ASIA READING CHALLENGE 2022 - Planning Thread

OVERALL PLAN

These will be the monthly jaunts for the ABC challenge.

JANUARY - Europe of Asia - Turkish Authors
FEBRUARY - The Holy Land - Israeli & Palestinian Authors
MARCH - The Arab World - Writers from the Arab world
APRIL - Persia - Iranian writers
MAY - The Stans - There are 7 states all in the same region all ending in "Stan"
JUNE - The Indian Sub-Continent - Essentially authors from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
JULY - The Asian Superpower - Chinese Authors
AUGUST - Nippon - Japanese Authors
SEPTEMBER - Kimchi - Korean Authors
OCTOBER - INDO CHINE - Authors from Indo-China
NOVEMBER - The Malay Archipelago - Malaysian, Singaporean and Indonesian Authors
DECEMBER - The Asian Diaspora - Ethnic Asian writers from elsewhere

I was able just about to cover the whole of the continent and I didn't include one for Russia as most of the authors are decidedly European in their ethnicity and leaning.

JANUARY



January 2022 - EUROPE OR ASIA / TURKISH WRITERS

Turkey is part of Europe. Well to be specific 3% of Turkey is considered to be in Europe whilst 97% of Turkey's land is Asian according to that "infallible" source wikipedia.

It's writers are very much influenced by Europe and a sense of identity often pervades the writing.

Turkish writers to consider :

Orhan Pamuk - who won the Nobel Prize and is easy to find
Elif Shafak - whose European-ness means she also writes often in English

Sabahattin Ali - whose Madonna in a Fur Coat is in print in English and not obscure
Yasar Kemal - most famously wrote Memed, My Hawk
Ayse Kulin - who has several books available in English including Farewell
Ahmet Altan - recently released from Prison who has about ten novels in Europa translations
Latife Tekin - influential modern realist.
Leyla Erbil - First Turkish author to be nominated for the Nobel Prize though she didn't win

Turkey issues something like 30,000 new titles per year and Istanbul (again according to Wikipedia) has almost 5,000 bookshops. I hope you can join me in exploring Turkey in January.

Our own Ursula is based in Istanbul and I am hopeful she can give some insights to Turkish life to accompany the January thread.

FEBRUARY



February 2022 - THE HOLY LAND / WRITERS FROM ISRAEL & PALESTINE

Writers from the Holy Land. Israel & Palestine. I'm not taking sides but they are currently separate states and this is one subject I really don't want to put my Size 9 shoes into.

Israeli Writers have long been a source of joy for many of us and here would be some suggestions:

Amos Oz
David Grossman
AB Yehoshua
Etgar Keret
Assaf Gavron
Yoram Kaniuk
SY Agnon
Yuval Noah Harari
Eshkol Nevo
Ruth Almog
Dalia Betolin-Sherman
Maayan Eitan
Lizzie Doron
Zeruya Shalev

Arab Israelis or Palestinians would include:

Sayed Kashua
Mahmoud Darwish
Edward Said
Susan Abulhawa
Mourid Barghouti

May seem a little daunting but many of these authors are quite readily available and all of these do have books that can be ordered on Book Depo. Oz, Grossman, Yehoshua and Keret in particular are very easy to find.

Writers from this region are great storytellers and memoirists.

MARCH



March 2022 - THE ARAB WORLD

I have taken a very slight liberty and included the Levant here too as many Lebanese obviously consider themselves to be Arab.

Some less obscure options :

Lebanon

Amin Maalouf
Kahil Gibran
Elias Khoury
Hoda Barakat

Jordan

Jamal Naji

Saudi Arabia

Abdelrahman Munif
Raja Alem
Abdo Khal

Syria

Khaled Khalifa
Rafik Schami

Iraq

Dunya Mikhail
Ahmed Saadawi

Oman

Jokha Alharthi

Kuwait

Saud Alsanousi

APRIL



April 2022 - PERSIA / IRANIAN WRITERS

You must never mistake a Persian (Iranian) for an Arab so I wouldn't have dared mix up their literature. For all that the country may be associated these days with fundamentalism it does tend to produce a proportionately high number of female writers who are generally marked by their free expression and feminism.

I have a number of dear Iranian/Persian friends and I will use the labels interchangeably (although most of my friends seem to prefer the older name) technically as I understand it Persians are the majority ethnic group in Iran so it would probably depend which Iranian you were talking too. Most of my friends are filled with fun and joy and the love of wonderful food and drink. Dinner in an Iranian household is quite the experience.

Some options (all my selections born in Iran)

Bahiyyih Nakhjavani
Sadegh Hedayat
Marjane Satrapi
Mahmoud Dowlatabadi
Azar Nafisi
Laleh Khadivi
Reza Aslan
Shahrnoush Parsipour

MAY



May 2022 - THE "STANS" / WRITERS FROM THE SEVEN NATIONS ENDING IN "STAN"

Geographically close (I cannot use the word "compact" given the sprawling and often forbidding geography they collectively contain) Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan is a collection of countries replete with remote spaces and intensity of conflict, belief, ideology and poverty. Out of these conditions comes a very strikingly mixed bag of writing. The previous Soviet "stans" are still opening up and therefore not too many of their number have too much exposure to Western readers. A few that have:

Hamid Ismailov - Uzbeki but Kyrgyz born and possibly the most well known outside that region
Chinghiz Aitmatov - from Kyrgyzstan
Ak Welsapar - Turkmenistani but now having Dual nationality with the other being Swedish.

Afghanistan
Khaled Hosseini of course
Fatima Bhutto
Atiq Rahimi

Pakistan
Mohsin Hamid
Kamila Shamsie
Khushwant Singh
Nadeem Aslam
Bapsi Sidhwa

JUNE



June 2022 - THE INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT / WRITERS FROM INDIA, SRI LANKA AND BANGLADESH

I will let you into a secret. I love Indian fiction. Favourite novel of my lifetime if I had to choose one I would take A Fine Balance. Best Booker Winner would quite possibly be Midnight's Children and I got hours of enjoyment reading and re-reading the books of RK Narayan.

