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books by asian authors

this by no means is a comprehensive list of books, but this may give you a starter point as to where to start reading more about asian experiences and learning about asian culture. hopefully, you will find something you enjoy!

graphic novels

such a lovely little war: saigon 1961-63 and saigon calling: london 1963-75, marcelino truong: the story of a french-vietnamese boy and his family during the vietnam war

almost american girl, robin ha: memoir of a korean girl who moves to america and experiences racism and sexism in high school 

year of the rabbit, tian veasna: the tale of a family’s drive to survive the brutal khmer rouge regime

banned book club, kim hyunsook, ryan estrada and ko hyungju: memoir of a girl attending college in korea during the 1980s dictatorship and taking part in a banned book club 

cat diary: yon and mu, junji ito: horror comic about a guy who adopts two cats who terrorize him 

nonfiction

why we swim, bonnie tsui: swimming’s history, from olympic champions to japanese samurai swimmers

minor feelings, cathy park hong: essay collection of asian experiences of racism in the US

reading lolita in tehran, azar nafisi: an english professor’s experiences during the iranian revolution

all you can ever know, nicole chung: memoir of a korean girl adopted by white parents

family in six tones: a refugee mother, an american daughter, lan cao: memoir of a mother and daughter, the former of whom was a vietnam war refugee

fiction

on earth we’re briefly gorgeous, ocean vuong: a lovely, poetic letter from a vietnamese son to his mother

little fires everywhere, celeste ng: literary novel about a quiet suburban town and seemingly perfect family that changes once a traveling artist and her daughter move to town

the kiss quotient, helen hoang: super feel good romance featuring an autistic protagonist and a hunky swedish-vietnamese love interest

evil and the mask, fuminori nakamura: thriller novel that blew my head off

the windup bird chronicle, haruki murakami: literary novel about a man’s wife who disappeared suddenly and the mysterious journey he embarks on to find her again

pachinko, minjin lee: the multigenerational story of a family of koreans in japan during the early 20th century

prophecy (the dragon king chronicles #1), ellen oh: ya novel set in a korean fantasy landscape about a girl assigned to be the bodyguard to a prince during a demon invasion

run to me earth, paul yoon: the story of 3 orphans struggling to find their way in laos

in addition, i’d like you to notice these two lovely lists by @papenathys and @gaaaandaaaalf at these two links [x, x]. these lists are of south asian writers specifically, if you’re interested in them! 

add on your favorite books by asian authors if you’d like in the notes :)

[edit: sorry it was incomplete when i queued it. good thing i checked haha]

them: you don’t watch game of thrones?? really? how come?

me: 

Must reads:

i’d like the sun to set with you by @chuuyasoup (T, 8.8k)

What changes is this:

Geto Suguru does not say, how arrogant. He does not say, kill me if you want, there’s meaning in that too. He does not look at Gojo Satoru with unfamiliar indifference and he does not assume that he won’t understand.

Or, Suguru extends an offer on that day in Shinjuku. Satoru accepts it.

愛のある場所; river of light (that brings me to you) by cosmichorrour (T, 66k)

A lesson in love is a lesson in swimming. Except for Suguru, it's getting dropped into the deep end with the tide licking at his neck, no kickboard or life preserver keeping him afloat.

(Or: This is how Satoru finds the ocean.)

Caesura by cielelyse (M, 85.5k)

The first time they meet, Suguru and Satoru do not like each other. Arrogant, cocky, insufferable, they think. Despite the smirks Shoko gives Suguru, or the sighs Yaga gives Satoru, they do not like each other.

Until a mission changes that.

paper cuts by HamsterQinghua (T, 36k)

“Hey,” he starts. “I think we got off on the wrong foot.” Understatement of the century. “My name’s Suguru Geto, what’s yours?” It’s a question asked purely for formalities, and he’s sure Gojo knows that, but he’s still unprepared for the other’s answer.

“Your mom,” Gojo drawls out, and Suguru realizes he’s starting to see why people want this kid dead.

or, Suguru is a contract killer. his final target is Satoru Gojo. this isn't a problem until it is.

The Traveller's Song by No_Ir (E, 23k)

When it comes, the death of summer is vapid and quiet. It tastes like stale water and smells like memories gone bad in the heat. Nothing mourns it and the air is speckled with bits of seawater that cling to the dampness on the back of his neck.

Crickets chirp throughout the night and the bed is too warm to sleep in, so he buries his face into pillows that smell like dust and salt and ignores the stabbing behind his eyes till he can feel the irritating warmth of another day on his back.

I miss the sea, he thinks, staring at the familiar outline of the window, palm resting on the friend-shaped dent on his bed. Exhaustion drapes itself over his shoulders and sweat beads like pearls at the roots of his hair.

I miss the sea like I miss my friend

Punishment For A Monster by @duckiemimi (T, 8.1k)

“Yeah! Oh, my name is Gojo Satoru, by the way.” He hides the hurt behind his teeth, his grin wide and friendly. He thought he’d only have to introduce himself once to someone he called his best friend. It’s strange to repeat words from more than a decade ago to the same person. “You can call me Satoru.” He hopes he calls him Satoru.

“I’m Geto,” he says back. You were Suguru to me, Gojo thinks. “Nice to meet you, Satoru.”

“Nice to meet you, too.” He leans against the wall beside him, tries to look nonchalant as he does. “So, do you come here often?”

Geto thinks Gojo is just a lonely guy who wants friends. Gojo just wants to know if he remembers him, even just a little bit.

bang bang, kiss kiss by bunkuto (E, 12.7k)

Suguru brings men home and Satoru wonders if, judging by the pangs in his chest and the sudden overwhelming urge to punt these hookups into the sun, he’s homophobic. They figure things out slowly.

Puppet On A String by @killjoyproductions (E, 6.8k)

Huh,” he muses. “Are you… saving yourself for marriage?”

“Nope.”

“Are you asexual?”

Satoru shakes his head. “I’m not asexual, just a virgin.”

Golden hour by damiselart (E, 38.6k)

the one in which Satoru doesn't run away at sunrise and has an existential crisis over morning sex.

love is all I ever yearned for; not this affection carved in stone by getoswrongs (juyang) (T, 15k)

“You’re a menace,” Suguru mutters.

“You do this all the time? Making clay dicks before you turn them into bowls and vases? And it took some loser dude you met at age 27 for you to realize you like dick?”

--

Suguru is a potter and Satoru is in love.

smile like brass by @chuuyasoup (T, 15k)

Upon arriving at the scene, it’s hard to say whether turning up just five minutes earlier would have made much of a difference.

As it stands, there is a lot of blood. Too much blood to be explained away, and too many strong residuals to be traced back to anyone other than Satoru.

Or, Suguru arrives at the Time Vessel Association hideout a little too late. This changes things.

favorite characters aesthetic ♡ richard john “dick” grayson (dc comics)

“Whenever someones asked what power they wish they had, flying is always at the top of the list. But I have to admit, I’ve learned to love falling too.”

Cultural Dark Academia

After my last post about the lack of representation in academia, I felt it neccessary to provide some examples of what I’m talking about. Obviously there are more countries in the world than I can list and provide books for, so for a quick list this is what I got. !! Keep researching !! If you have any more books by POC please reply them !! If a country isn’t listed, that doesn’t mean it’s not important, this is just what I could get together real quick. If I made any mistakes, please let me know, we’re all learning. We need to help each other end eurocentrism in academia, so value representation and educate yourselves 💓💓💓

Chinese:

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

The Dream of the Red Chamber

The Water Margin

Romance of the Three Kingdoms

The Journey to the West

The Scholars

The Peony Pavilion

Border Town by Congwen Shen

Half of Man is Woman by Zhang Xianliang

To Live by Yu Hua

Ten Years of Madness by agent Jicai

The Field of Life and Death & Tales of Hulan River by Xiao Hong

Japanese:

A Personal Matter by Kenzaburo Oë

Pakistani:

Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid

Ghulam Bagh by Mirza Athar Baig

Masterpieces of Urdu Nazm by K. C. Kanda

Irani/Persian:

Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji

Savushun by Simin Daneshvar

Anything by Rumi

The Book of Kings by Ferdowsi

The Rubiyat by Omar Khayyam

Shahnameh (translation by Dick Davis)

Afghan:

Earth and Ashes by Atiq Rahimi

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Indian:

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Aithihyamala, Garland of Legends by Kottarathil Sankunni

The Gameworld Trilogy by Samir Basu

Filipino:

Twice Blessed by Ninotchka Rosca

The Last Time I Saw Mother by Arlene J. Chai

Brazilian:

Night at the Tavern by Álvares de Azevedo

The Seven by André Vianco

Don Casmurro by Machado de Assis

Colombian:

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Delirio by Laura Restrepo

¡Que viva la música! by Andrés Caicedo

The Sound of Things Falling by Jim Gabriel Vásquez

Mexican:

Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolf Anaya

Adonis Garcia/El Vampiro de la Colonia Roma by Luis Zapata

El Complot Mongol by Rafael Bernal

Egyptian:

The Cairo Trilogy by Nahuib Mahfouz

The Book of the Dead

Nigerian:

Rosewater by Tade Thompson

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Malian:

The Epic of Sundiata

Senegalese:

Poetry of Senghor

Native American:

The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King

Starlight by Richard Wagamese

Almanac of the Dead by L. Silko

Fools Crow by James Welch

Australian Aborigine:

Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe

First Footprints by Scott Cane

My Place by Sally Morgan

American//Modern:

Real Life by Brandon Taylor

Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

Internment by Samir’s Ahmed

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurtson

Rivers of London Series by Ben Aaronovitch

@roach-works // Melissa Broder, "Problem Area" // Mary Oliver, "The Return" // @annavonsyfert // Koyoharu Gotouge, Demon Slayer // Haruki Murakami, Dance Dance Dance // David Levithan, How They Met and Other Stories // Tennessee Williams, Notebooks

noah kahan everywhere everything is such a stsg song to me “we didn’t know that the sun was collapsing til the seas rose and the buildings came crashing” and “til our fingers decompose keep my hands in yours” but also peach prc’s favourite person “you’re my favourite person, i’ve created a version that hurts less” but also taylor swifts so long london “you say i abandoned the ship buti was going down with it, my white knuckled dying grip, holding tight to your quiet resentment” but also conan grays memories “it’s still on my clothes everything that i own and it makes me feel like dying, i was barely just surviving” and also maisie peters love him i dont “i could see a bloodbath coming, playing checkers as the flat was flooding, i wasn’t eating and you still said nothing” but also kodaline’s all i want “you brought out the best of me a part of i’ve never seen, you took my soul and wiped it clean, our love was made for movie screens…. but if you loved me why’d you leave me?”

good movie to think about