#asian readathon

[princessofbookaholics]

on my asian readathon tbr 🏮

[lexreadsdiversely]

Asian Readathon 2024

[ID: A black cat laying on purple patterned sheets in front of a stack of four books: Bliss Montage by Ling Ma, This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki, and The Night Parade: A Speculative Memoir by Jami Nakamura Lin. End ID.]

Even if I wanted to be an aesthetic blogger I couldn't. Not with my baby boy, Lito, taking every opportunity to lay on me.

It's AAPI month and I'm participating in the Asian Readathon! (See withcindy on YouTube for more details). I wanted to share some of the books I'm reading and talk briefly about my thoughts so far.

Sidenote: You should be reading Asian authors year round. If you aren't already, I recommend checking out Cindy's blog, looking at the kickass spreadsheet of books, and expanding your horizons.

Bliss Montage, Ling Ma

Features eight reality-bending stories about relationships with oneself and other people. Character-driven. Less than 250 pages. Check trigger warnings.

I chose this one to fit the prompt of a book that feels timeless based on the vibes of Ling Ma's first book, Severance (a personal favorite). She goes back and forth between past and present often, at times seamlessly between mere paragraphs, and it gives the feeling of time being stretched and almost uncertain. I greatly enjoyed it in Severance and suspected similar vibes in this book, and I'm not disappointed! I'm wondering if this is autobiographical fiction (it isn't advertised as such, but I can spot some of the shared events of Ma's actual life and the MC). This book is deeply intimate and, at times, very heavy. I'm only halfway through, and I already know it's going to be another favorite.

This is How You Lose the Time War, Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Adult Sapphic science fantasy about two rival agents on opposing sides of a war. Less than 200 pages (can you tell I like novellas?)

I've started this twice now, once on audiobook and once on ebook, before realizing neither format worked for me and buying a physical copy. I'm only two chapters in, but wow, if you enjoy competitive flirting, these two are incredible at it! I'll say more when I'm further along, but this is some quality writing.

Light from Uncommon Stars, Ryka Aoki

Sapphic science fantasy. A woman makes a deal with a demon to sell her soul for fame in the violin world and must convince seven other violin prodigies to sell theirs in order to get hers back. She finds number seven in a trans girl who runs away from home, and unexpected love with an alien woman who comes to Earth to escape a galactic Endplague. Check the trigger warnings!

I'm 300 pages in (out of almost 400) and this book makes me fucking feral. Apart from the main three characters stories, there are so many side characters with their own stories, and every single one weaves together in some way and packs a punch. I was sold on this book the moment I heard Queen of Hell, and it's just sucked me deeper and deeper. There are so many unexpected events in this book, so many moments that make me go "holy fucking shit?" You think you know what kind of book it is, then some off the wall shit happens and you have to reassess. This is such a deeply trans narrative (written by a trans woman), and as soon as I finish it I'm never going to shut up about it. Probably one of the best books I've ever read and I'm not done yet.

Once more, check the trigger warnings! Aoki is very good at making it super clear what's happening, while also not doing too much on-page (usually by either going light with the details, or fading the scene). But of all the talk about this book I've encountered, no one ever mentioned triggers and I foolishly assumed that meant that there weren't any major ones. There very much are. I'll start you off: transphobia, internalized transphobia, racism, sexual assault, self-harm, parental abuse (the book opens with this one, so mentally prepare yourself).

The Night Parade: A Speculative Memoir, Jami Nakamura Lin

A memoir that users the yōkai and various other figures from Japanese, Taiwanese, and Okinawan folktales to talk about grief in the face of the author's father's cancer and her struggles with Bipolar Disorder. Features amazing illustrations by her sister, Cori Nakamura Lin.

This sentence from the blurb took me out at the knees: "...Jami Nakamura Lin shines a light into dark corners, driven by a question: How do we learn to live with the things that haunt us?"

This is just fucking cool. It's a memoir that basically ripped up the rule book and does it so well. You're never certain if what you're reading really happened (and this is intentional). Stories that show the complexity and humanity of people with Bipolar Disorder are few and far between, so this book has a special place in my heart. It challenges the current narrative of mental health recovery in a way I've yet to see.

Other things I'll be reading:

The Garden of Delights by Amal Singh - Doesn't come out until mid-May, so I'll be waiting impatiently to enjoy it.

Let me know if you have any questions or thoughts. If you've read any of these books, come scream at me!

