Popular Asian Essay Books
Find essay books written by authors from Asia for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (15)
1.
Turkmenistan2.
China in Ten Words by Hua Yu, Yu Hua EN
ChinaDescription:
Uses a framework of ten common phrases in the Chinese vernacular to offer insight into China's modern economic gaps, cultural transformations, and ubiquitous practices of deception.
3.
Dinner on Monster Island: Essays by Tania De Rozario EN
SingaporeDescription:
In this unusual, engaging, and intimate collection of personal essays, Lambda Literary Award finalist Tania De Rozario recalls growing up as a queer, brown, fat girl in Singapore, blending memoir with elements of history, pop culture, horror films, and current events to explore the nature of monsters and what it means to be different. Tania De Rozario was just twelve years old when she was gay-exorcised. Convinced that her boyish style and demeanor were a sign of something wicked, her mother and a pair of her church friends tried to "banish the evil" from Tania. That day, the young girl realiz... continue
4.
Forgotten Women: The Leaders by Zing Tsjeng EN
Description:
Selected for the Evening Standard present gift guide of the year 'To say this series is "empowering" doesn't do it justice. Buy a copy for your daughters, sisters, mums, aunts and nieces - just make sure you buy a copy for your sons, brothers, dads, uncles and nephews, too.' - indy100 'Here's to no more forgotten women.' Evening Standard The women who shaped and were erased from our history. The Forgotten Women series will uncover the lost histories of the influential women who have refused over hundreds of years to accept the hand they've been dealt and, as a result, have formed, shaped and c... continue
5.
Homo Deus : by Yuval Noah Harari EN
IsraelDescription:
THE MILLION COPY BESTSELLERSapiensshows us where we came from. Homo Deusshows us where we?re going.Yuval Noah Hararienvisions a near future in which we face a new set of challenges. Homo Deusexplores the projects, dreams and nightmares that will shape the twenty-first century and beyond - from overcoming death to creating artificial life.It asks the fundamental questions- how can we protect this fragile world from our own destructive power? And what does our future hold?'Homo Deuswill shock you. It will entertain you. It will make you think in ways you had not thought before? Daniel Kahneman
6.
How to Cure a Fanatic by Amos Oz EN
Description:
Proposes that the murderous violence that has riven our society is driven as much by confusion as by inescapable hatred. Challenging the reductionist division of people by race, religion, and class, Sen presents a vision of a world that can be made to move toward peace as firmly as it has spiraled in recent years toward brutality and war. - from publisher information.
7.
Light in Gaza : Essays for the Future by Jehad Abusalim, Jennifer Bing, Mike Merryman-Lotze EN
PalestineDescription:
Light in Gaza gathers a collective Palestinian vision of what a future Gaza could be.
9.
Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times by Azar Nafisi EN
IranDescription:
The New York Times bestselling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran returns with a guide to the power of literature in turbulent times, arming readers with a resistance reading list, ranging from James Baldwin to Zora Neale Hurston to Margaret Atwood. "[A] stunning look at the power of reading. ... Provokes and inspires at every turn." —Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Remarkable. ... Audacious." —The Progressive "Stunningly beautiful and perceptive." —Los Angeles Review of Books What is the role of literature in an era when one political party wages continual war on writers and the press? Wh... continue
10.
Reflections from Prison: 20 Years and 20 Days by Shin Young-bok EN
Country: Asia / 
South Korea
South Korea
Description:
Reflections from Prison is the collected letters and essays written by renowned Korean thinker Shin Young-Bok during his 20 years and 20 days as a political prisoner on a life tariff under Korea's military dictatorships. The letters range from postcards, to tiny characters squeezed onto his daily ration of two sheets of toilet paper. The writings themselves are not overtly political since all the letters went through censorships Yet he does not hide the harshness of prison life at the rock bottom of society. They provide a window onto his personal suffering during imprisonment a life sentence,... continue