BookDragon Death Tag

All You Need Is Kill, original story by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, storyboards by Ryosuke Takeuchi, original illustrations by yoshitoshi ABe, art by Takeshi Obata, translated by Tetsuichiro Miyaki

16 Jan, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

See how long this post title is above? Well, apparently, I seem to be discovering this spectacular story (and it really, truly is!) in its umpteenth iteration. Better late than never, I must say, because I'm convinced that this manga rendition is the very best...

Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande

15 Jan, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Indian American, Memoir, Nonfiction, South Asian American

Atul Gawande’s latest (and fourth) book, Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, has been on countless 2014 'best-of' lists. His three previous titles have all been bestsellers, he's a 1987 Rhodes Scholar, a 2006 MacArthur "Genius" Fellow, and a TED favorite. He's also a...

In a Rocket Made of Ice: Among the Children of Wat Opot by Gail Gutradt, with a foreword by Dr. Paul Farmer

12 Jan, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Cambodian, Jewish, Memoir, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

Gail Gutradt is not a journalist. She is not a nurse or doctor, and actually has no training in the medical profession. She is not a mother. She is not a Buddhist. She speaks very little Khmer. For everything she is not, Gutradt is a...

Can’t we talk about something more pleasant? A Memoir by Roz Chast

09 Jan, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Jewish, Memoir, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction

George and Elizabeth Chast were born 10 days apart in 1912. They grew up two blocks from each other in East Harlem, and were in the same fifth grade class. "They never dated, much less anything else'd, anyone besides each other." They married in 1938. Their...

Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes

07 Jan, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Black/African American, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Nonethnic-specific, South African

By about page 50 or within the first of 12 parts stuck in the ears (the multi-reader cast is absolutely superb, by the way), the whodunnit is pretty clear. That said, serial murder mystery this is, finding out whydunnit-and-howdunnit is the thrill ride you won't be...

Noggin by John Corey Whaley

04 Jan, by SIBookDragon in Audio, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

John Corey Whaley, who was a finalist for the 2014 National Book Award for Young People's Literature, shares the same first name with the ever-popular, mega-bestselling author John Green. Perhaps I might be delusional here, but Noggin feels like it could be some alternate-universe sequel to Green's The Fault...

Master Keaton (vol. 1) by Naoki Urasawa, story by Hokusei Katsushika and Takashi Nagasaki, translated and adapted by Pookie Rolf

02 Jan, by SIBookDragon in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, British, British Asian, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Hapa/Mixed-race, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Goodbye to 2014. Whew! 2015 can only be better, thank you! What makes me so sure? Because among the many things to look forward to throughout the new year is a brand new Naoki Urasawa series-in-translation! How bereft was I when the 24-volume 20th-into-21st Century Boys ended almost two years ago. And...

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

30 Dec, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, British, Fiction

The Great War is over, but tragedy and hunger still haunt 1922 London. On Champion Hill, the Wray family's once-upon-a-posh life has vanished; most notably, all the men are gone. The brothers became casualties of war, the father died leaving substantial debts, and the servants have been...

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, translated by Henning Koch

23 Dec, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, European, Fiction, Swedish, Translation

His name might be Ove, but those who know him are more likely to call him "antisocial" and "grumpy old sod." For most of his life, "[h]e was a man of black and white." But for over three decades, he found warmth and joy with a...

The Lake Shore Limited by Sue Miller

21 Dec, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

Gus – beloved brother, favorite teacher, a vibrant, sunny young man in love – is a victim of 9-11. His presence looms on every page, although his actual words can only be filtered through someone else's memory throughout the novel. Still, he proves to be the pivotal character who brings together...

Frog by Mo Yan, translated by Howard Goldblatt [in Library Journal]

16 Dec, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Chinese, Fiction, Repost, Translation

*STARRED REVIEW Wan Xin, aka Gugu, is a revered obstetrician who has delivered generations of Gaomi Township citizens over the last half century. Yet for every live birth, she's aborted at least as many pregnancies, proving her patriotism by fervently upholding China's one-child policy; even relatives...

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

08 Dec, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Canadian, Fiction

A famous actor, his 8-year-old co-star, and an in-training paramedic walk onto a Toronto stage (actually, the latter rushes on with great force) ...

Attack on Titan (vols. 11-14) by Hajime Isayama, translated by Ko Ransom

16 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

If this is the first time you're hearing about this worldwide phenomenon that is Attack on Titan, please pause and take the time to catch up. Trust me when I warn you that this is not a series that you can pick up midway; you’ll need and want to follow...

Attack on Titan (vols. 5-10) by Hajime Isayama, translated by Sheldon Drzka (vols. 5-8) and Ko Ransom (vols. 9-10)

14 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Publishers Weekly credits Attack on Titan with the recent manga rebound in the publishing industry. PW calls it "one of the best selling comics series in North America – yes, not just bestselling manga, best selling comic series, period." School Library Journal says Titan has "become one of the most...

Lila by Marilynne Robinson

06 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

In 2004, Gilead gave voice to the aging Reverend John Ames, who recognizes he will not live to see his 7-year-old son grow up and so creates an epistolary record of all that he will never be able to share with his boy. Four years later, Home featured...

She Weeps Each Time You’re Born by Quan Barry [in Library Journal]

04 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Repost, Southeast Asian, Southeast Asian American, Vietnamese, Vietnamese American

*STARRED REVIEW In 2001, on an evening with a full moon –when Asian folklore says a rabbit appears on the lunar surface – Amy Quan searches for a woman in Vietnam, "where I was born in the same year as her, our lives diametrically opposite." The...

Festival of Bones | El Festival de las Calaveras: The Little-Bitty Book for the Day of the Dead by Luis San Vicente, translated by John William Byrd and Bobby Byrd

30 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Bilingual, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Latina/o/x, Translation

What? Tomorrow is Halloween? Next thing you know, turkeys will trot and oversized bearded men will be out walking the streets. Hard to believe 2014 is almost over already ! But no future-tripping! Well, just for a day, because you'll want to be ready to share...

Malala: A Brave Girl from Pakistan | Iqbal: A Brave Boy from Pakistan by Jeanette Winter

29 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Biography, Children/Picture Books, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, Pakistani, South Asian

Earlier this month, 17-year-old Malala Yousafzai made world history by becoming the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. She shares the award for 2014 with India's Kailash Satyarthi: the pair were cited "for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the...

Attack on Titan (vols. 1-4) by Hajime Isayama, translated by Sheldon Drzka

24 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Check out this headline from last week: "'Attack on Titan' Drives Manga Rebound at New York Comic Con." With over 1.5 million copies in print in the U.S. (which actually seems a bit paltry compared to the 40 – not a typo! – million worldwide as of...

The Possibilities by Kaui Hart Hemmings

20 Oct, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Hawaiian, Nonethnic-specific

So as not to prolong the disappointment and annoyance, I'm going to try to keep this short. I actually skip posting about duds more often than not because the energy feels so wasted, but this title has history: it was attached to a 'how-many-of-these-have-you-read?"-query from a...