~ Lex

[la-luz-mala]

{May 2022} The Palace of Illusions

{2022 Reading Challenge: book 27/40}

★★★★★ (5/5)

Author: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Pages: 360 Main genre: Fantasy Serial?: Standalone Release date: 2008

{Woops! No review here due to: I'm lazy.} I'd like to point out that the author got a lot of backlash mostly from Indian men due to this book being a retelling or fictionalization of a well known ¿religious? epic from India. I've never read the epic (I might in the future) but found this book entretaining and educational, a bit of an immersion in a culture and history extremely different from mine and an introduction to heroes & a pantheon completely unknown to me. Not being indian myself it's not my place to say if the retelling was or wasn't offensive, but I can tell you that I did like the book and would recommend it.

[thegirlwiththelantern]

May TBR | Asian Readathon

I usually make a separate post for readathons but not this time. Its my focus for this month. Especially for the nonfiction I’ve included. But first- In the Name of the Father (And of the Son) by Immanuel Mifsud, trans. Gatt, A Back from his fathers funeral, the narrator starts reading a diary his father kept during his days as a soldier during the Second World War. The diary is very scant,…

[melancholiaenthroned]

im gonna try to do readwithcindy's asian readathon in may if anyone wants to buddy read with me!! i have a couple books ive been meaning to read but im also open to suggestions<3

[olivias-shelf]

I really enjoyed this book - a rival business owners to lovers book with two Chinese American main characters who run matchmaking companies? Who get into a bet to find each other love?

Lauren Kung Jessen is great at laying out hints of things to come - nothing came as a surprise to me, but the journey I took with Olivia was satisfying. I especially liked how some of the questionable decisions Olivia made and the misunderstandings between Olivia and Bennett were handled.

The discussions of both our characters being half-Chinese and the questions of identity that come from feeling "not enough" was done really well. I also liked how they bonded over shared struggles as business owners, even though their business were in much different stages.

A thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing), Forever, and NetGalley for the ARC.

[this-world-of-beautiful-monsters]

You tell me that the old you is dead. I am also not who I used to be. The revolution is emotional. I found a reason to not fear death. I found more reasons to live, reasons to change what is living inside me and around me. The revolution is that I care about my own safety, that I believe my life is valuable and worth pursuing. As in, I am worth the work of transformations. As in, I do not fear how I will emerge from myself, or how many times.

- “You tell me,” The Year of Blue Water, Yanyi

Finalist for the 2020 Lambda Literary Award in Transgender Poetry and an excellent kickoff for my participation in the Trans Rights Readathon (March 20-27 2023, ongoing, I’m unfortunately starting a day late because I literally didn’t know about it until today). Blue Water is a gorgeous gathering of (primarily) prose poems by a talented writer with a mind full of stars and a heart full of flowers. 

Yanyi discusses universal themes of life, change, community, love, friendship, and writing, refracted through his personal experiences as a trans man, a Chinese American man, a survivor of abuse, a child of immigrants, a person with anxiety and depression, and a human being exploring the many forms of queer affection. His poems are sometimes sweet, sometimes painful, always gorgeous, and absolutely worth taking into your soul.

Reminder to check out #trans rights readathon for more reads, along with trans charities, lifelines, and resources! I’m encouraging everyone to donate or share to the Trans Health Legal Fund set up by the Transgender Law Center, or one of these top-rated trans and queer charities.

(trigger warnings below the cut)

tw implied transphobia, dysfunctional family, implied abuse, implied child abuse, mental health issues, suicidal thoughts)

[nerdishfeels]

I posted 391 times in 2022

50 posts created (13%)

341 posts reblogged (87%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@horrorgirlreads

@logarithmicpanda

@books-and-cookies

@bookcub

@howlsmovinglibrary

I tagged 375 of my posts in 2022

Only 4% of my posts had no tags

#important - 56 posts

#true though - 39 posts

#lol - 29 posts

#bts - 28 posts

#writing - 24 posts

#awesome mutuals - 20 posts

#pretty books - 16 posts

#on my tbr - 15 posts

#booklr - 15 posts

#mr sunshine - 13 posts

Longest Tag: 109 characters

#i’m just grateful that i have this time to learn about myself and take care of myself for once in my life lol

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Not book-related but praying that Extraordinary Attorney Woo ends well. That drama has my whole heart and soul and Young woo deserves the world 🥹

11 notes - Posted August 18, 2022

#4

Summer Readathon Tbr!

Hey guys! For the last two months, I didn’t read much sadly coz I had a lot of other stuff going on. But this month, I want to up my reading game like I did in February, so of course, I joined @logarithmicpanda’s readathon!

It took me time to figure out what I wanted to read, as I didn’t want to be overly ambitious. I didn’t read a lot of Asian fiction last month, so I wanted to include some books that fit that genre. I recently finished Yolk by Mary H.K. Choi which I really liked (and unofficially included for this readathon), but after that deep book, I need some light-hearted reads to build up my spirits lol.

