Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge discussion
2016 Read Harder Challenge
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Task 14: Read a Book That is By an Author from Southeast Asia
Bonnie wrote: "I think I am going to go with Stealing Buddha's Dinner, but it turns out I have several options on my shelves. I really need to catalog my stacks!"Well, I hated this book. I checked off the box, but I think I am going to read Ilustrado. I hate to have a one-star book on my list.
I enjoyed Smaller and Smaller Circles. It was definitely a different perspective from the typical American/English mysteries I read.
Lauren wrote: "A two-fer! A Singaporean author AND a food memoir : A Tiger in the Kitchen ."Nice! I may as well, I like two-fers. :) Thanks for the recommendation!
Rainey wrote: "Robin wrote: "Can anyone recommend a book from this area that is not about the horrors of war? I know that is the recent history of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, plus this area was affected by WWII,..."thanks for the suggestion of the thriller, but I started laughing when I clicked through to the description and even if it's not about war, it included both "brutal" and "harrowing"! So I'm still looking for something else.
Robin wrote: "Rainey wrote: "Robin wrote: "Can anyone recommend a book from this area that is not about the horrors of war? I know that is the recent history of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, plus this area was af..."It really wasnt that bad, and I enjoyed it very much.
Robin wrote: "Can anyone recommend a book from this area that is not about the horrors of war? I know that is the recent history of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, plus this area was affected by WWII, but when I lo..."Hey Robin! Keep in mind this task is to read an author from southeast Asia, not a book set in that area (though that might be the case, depending on the book). Some ideas I'm considering are Midnight Thief (author is from Taiwan), Sorcerer to the Crown (author is Malaysian), and The Girl from the Well (author is from Philippines). Hope this helps some! Good luck in your search!
I have had an ARC of The Frangipani Hotel for nearly two years by Violet Kupersmith who was raised in Pennsylvania, spent a year in Vietnam on a Fullbright and her mother was a boat refugee from Vietnam. And it looks like some of the stories involve war.
Ashley wrote: "Robin wrote: "Can anyone recommend a book from this area that is not about the horrors of war? I know that is the recent history of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, plus this area was affected by WWII,..."I loooooooved The Girl from the Well - and thanks to this post, I just found out the author has a second book out - The Suffering about Aokigahara, Japan's infamous 'suicide forest. Hurry, library holds, HURRY! :)
Ashley wrote: "Robin wrote: "Can anyone recommend a book from this area that is not about the horrors of war? I know that is the recent history of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, plus this area was affected by WWII,..."Good point, thanks for the suggestions, everyone! I was going to read Sorcerer to the Crown for the category of First in a Series by a Person of Color but didn't realize it could work here too.
I'm planning on reading one of Thich Nhat Hanh's books on meditation and mindfulness for this category - definitely not about war and suffering, for those seeking a different kind of read from a Southeast Asian author!
Rainey wrote: "I plan on reading Smaller and Smaller Circles. The Author is from and the story are set in the Philippines."I heard them talking about it on "All the Books", and I immediately added it to my TBR. I'm pretty sure this is what I'll wind up reading for this task as well.
I had no idea that Sorcerer to the Crown was written by a Malaysian author. This was already on my TBR pile anyway as part of my diverse reading and now fits neatly here too. HURRAH
Just want to throw out there that Melissa de la Cruz was born and grew up in Manila and came to the U.S. when she was in high school, so I feel like she fits this category as well as #16: Read the 1st in a series by a POC. I may read Blue Bloods #1 or Isle of the lost (Descendants #1)I am half Filipino and have never read any Filipino authors, nor much about the history of the Philippines, so I aim to read at least one fiction and 1 nonfiction book by Filipino authors this year.
For more Filipino authors, many on these lists look excellent:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8...
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
I'm also considering Big Little Man by Alex Tizon, a memoir
or The Indolence of the Filipino, a very short (<50 pages) essay on colonialism in the Philippines.
or History of the Philippines by Luis H. Francia
Eye of the Fish, a memoir of modern day Philippines also by Luis H. Francia, looks very good as well.
I just finished "Ghost Bride" by Yangsze Choo; I'm not a huge fan of ghost stories (scary books give me nightmares), but I enjoyed this one. The plot kept me hooked; her descriptions of colonial Malaysia, old traditions and superstitions, religions, class and status fascinated me.
I found Awaiting Trespass, described as "an unsurpassed portrait of the Marcos period as well as being a sophisticated comedy of the bourgeois manners in Manila society." The author, Linda Ty-Casper is Filipino and has written several books.
