Reading Asia in 2019

It's time for a long overdue post about my ongoing Around the World reading project. In 2019 I focused on Asia, with the hopes of finishing my goal to read a book from every country that I hadn't gotten to yet. I got pretty close, and definitely knocked out some books I collected back in 2012 when I started dreaming up this project. I gave up long ago on feeling the need to try to do it all in a year, because the more I get to know about some of these countries, the longer I want to stay. And sometimes I accidentally read a lot from a country I wasn't even trying to read (Japan is that country this year!)

I've been keeping very careful track since 2012 (books read prior to 2012 are not "counted" in the project) so this map attempts to capture that - the orange is what remains to be read - Afghanistsan, Azerbaijan, East Timor, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, The Maldives, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan (some of these I might be able to include during the focus on the Middle East, particularly the -stans), the blue is what I read for the first time in 2019 (and some, like Thailand and the Philippines, I read multiple books), the green I had read previously and also read additional titles in 2019, and the pink are countries I'd read previously but did not read more of in 2019.

I do not have one picture with all the titles, because I used the library, both in print and for ebooks and audiobooks. But this first picture shows the titles from the major publishers that I had at home. Some I collected intentionally for this project, while others came in for other reasons.

I was really impressed by the number of titles I found from independent presses this year. I subscribe to Restless Books, Two Lines Press, and Milkweed Editions, and both Restless and Two Lines sent me books from Asian countries that I was able to include. (Two Lines sent me Bright, I purchased Mina on sale.) Feminist Press also put out a book of short stories from the same author Two Lines published a novel from. Tilted Axis had several of the harder to find countries, which was a thrill. I applaud all these publishers and the work they are doing in translation and in English to raise up the voices we would not hear otherwise, truly impressive.

And this last picture are the books I did not get to. A few are Western titles by non-native authors, and those weren't as high priority as reading what we call "own voices" authors. I did want to get to the Lukyanenko because I try to include genre fiction when I can... it's just that it's not really set in Kazakhstan, but the author is from there. I read another book for Bhutan, Burma/Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, and both Seven Years in Tibet and Chef are set in places that aren't "countries" but rather distinct regional locations with their own stories. I still want to read all these books but I did have reasons to prioritize some of the others. When I was dedicating time at the end of December to squeeze a few more in, I went first for books from countries I hadn't touched yet - Cambodia and Bangladesh. The book about finding George Orwell in Burma only makes sense if you read George Orwell's first novel based on his time in Burma, and I struggled to do so.

Here is the list. This is just the titles I read this year so those other titles I've hinted at on the map in green and pink can be found in Goodreads, as can reviews of all these titles. If you go to my profile, you can look at my books and search by title or view the shelves by location (all of these are under "Location-CountryName.")

Bangladesh
A Golden Age by Tahmina Anam

Bhutan
The Circle of Karma by Kunzang Choden

Cambodia
In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner

China
Broken Stars: Contemporary Chinese Science Fiction edited by Ken Liu
Double Awesome Chinese Food by Margaret Li
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang

Japan
After Dark by Haruki Murakami
After the Quake by Haruki Murakami
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami
The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada
The Guest Cat by Takato Hiraide
My Brother’s Husband, V. 1 by Gengoroh Tagame
My Brother’s Husband, V. 2 by Gengoroh Tagame
The Restaurant of Love Regained by Ito Ogawa 

Korea, North and South
Blood Sisters by Kim Yideum
Mina by Kim Sagwa
The White Book by Han Kang

Kyrgyzstan
Jamila by Chingiz Aitmatov

Laos
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
The Latehomecomer by Kao Kalia Yang 

Mongolia
The Blue Sky by Galsan Tschinag

Myanmar/Burma
The Long Path to Wisdom by Jan-Philipp Sandlear

Nepal
The City Son by Samrat Upadhyay

Pakistan
Broken Verses by Kamila Shamsie

The Philippines
America is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo
The Body Papers by Grace Talusan
Monsoon Mansion by Cinelle Barnes
Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay

Singapore
Aunty Lee’s Delights by Ovidia Yu
The Black Tides of Heaven by J.Y. Yang

Sri Lanka
Running in the Family by Michael Ondaatje

Taiwan
The Lost Garden by Li Ang 

Thailand
Arid Dreams by Duanwad Pimwana
Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad
The Blind Earthworm in the Labyrinth by Veeraporn Nitiprapha
Bright by Duanwad Pimwana
The Sad Part Was by Prabda Yoon
Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap

Uzbekistan
The Devil’s Dance by Hamid Ismailov

Vietnam
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Book Subscription Plans (not boxes)

Some of my friends in the Newest Literary Fiction group in Goodreads have been hunting around for book subscription plans that we can read from together, after having some positive experiences in 2017. I can find a bunch of lists online of book subscription boxes with books plus fun extras, but I had a harder time finding a list of subscriptions just of books, just books, no filler.

Please comment if you know of others and I can post an updated list! None of these are a paid advertisement, by the way, although the link to BOTM does have my account linked to it should anyone subscribe from it.

Many of these are independent publishers, and a healthy amount of them are working in translated work, something I am particularly interested in.

This seems to be a new model many independent publishers are working with. Some offer bundles by season while others just send on a schedule. This can work well for book clubs if you are all going to get the same book in the mail anyway! Might as well read it and discuss it.

And Other Stories - "And Other Stories works with writers and translators to handpick the best international books for its subscribers and all lovers of fine writing. Subscribe for 2, 4 or 6 titles per year." Ships from UK but available worldwide, which is a feature many subscription services lack.

Archipelago Books - "A nonprofit press devoted to contemporary & classic world literature." Choose between a half-year or year subscription, and see the titles in advance. Pro-tip: The year-long eBook subscription (rather than print) is a deal!

Book of the Month - five popular books to choose from each month, plus add-ons that are older titles, and you can add additional titles for $9.99, hard to beat!. Good range of genre plus healthy inclusion of debut titles. Not ideal for my book club since we'd all pick different titles, but vary popular on the internet.

Coffee House Press - An indie press plus arts non-profit, they offer bundles by year. $100 gets you a season of books. The current season is Fall 2017 and contains 11 books. 

Dorothy Publishing Project - Not really a subscription but you can get all current titles in one bundle. I did this last January and just have a few left to read. All fiction by women, many titles translated, all with beautiful cover art.

Homeward Bound Paperback Originals - from Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, NC. "Hand-curated by the booksellers of Malaprop's, we'll pick a new paperback original every month -- fiction or creative non-fiction, a book we find to be notable for its literary quality and its appeal -- and mail it to your home." They also have a local version for slightly less money where you can pick the books up. This is a bookstore an hour from me, so I've been a subscriber for a while now, and can attest to the range of the books.

Milkweed Books Subscriptions - Milkweed just celebrated the first anniversary of their storefront bookstore, and now have several subscription options. "The original Read This Next! subscription (six books per year) features the most exciting new voices in literature. The Indie Spotlight subscription showcases the vital work of our fellow independent presses and the six books per year will introduce you to the most compelling and eclectic books we've encountered. The Long Live Books subscription combines the previous two." I'm tempted by Indie Spotlight myself.

New Vessel Press - "independent publishing house specializing in the translation of foreign literature into English." Their subscription goes by seasons, where you pay a set amount for a set of books. My favorite book from them is Some Day by Shemi Zarhin.

NYRB Classics Book Club - Each month, editors select a book from their newest titles (often classics or obscure titles being revived.) Annual membership is $150* for the twelve books, plus a bonus book—Balzac’s The Unknown Masterpiece, translated for NYRB Classics by Richard Howard.


Open Letter Books - "newest and greatest international literature in English translation." Subscribe for 6 or 12 months.

Restless Books - "independent, nonprofit publisher devoted to championing essential voices from around the world, whose stories speak to us across linguistic and cultural borders." For $10/month, you end up with six of their titles in a year, one of which you choose from the backlist and the others are chosen for you. I have my eye on this one. They recently published four volumes of Cuban science fiction!

Two Lines Press - world literature in translation. 2017's subscription was $50 for 6 titles.

Ugly Duckling Press - "a nonprofit publisher for poetry, translation, experimental nonfiction, performance texts, and books by artists." Subscriptions are part of the support level for donations, so you can choose an amount and will receive books accordingly.