Hi, everyone! I found a cool reading challenge for this year, one that is in line with my goal for this book review blog. It is the Year of the Asian Reading Challenge, hosted by CW @ The Quiet Pond, Lily @ Sprinkles of Dreams, Shealea @ Shut Up, Shealea, and Vicky @ Vicky Who Reads.
It’s a simple idea: read books by authors who are Asian or of Asian-descent. The hosts have graciously provided lists of recommended books, but the readers can choose any book they wish, provided it is by an Asian author. There are monthly link-ups, reading prompts, every-other-month Twitter chats, and at the end of the year, a mysterious grand prize. I also got the nifty little badge you see below! Of course, the real reward lies in finding and celebrating Asian voices, and meeting like-minded readers.
I already have several books from Asian/Asian-descent authors in my to-read pile. So off I go!
Update on Year of the Asian challenge:
January’s YARC topic: family. The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey.
Set in early 20th century Bombay, the novel centers on Perveen Mistry, one of the first female solicitors in India. She has joined her father’s law firm. Though she has a legal education at Oxford, she cannot argue cases in court. (Read more of my review of The Widows of Malabar Hill)
February’s YARC topic: tropes We That are Young, by Preti Taneja
This is a reworking of King Lear. In India, the wealthy and powerful Devraj pits his three daughters against each other to gain their inheritance. The youngest, Sita, refuses to play the game, with predictable results. Disaster. Madness. Scandal. (Read more of my review of We That are Young)
March’s YARC topic: challenge A Necessary Evil, by Abir Mukherjee
India, 1920. Captain Sam Wyndham and Sergeant “Surrender-Not” Banerjee witness the murder of the heir of the throne of Sambalpore, a tiny but wealthy kingdom. The two police investigators go there to discover the reason for the assassination. As you might imagine, it’s complicated. As you also might imagine–it seems to happen a lot in police novels–upper management wants the investigation finished yesterday (and probably under budget, too.) The case is officially closed. But Wyndham’s not one to give up without a fight. He has to find the killer. Here’s my review of A Necessary Evil
April: Beijing Payback, by Daniel Nieh
I am reading this, but the review won’t be released until closer to the book’s publication date in July.
May: Smoke and Ashes by Abir Mukherjee
The follow-up to A Necessary Evil. Sam stumbles across a mutilated corpse in an opium den during a police raid. No one reports a dead body, and Sam hesitates to investigate. Then another murder happens. Sam is horrified to find that this victim shows the same mutilations as the first corpse. As he and his sergeant Surrender-Not investigate the killing, Sam struggles to keep his addiction a secret. He knows there’s a link between the two murders, but how can he investigate both when he can’t admit he was in the opium den that night?
June: Rasputin’s Shadow by Raymond Khoury
A murder thrusts FBI agent Sean Reilly into an investigation that uncovers technology linked to Rasputin and that could give limitless power to anyone. A good thriller. Review coming in July. (Sorry. Blog scheduling conflicts!)
Talk to me! What do you think?