India really ought to get its own month but I had a whole continent to fit into the year! Some of the authors you could choose (I don't mind if you take Rushdie or Mistry in this month or in December as part of the Diaspora as both were born in India but moved overseas at an early age)

Vikram Seth
Anita Desai
Vikram Chandra
Kiran Desai
Chetan Bhagat
Arundhati Roy
Amitav Ghosh
Gita Mehta
Aravind Adiga
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Amit Chaudhuri
Neel Mukherjee
Raja Rao
Jeet Thayil
Tishani Doshi
Kishwar Desai
Mulk Raj Anand
Amrita Pritam

and the list could go on and on.

Sri Lanka is also developing a fine storytelling tradition:

Anuk Arudpragasam
Shehan Karunatilaka
Ru Freeman
Romesh Gunasekera

and Michael Ondaatje could be counted here or in December as he was born in Sri Lanka but moved very early on to Canada.

Similarly Monica Ali and Tahmima Anam would fit both months as both were born in Bangladesh but have spent most of their lives in England.

JULY



JULY 2022 - THE NEW SUPERPOWER / WRITERS FROM CHINA

The world's most populated nation and one of the first sufficiently civilised to publish works by Confucius etc. The choice of writing available in English is largely from the dissident tradition but still has an enormous variety to choose from. In all honesty it is one of the Asian literatures that I am least familiar with. Some of the writers will also fit into December.

You have the option to go back a "few" years.

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guangzhong
Monkey by Wu Ch'eng-en
The Water Margin by Shi Nai'An
Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin
The Art of War by Sun Tzu

Or nearer to today through the works of:

Eileen Chang
Gao Xingjian
Mo Yan
Ha Jin
Yan Lianke
Mai Jia
Li Yiyun
Guo Xiaolu
Liu Cixin
Yu Hua
Jung Chang
Han Suyin

and many more

AUGUST


AUGUST 2022 - NIPPON / WRITERS FROM JAPAN

I don't understand much about Japanese literature but I do keep trying. Kazuo Ishiguro won the Nobel Prize and is hailed as one Britain's finest but he was born in Japan and his early work bear the influence of his upbringing. He can be counted here or in December as part of the Asian diaspora.

Twenty Japanese Authors to try with an example of their work.

Kobe Abe - The Woman in the Dunes
Haruki Murakami - Sweetheart Sputnik
Ryu Murakami - In the Miso Soup
Yasunari Kawabata - The Master of Go
Yukio Mishima - Runaway Horses
Masuji Ibuse - Black Rain
Banana Yoshimoto - Kitchen
Miyuki Miyabe - All She Was Worth
Yuko Tsushima - Territory of Light
Kenzaburo Oe - A Personal Matter
Shusaku Endo - Silence
Hiromi Kawakami - Strange Weather in Tokyo
Soseki Natsume - I am a Cat
Junichiro Tanizaki - Some Prefer Nettles
Natsuo Kirino - Grotesque
Keigo Higashino - The Devotion of Suspect X
Yoko Ogawa - Hotel Iris
Sayaka Murata - Convenience Store Woman
Mieko Kawakami - Breasts and Eggs
Kazuo Ishiguro - The Remains of the Day

SEPTEMBER



SEPTEMBER 2022 - KIMCHI / WRITERS FROM KOREA

If you think that Japanese novels can be inscrutably difficult then wait until you delve into the nooks and crannies of Korean writing.

Here are some Korean authors and a representative work to help you:

Cho Nam Joo - Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982
Park Sang Young - Love in the Big City
Kim Un-Su - The Plotters
Kim Ae-ran - My Brilliant Life
Shin Kyung Sook - The Court Dancer
Bae Suah - Untold Night and Day
Kim Sagwa - b, Book and Me
Pyun Hye Young - The Hole
Han Kang - The Vegetarian
Lee Hyoseok - Endless Blue Sky
Kim Young Ha - Diary of a Murderer
Gong Ji Young - Our Happy Time
Yi Kwang-Su - The Soil
Lee Seung-u - The Private Life of Plants
Hwang Sok Yong - At Dusk

The other problem of course is Korean names - 30% of Koreans of thereabouts are called Kim and Lee or Yi and Park or Bak make up a very significant proportion of the rest.

OCTOBER



OCTOBER 2022 - INDO CHINA PLUS INDO CHINA & OTHER COUNTRIES NEIGHBOURING CHINA

I have slightly expanded this section as - if I merely concentrate on Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand there may be few takers and some difficulty in finding readily available options. Therefore I have added other countries neighbouring China (and not included elsewhere) which adds Mongolia, Nepal, Burma/Myanmar and Bhutan (not that I can find much) into the equation.

Some Choices :

Mongolia

The Blue Sky by Galsang Tscinag
Mongol by Uuganaa Ramsey

Nepal
Arresting God in Kathmandu by Samrat Upadhyay
The Land Where I Flee by Prajwal Parajuly (Indian but has a Nepali mother and writes about Nepal)
Mountains Painted With Turmeric by Lil Bahadur Chettri

Burma
The River of Lost Footsteps by Thant Myint-U
From the Land of Green Ghosts by Pascal Khoo Thwe
The Road to Wanting by Wendy Law-Yone
Letters from Burma by Aung San Suu Kyi

Bhutan
The Circle of Karma by Kunzang Choden

Vietnam
The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh
Paradise of the Blind by Thu Huong Duong
The Lotus and the Storm by Lan Cao
The Book of Salt by Monique Truong
The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai

There are also numerous writers now based in North America and Australia such as Kim Thuy, Ocean Vuong and Nguyen Thanh Viet who can be read here or in December.

Cambodia
First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung
Cambodia in My Dream by Santel Phin

Laos
Mother's Beloved by Outhine Bounyavong

Thailand
Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad
The Blind Earthworm in the Labyrinth by Veeraporn Nitiprapha
The Judgment by Chat Kopchitti
The Sad Part Was by Prabda Yoon
Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

For January I am hoping to add at least a couple of Turkish writers but Orhan Pamuk, Elif Shafak and Ayse Kulin are already on my shelves in abundance.

This is looking like a great challenge!

I am definitely in for this one. Quite by accident, I ordered one of Elif Shafak's books the other day, so I should have it by January. I am going to see if my local library can help me with any of the other authors on the list.

Thanks, Paul!

ETA: I checked my local library and it has 1 book by Orhan Pamuk, My Name is Red, and 3 by Elif Shafak, and not a single title by any of the other authors on the list. *sigh*

>16 drneutron: Thanks Jim.

>17 alcottacre: I might read My Name is Red but it is a long one.

I'm here!

I have a copy of Istanbul: Memories of the City by Orhan Pamuk that I'm hoping to read for January.

Elif Shafak has a new book, The Island of Missing Trees that received good reviews and was a Reese's Book Club Pick, but because of that I'm not sure I'd be able to get a library copy in time.

For anyone looking for ideas in November (I know I'm going way out there), I found this article recommending books by Malaysian women authors.

>19 amanda4242: :D

>20 bell7: Mary, when I clicked the link I couldn't find anything?

For people looking to read off of their own shelves, don't forget to check out the author nationalities chart under the Charts & Graphs tab.

https://www.librarything.com/stats/MEMBERNAME/nationality

>18 PaulCranswick: Since that is the only title my local library carries by Pamuk, it is definitely going to get read. The book being long does not bother me.

>22 amanda4242: That is fascinating, Amanda. I have a heck of a lot of authors with nationalities unassigned.

>18 PaulCranswick: I'll join you with it Stasia

>21 PaulCranswick: sorry, bad coding on my part. It should work now!

I'm definitely in, as I mentioned on your thread, and mine. I plan to read A Mind at Peace by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar, and Other Colors: Essays and a Story by Orhan Pamuk in January, and To the End of the Land by David Grossman and Out of Place: A Memoir by Edward W. Said in February. I intend to read at least two books each month, but hopefully I'll do better than that.

>25 bell7: It is working now, Mary. Fascinating too in that I live here and don't own and haven't read any of those books.....shame on me!

>26 kidzdoc: Great Darryl. I am hoping to do at least two per month too. I may join you for Out of Place as I have it on the shelves too.

This looks like a great challenge and one for which I already have books waiting to be read for all but one month -- but there's a book about the Stans I really want to read, so I don't know how reliable I will be, but I'm in.

>24 PaulCranswick: Cool beans! I always enjoy shared reads.

I am going to try and read at least 3 books per month for the challenge, so I have a challenge within the challenge :)

I'm excited about this challenge too. I have a question about January. By Turkish authors, do you mean authors from Turkey (i.e. since 1923) or are you including ethnic Turks during the Ottoman Empire as well?

As I mentioned on Darryl's thread, I loved My Name is Red. If you would like to read my review, it is here. (I think that's the right link.) The two books I have on my shelves that I think I'll tackle are Snow by Pamuk and The Bastard of Istanbul by Shafak.

>28 RidgewayGirl: It will be great to have you along, Kay.

>29 alcottacre: I will aim at two Stasia but I may for once in a very blue moon exceed expectations!

>30 labfs39: I am happy to see you here, Lisa.

I'm not great at rules but I would take modern Turkish authors (pre-1923) (because of December's challenge) those authors born in the modern confines of Turkey. For older reads then the wider Ottoman empire especially the Balkans and Armenia etc would be fine too.

>31 PaulCranswick: So modern Turkish authors for January, and leave Ottoman Empire for December (Asian diaspora), is that correct? Thanks for clarifying!

oh this is gonna be so much fun! Ive read my name is red and Istanbul memories of a city Loved Amos Oz; for Lebanan, I would highly recommend An Unecessary WomanRabih Alameddin, really quite excellent. Also Amin MaalofSamarkand and oh my god I think I still have every book I read of Kahil Gibran back in HS. need to chose some one different for the Arab countries. And for May, I already read Khaled Hosseini but thiking I should try something different from one of the other stans. The possibilities here are endless. Thanks for doing this!

>26 kidzdoc: I think I have the grossman one, tho i want to try one of the palestian authors instead, tho I guess I can read more then one in a month
1

If anyone is interested in a memoir by a Palestinian author, I highly recommend I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey by Izzeldin Abuelaish. Another good one is In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story by Ghada Karmi. It is the memoir of a young woman whose family emigrated to Britain when the British Mandate ended. In an effort to connect with her Arab roots, she became politically active and founded Palestine Action in London.

I really liked Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa too.

Edited to add author's name.

I second Lisa's recommendation of I Shall Not Hate, as I rated it 4½ stars.

>35 labfs39: >36 kidzdoc: I think that would be a perfect read for me, thanks for the rec

>32 labfs39: I'm certainly fine with that Lisa.

>33 cindydavid4: Lovely to see you here and ready to participate, Cindy. We will be wishing away the rest of the year if we are not careful!
I lived in Egypt for a short while (around ten months) fresh from University and was given some writings by Gibran by a Lebanese colleague which had a very profound impact on my then young mind.

>34 cindydavid4: Read as many as you like! I will read something by Grossman too, I guess as I have several of his on the shelves.

>35 labfs39: & >36 kidzdoc: & >37 cindydavid4: I can also recommend that one. I read it a few years ago in the skies between Kuala Lumpur and London and I cannot remember the journey being in the least bit uncomfortable as it can tend to be. Very moving book.

I guess you just sucked me into this challenge. It will fit well with my TIOLI challenges, and includes so many authors whose works I've loved reading in the past.

And I hope to return the compliment next year, Madeline, and try to visit the TIOLI every month and see what I can take and what I must leave and even contribute the odd challenge or two again.

The TIOLI is an institution in the group and I know so many of us are grateful for all your efforts over the years to keep it going without it ever flagging in terms of interest or fun. xx

TIOLI?