As pictured, the books I’ll be reading are:

Gilded by Marissa Meyer (fun fact: I had this on my other readathon tbr and still haven’t gotten to it, so that needs to change!)

Love boat Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen

A Spindle Splintered by Alix E. Harrow

Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim

As always, I’m not going to pressure myself into reading everything on my TBR since my life is still hectic as usual, but it’s nice having a pretty stack to choose from 🥰

13 notes - Posted June 4, 2022

#3

Summer readathon update!

Hey guys! In the nick of time, I finished Six Crimson Cranes! I really loved this book. I was looking for a light-hearted read (i.e. not based on heavy topics) and this was it! Here’s a mini review:

Six Crimson Cranes - 5⭐️

This fantasy book was not only inspired by Chinese and Japanese legends but different fairytales such as rumpelstiltskin, the wild swans (which I haven’t read) and cinderella, which I loved!

This gave me spirited away/studio ghibli vibes! We had a charismatic dragon and paper birds, one who is called Kiki and is close to the main character, Shiori!

This story was whimsical and had a lovely quest-like plot to it. I loved Shiori. Even though she was already strong-willed and bold in personality, I liked how her character developed throughout the book. You saw her grow stronger physically, overcoming obstacles that her curse caused her and dealing with the way others treated her.

Raikama was an interesting character. At first, you think she’s a typical, stern stepmother who dislikes Shiori and magic but you realise there’s more to her character and her motives. I would have liked to see more of her but I guess that’s how the story is.

I loved seeing the interactions between Shiori and her brothers. It reminded me a lot of how I am with my brothers, so those moments really touched my heart. Get yourself a book that showcases the love and loyalty of siblings 😭

I loved the magic system and how Shiori can conjure it by embodying a piece of her soul into whatever she touches or wills. It was also interesting to see how other forms of magic worked either from or against dragons.

I also loved that Shiori got to fall in love on her terms rather than through the arranged marriage. Even though it’s fate that brought them together, I loved that the romance was gradual and sweet and you saw that emotional connection build between Shiori and Takkan. Just the kind of romance I like 😉

I do find it funny how people try to protect you by not telling you the whole truth but if only they did, you wouldn’t be led on by others who don’t have your interests at heart. But I guess it all worked out in the end lol.

I liked the twist towards the end and the lead up to the sequel. There’s still much to learn about Shiori’s magic and the power of a dragon’s pearl, so I’m curious to see where the sequel takes us!

14 notes - Posted June 30, 2022

#2

Just finished my first book of the romance readathon, The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow! I loved it so much! It was such a fantastic book.

I thought I'd do a mini review before I start on the next book:

The Once and Future Witches - 5*

This book basically had everything I love reading about: Sisterhood, magic, romance, women empowerment, fairy tales, the love for books and words, you name it.

I love the magic system in this and the way fairytales are incorporated as spells or as witch-tales. It was cleverly thought out!

I also love how this book avoided the narrative of "all men are bad", especially when it tackled the treatment of women as witches. There were male characters who wanted to help women in need and respected them.

I also love that this book didn't focus on the suffragists (who would advocate for some women, not all) but on colored women and those who were poor or hard workers that are usually forgotten. Every woman had a voice in this book, especially a trans woman too, which was refreshing.

I loved Quinn as a character. She is so vibrant and charming! I also loved the Eastwood sisters and how their bond grew stronger after being apart.

The romance was beautiful in this. While the book doesn't focus primarily on the romance, we got some sweet moments, especially with the interracial w/w relationship (can we appreciate the rep we got in this book??)

I also loved how the book developed, with every chapter getting more and more interesting and intense. For a book that is around 500 pages, there wasn't one part that was slow or boring.

This book also spilled tea about how women are portrayed by some men, which I really enjoyed.

Honestly, I could go on about this book, but I don't want to dive into any spoilers, so I'll leave it at that. If you love books that involve sisterhood, magic and the importance of fighting for your rights, I highly recommend this book! 😍

21 notes - Posted February 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

1kpages Readathon Tbr!

Hey guys! I will be participating in the lovely @books-and-cookies’ 1kpages readathon! This almost feels like a tradition for me lmao.

Here are the books I’m planning on reading:

The Bone Spindle by Leslie Vedder - 97/404 pages - I’ve started reading this book recently but haven’t been able to get a break and enjoy it. I roughly have about 307 pages left to read. I’m really liking it so far! It’s giving me Uncharted Lost Legacy vibes with some magical elements!

Spy x Family Vol 1 by Tatsuya Endo - 220 pages - This manga has been pretty popular and from the sound of the premise, I’m not surprised! It sounds like a found family in the making, which I LOVE! I can’t wait to read this!