Ashley wrote: "Robin wrote: "Can anyone recommend a book from this area that is not about the horrors of war? I know that is the recent history of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, plus this area was affected by WWII,..."Thanks for posting those suggestions! I didn't realize any of them would count for the challenge and they sound great :) I think I will probably go with Sorcerer to the Crown
I'm also half Filipino and opting to read a book set in the Philippines:
Several years ago I read and enjoyed:
Amber wrote: "Just want to throw out there that Melissa de la Cruz was born and grew up in Manila and came to the U.S. when she was in high school, so I feel like she fits this category as well as #16: Read the ..."
I read Smaller and Smaller Circles and enjoyed it very much.
maybe there are some comics by authors from southeast asia? can someone recommend something?
Myra wrote: "maybe there are some comics by authors from southeast asia? can someone recommend something?"This link should help
I read both The Paradise of the Blind and First they Killed my Father. The first is fiction set in Vietnam the second is a autobiography by a woman who escaped the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. I would highly recommend both.
I too am struggling to find a fit for me in this category. Sorry but nothing here catches my fancy, at least so far. I like a good historical fiction, but not romance based, I wouldn't mind a mystery, or even a book from the WW II time period. Please help
My book club is reading Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto for this category.
Phenomenal wrote: "My book club is reading Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto for this category."I just bought that book for this category. I am very excited for it.
Phenomenal wrote: "My book club is reading Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto for this category."I just bought that book for this category. I am very excited for it.
Lauren, Before Ever After sounds like it's going to be a great read. I can't wait to start reading it!
I started Daughters of the River Huong, and it flows nicely
Just finished
Kafka on the shore. Very interesting book. I can recommend this to accomplish this task.
Heidi wrote: "Just finished Kafka on the shore. Very interesting book. I can recommend this to accomplish this task."I don't think Murakami is Southeast Asian.
Bonnie wrote: "Heidi wrote: "Just finished Kafka on the shore. Very interesting book. I can recommend this to accomplish this task."I don't think Murakami is Southeast Asian."
You're correct, Bonnie - Murakami is actually from Japan which is not in the region considered Southeast Asia.
Heidi - perhaps you can use this book towards another task, and then pick something from a SE Asian writer?
I plan on reading Partitions by Amit Majmudar (I hope I spelled that correctly). It's set in India, when it was split into 2 separate countries.
Teresa wrote: "I plan on reading Partitions by Amit Majmudar (I hope I spelled that correctly). It's set in India, when it was split into 2 separate countries."I think Amit Majmudar is American, actually -- he was named poet laureate of Ohio last year. And India isn't usually considered Southeast Asia.
But maybe you can use it elsewhere? It would probably work for politics, if you don't have something there already.
Anna, you are correct; he grew up in Cleveland, OH. I'm not sure how I missed that. Ah well, back to the drawing board.
Renee wrote: "I too am struggling to find a fit for me in this category. Sorry but nothing here catches my fancy, at least so far. I like a good historical fiction, but not romance based, I wouldn't mind a myste..."Maybe try The Garden of Evening Mists? Historical fiction set in Malay, starts in 1949? I am only 30 pages in but enjoying it immensely.
Callie wrote: "I read Waiting"Did you enjoy it, Callie? I recall loving it but it's been several years since I read it.
Callie wrote: "I read Waiting"Doesn't that take place in China by a Chinese author? Up to you, but I don't think that's Southeast Asia
A lot of us have been struggling with the definition of this category. It would have been helpful if BookRiot specified a bit more. My interpretation is that China, Japan, and India are not applicable for this selection. Some countries that would work are Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia, Phillippines. Unfortunately when you look at miscellaneous lists on GR, people have classified books according to their own definitions.
The category is slightly more doable since the author needs to be from Southeast Asia. I wanted to read The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh since the book takes place in Burma, but the author is not from Southeast Asia. I do have some options, but this is not an easy category to fulfill.
This is Wikipedia's definition for SE Asia:"Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia.[1] The region lies near the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic and volcanic activity. Southeast Asia consists of two geographic regions:
Maritime Southeast Asia, comprising Indonesia, East Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, and Christmas Island.
Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as Indochina, comprising Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Vietnam, and West Malaysia"
Renee wrote: "I too am struggling to find a fit for me in this category. Sorry but nothing here catches my fancy, at least so far. I like a good historical fiction, but not romance based, I wouldn't mind a myste..."Renee, I would highly recommend "Smaller and Smaller Circles" by F. J. Batacan, an author from the Phillipines - it was a mystery, and I enjoyed it a lot.
For those of you having some trouble identifying books to fill this task, you can also look above at comments #58 and #66. A few of us have rattled off some options - hope that helps! Happy reading!
Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge
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Okay, so I read Stealing Buddha's Dinner and it was bad. Really. It got a very rare 1-star review from me. I have checked the box, but I think I am going to try another. Perhaps Ilustrado will be a more worthy choice.