>42 cindydavid4: It is called Take It Or Leave It Challenge, Cindy and is great fun.

Different challenges every month and Madeline has administered that challenge for as long as I have been with the group.

This is a link to this Month's challenge:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/336246

wow, that looks really interesting, but a bit confusing. Is there a link to see how this all works? I get the idea which I love (esp not having to complete a read!) and the directions make sense on paper, but it looks like more work than care to do. Can I just read what everyone else is doing without contributing what I am reading? I think I need a walk through I don't tend to catagorize my books on my profile, is that something I need to do for this?

also is it ok to send this thread to the folks in reading globally? think its right up their alley

>44 cindydavid4: The last part first, Cindy in that of course it is ok to share the thread as that is how the group will grow.

I'm not the best to tutor on TIOLI so hopefully Madeline or Stasia or Susan or one of the group far more au fait with the challenge can pick that up.

>44 cindydavid4: Cindy, there is a wiki that is referenced in one of the first messages on the thread so that you can see what others are reading. A lot of us do shared reads without ever proposing a TIOLI challenge of our own. That would be the place to start!

I read one of Sayed Kashua's books- he is a very interesting writer.
Another Israeli writer- Ayelet Tsabari- she has lived in Canada as well.

A huge "Thank You" to everyone who is helping out people like me who are ignorant of where authors are from or are located. I would be lost without that input and I really want to take part in this challenge as much as I can.

>47 torontoc: I own The Art of Leaving by Ayelet Tsabari so I can add that one to my stack for reading next year too!

>48 alcottacre: It is a very good point, Stasia, because yesterday when I was browsing the Asian books section of the bookstore (one good thing of shopping in a Malaysian bookstore), I had to keep looking at the author blurb to see where they came from.

>49 PaulCranswick: I am using Wikipedia a lot for the same purpose, Paul.

>44 cindydavid4: Hi Cindy!

Jump into the TIOLI challenges. They're fun and have no obligation whatsoever.

Here's how they started and how to do them:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/80417#1680410

Here are some more detailed explanations, but don't get hung up on the hows and whys. We can help you along the way with any questions.
https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/TIOLI_FAQS

Here are this month's challenges:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/336246#

Here's the index to the current wiki challenges:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/336246#7636911

To get started, just click on any of the links in message #2 (choose from challenges #1-6, challenges #7-12, and/or challenges #13-16) and add a book (or more) to the wiki. Do it in the same format in which you see other books there. Once you have a book listed, you're in. If you don't finish a book by month's end, just delete it. If you are reading it currently, mark it READING. If you complete a listed book during the month, mark it COMPLETED.

That's it really. There are other fun things that can be done on the TIOLI challenges , but those things are optional.

As a last note...when it's time for the December TIOLI (and other succeeding months), I won't point anyone toward them. You'll have to find them yourself by checking the threads on the 75 Books Challenge for 2021 group at the end of each month. Haha!

Give it a try...and welcome!

---------------------

TL;DR: The ONLY thing you have to do to participate is to list a book on the TIOLI wiki. :D

--------------------

Sure! You certainly may tell other people in this group about the TIOLI challenges, but don't be surprised if they already know about them. This is sort of a hidden challenge which has been around since 2010.

P.S. Reading globally is soooo me! I am partial to fiction from Israel/Palestine and Japan. That is a great part of my reading at most times.

>51 SqueakyChu: Thanks Madeline. I couldn't have done that!

>52 PaulCranswick: I could barely do it myself! LOL

>51 SqueakyChu: Hey thanks for the welcome, love your enthusiasm! As I said before Im not in to challenges, tho this one really fits for me. Once its finished, ill give it a try :)

>54 cindydavid4: The idea of TIOLI is no pressure and no guilt. Nothing wrong with that. I believe! LOL

>2 PaulCranswick: I saw the link for this challenge for 2022. It's great! I belong to the CATegory Challenge 2022 group and one of my personal challenges for 2022 is to read Asia (and Africa and Australia). If you don't mind, I would like to follow along here and get some ideas.

>56 Tess_W: Of course, Tess, it is a pleasure to see you here. The Indian Subcontinent will feature very shortly.

Hi Paul, found this thread via Daryl's (kidzdoc) thread. I willl be sporadic, but I hope to pop in a few times next year.

>58 markon: What a lovely surprise to see you here, Ardene. My challenges are always very haphazard in that dipping in as you feel like it is openly and actively encouraged. A challenge has to be fun and not a chore. xx

I have filled in above ideas and suggestions for the first six months of next year. Of these I want to read a minimum of four per month and at least one male and one female author.

Tentatively

January
My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
Disquiet by Zulfu Livaneli
The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak
Memed, My Hawk by Yasar Kemal

February
A Horse Walks into a Bar by David Grossman
A Woman in Jerusalem by AB Yehoshua
Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa
Out of Place by Edward W Said

March
Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi
Cities of Salt by Abdelrahman Munif
Guapa by Saleem Haddad
The Corpse Washer by Sinan Antoon

April
The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar
The Colonel by Mahmoud Dowlatabadi
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
The House of the Mosque by Kader Abdolah

May
The Golden Legend by Nadeem Aslan
The Runaways by Fatima Bhutto
The Railway by Hamid Ismailov
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

June
Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra
Clear Light of Day by Anita Desai
In the Kitchen by Monica Ali
The Story of a Brief Marriage by Anuk Arudpragasam

>60 PaulCranswick: A Horse Walks Into a Bar... Phew! What an excruciating read! Don’t bail on this one. Read it through to the end.

>60 PaulCranswick: A Woman in Jerusalem was made into a good film, The Human Resources Manager.

>62 avatiakh: That is interesting, Kerry. I will go and look for it after I have read it.

I'm glad you posted about this challenge on Darryl's thread, Paul, it sounds great! For January I have Other colours by Orhan Pamuk, and I just picked up a brand new Turkish novel called The silence of Scheherazade by Defne Suman, which is set in the city of Smyrna in the early C20th.

>64 Sakerfalcon: Will be great to have you along even for part of it, Claire. As you will see above I have filled in 7 months worth of suggestions and I may spring a slight surprise with the next month.

So far this is what I am considering
January: Last Train to Istanbul, its one on my TBR
February Judas by Amos Oz and The Orchard by Yochi Brandes
March Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi

>65 PaulCranswick: I see you are stocking up in anticipation of the challenge! I own at least one unread book for most months so hopefully I won't need to add too many new books to my collection. I saw you added There's no such thing as an easy job - I read that earlier this year and loved it.

>66 Kristelh: I could well join you in March then, Kristel.

>67 Sakerfalcon: And I had another real splurge today on Asian books with another 11 Asian authors hitting my shelves. I have several hundred Asian books in the house I would guess in total, Claire.

Looking through the possibilities I realize I have more books for this theme than I thought. One for sure celestial bodies which has been on my tbr shelf for ages. And I know I have some good ones for India. Love Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, and just happen to have her Palace of Illusions again on my tbr shelf!

when we get to china, can we include writers who are chinese but live elsewhere? Oh Nevermind, that would be for Decembers Diaspora reading

Soooo..... I've decided to read The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk for January's challenge. Supposedly it is somewhere in my house. This gives me over a month to find it. Ha!

>70 SqueakyChu: Hahaha!!!!

>70 SqueakyChu: It is a big enough book, Madeline.....either you have a really enormous house or it could be propping up one of the beds!

>70 SqueakyChu: I have started setting aside the books as I run into them because I know if I do not, I will never find them when I want them!

>73 alcottacre: In my unread collection (unless someone has borrowed a book and not put it back) of almost 5,000 books, I pride myself that I can find any title within one minute. All are shelved in alphabetical order by author and then chronologically by publication. The exception is my poetry collection which is kept separately but shelved similarly.
In that sense at least I am well organised.

Looking ahead to February, I have several titles on my shelves that would be nice to finally read. Here are the most likely contenders:

A Tale of Love and Darkness and Unto death: Crusade and Late Love by Amoz Oz
See under--love by David Grossman
The Blue Mountain by Meir Shalev
The Rosendorf Quartet by Nathan Shaham
My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel by Ari Shavit (nonfiction)

Surprisingly, all the books by Palestinian authors that I own, I have read. So, if I want to include a Palestinian book, I'll need to branch out beyond my TBR.

>74 PaulCranswick: You are considerably more organized than I am, Paul. I am still trying to get all of my books on shelves!

>76 alcottacre: Shelves are for amateurs. Real bibliophiles use every available flat surface...and then precariously balance books on the curved surfaces.

>77 amanda4242: Well, if it is horizontal in my house, it has books on it. My husband just finished building the last of the shelves for in the library, but that does not mean that I have all my books in there :)

>77 amanda4242: & >78 alcottacre:

My previous home was like that too but I was lucky to find a home which I could fill with shelving. The already read stuff would take me an age to find.

>72 PaulCranswick: If I can't find that book, I'm reading a book now by Israeli author Etgar Keret. The book is The Bus Driver Who Wanted to be God which is a book of short stories. I'll probably still be reading it in February, 2022, so it'll qualify for your challenge then.

>73 alcottacre: That's a good idea, Stasia.

>74 PaulCranswick: I organize my books as well. Only I organize them...at random! :D

>75 labfs39: Two fabulous books! A Tale of Love and Darkness ...plus you should afterward watch the movie based on the book starring Natalie Portman as Amos's mother. Also...The Blue Mountain by Meir Shalev is probably one of my favorite books ever. It sits right in the middle of my heart forever as the setting of that book is the Jezreel Valley wherein sits the kibbutz where my closest family lives. I just adored that book.

>80 SqueakyChu: Only I organize them...at random! Sounds like a perfect and time saving method!

>80 SqueakyChu: Natalie Portman as someone's mother... For me she is forever the young girl in The Professional.

That's quite a recommendation for The Blue Mountain. I may have to make those two my books I focus on. I read Meir Shalev's A Pigeon and a Boy and really enjoyed it. I've even been thinking of a reread, but I should forge ahead and read TBM instead.

>82 labfs39: You should.

I will be reading Elif Shafak's The Island of Missing Trees in January, Paul but I haven't planned beyond that. I'm wondering if you purposely left Russia out.

>85 brenzi: In >2 PaulCranswick: he's says that he decided to exclude Russia.

>85 brenzi: Yes I did consciously leave Russia out, Bonnie, because of the fact that most of its published writers are from the European parts. I would have no problem though with the including of Georgia or Armenia or Azerbaijan within the January reads.

>86 amanda4242: Ah, yes Amanda.

Oh well apparently I missed that lol. Anyway I'm looking for a spot for Maria Stepanova.

>88 brenzi: In Memory of Memory? - I have been on the lookout for that one too, but she is very European Russian, Bonnie.

It is a bit difficult, Bonnie, because Stepanova is a Muscovite and Moscow is definitively part of European Russia. Wouldn't mind reading her book with you though sometime in the new year.

>87 PaulCranswick: oh good, I was considering something from Armenia, or Cyprus

Glad I saw this... I'm in!

For people lining things up, I'd second the recommendation for Prajwal Parajuly, who also wrote The Gurkha's Daughter. Both of his books are available for only $2.99 on Kindle in the US right now, I notice.

For Laos -- How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa is a fabulous collection of short stories by this Lao diaspora resident of Canada, who won last year's Giller Prize for it.

For Burma -- I have Smile As They Bow by Nu Nu Yi, a younger female Burmese novelist, on my TBR stack.

For Japan -- I love Higashino's mysteries but would also flag The Aosawa Murders by Riku Onda, the mysteries of Tetsuya Honda, and the books by Hideo Yokoyama. Then there are authors like Keichiro Hirano, Kazuki Kineshiro, Kikuko Tsumura, etc. I loved Inheritance From Mother by Minae Mizumura.

Korea -- So many good authors and SUCH innovation. I love Han Kang's writing, especially Human Acts -- if you understand the Kwangju student uprising, then you'll understand a lot about how modern S. Korea evolved, and if you don't, you'll struggle to understand S. Korea's political & social thinking, I would argue. On my own TBR list is Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim, a debut novel.

Min Jin Lee would be a good Korean expat writer?

I LOVED Bangkok Wakes to Rain.

China -- a tremendous array of options. I read Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge earlier this year -- what a wild trip. I love the novels of Yan Lianke. And Ma Jian is writing what I think will be classics. China Dream gives a lot of insight into modern China.

I think Mohsin Hamid has a new book coming next year.

Lots of great Indian writing. Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara prob will be one of my best books of 2021. Mahesh Rao is a newish-to-me writer whose books I've really enjoyed. Sunjeev Sahota -- I've got China Room on my TBR. A Burning by Megha Majumdar was a big fave of mine last year, The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay was an amazing movel. A Mumbai-born friend of mine raves about Em and the Big Hoom by Jerry Pinto, who is part of that city's Goan/Portuguese community (Indian converts to Christianity whose roots lie in Goa).

Iran -- wow. Such literary richness

Disoriental by Nejar Djavadi was a five-star read for me; To Keep the Sun Alive by Rabeah Ghaffari, The Man Who Snapped His Fingers by Fariba Hachtroudi, The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree, The Immortals of Tehran

Also have some thoughts on Arab writers, but they can wait! I've not had a great deal of luck with Israeli novelists, so that will be a challenge.

Sri Lanka -- I think Roma Tearne would qualify here, too?

>90 cindydavid4: Turkish Cypriots I would definitely allow too, Cindy.

>91 Chatterbox: Great to have you along, Suz and your wealth of reading will certainly be useful.

Sri Lankan born Roma Tearne definitely qualifies.

I loved A Burning too and I also have Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line on the shelves.

Min Jin Lee would be ideal for December.

>91 Chatterbox: wow, thanks for all that! Makes my searches so much easier!

>92 PaulCranswick: Thanks, now I just have to find something......Definetly reading smile as they bow, which brings up a question: if the author is writing about his community in the states (or immigrants elsewhere) does that count, or would it go more under diaspora?

>92 PaulCranswick: just ordered the island of missing trees

>88 brenzi:, >89 PaulCranswick: - I just arrived in Montreal this evening for a visit with my mum, and the Stepanova book, In Memory of Memory is a book I bought a few visits ago and it is still here. I will bring it home with me and perhaps I will join you on a group read of it in the new year.

Once I get home next week, I will begin to scour my shelves and pull out some of the titles I have that will fit the challenge.

>94 cindydavid4: If the author is let's say an Iranian born in Iran but brought up in the USA and the book is about let's say Nebraska than it is up to you April is fine as is December. If he/she was born in the USA of Iranian parents and the book was about Nebraska or Esfahan then really it should be a December book. Then again I'm not much into enforcing rules, Cindy, as I would want it to be fun!

>95 cindydavid4: I will try to read something of hers next month too.

>96 jessibud2: I would like to join you both in a shared read of it.

I see I have the Stepanova book on an Amazon wishlist somewhere...

I'll be joining, too. I have books on TBR shelves for at least the first three months. My TBR shelves tend to be books from authors I have already read, so it's always a challenge to decide if I should acquire something new instead. I don't think I'll get more than one a month read for this challenge.

First three months from my shelves:

January: Turkey: The Black Book - by Orhan Pamuk
Feb: Israel: Fima by Amos Oz
March: Oman: I'll be joining you with Celestial Bodies - Jokha Alharthi

And then in April, I can choose a new-to-me author as I have nothing currently TBR from Iran.

>99 streamsong: I have Celestial Bodies too, so I will be joining in on that one as well.

Celestial Bodies is likely for me too.

sounds like a lot of us will be reading that one. For this month I'll read the island of missing trees My first contact with the conflict in Cyprus was in the summer of 1974 (I was 17), when I was supposed to be leaving Isreal to fly home for my cousins wedding. Had been there four months on a kibbitz, had the time of my life and when I was dropped off at the airport, I had to figure out what I was supposed to do since my flight was canceled because of the sudden conflict there. contacted my moms friend in tel aviv who had me stay with her, then left the next moring, of course missing all the festivities. Over the years I learned more about that struggle. Will be interesting to read this book, add to what little I know.

I want to do a 75 book challenge and read 75 books in the Asian Book Challenge next year. I have more than enough books on my shelves so let's see.

>103 PaulCranswick: Oo, cool idea. Not happening with me though. I do not think I can get in 75 books in the Asian Authors Challenge. I am just hoping for 3 each month, which does not get me anywhere close to 75, lol.

heck Im hoping for one each month! still have two RL book groups to read for

>104 alcottacre: Amanda gave me the prod because she usually reaches 100 books in the British Author Challenge.

>105 cindydavid4: Don't mind me Cindy, I often come up with crazy schemes like that! This year was to read a book for every year of the present Queen's reign (70 years) written by 70 different British writers. I am about a dozen short but still trying.

One each month for me and then probably not every single month. But I do have January planned. I always make elaborate reading plans at this time of year and then do what I always do: read whatever appeals at the time lol.

>107 brenzi: Dip in and out exactly as you wish, Bonnie. x

>106 PaulCranswick: Aha! A challenge!

>103 PaulCranswick: Wow - Amazing goal, Paul!

>105 cindydavid4: Yes, one a month for me, too. I also have two in person book clubs and a zoom bookclub. And all the totally wonderful rec's from people here on the 75.

I'm not quite up to date, but read books from 20-25 countries in 2021. I'm working on reading 5 books from each country that are members of the UN.

I plan on also dipping in and out of this challenge at random. For me, that's the best way. I'll be very interested, though in seeing what others read.

