October Series CAT: Set in Asia or an Asian Inspired Setting

This month our challenge is to read a book that is part of a series set in Asia. If you prefer to read Fantasy or SF then a setting inspired by Asia is fine. Asia is the largest continent and is comprised of 48 countries.

You might see a series that interests you below or one that helps you choose a subject.
*Asian Saga by James Clavell (historical fiction)
*The Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Farahad Zama (fiction)
*Inspector Singh Mysteries by Shamini Flint (mystery)
* Inspector Chen Mysteries by Qiu Xiaolong(mystery)
*Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama (historical fiction)
*Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart

*Birds of East Asia – Princeton Field Guides (nonfiction)
*A Concise History of Japan (Cambridge Concise Histories) (nonfiction)
*The Untold History of Ramen (California Studies in History and Culture series) (Nonfiction)
*Captivating Histories – the Asia series has 11 books available (Nonfiction)
*Numerous series on Asian religions are available

Suggestions of titles are welcome!

Will SE Asia work? If so, I will read The Coroner's Lunch which is set in Laos.

I have a few Asian inspired fantasy series that I need to continue with - The Radiant Emperor series, These Violent Delights series, the Green Bone Saga, The Book of Tea series. I'm sure I will read one of these!

I've been reading a lot of manga this year. My current favourite series is A Man and His Cat. If you're looking for some light reading, it's a good choice.

I mentioned the Kosuke Kindaichi series by Seishi Yokomizo over in the MysteryKit thread, but I'll mention it again here. The first volume is The Honjin Murders.

I can heartily recommend The bridge of birds and its sequels, I loved them. Maybe I'll even re-read them this month...

>2 Tess_W: Yes, I think SE Asia is fine.

> 5 I plan to read this one, I found an omnibus lately of all three and look forward to reading them.

I am also going to continue on with the Dr. Siri Paiboun series set in Laos. I will be reading the sixth in the series, The Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotterill.

I forget whether we are counting duologies as series. I'm looking at Kamusari Tales Told At Night by Shion Miura as a possibility.

Other possibilities are Death on Gokumon Island by Seishi Yokomizo a Japanese mystery and Of Wars, and Memories, and Starlight by Aliette de Bodard, stories from her Xuyan series set in an AU where China colonised part of N. America and Vietnam is a major space going power.

I think duologies work.

I've got Bridge of Birds queued up already!

I'm going to be reading the next Inspector Chen novel in the series (for me): Don't Cry, Tai Lake.

Is it allowed to include a book we finished before 10/1? Because I had to finish He Who Drowned the World last night so I could get it back to the library on time.

>13 susanna.fraser: Yes, this group isn't strict about following rules, it's up to you if you want to use it or not. I've done the same thing on occasion and I think most of us have experienced issues with library due dates!

It took me some time to dig through my Kindle library, but I finally found the series I was looking for. I just finished Murder at the Peking Opera which I enjoyed but felt as if the author left things hanging at the end. There does not seem to be another one in this series after this one, which is #3.

I'm planning to read Reflecting the Sky by S.J. Rozan.

I read Murder at the Peking Opera.

I read Reflecting the Sky by S.J. Rozan.

This is the 7th in the series and the first one for me so I had some catching up to do. Lydia Chin and Bill Smith have been asked to deliver the ashes of a friend for burial in Hong Kong. While there, they investigate a break-in and become suspects. Although the plot is quite complicated, it is jam-packed with Hong Kong atmosphere and Lydia and Bill are excellent characters. Interesting to see Lydia, a Chinese-American, regarded as American when in China, while at home in America her Chinese origin is noticed first. I know how she feels.

I completed The Coroner's Lunch (A Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery Book 1) by Colin Cotterill. Meh This mystery took place in Laos.

COMPLETED Of Wars, and Memories, and Starlight by Aliette de Bodard, a collection of stories, mainly from her Xuya SF series where Vietnamese culture is the dominant one in space.

I just finished Barry Hughart's Bridge of Birds, which is "set in an ancient China that never was" (per the back cover copy). It's also the first book in a series, since Hughart wrote two more books featuring Master Li and Number Ten Ox. I enjoyed the book but don't feel compelled to seek out the rest of the series.

November thread is here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/354386#n8257820

I have completed my read of The Merry Misogynist which is set in Laos and features Dr. Siri.

I finished Aunty Lee's Chilled Revenge and Meddling and Murder by Ovidia Yu, books 3 & 4 in the Aunty Lee Singaporean cozy mystery series. Book 4 was the weakest of the sereis in my opinnion. But, overall, it was a fun series featuring Aunty Lee, an older widow who runs a small restaurant and gets herself involved in murder investigations.

I read The Blue Bar by Damyanti Biswas set in Mumbai, India

Dial A for Aunties / Jesse Q. Sutanto
4 stars

Meddy is an Indonesian-Chinese-American who was raised by her mother and three aunts. The men in the family all seemed to fall under some kind of curse and were no longer around. When Meddy goes to college, she has her first taste of life away from her overbearing family, and falls in love with Nathan. But she doesn’t tell her family about him and when college ends, they break up, though she is still head-over-heels in love with him.

So, Meddy goes back to her family and joins the new family business: weddings. Meddy is the photographer, her mother does the flowers, and her aunts do hair/makeup, the cake, and entertainment. Meddy (being In her mid-20s)’s mother is worried that she is not married yet, so (despite not having great English – this does come into play) she sets up an online dating profile for Meddy – and pretends to be Meddy! And sets up a date.

Unfortunately, things go very wrong on the date, and Jake ends up dead! And Meddy panics and doesn’t know what to do (since she killed him! By accident, but she did)! She goes to her mom and aunts to figure it out. Unfortunately, they also have a large expensive wedding to work the next day. Things continue to go horribly wrong!

This was fun and I really enjoyed it! It was funny and unrealistic, but just so much fun. I was happy to see at the end of the book that there’s a sequel.

I read Dead on Time by H. R. F. Keating, set in Mumbai, India.

Finished Don't Cry, Tai Lake in the Inspector Chen series by Qiu Xiaolong. I swear, I was so in love with this series in the beginning, but lately the books just feel too...casual? Anyhow, full review written. This is probably my least-favorite in the series so far, but it wasn't that there was anything necessarily wrong with it beyond that it just felt a bit too casual/lackluster in comparison. Still a solid okay/3-star for me.

I have finished my re-read of Bridge of Birds and found it less charming than the first time around. But it's still a rattling exotic adventure yarn.

Just an FYI that the 2024 group is live, and we are in the process of suggesting CATs for next year, so stop by if you'd like to join the discussion! https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/24125/2024-Category-Challenge

Thanks to all who participated. If you are interested in continuing Series CAT next year, voting on CATS will take place soon. See link above.

One more.
In October l read Banyan Moon
by Vietnamese-American author Thai Thai.

In October, I'd read Malice by Japanese author Keigo Higashino. This is the first of the Detective Kaga series.