BookDragon

Korea As Viewed by 12 Creators produced by Fanfare/Ponent Mon, translated by Vanessa Champion, Andy Milanesio, Andrés Moon

23 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, European, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Korean, Translation, Young Adult Readers

The idea is fascinating; so obviously simple yet undeniably clever. Six French graphic book artists were sent to Korea to be "completely immersed." Six Korean manwha artists were also asked to participate. All 12 were given "complete carte blanche" to convey their individual views of...

Alive in the Killing Fields: Surviving the Khmer Rouge Genocide by Nawuth Keat with Martha E. Kendall

22 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Cambodian, Cambodian American, Memoir, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Southeast Asian, Southeast Asian American, Young Adult Readers

'Collateral damage' is such a detached, sanitized phrase for the innocent people who pay the highest price for the tragic folly of war; and surely the youngest and the eldest suffer the greatest. "I want people to know the truth about what happened," Nawuth Keat told...

The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Real Princesses by Shirin Yim Bridges, illustrated by Albert Nguyen

21 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Biography, Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, Egyptian, European, Indian, Middle Grade Readers, Mongolian, Persian, Turkish

Hatshepsut of Egypt Artemisia of Caria Sorghaghtani of Mongolia Qutlugh Terkan Khatun of Kirman Isabella of Castile Nur Jahan of India Happy birthday to the world's most famous queen (still!) who turns 85 today, making her son the oldest prince-waiting-to-be-king in British history. Next week, on April 29, Queen E2 will...

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

20 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Afghan, Audio, Memoir, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

I picked up Gayle Tzemach Lemmon's already-bestselling debut title with a mission: after reading too many death-and-destruction books one after another, I needed some inspiration to reverse me out of a downward spiral. Our mutual involvement in a fabulous project which puts us on the same web...

Seven Fathers retold by Ashley Ramsden, illustrated by Ed Young

19 Apr, by SIBookDragon in British, Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, European, Fiction

International storyteller Ashley Ramsden retells a Norwegian tale about the rich rewards of patient tenacity. "One winter's evening, a lone traveler trudged down a winding forest road looking for a place to spend the night ...

The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea

18 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Latin American, Latina/o/x

If I hadn't had Luis Alberto Urrea himself read the majority of his novel to me via iPod, I would never have known the proper pronunciation of Parangarícutirimícuaro, not to mention a few choice insults! Good thing I also bought the book, because I wouldn't...

Ladder to the Moon by Maya Soetoro-Ng, illustrated by Yuyi Morales

15 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Indonesian American

"More than anything, I wished that my mother and my daughter could have known and loved each other," Maya Soetoro-Ng writes in her "Author's Note," mourning her late mother (anthropologist S. Ann Dunham), who died a decade before her granddaughter Suhaila was born. Through the infinite...

Beneath the Lion’s Gaze by Maaza Mengiste

14 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, African, Black/African American, Fiction

Decades ago, I went to college with one of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie's grandsons. Beyond the seemingly ubiquitous images back then of Ethiopia's barren natural disasters and widespread starvation, that worldly, quiet, thoughtful young man was my first real encounter with Ethiopia ...

Death Note I: Black Edition (vols.1-2) by Tsugumi Ohba, art by Takeshi Obata, translated by Tetsuichiro Miyaki

12 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

So phenomenally successful is the Death Note series, it's available in multiformats in the U.S. alone. Not even considering all the endless spin-off enterprises like anime, films, and games, Death Note on the page comes in single volumes (12 total), or a complete box set, or even...

Palestine’s Children: Returning to Haifa and Other Stories by Ghassan Kanafani, translated by Barbara Harlow and Karen E. Riley

11 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Palestinian, Short Stories, Translation

Contrary as I am, I find I must start with this book backwards. The final entry in this important title by one of Palestine's literary icons is not only the collection's highlight, but it is undoubtedly one of those haunting 'what-if' situations that you'll find...

The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer

10 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, European, Fiction, Jewish

Sometimes, nothing satisfies like a sweeping family saga: convincing enough to believe the characters truly existed beyond the bound pages, long enough to feel like they've become a part of your lives, inspiring enough to mourn their company once the words are finished. Thus is Julie Orringer's...

House of Five Leaves (vol. 2) by Natsume Ono, translated by Joe Yamazaki

08 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Being madly appreciative of Natsume Ono's not simple, one of the most clever, time-bending manga I've ever been so lucky to read, I definitely felt a personal sense of pride when I heard this week that Ono's latest series-in-English-translation, House of Five Leaves (click here...

Lost & Found by Shaun Tan

08 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Australian, Australian Asian, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers

The literati around the world have surely got the memo that 2011 is Shaun Tan's year. Every few weeks, he seems to be back in the news with new accolades (all well-deserved, I must add ...

We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

06 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Fiction, Korean American, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

Been waiting to exhale? Here it comes ...

The Story of Lee (vol. 1) by Seán Michael Wilson and Chie Kutsuwada

05 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, British, British Asian, Chinese, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Hong Kongese, Young Adult Readers

The greatest strength of this series debut is, without a doubt, the art: the first spread, for example, captures the eponymous Lee gliding along on her bike, then the shock of a narrowly-missed collision with an elderly woman, and the embarrassed apology as she picks...

It’s Not Summer without You by Jenny Han

04 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Fiction, Korean American, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

First things first: do NOT read further if you haven't read Part 1 of Jenny Han's sigh-inducing Belly-trilogy, The Summer I Turned Pretty. Why spoil this delicious experience? Trust me ...

The Lake by Banana Yoshimoto, translated by Michael Emmerich

01 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese, Translation

Balanced with deft reminders of impermanence –from vivid dreams and outdoor art to once-a-year cherry blossoms and death – Banana Yoshimoto’s latest is a love story with a higher-than-usual satisfying-sigh factor. Chihiro, an artist, and Nakajima, a graduate student in genetics, finally meet after watching and...

Around the World on Eighty Legs by Amy Gibson, illustrated by Daniel Salmieri

30 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Nonethnic-specific, Poetry

Warning: reading this whimsical globe-trotting picture book debut from Amy Gibson with your young 'uns will surely make them peripatetic adventurers sooner than later in life. Divided by continent, Gibson wanders the globe sharing giddy, often enlightening poems about animals familiar and hidden. In South America,...

Cozy Winter Reads [in Bloomsbury Review]

28 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Memoir, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Repost, Young Adult Readers

Since we had SNOW yesterday in DC, I guess we still have some leftover winter. Brrrr ...

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

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

With very good reason, Jennifer Egan's fifth title, A Visit from the Goon Squad, won the 2011 National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction, announced earlier this month. As with most major award winners, I try to take a look or a listen (forget the cat; curiosity...

BookDragon Books for the Diverse Reader