Read Around Asia Challenge

Read at least one book by an author from each country in Asia.

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Best books from Asia (1979)
891.

Kokoro by Natsume Soseki EN

Rating: 4 (5 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
The great Japanese author’s most famous novel, in its first new English translation in half a century No collection of Japanese literature is complete without Natsume Soseki's Kokoro, his most famous novel and the last he completed before his death. Published here in the first new translation in more than fifty years, Kokoro—meaning "heart"—is the story of a subtle and poignant friendship between two unnamed characters, a young man and an enigmatic elder whom he calls "Sensei." Haunted by tragic secrets that have cast a long shadow over his life, Sensei slowly opens up to his young disciple, c... continue

892.

Life Ceremony : Stories by Sayaka Murata EN

Rating: 4 (2 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
In these twelve stories, Murata mixes an unusual cocktail of humor and horror and turns the norms and traditions of society on their head to better question them

893.

South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami EN

Rating: 3 (4 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
*PRE-ORDER HARUKI MURAKAMI’S NEW NOVEL, THE CITY AND ITS UNCERTAIN WALLS, NOW* A moving, thoughtful story of long-lost love and second chances. Growing up in the suburbs in post-war Japan, it seemed to Hajime that everyone but him had brothers and sisters. His sole companion was Shimamoto, also an only child. Together they spent long afternoons listening to her father's record collection. But when his family moved away, the two lost touch. Now Hajime is in his thirties. After a decade of drifting, he has found happiness with his loving wife and two daughters, and success running a jazz bar. Th... continue


895.

What You Are Looking for Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama EN

Rating: 4 (11 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
For fans of The Midnight Library and Before the Coffee Gets Cold, this charming Japanese novel shows how the perfect book recommendation can change a reader's life. What are you looking for? This is the famous question routinely asked by Tokyo's most enigmatic librarian, Sayuri Komachi. Like most librarians, Komachi has read every book lining her shelves--but she also has the unique ability to read the souls of her library guests. For anyone who walks through her door, Komachi can sense exactly what they're looking for in life and provide just the book recommendation they never knew they neede... continue

896.

Goodbye Tsugumi by Banana Yoshimoto EN

Rating: 4 (2 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
"An elegiac story of two young cousins coming of age at the Japanese seaside, Goodbye, Tsugumi is an enchanting novel"

897.

Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami EN

Rating: 4 (3 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
Tsukiko is in her late thirties and living alone when one night she happens to meet one of her former high school teachers, Sensei, in a bar. After this initial encounter, the pair continue to meet occasionally to share food and drink sake and come to develop a hesitant intimacy which tilts awkwardly into love.

898.

The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife Vol. 1 by Iwatobineko EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
A sweet and supernatural love story at a detective agency, by the creator of The Country Without Humans (also from Seven Seas)! Yakou Shizuka, a quiet and bashful woman, works at a detective agency. Her boss Tounome, who owns the company, is the gentlemanly type, kind and dapper, though he has an extra talent—he’s invisible! His special ability is perfect for detective work, but he quickly comes to find it doesn’t work on Yakou, who is blind and always knows if he’s near. Charmed, Tounome is determined to get her to date him and isn’t against using his many skills. Yakou’s quirky coworkers, a ... continue

899.

Buurtsupermens by Sayaka Murata NL

0 Ratings
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
Een jonge Japanse vrouw die de wereld en de mensen niet goed begrijpt, vindt haar geluk in het werken in een kleine buurtsupermarkt.
Genre

900.

Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura EN

Rating: 4 (4 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
"How can you save your friend's life if she doesn't want to be rescued? In a tranquil neighbourhood of Tokyo, seven teenagers wake to find the mirrors in their bedrooms are shining. At a single touch, they are pulled from their lonely lives into to a wondrous castle filled with winding stairways, watchful portraits and twinkling chandeliers. In this new sanctuary, they are confronted with a set of clues leading to a hidden room where one of them will be granted a wish. But there's a catch -- if they don't leave by five o'clock, they will die. As time passes, a devastating truth emerges -- only... continue


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