMBER - Diaspora

>64 m.belljackson: Couldn't you copy and paste the info you want into a document?

65> 67> Paul and Amanda - I found the list I wanted at the beginning of THIS site!

Information on 65 is even easier to print on one page.

Thanks.

I can't find the March thread for Arab writers, could someone post a link please.

>69 avatiakh: It's not up yet.

Thanks, I wondered if that was the case. I'm still reading one of my February choices anyway.

>2 PaulCranswick: For May, from TORN LILACS:

Josh didn't realize how large, diverse, and beautiful
Kazakhstan was. It was the largest of all Asia's "Stans," a
landlocked vastness equivalent to all of Western Europe.

Ebook deals

US only: Mongolian author Galsan Tschinag's The Blue Sky and The Gray Earth are $1.99 and $2.99 today.

https://openroadmedia.com/ebook/the-blue-sky/9781571317391
https://openroadmedia.com/ebook/the-gray-earth/9781571318121

And Humble Bundle has a manga (Japanese comics) bundle available for the next week and a half.

Manga bundle link

>14 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul - can you include names for December?

Thanks - also , no picture, just a "?"

>74 m.belljackson: I will reload and expand that for you, Marianne. Give me a little while but the Asian diaspora is extremely wide.

ETA Hope that helps a little, Marianne.

>14 PaulCranswick: Thank you for the very complete list, Paul -

When a challenging or long book is coming up, I often start reading ahead of the actual month,
so have been working on THE RIVER OF LOST FOOTSTEPS.
Perfect book for lovers of horrific True Crime. Karens and Wa's safe from me.

Hoping that the Changes in Luck requested by the author for Burma/Myanmar have risen since 2006.
I checked online and am happy that the country is not closer to Malaysia and Singapore.

JUNE IN THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/342060

Well, Paul, relating to #76, Burma got eclipsed by the sheer soul chilling unrelenting terrifying HORROR of the final quarter in The Gift of Rain
.
No words for the invasion of Malaysia by the Japanese...

>78 m.belljackson: That is a great novel, Marianne. You will notice it was in my 100 Books by 100 Author Selection on my own thread.

>14 PaulCranswick: Paul - does Amos Oz, with A TALE OF LOVE AND DARKNESS qualify for December reading?

Gracias, again.

>80 m.belljackson: It doesn't seem that he would qualify as he was born in Israel and spent most if not all of his working life there. He fits February, Marianne, so if you read him you can still count him there.

>81 PaulCranswick: Okay, I was just checking my Save Shelves for Amy Tan and still can't find her since alphabetizing went awry.

ps. A TALE OF LOVE AND DARKNESS definitely went along with my last two Asian Challenge choices.

The September thread is up guys!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/343942

I haven't found the December thread.....

Many apologies, Susan. I have a court case with one of our Subcontractors this week and the hearings finished on Thursday evening. Will get the thread up today

https://www.librarything.com/topic/346265#n7992194

Thread link for December is here everyone. Sorry for being a slouch.

>86 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul!