Tag Archives: Asia

She is a Haunting, by Trang Thanh Tran

Posted on May 22, 2023 by Amanda

From Storygraph: When Jade Nguyen arrives in Vietnam for a visit with her estranged father, she has one goal: survive five weeks pretending to be a happy family in the French colonial house Ba is restoring. She’s always lied to … Continue reading →

Posted in 2023, Prose, Young Adult | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

You’re Invited, by Amanda Jayatissa

Posted on July 15, 2022 by Amanda

Amaya hasn’t spoken to her ex-boyfriend or ex-best-friend in five years, but when she sees they’ve suddenly gotten engaged, she knows she must stop the wedding at all costs. Book TW (contains spoilers so highlight to read): fatphobia, self-harm, BDSM, … Continue reading →

Posted in 2022, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Breathless, by Amy McCulloch

Posted on May 23, 2022 by Amanda

Cecily is famous for not making it to the summit of high mountains. She’s still a bit gobsmacked that the famous Charles McVeigh has invited her to be the only journalist on his final push to break a world record: … Continue reading →

Posted in 2022, Adult, Prose | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Sunday Coffee – Tohoku Daishinsai (Guest Post)

Posted on October 10, 2021 by Amanda

The following is written by my friend Chris Messer, who lived with his wife in the area of Japan where the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant meltdown happened in March 2011. When I read Ghosts of the Tsunami in … Continue reading →

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Ghosts of the Tsunami, by Richard Lloyd Parry

Posted on September 20, 2021 by Amanda

Subtitled: Death and Life in Japan’s Disaster Zone In March 2011, an enormous earthquake shook Japan. Afterwards, one of the largest earthquake-driven tsunamis swept over communities in the northeast part of the country. In this book, Parry lets the survivors … Continue reading →

Posted in 2021, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Night Theatre, by Vikram Paralkar

Posted on May 24, 2021 by Amanda

A surgeon is about to close up his dilapidated clinic in an Indian village when three dead strangers appear. They beg to have their wounds healed up before dawn, at which point, they’ll have a new chance at life if … Continue reading →

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In Search of Elsewhere, by Steve McCurry

Posted on April 30, 2021 by Amanda

Subtitled: Unseen Images The cover of this photography book is so striking that I had to check it out from my library on the very first day I was let back inside to browse. The book is mostly made up … Continue reading →

Posted in 2021, Adult, Visual | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What’s Left of Me is Yours, by Stephanie Scott

Posted on August 10, 2020 by Amanda

Sumi is what’s known as a “forgotten party” in Japan – a person whose life was directly affected by a crime, but who is kept away from the details of trial, punishment, etc. In Sumi’s case, the crime is the … Continue reading →

Posted in 2020, Adult, Prose | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Bride Test, by Helen Hoang

Posted on June 7, 2019 by Amanda

Khai believes he has no feelings after a combination of his autism and his odd reactions to grief lead him to that logical conclusion. He’s irritated when his mother brings Esme over from Vietnam to be his potential bride, and … Continue reading →

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The True Queen, by Zen Cho (audio)

Posted on April 19, 2019 by Amanda

From Goodreads: When sisters Muna and Sakti wake up on the peaceful beach of the island of Janda Baik, they can’t remember anything, except that they are bound as only sisters can be. They have been cursed by an unknown … Continue reading →

Posted in 2019, Adult, Prose | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment