Read Around Asia Challenge
Read at least one book by an author from each country in Asia.
Best books from Asia (1980)
921.
The Cat Proposed by Dento Hayane EN
JapanDescription:
Matoi Souta is an overworked office worker tired of his life. Then, on his way home from a long day of work one day, he decides to watch a traditional Japanese play. But something strange happens. He could have sworn he saw one of the actors has cat ears. It turns out that the man is actually a bakeneko -- a shapeshifting cat from Japanese folklore. And then, the cat speaks: "From now on, you will be my spouse."
922.
Go For It, Nakamura!! by Syundei EN
Description:
Nakamura loves a boy in his class--now he just has to keep himself together! Nakamura is a shy boy who falls in love at first sight with another boy--his dreamy high school classmate Hirose. But there's a problem: they haven’t met yet. And Nakamura is a total klutz who might bungle things before they even begin! In this endearing Boy’s Love comedy about the trials of high school, follow Nakamura’s hilarious attempts to cling to happiness.
923.
Masks by Fumiko Enchi EN
Description:
Published for the first time in the UK, one of Japan's greatest modern female writers Ibuki loves widow Yasuko who is young, charming and sparkling with intelligence as well as beauty. His friend, Mikamé, desires her too but that is not the difficulty. What troubles Ibuki is the curious bond that has grown between Yasuko and her mother-in-law, Mieko, a handsome, cultivated yet jealous woman in her fifties, who is manipulating the relationship between Yasuko and the two men who love her.
924.
After Dark by Haruki Murakami EN
Description:
From the New York Times bestselling author—a gripping novel of late night encounters that’s “hypnotically eerie, sometimes even funny, but most of all … [a book] that keeps ratcheting up the suspense” (The Washington Post Book World). Now with a new introduction by the author. Nineteen-year-old Mari is waiting out the night in an anonymous Denny’s when she meets a young man who insists he knows her older sister, thus setting her on an odyssey through the sleeping city. In the space of a single night, the lives of a diverse cast of Tokyo residents—models, prostitutes, mobsters, and musicians—co... continue
925.
Shipwrecks by Akira Yoshimura EN
Description:
"A thrilling tale of murder and retribution set on the wild seacoast of medieval Japan"--Cover.
926.
The Thief by Fuminori Nakamura EN
Description:
The Thief is a seasoned pickpocket. Anonymous in a tailored suit, he weaves through Tokyo crowds smoothly stealing wallets from nameless, faceless strangers. He has no family, friends or connections, but his past catches up with him when his old partner offers him a job he can't refuse. Tie up an old rich man and steal the contents of his safe. Only afterwards does he learn the man was a prominent politician, who was brutally murdered after the robbery. This tangle might be too difficult for even the Thief to escape.
927.
The Art of Discarding : How to Get Rid of Clutter and Find Joy by Nagisa Tatsumi EN
Description:
The book that inspired Marie Kondo's The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Nagisa Tatsumi's international bestseller offers a practical plan to figure out what to keep and what to discard so you can get--and stay--tidy, once and for all. Practical and inspiring, The Art of Discarding (the book that originally inspired a young Marie Kondo to start cleaning up her closets) offers hands-on advice and easy-to-follow guidelines to help readers learn how to finally let go of stuff that is holding them back--as well as sage advice on acquiring less in the first place. Author Nagisa Tatsumi urges us ... continue
928.
All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami EN
Description:
From the bestselling author of Breasts and Eggs and international literary sensation Mieko Kawakami comes a deeply moving and magnificently observed story about a young woman searching for meaning.
929.
Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 1 by Hiromu Arakawa EN
Description:
Breaking the laws of nature is a serious crime! In an alchemical ritual gone wrong, Edward Elric lost his arm and his leg, and his brother Alphonse became nothing but a soul in a suit of armor. Equipped with mechanical “auto-mail” limbs, Edward becomes a state alchemist, seeking the one thing that can restore his and his brother’s bodies...the legendary Philosopher’s Stone. Alchemy: the mystical power to alter the natural world; something between magic, art and science. When two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, dabbled in this power to grant their dearest wish, one of them lost an arm and ... continue
930.
Tales from the Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi EN
Description:
Summary: In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time. In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the café's time-travelling offer, in order to confront the lover who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has begun to fade, see their sister one last time, and meet the daughter they never got the chance to know. But the journey into the past does ... continue