Read Around Asia Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Asia.
Best books from Asia (1979)
701.
No Windmills in Basra by Diaa Jubaili EN
IraqDescription:
A bold, imaginative collection of short stories set in Southern Iraq from prolific, award-winning novelist Diaa Jubaili. Influenced in turn by the long tradition of Arabic folktales and the magical realism of Latin America, the stories in No Windmills in Basra reflect a reality tinged by the city’s history with war. Yet the fantastic and playful peek through, offering an astounding breadth of images in only a few lines per story. In “Mubarak,” a security guard for a chicken plant discovers his own wings after a bomb explosion. In “The Taste of Death,” long-buried Iraqi and Iranian soldiers ris... continue
702.
The Potato Eaters: Stories by Farhad Pirbal EN
Description:
From Kurdish poet and writer Farhad Pirbal, a heartbreaking collection of short stories. Each tale in The Potato Eaters underlines “otherness”, or isolation and displacement in contemporary society. His characters are at once resonant and shocking, his ability to decry trauma reminiscent of American greats like Morrison and Hurston. The title story from this collection is one of the most acclaimed Kurdish short stories; it features a town that, due to famine, only survives on potatoes. The community comes to appreciate the base cuisine and abandon currency for their coveted starch. When the st... continue
705.
Hotel Moscow by Talia Carner EN
IsraelDescription:
From the author of Jerusalem Maiden comes a mesmerizing, thought-provoking novel that tells the riveting story of an American woman—the daughter of Holocaust survivors—who travels to Russia shortly after the fall of communism, and finds herself embroiled in a perilous mafia conspiracy that could irrevocably destroy her life. Brooke Fielding, a thirty-eight year old New York investment manager and daughter of Jewish Holocaust survivors, finds her life suddenly upended in late September 1993 when her job is unexpectedly put in jeopardy. Brooke accepts an invitation to join a friend on a mission ... continue
706.
All the rivers by Dorit Rabinyan EN
Description:
A controversial, award-winning story about the passionate but untenable affair between an Israeli woman and a Palestinian man, from one of Israel’s most acclaimed novelists When Liat meets Hilmi on a blustery autumn afternoon in Greenwich Village, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Charismatic and handsome, Hilmi is a talented young artist from Palestine. Liat, an aspiring translation student, plans to return to Israel the following summer. Despite knowing that their love can be only temporary, that it can exist only away from their conflicted homeland, Liat lets herself be enraptured... continue
707.
Central Station by Lavie Tidhar EN
Description:
An NPR Best Book of 2016 An Amazon Featured Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Book A Guardian Best SF & Fantasy Book of 2016 Longlist, British Science Fiction Award 2016, Best Novel 2017 Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee "It's all of science fiction distilled into a single book." —Warren Ellis, author of Transmetropolitan and Gun Machine A worldwide diaspora has left a quarter of a million people at the foot of a space station. Cultures collide in real life and virtual reality. The city is literally a weed, its growth left unchecked. Life is cheap, and data is cheaper. When Boris Chong returns to Te... continue
708.
Sapiens: a Graphic History : The Birth of Humankind (Vol. 1) by Yuval Noah Harari EN
Description:
The first volume of the full-color illustrated adaptation of his groundbreaking book, renowned historian Yuval Harari tells the story of humankind's creation and evolution, exploring the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be 'human'. The second volume focuses on the Agricultural Revolution--when humans fell into a trap we've yet to escape: working harder and harder with diminishing returns.
709.
The Falafel King is Dead by Sara Shilo EN
Description:
A heartbreaking, prize-winning novel set in a small Israeli town near the border with Lebanon that depicts with raw power the trauma of living in constant fear of attack.
710.
Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History : Complete and Unabridged by Eusebius Pamphilus EN
Description:
All ten books of Eusebius' famous church history are presented here complete in a superb and authoritative translation. Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History is one of the first comprehensive, chronologically arranged histories ever written about the Christian church, and it is consulted by scholars and historians to this day. Eusebius authored his history as the Roman Empire's influence upon the European continent waned amid insurgencies and surrender of Roman lands to other peoples. This also a time in which Christianity's influence upon Europe's peoples burgeoned and grew. As one of a very few l... continue