Should any of you be TIOLI challengers, you are entirely free to incorporate any of these challenges into one of your own TIOLI challenges as the months go by in 2022. Just an idea, of course! :D

>111 SqueakyChu: I hope to participate more in TIOLI in 2022, Madeline.

>112 PaulCranswick: Hurray!!! :D

Saw this elsewhere: A Gift of Rain that might be an interesting read for this challenge, perhaps for Malaysia and or Japan The author is Malayasian but the story takes place in Japan

I think I might actually try to do most of these challenges. That the books in this challenge are from countries whose literature I very much like makes it easier. I just ordered 10 minutes 38 seconds in this Strange World by Elif Shafak from my llibrary! Paul, you actually motivated me to get this under way. Kudos to you! Let's see if I can hold up my end of this deal. Haha.

I skipped Orhan Pamuk whose novel Snow I loved this time around because I thought I'd give another Turkish author a try.

>114 cindydavid4: Cindy, the novel only fits November and the Malay Archipelago. The author is indeed Malaysian and the novel is set in Penang in Northern Malaysia during World War 2. I have read it and it is fantastic!

>115 SqueakyChu: Then I really must reciprocate and put up a challenge in the TIOLI every month next year, Madeline. It will be great to have you with us. x

>111 SqueakyChu: I will absolutely be incorporating these challenges into TIOLI over the course of the next year, Madeline!

>116 PaulCranswick: >117 alcottacre: Hurray!!

>115 SqueakyChu: ok thanks, the synopsos mentioned Japan invovment so I wasnt sure/Ill wait till November!

I remember seeing a movie in the 80s that takes place in malaysia during the 60s Emergecy. Remember liking it (that actress won an academy award) does anyone remember the name (thought it was favorite year) and whether it was adapted from a book?

>120 cindydavid4: I think you are referring to The Year of Living Dangerously based on the novel by Christopher Koch, the Australian author. Your memory almost served you well as it was set in neighbouring Indonesia in and around the fall of Sukarno. Linda Hunt won the Oscar for best supporting actress for playing Billy Kwan (a male role).

It is a pretty good book and the film wasn't bad either.

aHa! thanks. linda hunt was remarkable. Loved the movie,Iassume I can't use it here, but will definitely check out the book.

Thanks to the link in >22 amanda4242: (how cool is that! I had no idea that existed!), I see I have another possibility for Turkey: The Essential Rumi. I just read the introduction and it seems quite intriguing - however I see negative comments on the review page about this translation by Coleman Barks. Any comments?

Very excited about joining in with this! I think I have books in Mt TBR which would fit with most months...

>22 amanda4242: That is a really useful resource, thank you!

>35 labfs39: I would add to these a strong recommendation for Teta, Mother and Me, a terrific family memoir which tells the story of the author’s life, her mother’s, and her grandmother’s - a period of time which saw huge social changes, but all of which are reflected clearly in the personal, human elements of ordinary people’s lives.

>91 Chatterbox: Lots of good ideas here but I would specifically like to second the recommendation for Bangkok Wakes to Rain.

>123 streamsong: I can't comment on what the options are for Rumi translations but many years ago I went to a reading by Coleman Barks of his translations and it was cringeingly bad. Unfortunately I can't remember the details of why - just the embarrassment of my friend who had invited us all to go along!

I'm still excited about this one, but scaling back my ambition a little. We are suddenly moving across the country for good reasons, but the process of preparing to sell a house, selling a house, preparing for a move, moving, finding a new house, buying it and moving in are a surprising amount of work. Which is to say, am going to aim for lighter, shorter books for Turkey and Israel, than the ones originally planned. Hoping for extra time after we've settled.

>122 cindydavid4: It cannot really qualify, Cindy unless I had made it an Asia Pacific Book Challenge (which I almost did) as Koch was Tasmanian.

>123 streamsong: I have read snippets of Rumi but would not be of any help as to translations, Janet.

>124 wandering_star: It will be really great to have you along. Am I right that you are based in Thailand?

>125 RidgewayGirl: Whatever works Kay is fine. You don't really need to read the books in month order even, but I probably will.

>125 RidgewayGirl: oh wow! did you have any inkling? I can't imagine doing that, between my DHs collection, my collection and our books.....good luck with your move, hope all goes smoothly

>126 PaulCranswick: Oh np, I sorta figured that. There are plenty of other fish in the sea to chose from so I am not worried

>124 wandering_star: Teta, Mother and Me sounds wonderful. Thank you for the suggestion. I've only read Khoury from Lebanon.

I had decided to not make any LT commitments for 2022, but this challenge looks too good to pass up!

>123 streamsong: I'm no expert, but from what I've gleaned on the internet, Coleman Barks is more of a paraphrase from an English translation. People also say the poetry can best be understood knowing the context (Islam in the 13th century) it was written in. This 2017 New Yorker article talks some about translating Rumi. Rumi wrote in Persian Dari and lived in the Persian empire. He was born in what is now Afghanistan and is buried in Turkey, which, I think, is where he lived most of his adult life.

I am very much gratified and excited about the interest in this challenge for next year and welcome everybody at whatever pace or extent they want to involve in the challenge. It is for fun!

>131 markon: Ardene, those are interesting comments and highlight that sometimes it isn't easy to pigeonhole writers from long ago into specific challenges like this. Rumi as you state could conceivably fit three of the months here and I will not quibble with any of them.

Paul, I have a few questions. I was excited to have a book on my shelf from what I thought was a Stan, only to realize, upon closer inspection, that it is Azerbaijan. Where does that fit in?

Also, does the author have to have been born in the country or is it enough that their heritage is from that country if they are writing about it? I am thinking specifically about Denise Chong's The Concubine's Children. She was born in Canada but this book is very much about her ancestors and their story.

Same with another I have, The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali. The story is about Iran, but she herself was born in Turkey (of Iranian parents). I had planned on reading this one for Iran, not Turkey.

>133 jessibud2: You have pointed out one of the biggest flaws in my planning, Shelley. Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia are pretty much without a monthly home.