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater - 320 pages - So, my friend @logarithmicpanda really enjoyed this book and when they mentioned it being warm and fuzzy, I knew I needed to get this book! So, thanks Panda!

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro - 321 pages- I’ve been in a mystery kind of mood and I’ve had this on my tbr for a while, so I thought it’s about time I get to it lol.

Total pages I’m hoping to read: 1,168

Four seems like a satisfying number for me when it comes to creating a tbr lol. It would be great to finish all four books during the readathon but I won’t hold my breath.

My life is still as hectic as usual, so wish me luck that I get some sweet alone time! Good luck to everyone participating! ❤️

28 notes - Posted August 13, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[thepixiediaries]

4, 8 and 14 for the reading ask game?

thank u for the ask :D

4. Do you plan to read any genres you haven't read much before?

this year i want to tackle more nonfiction books especially on topics of academic interest (e.g. english lit, art history, internet ethnography & folk history).

i was introduced to "a tumblr book: platform and cultures" which is a collection of art & essays on tumblr culture that a friend of mine taking socanth recommended to me! i also have a LOT of other nonfiction books that ive been meaning to read for a while but havent gotten around to yet #1 being "entangled life" by merlin sheldrake which is about mushrooms.

8. Are there any reading challenges you want to try?

most likely the asian readathon and maybe a pride one too for june? i generally dont like reading challenges bc i feel constrained & not as immersed in my reading? it doesnt feel natural to me. im currently doing a january tracking pages challenge and its kinda lowkey ruining my reading experience .. :(

14. Do you plan to mostly buy or borrow your books? (Or be the unicorn who reads the books they already own?)

i will definitely mostly be borrowing books (libby app my beloved) although now that im working part time at a bookstore and get a pretty decent discount i will also be buying my fair share of books methinks. HOWEVER i did get a windfall of books second hand from my dad and i need to make my way through those as well...

2023 reading ask game

[thelibrariancirce]

Snowglobe by Soyoung Park: An Almost DNF Review

Snowglobe is a Korean young adult dystopian thriller written by Soyoung Park and the last book I read for the Asian Readathon this year. This book was simultaneously exactly what I was promised and also not at all what I expected it to be, which made for a confusing reading experience as you can imagine. Let me explain. Snowglobe takes place in a dystopian future where most of the world has…

[firstdove15]

Are you doing Asian Readathon this year?

I forgot Cindy put out a video. I haven't watched it yet. Hopefully. How about you?

[princessofbookaholics]

Asian readathon is over! I managed to read only books from Asian authors this month and found new favourites! I got three 5 star reads and I'm so happy with my reads of this month! Here's the wrap up:

The Devil's Flute Murders ⭐⭐⭐

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Room to Dream ⭐⭐⭐⭐

King of Sloth ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Dear Wendy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Village of Eight Graves ⭐⭐⭐

Arya Khanna's Bollywood Moment ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Lunar New Year Love Story ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Kaikeyi ⭐⭐

Pachinko ⭐⭐⭐

Wrapped with a Beau ⭐⭐

The Return of Ellie Black ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tokyo Ever After ⭐⭐⭐

Tokyo Dreaming ⭐⭐⭐

[lexreadsdiversely]

On top of Dracula Daily and What Manner of Man, I'm reading four books for the Asian Readathon, and then understimulated Lex decided to sign up with Netgalley last night and request some books. I assumed I wouldn't actually be approved for any cuz I haven't done reviews in a long time, but I was wrong! So that's going to be fun.

Naturally, this is the month work upped my hours again, so fitting this all in is going to be interesting.

(I still have like 6 books that I'm in the middle of, as well. There are indeed some drawbacks to being a mood reader)

[la-luz-mala]

{May 2022} A Magic Steeped in Poison

{2022 Reading Challenge: book 28/40}

★★★★★ (5/5)

Author: Judy I. Lin Pages: 384 Main genre: Fantasy Serial?: The Book of Tea #1 Release date: 2022

{Woops! No review here due to: I'm lazy.}

[thegirlwiththelantern]

Asian Readathon 2023 Wrap Up

It’s been a while since I’ve written a wrap up. I decided to collate my thoughts here instead of through WWW Wednesday out of a belief that I’d read a lot. These are either books that were on the TBR. They fit the prompts. Or they were an Asian book that I began this month and have decided to include it here. Note began. The plan originally was only to talk about the books that counted towards…

[overthinking-snail]

planned out my books for this year's Asian readathon,am excited :). they are all graphic novels because there is no way I'm going to be reading anything else during exam season