BookDragon

The Bookseller of Kabul by Åsne Seierstad, translated by Ingrid Christophersen

16 Sep, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Afghan, Audio, European, Memoir, Nonfiction, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Okay, here we go again (see Kabul Beauty School below). We have a (fascinating, allegedly true) story, and then the (disturbing) story about the (now accuracy-challenged) story. Just after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, an award-winning Norwegian journalist emerges from six weeks of following...

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

15 Sep, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, European, Fiction

In case you didn't recognize the dripping blood over the undead peeking through on the cover, I'll warn you immediately that this is a long novel (656 pages in hardcover; 26+ hours stuck in the ears, judiciously read by Justine Eyre and Paul Michael) about a...

Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil by Deborah Rodriguez and Kristin Ohlson

14 Sep, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Afghan, Audio, Memoir, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction

Writing a memoir these days is dangerous business: you can be outed on Oprah as the worst liar, along with your publisher (James Frey, A Million Little Pieces), you can become infamous overnight for breaking the hearts of millions who not only trusted you but even gave...

Nora the Mind Reader by Orit Gidali, illustrated by Aya Gordon-Noy, translated by Annette Appel

13 Sep, by SIBookDragon in Absolute Favorites, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Israeli, Translation

What a relief to find out someone has finally found the magic wand! It might look like an ordinary bubble blower to some, but you just need to read to believe. Nora comes home from kindergarten one day and sadly tells her mother about the boy...

Message to Adolf (Part 1) by Osamu Tezuka, translated by Kumar Sivasubramanian

12 Sep, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, European, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation

Considered the "godfather of manga," Osamu Tezuka is internationally renowned for his iconic Astro Boy. Introduced in Japan in 1951 as Tetsuwan Atom (Mighty Atom), Tezuka's signature creation remains an international phenomenon across multiple platforms, rising off the page and landing in television, films, video games, and...

My First Book of Korean Words: An ABC Rhyming Book by Henry J. Amen IV and Kyubyong Park, illustrated by Aya Padrón

10 Sep, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Korean, Korean American, Nonfiction

No matter where you've been hiding, someone has been able to infiltrate your defenses and made you watch the freakishly popular "Gangnam Style" by PSY (in Korean, 싸이, although apparently it's short for 'psycho'). The South Korean singer (educated at Boston University and Berklee College of Music, I must add)...

Zoya’s Story: An Afghan Woman’s Struggle for Freedom by Zoya with John Follain and Rita Cristofari

09 Sep, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Afghan, Memoir, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction

Zoya was just a year old when Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan in December 1979. By age 4, she made a Russian woman soldier cry when she refused to accept her proffered chocolate. She was raised mostly by her devout grandmother, while both parents worked to...

Kids of Kabul: Living Bravely through a Never-Ending War by Deborah Ellis

07 Sep, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Afghan, Canadian, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

Mega-award-winning author Deborah Ellis’s active interest in Afghanistan began in 1996 when she heard about the Taliban takeover of that country "and the crimes they perpetrated against women and girls." She became involved with the Afghan communities in her native Canada, then traveled to meet...

The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng + Author Interview [in Bookslut]

04 Sep, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Fiction, Japanese, Malaysian, Repost, Southeast Asian

I can count on one hand the books that I've given by the dozens to lucky relatives and friends over the decades. One of those counting fingers belongs to Tan Twan Eng's debut stunner, The Gift of Rain. With the impending American release this month of...

Dreams of Joy by Lisa See

03 Sep, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Chinese, Chinese American, Fiction

As I look back on my post for Dreams of Joy's prequel, Shanghai Girls, I was clearly, quickly aware then that Janet Song was not the best choice for narrator. That I was somehow fooled into listening to Song again is surely a 'shame on...

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

01 Sep, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

Now that we're in the final weekend of summer, I figured today was the right day to choose what was apparently the title this season (yes, I do open the occasional mega-bestseller, the few times I crawl out from under my rock). Since Reese Witherspoon's production company...

Drama by Raina Telgemeier, with color by Gurihiru

31 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Drama/Theater, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific

Just so you have a little warning, tomorrow (September 1) is #DRAMADAY. That means veteran comics-maker Raina Telgemeier's latest book hits shelves tomorrow ...

Same, Same but Different by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw

30 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Indian, South Asian

Winner of this year's South Asian Book Award from the South Asia National Outreach Consortium [SANOC], Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw's latest is a whimsical, delightful exploration of friendship, family, and cultures ...

Flying the Dragon by Natalie Dias Lorenzi

27 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Japanese, Japanese American, Middle Grade Readers

Soccer-loving fifth-grader Skye lives in Virginia, just outside DC, with her American mother and her Japanese father. Her best friend recently moved to San Francisco, but Skye's getting to know her All-Star teammates better now that she's finally made the team. On the other side of...

Gold by Chris Cleave

26 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, British, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

Exactly two weeks have passed since the London 2012 closing ceremony; still feeling Olympic withdrawal? Might I suggest a literary antidote: Chris Cleave's latest novel, made even more timely as the Olympic sport of choice here is cycling (albeit indoors). Road cyclist Bradley Wiggins emerged...

Victory: Resistance Book 3 by Carla Jablonski, illustrated by Leland Purvis, color by Hilary Sycamore

25 Aug, by SIBookDragon in European, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers

Since today marks the 68th anniversary of the Liberation of Paris (August 25, 1944) during World War II, I thought that must be a sign to add the final installment of the Resistance trilogy here. The title, Victory, speaks volumes, not only for the history it represents, but for the...

Sorry Please Thank You Stories by Charles Yu

24 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Short Stories, Taiwanese American

Charles Yu's stories are indescribable. Really. Every time I picked up this recent collection, my face broke out in a goofy, uncertain grin, because I was totally unsure of what I might encounter next. Here's what I can tell you ...

Ten-Minute Bento by Megumi Fujii, translated by Maya Rosewood

23 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Japanese, Nonfiction, Translation

Ready for the frenzy of going back to school? So long, summer … hello, morning rush! I shudder ...

The No-Dogs-Allowed Rule by Kashmira Sheth, illustrated by Carl Pearce

22 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Indian American, Middle Grade Readers, South Asian American

Ishan Mehra has CDS ...

The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (vols. 11-12) by Eiji Otsuka, art by Housui Yamazaki, translated by Toshifumi Yoshida, edited by Carl Gustav Horn

21 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation

I don't know how I never noticed before, but Kurosagi comes with a "Parental Advisory | Explicit Content" warning sticker (volume 11 had it on the outside plastic shrink-wrap; volume 12 got more serious and placed it on the actual book!). True enough that some...

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