Year of the Asian Reading Challenge | Sign-up and Update post!

I haven’t participated in a reading challenge in a long time but YEAR. OF. THE. ASIAN. How can I not sign up?!

What’s Year of the Asian, Shari?


Art by CW from The Quiet Pond

I’m glad you asked, friend!

Year of the Asian (YARC) is a reading challenge hosted by four amazing book bloggers: CW from The Quiet Pond, Shealea at Shut up, Shealea, Vicky at Vicky Who Reads, and Lily at Sprinkles of Dreams. The goal of this challenge is to read as many books by Asian authors from January 2019 to December 2019. Since Asian lit is near and dear to my heart, I’m going to READ ALL THE BOOKS. From middle grade, YA, to adult fiction/non-fiction across all genres, I want to be intentional about reading them all. :’) *cue Pokémon theme*

If you’re interested in joining this reading challenge, sign up by filling out this form and find all the relevant links for this challenge here. You can join ANY time and it’s never too late to start!

My Targel Level

YARC has six target levels:

  • Philippine tarsier: 1 to 10 books read
  • Indian cobra: 11 to 20 books read
  • Malayan tapir: 21 to 30 books read
  • Giant panda: 31 to 40 books read
  • Asian elephant: 41 to 50 books read
  • Bengali tiger: More than 50 books read

I’m aiming for the Malayan Tapir badge to start but I’m hoping to exceed this number if I can. Let’s see how many I can get to by the end of the year!

Challenge Prompts!

I know these aren’t mandatory but I can never resist a good challenge! Every 3 months, YARC hosts will post monthly prompts that you can tailor your reading choices to. Here’s what they are so far:

January – Family: Read a book written by an Asian author that features strong family themes, whether it’s sibling or multi-generational.

February – Tropes: Read a book that features a trope that you love.

March – Challenge: Read a book in which the narrative or main character challenges something and inspires change.

What I’m Reading


January

Dear America: Notes from an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas*

Cranesong by Rona Wang

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He 
(Family prompt)


February

New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color Edited by Nisi Shawl

Bronze and Sunflower by Cao Wenxuan
(Trope prompt – Friendship!)

Everlasting Nora by Marie Miranda Cruz*


March

Angel de la Luna and the 5th Glorious Mystery by M. Evelina Galang*

Jade City by Fonda Lee

Brown Skin, White Minds: Filipino -/ American Postcolonial Psychology by E.J.R. David*
(Challenge prompt)


April

Pilu of the Woods by Mai K. Nguyen

The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf


May

Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando by Andrea Wang

Lalani of the Distant Sea by Erin Entrada Kelly*

Mistaken Identity: Race and Class in the Age of Trump by Asad Haider


June

The Wolf of Oren-yaro by K.S. Villoso*

The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

The House That Lou Built by Mae Respicio*


July

Hungry Hearts: 13 Tales of Food & Love Edited by Elsie Chapman*

A Fist of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers by Alyssa Wong*


August

Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay*

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu

Birds Art Life: A Year of Observation by Kyo Maclear


September

Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

Natalie Tan’s Book of Luck and Fortune by Roselle Lim*

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami


October

My Fate According to the Butterfly by Gail D. Villanueva*

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini


November

The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

The Mango Bride by Marivi Soliven*


December

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings by Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman*


*Books and short stories by Filipino authors.

I’m reading 14 stories by FILIPINO writers! I’ve never read that many from Filipino authors in one year and IT’S ABOUT TIME I do. I’m so glad to discover many of these titles from book bloggers who continue to share and talk about them. I’ve read tons of great books because of the blogging community and as cliché as it sounds it’s been life-changing.

If you spot a book on my list that you’d like to buddy read, let me know!

Here’s some recommendations I’ve received so far:

Books

  • From Petrik @ Novel Notions: The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang
  • From Kelsea @anovelescape on Instagram: Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa
  • From Mooni @bookandmoon on Instagram:
    • Half a Lifetime Romance by Eileen Chang
    • Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twang Eng
    • Sound of the Mountain by Yasunari Kawabata
    • Dogs at the Perimeter by Madeleine Thien
    • Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan
    • Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
    • Translation of Love by Lynn Kutsukake
    • Lips Too Chilled by Matsuo Basho
    • The Book of Tea by Kakuzo Okakura
  • From Abbie @ab_reads on Instagram:
    • Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
    • Severance by Ling Ma
  • From Rachel @literaeryme on Instagram:
    • By Madeleine Thien
      • Do Not Say We Have Nothing
      • Simple Recipes

Authors

  • Aliette de Bodard
  • Yoon Ha Lee
  • JY Yang
  • Sarah Kuhn
  • Zen Cho
  • Wesley Chu
  • Jenny Mai Nguyen
  • Tasha Suri
  • Cixin Liu

Tracking My Progress

  • I’m going to update this post as the year goes. I don’t own most of these titles so I’m hoping my library will have them!
  • I will use a dedicated hashtag on Instagram (and Twitter if I remember) under #SharisYARC2019

What about you?

Can you think of other books by Asian authors that I can read this year?

Are you joining the YARC 2019 Reading Challenge? If so, tell me about some of the books you’re planning on reading!


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