BookDragon

Ru by Kim Thúy, translated by Sheila Fischman [in Library Journal]

15 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Memoir, Repost, Southeast Asian, Southeast Asian American, Translation, Vietnamese, Vietnamese American

* STARRED REVIEW The recipient of international accolades – including Canada’s coveted Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction (2010) for its original Canadian debut in French – this extraordinary first novel unfolds like ethereal poetry. The enigmatic title means “a small stream and, figuratively, a flow, a discharge—of...

Last Man in Tower by Aravind Adiga

14 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Indian, South Asian

Self-made Mumbai real estate mogul Dharmen Shah is determined to build his iconic structure, the Shanghai, a "super-luxury" residential skyscraper, named to reflect his admiration for "all the will power in the world" he associates with the rising global power of the Chinese. In order...

Food and Faith by Susan Reuben and Sophie Pelham

13 Aug, by SIBookDragon in British, British Asian, Children/Picture Books, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction

Six children, six different faiths … while their holy days and festivals vary, the one thing they share – that we all share, regardless of the specifics of our backgrounds – are special foods we share with family and friends to celebrate memorable occasions. Francesca is...

The Girl Who Loved Danger: A Steve Light Storybox by Steve Light

11 Aug, by SIBookDragon in African, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

As the e-publishing world is shrinking our stories into little mobile devices, storyteller, teacher, and author Steve Light brings back some delightful heft with his new Storybox collection that features classic tales from around the world that your youngest readers can bring immediately to life ...

March by Geraldine Brooks

09 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

"'I've always imagined paradise as something like a library,'" the titular March expounds. Is that not a perfect thought? Alas, while March is Geraldine Brooks' most award-winning – that yellow circle on the cover announces its 2006 Pulitzer Prize – I must confess it was my least favorite; if I had...

Home by Toni Morrison

08 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Black/African American, Fiction, Korean

The legendary 1993 Nobel Prize-winning Toni Morrison begins her latest novel with a jarring disconnect of warning: the title is Home, and yet the first pages open with an unannotated verse – "Whose house is this? / ...

Maya and the Turtle: A Korean Fairy Tale by Soma Han and John C. Stickler, illustrated by Soma Han

07 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Korean, Korean American

In between "Long, long ago ...

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

06 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Arab, Australian, European, Fiction, Jewish

Remember that gorgeous film, Red Violin, which tells the story (backwards) of the creation and fantastical 300-plus-year-history of the eponymous instrument? People of the Book uses a similar structure to reveal the story of a 500-year-old illuminated manuscript known as the Sarajevo Haggadah. That haggadah is very real;...

Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

05 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Australian, Fiction, Native American/First Nations/Indigenous Peoples

I haven't picked up a Geraldine Brooks title since her 2001 debut novel, Year of Wonders, which promptly became an international bestseller. I definitely had that sense of 'wow' when I finished, but then I inexplicably ignored the rest of her titles ...

NonNonBa by Shigeru Mizuki, translated by Jocelyne Allen, afterword by Kimie Imura

03 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Memoir, Nonfiction, Translation, Young Adult Readers

The work of Shigeru Mizuki, a legendary 90-year-old manga artist in his native Japan, arrived Stateside last year with the first-ever English translation of the award-winning Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, which draws on Mizuki's own experiences during World War II when he was drafted into Japan’s...

The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna

01 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, African, Audio, Fiction

Months (maybe longer) have passed since I finished Aminatta Forna’s third and latest title, exquisitely narrated by British actor Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. I think I just didn't want to let it go by posting a review ...

Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel

31 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Canadian, Fiction

A full decade has passed since Yann Martel won the coveted Booker Prize for his Life of Pi. I confess I had to force myself to finish that book when it first appeared; I admit to being befuddled to learn of its Booker win and the...

back alleys and urban landscapes by Michael Cho

30 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Memoir

You could flip through Michael Cho’s new graphic title in just a few minutes and pronounce it 'read.' But you'd be missing the whole point of the book ...

Long Lost and Live Wire [Myron Bolitar series 9 and 10] by Harlan Coben

29 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

When the running gets tough (and long), I find my latest default stuck-in-the-ears choices to last me another 10, 20, 30 miles is something by Harlan Coben (because his Tell No One was my first pulp mystery ever and remains a favorite over a decade later) or Carl Hiaasen (because I get so...

Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea, translated by Rajaa Alsanea and Marilyn Booth

27 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Arab, Audio, Fiction, Young Adult Readers

Sometimes the best thing that can happen to a book is to get banned. REALLY. Just ask Rajaa al-Sanea (yes, the spelling of her name is different on the cover of her book from what she has on her personal website – which has two variations of...

20th Century Boys (vol. 21) by Naoki Urasawa, with the cooperation of Takashi Nagasaki, English adaptation by Akemi Wegmüller

25 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

As this is the penultimate volume in the 22-part series, I suppose I should have savored it ...

Money Boy by Paul Yee

24 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Young Adult Readers

'Gritty' is the first word that comes to mind after finishing this slim young adult novel about a teenage Chinese immigrant's struggles with his conservative father over his sexuality. Ray Liu is new to the West. He's left behind half his family in China, including his...

The Black Isle by Sandi Tan

23 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Singaporean American, Southeast Asian, Southeast Asian American

She begins her life as Ling, the first-born twin of a well-to-do Shanghai family. Half the family is cleaved from the other, seeking new fortune on the British outpost called the Black Isle. During the sea voyage that takes Ling, her twin Li, and their father...

The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing: A Vish Puri Mystery by Tarquin Hall

14 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, British, Fiction, Indian, South Asian

I always feel a twinge of guilt chuckling over murder mysteries – how can I be laughing in the midst of grisly, graphic slashings and shootings? But Vish Puri – "India’s Most Private Investigator" – is, for all his quirky habits (sneaking food when the wife's not looking, spouting centuries-old...

The Case of the Missing Servant: A Vish Puri Mystery by Tarquin Hall

13 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, British, Fiction, Indian, South Asian

While I do enjoy a clever mystery now and then, I confess the real reason I randomly picked up the Vish Puri – "India's Most Private Investigator" series – is because I was so taken with the title for #3: The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken, which hit...

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