The Year of The Asian Readathon Wrap-Up

Hey everyone!

If you’ve seen my last post you will know that I mentioned joining in two yearly readathon and well this is the second one, The Year of the Asian Readathon, so now it is time to wrap up all that I’ve read. 

 

Firstly, let’s talk about what this readathon is? 

It is a readathon where you read as many books by Asian authors across the whole year. You set a goal and go.

Thank you to CW @ The Quiet Pond, Lily @ Sprinkles of Dreams, Shealea @ Shut Up Shealea & Vicky @ Vicky Who Reads for hosting this readathon.

 

How did I do??? 

I was aiming for the ‘Indian Cobra’ which was 11-20 books but I actually ending up reading 31 (maybe 32) books so I surpassed my goal. However, I actually had a lower proportion of Asian books to total books read than I had planned so I would like to improve on that next year. 

 

My final badge ended up being…. 

The giant panda: 31 to 40 books read

THE BOOKS

A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir//★★★★.5// ahhh… I loved this! It has been my favourite in the ’ember’ series so far. The characters. The stakes. It was all happening.

Wildcard by Marie Lu//★★★// The main conclusion was a little unsatisfying, but I still liked the action and characters throughout this book, so it kept me hooked.

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan//★★★★// I thought this was a really solid first book in a YA fantasy series as it has action, romance and more. It was slightly predictable but still a compelling read. 

The Rose Society by Marie Lu//★★★★// This was such a strong sequel. I really loved it. The characters. The events. I know it is a pretty big fantasy series, but I wish I saw more talk/fanart for it because I really loved it.

The Midnight Star by Marie Lu//★★★★// This one has more mixed reviews and I can see where they are coming from, but I still really loved seeing how this series ended. There was always something happening, and I loved the character set-ups throughout this series.

Love from A to Z by S. K. Ali//★★★★// I LOVED it. I would say it is one of my favourite contemporaries. I love the characters, the romance and how it was written with the ‘marvel and oddity’ style. 

Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee//★★★// This had such a fun superhero aspect and I really liked watching the events unravel and seeing what the characters would do.

The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco//★★★// This book had such a cool world building concept making it really intriguing. I loved how the plot was leading to a point and you were just waiting for it. I think it had a few pacing concerns and I wish I was more attached to the characters, but still a solid read.

Caster by Elsie Chapman//★★★★// I loved the magical tournament element which it turn made the plot and pacing really strong. I wish I had a stronger attachment to the characters, but I really liked it still. 

Our Wayward Fate by Gloria Chao//★★★// This book suffered from a strong case of insta-love but it still had enjoyable moments with a lot of emotion, so I stayed invested in the journey. The link to the past was also really cool, I actually really enjoyed that aspect. 

The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar//★★★★// This was such a good contemporary. I love Nishat’s character, her sister relationship and the themes it dealt with. I highly recommend.

The Weight Of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf//★★★★★// I loved this book. It was poignant, well-written with characters that you really cared for. This book took you on a journey and delivered emotions at each stage expertly.

Not Your Villain by C.B. Lee//★★★// I think this ended up being my favourite in this series so far, even though I think the pacing was the weakest. I really liked Bells as a character and seeing the whole squad together.

Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman//★★★★// I loved the beautiful writing and the way the story focused on what art meant to Kiko. It was an extremely character driven, hard hitting read but I love the way the emotions were written. I wish we got to explore some other things more deeply but overall, a very good read.

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon//★★★// There were a lot of things I liked from this book making it an easy, quick read but I had a few issues too. I would have liked more from some things whereas other things I was less interested in.

If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again by Zen Cho//★★★★// This was a really good short story with an excellent message, and I loved the use of mythology. As it was short, I didn’t fall completely in love though.

Not Your Back Up by C.B. Lee//★★★// I really loved the superhero focus in this book and the message written in the story but overall, I felt like it dragged a little bit as not much was happening until the end.

The Terracotta Bride by Zen Cho//★★★// Another short story but I didn’t enjoy this one as much. I think it had an interesting premise and I really liked the idea and themes surrounding it. I just wasn’t able to connect to the story given the time.

Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali//★★★.5// I love how this book was able to uncover so many mixed emotions over an array of topics and explore them well. I was able to connect to the characters too so I am very excited for the sequel. There were just a few things that didn’t work for me and the pacing felt off throughout the novel.

10 Minutes, 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak (translated by Natalia Wisniewska)///I liked how this was able to highlight not only the injustices of society, but the way the injustices are handled thereafter. It shone a light on the problems of society with lots of different layers to make you feel an array of emotions.

Darius The Great Deserves Better by Adib Khorram//★★★★// I love the Darius series so much and I genuinely would read 10 more books with him. I thought this was a really strong sequel as it shifted onto a different part of Darius’s life and therefore the different emotions alongside it. The emotions in these books are perfect, I only wished for more family time in this one.

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong// Beautiful writing with the ability to touch on a wide variety of things in his life with a delicate but purposeful care. Unfortunately, I felt like I wasn’t able to appreciate everything as things went over my head.

Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay//★★★★.5// This was such a powerful read, dealing with a journey of yourself as much as with society. It was a very emotional and well written read. 

Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri//★★★★// A slow fantasy built heavily around a romance. It had beautiful writing and whilst I do the think the plot could have been improved; it didn’t necessarily affect my enjoyment.

Sofia Khan is Not Obliged by Ayisha Malik// Unfortunately I barely remember this read and it just went over my head. I wasn’t in the mood and kind of forced myself through it, so it didn’t really entice me at all. But I don’t think my opinion is the best because of how I was feeling so probably read some other reviews.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang (translated by Deborah Smith)// You can take a lot out of this book as a mirror for society, so I think it was very clever how it used the story to do that. However, I didn’t get much enjoyment out of the story itself and it lacked a cohesiveness I would have liked, but that could be me missing points etc.

Rent A Boyfriend by Gloria Chao//★★★★// Such a fun read based around the ‘fake dating’ trope. I love Chao’s humour and addictive writing style. Plus, it deals with the themes of family and acceptance which I really love seeing in YA contemporaries.

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen//★★★★// This was stunning. The art is distinct and magical. Plus, the story itself was full of themes of stories, identity, family and more. It was really good, so many people will love it. 

Forest of Souls by Lori M. Lee//★★★★// A really strong YA fantasy with a really interesting villain and magic system. I really enjoyed the setting, how the plot unravelled and the characters. Some things could have been explored more deeply but overall a really good read.

The Courage to be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga// I liked how the dialogue made this book effective at dealing with many points and challenging them in a format which was easy to understand. It was interesting to learn about Adler’s ideas and it gave me something to think about but I’m not sure I agree with everything said. I still consider it a good read though.

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong//★★★★// I loved the writing, the setting, the characters and the angst. I was able to read it in one day (I got a headache, but it was worth it which I think tell you everything you need to know). I do think the plot/mystery could have moved faster and for certain things to have been smoother but overall, it was really good, and I need the sequel.

A Sky Beyond The Storm by Sabaa Tahir// I’m currently reading this and I hope to finish it by the end of the year. BUT I probably won’t remember to update this if I do. 

I really enjoyed this readathon as I don’t really track my reading like this, so it was interesting and beneficial to do. It definitely encouraged me to read more books by Asian authors which I intend to continue forever especially as there are so many greats books out there. I think going forward I would like to make sure I read from a variety of places across Asian as I have mostly read East Asian books this year.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think?

Have you got any Asian books I should add to my TBR?