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 (908)
391.

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami EN

Rating: 4 (9 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
When he hears her favourite Beatles song, Toru Watanabe recalls his first love Naoko, the girlfriend of his best friend Kizuki. Immediately he is transported back almost twenty years to his student days in Tokyo, adrift in a world of uneasy friendships, casual sex, passion, loss and desire - to a time when an impetuous young woman called Midori marches into his life and he has to choose between the future and the past.

392.

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto EN

Rating: 4 (5 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
Relates the experiences of two free-spirited young women in contemporary Japan.

393.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo EN

Rating: 3 (3 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
A #1 New York Times BestsellerAn Amazon Best Book of 2014 in Crafts, Home & GardenThis #1 New York Times bestselling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes readers step-by-step through her revolutionary KonMari Method for simplifying, organizing, and storing.

394.

The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki EN

0 Ratings
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
A major new collection of Japanese short stories, many appearing in English for the first time, with an introduction by Haruki Murakami, author of Killing Commendatore A Penguin Classics Hardcover This fantastically varied and exciting collection celebrates the art of the Japanese short story, from its origins in the nineteenth century to the remarkable practitioners writing today. Edited by acclaimed translator Jay Rubin, who has himself freshly translated some of the stories, and with an introduction by Haruki Murakami, this book is a revelation. Stories by writers already well known to Engl... continue


396.

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami EN

Rating: 4 (2 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
'Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional' A compelling mediation on the power of running and a fascinating insight into the life of this internationally bestselling writer. A perfect reading companion for runners. In 1982, having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing, Murakami began running to keep fit. A year later, he'd completed a solo course from Athens to Marathon, and now, after dozens of such races, he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and on his writing. Equal parts travelogue, training log and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his four-month... continue

397.

Tokyo Express by Seichō Matsumoto EN

Rating: 4 (2 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Genre Crime
Tags: Set in Japan

398.

If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura EN

Rating: 5 (2 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
A beautifully moving tale of loss and reaching out to the ones we love, of one man’s journey to discover what really matters in modern life. Our narrator’s days are numbered. Estranged from his family, living alone with only his cat Cabbage for company, he was unprepared for the doctor’s diagnosis that he has only months to live. But before he can set about tackling his bucket list, the Devil appears with a special offer: in exchange for making one thing in the world disappear, he can have one extra day of life. And so begins a very bizarre week . . . Because how do you decide what makes life ... continue

399.

Confessions by Kanae Minato EN

Rating: 5 (3 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
When Yuko Moriguchi's four-year-old daughter died in the middle school where she teaches, everyone thought it was a tragic accident. It's the last day of term, and Yuko's last day at work. She tells her students that she has resigned because of what happened - but not for the reasons they think. Her daughter didn't die in an accident. Her daughter was killed by two people in the class. And before she leaves, she has a lesson to teach... But revenge has a way of spinning out of control, and Yuko's last lecture is only the start of the story. In this bestselling Japanese thriller of love, despai... continue

400.

Bullet Train by Kotaro Isaka EN

Rating: 5 (4 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
A dark, satirical thriller by the bestselling Japanese author, following the perilous train ride of five highly motivated assassins--soon to be a major film from Sony Nanao, nicknamed Lady Bird--the self-proclaimed "unluckiest assassin in the world"--boards a bullet train from Tokyo to Morioka with one simple task: grab a suitcase and get off at the next stop. Unbeknownst to him, the deadly duo Tangerine and Lemon are also after the very same suitcase--and they are not the only dangerous passengers onboard. Satoshi, "the Prince," with the looks of an innocent schoolboy and the mind of a viciou... continue