In the case of Azerbaijan I will place them in the Persian section seeing as this is the part of the world that the Scythian and Medes empires grew into the Persian empire and they do allay to that extent with Persia.

Armenia is a difficult one and together with Georgia both are very much European in geo-political terms. At a push I would allow Armenian authors to be included with Turkey but most Armenians for obvious historical reasons would not be overly happy at that!

Marjan Kamali fits either month. I am easy going wherever it is possible to be so. xx

Re: “geo-political” European-ness: Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan may be European in political terms, but it’s hard to make an argument for that in “geo” terms. Georgia can be considered in Europe relatively easily, the other two less so.

Personally I would align Azerbaijan with Turkey because they are a Turkic people (their language is mutually intelligible with Turkish) and there are a lot of political ties.

I went with Persia because the region need not definitely be limited to Iran and historically Persia had control over that landscape. Defer to you on the language similarities etc and will certainly not raise a kerfuffle if they are lumped in with Turkey or Iran.

>126 PaulCranswick: Thank you. I did live in Thailand for several years, but it’s Japan now!

>137 wandering_star: Japan?! I'm looking for your thread! :D I'll jump in when you post your 2022 thread on Club Read. See you then.

>138 SqueakyChu: Hellooo! I have to work out my best books of this year before I can start my thread for next - it's been a year of good reading so I have a few to whittle down. See you soon....

>137 wandering_star: Japan after Thailand so your perspectives will be very interesting on the reading that comes up. x

>139 wandering_star: >140 PaulCranswick: My very favorite reading is books of contemporary Japanese literature. My older son used to travel yearly to Japan as a gamer and anime fan. He is so sad that he hasn't been able to travel to Japan since the pandemic started. He actually made his last trip there in January, 2020 (right before the onset of the pandemic). I love to follow this thread by @lililsin, another LTer who lives in Japan. She reads *exactly the kind of Japanese books I love the most.

>141 SqueakyChu: Isn't it interesting because I often find Japanese literature a challenge. I am looking forward to trying a number of different Japanese authors this year.

>142 PaulCranswick: I’ll be interested in seeing which authors and books you choose. My older son got me into reading manga and watching anime. Despite his many pleasure trips to Japan for concerts, gaming, and anime, he will not read any of the contemporary Japanese novels I try to foist off on him (some of which I got from a friend of his who moved to Tokyo). I hate giving up my Japanese novels. Each time I release one into my Little Free Library, I feel so sad. However, I can’t keep all of them.

>144 PaulCranswick: My son loves manga and anime too but they won't be on my list, Madeline.
I have a lot of authors on the shelves but Yoshimoto, Murata and Tsumura possible contemporary leads - Mishima, Endo and Kawabata are likely as last generational reads.

>144 PaulCranswick: Of the authors you mentioned, I've read books by Yoshimoto (3), Murata (1), Mishima (4), Endo (1) and Kawabata (6). There are so many good Japanese authors! A current favorite is Kobo Abe.

Tsumura is on my wishlist! :D

No need to have manga or anime on the list. I'll read and watch those anyway! :D

>145 SqueakyChu: I have a few by Abe too and we have plenty of time to make up our minds. x

>124 wandering_star: Thanks for your comment on Coleman Barks. Hmmm.

>126 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul.

>131 markon: Thank you for the New Yorker article. That was exactly what I was looking for. It sounds like Barks removed much of the Islamic references which is strange indeed.

Hi Paul. Such an interesting challenge. I’m looking forward to it. Might not succeed in finding books for all months, but I’ll definitely try.

>148 EllaTim: Im so pleased to see that you will participate, Ella.

Found Wrong end of the telescope at the bookstore sale, and remember reading his other works. Would like to use this book for the challenge, but heres the thing was born in Amman, Jordan to Lebanese parents, and grew up in Kuwait and Lebanon. He was educated in England and America The book takes place on the greek island of Lesbos, where the syrian refugee camp used to be. Any clue where it would go?

>150 cindydavid4: Wikipedia identifies him as Lebanese-American...so Lebanon?

>151 SqueakyChu: that makes sense, the first book I read of his takes place there. thx

Oh just in time, my copy of the island of missing trees has arrived! Ill start reading it soon; this will be my first book for the challenge! (oh and I love the artwork on the cover!)

Looking through my shelves and found a fav read day of honey: a memoir of food, love and war the author spends her honeymoon in Iraq at the beginning of the war also includes segments of Iran and Lebanon. Lovely and moving journey through the time period. highly recommended

Is there a thread started for January?

Yep. It's here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/338244

I also keep links to the individual threads as they're created on the group wiki page.

thanks!

Leaving breadcrumbs for those not in the 75 Books groups. Link for February, The Holy Land:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/339017#

bread crumbs get eaten by birds. better reeses pieces :)

found what could be an interesting author for April; Iraj Pezeshkad, author of My Uncle Napoleon He died in LA at 94. https://beyondthedash.com/obituary/iraj-pezeshkzad-1084231325

>160 cindydavid4: My uncle Napoleon is going to be my Iranian read! I have owned a copy for years and never read it. Apparently it is beloved by Iranians.

cool! I need to get that book!

btw is there a March thread?

>162 cindydavid4: The March tread https://www.librarything.com/topic/340000#

I have on my bookshelf sovietistan a non fiction account of the authors travels in the region. Wish I could read it for May but the author is Norwegian. I'll probably read it anyway but not for the challenge, but I might toss in some tidbits I find along the way

for next month I'd like to read something by Reza Aslan. I have read his Zealot which I thought was brilliant, but would like to read about Iran. Any suggestions? ( he has a new book An American Martyr in Persia: The Epic Life and Tragic Death of Howard Baskerville but doesn't come out till Oct.)

Tor.com has a post on South Asian science fiction and fantasy that I thought might be of interest.

The New Wave of South Asian Science Fiction and Fantasy

Excellent! Ted Chiang is one of my favs. Lots of other good reads as well

April thread?

>168 cindydavid4: https://www.librarything.com/topic/340943

😊