Inspiration: Asian

Reading books about other places, cultures, and experiences is a great way to expand your horizons, even when you're stuck at home. For this prompt, we're looking at books about by Asian authors and about the cultures, people, and immigrants of Asian countries.

I went looking for an official list of countries in Asia, and my world view has been expanded to understand Russia and most of the Middle East are included in Asia. I don't know what I thought they were ...

Here are a few I've read:

• Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier
• City of Thieves by David Benioff 
• Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
• The Eye of Jade by Diane Wei Liang
• A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (what I'm reading right now)
• The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng
• Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and Songs of Willow Frost and many others by Jamie Ford
• The Joy Luck Club (and other novels) by Amy Tan
• The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (I'll be honest - I didn't finish it)
• The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
• Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
• Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson (graphic novel)
• My Brother's Husband by Gengoroh Tagame (graphic novel)
• Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
• Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (and other novels) by Lisa See
• The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures by Anne Fadiman (nonfiction)
• The Star Maker by Laurence Yep
• A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
• Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson (and the scandal later!)
• The Wise Fool by Shahrukh Husain & Micha Archer

A few authors and books I haven't read but would recommend anyway:

• Crazy Rich Asians series by Kevin Kwan
• Nicola Yoon (YA)
• Mindy Kaling (nonfiction)
• Gene Luen Yang (graphic novels)
• Arcady's Goal by Eugene Yelchin

And a list of lists:

• 5 Korean novels you should read now on Vanity Fair
• 10 award-winning books by Asian authors you should read on Culture Trip
• 10 best Asian novels of all time on The Telegraph
• 10 Japanese books you need to read on Culture Trip
• 12 Asian writers who should be taught in every high school on Mic
• Fiction set in Asia (that teens might enjoy) by the Seattle Public Library

My list seems heavy on Japan and China, with some India. Can you help diversify the list with some additional recommendations?

My Brother's Husband (Volume 1) by Gengoroh Tagame

A Japanese father is forced to deal with his emotions about his twin brother when a large Canadian man arrives at his door, introducing himself as the now-deceased brother's husband.

This was a quick, fun book that dealt lightly with some heavy emotions. Through his young daughter's enthusiasm for life, Yaichi gradually comes to terms with his memories of Ryoji's coming out and his feelings about his gay brother-in-law Mike. 

Traditional Japanese social rigidity limits any adult show of emotion, and Ryoji is sometimes jealous of Mike's ability to hug Kana at will and to openly cry and express his grief. Kana's buoyant excitement in discovering she has an uncle to introduce to her friends and show around town acts as a catalyst for the two men's friendship.

There's obviously more to the story, and I'll be interested to read more about these complex characters. 

Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight

I think the hallmark of a good nonfiction book is that you get completely engrossed in something you previously had little to no interest in. Therefore you'll understand when I say this is a fantastic book about shoes, track athletes and international business relations.

Phil Knight comes off as the kind of guy you want to have a drink with, but probably don't want to marry or have as a boss. He was a driven entrepreneur who played fast and loose with a lot of money (and not all his own) in the early days, and he almost lost it all multiple times.

But he believed in what he was doing, and he built an amazing "family" of dedicated professionals who believed in the product, too. He talks about Nike's partnership with college and professional athletes without this turning into a name-dropping celebrity memoir, which it easily could have been.

It's probably a great guide for what-not-to-do in business; it's also a stunning example of success despite breaking all the rules. In all, I thoroughly enjoyed the book in every way. I laughed out loud at times, and I bit my fingers along with their strife (even though I knew it would come out).

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

Tidal debris deposits a baggie containing a heck of a story, right at the feet of a beach-combing stymied writer.

The bag's contents include artifacts and journals: an early-2000's Japanese schoolgirl's troubles, her 104-year-old great-grandmother's zen teachings, her depressed father's woe, and a dramatic WWII kamikazi story told two ways. Those many, many stories are layered and twisted into the threads of the novelist's life and longing in a small Canadian outlier island as she explores her find.

Many times while I was listening to this book, I suspected I'm not deep enough to really get all that was going on in subtext and philosophy. But none-the-less, I enjoyed the story immensely.

This audiobook is read by the author - and there's an interesting note at the end. Ozeki explains that the book includes graphs, footnotes and other marginalia that doesn't translate well to the audio format, so you may wish to find a copy of the book to see what you missed. Additionally, though, she explains that audio listeners get a richer, deeper portrayal of the book's characters as she gets to add inflection, tone, and characterization through her dramatic reading. Much like the book itself, many different interpretations of the same text. Up is down - down is up.

The Language Inside by Holly Thompson

Emma is white, and her parents are American - although she's lived in Japan since she was a baby and she has never been in the US longer than a visit. She feels 100% Japanese on the inside. So she's definitely in for a culture shock when the Karas family moves to grandma's in Massachusetts for awhile (months? a year?) while Emma's mother is in treatment for breast cancer.

This book is written in verse, and the story deals quite a bit with artistic expression: As Emma struggles with the fact her outside doesn't match her "filling", dance and poetry become outlets for her emotions. Volunteering at the nursing home she becomes friends with a stroke victim who communicates only through eye movement, several elderly Cambodian refugees, and many American kids of Cambodian ethnicity, who collectively help Emma realize she's not alone - that many people have internal lives that don't match their physical shell.

I enjoyed the book, and I think it would have been equally well served in prose form. Emma and her friends are relatable, intelligent teens with real-world concerns. The author does an excellent job with character and pacing, and I loved that the world's not tied up in a tidy bow at the end - while still giving readers a satisfying resolution.

Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell

Last week I had a nightmare based on this book: you are welcome to use that fact as a gauge to how deeply this series of short stories impacted me.

My dream can be attributed to the standout tale "Reeling for the Empire," which is not about vampires. Just because the book has vampire in the title doesn't mean it's wall-to-wall bloodsuckers - actually, only the first, titular story has anything to do with them (a mere 9% of the book, for those counting).

These are eight tales of classic, creepy horror; the kind of stories that make your shoulders creep closer to your ears as you read. As a tale begins you're never sure where it may take you - stories include persistent seagulls, an eerie scarecrow, a freak blizzard, and the absurd fans of a perpetually losing team. How will they end up? That's the fun of it.

You may remember I was underwhelmed by Swamplandia! last year. Suffice it to say I enjoyed this book much, much more. I'm a convert - this is probably my new favorite horror-genre book. Russell's unique, original tales never fall into the familiar and well-trod story grooves, and each is a jewel of suspense and creativity.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Surprisingly, this is one of those books that you just can't put down. I really didn't anticipate liking it - the library discussion group chose it, and I'm just not a big war fan. But I got truly sucked in from the start.

Louis Zamperini was a troubled kid who made good by learning to run "for" something, instead of "away" from things. His Olympic dreams seem inevitable - and then he enlists for the war effort. Hillenbrand (who also wrote Seabiscuit) does an excellent job of quickly drawing you into Louis' story - he's a very personable guy, and you're cheering for him and laughing at his antics right away. Who wouldn't love this guy?

But the answer to that question, we learn, is a horrifying Japanese prison leader nicknamed The Bird. Zamperini's story takes a tragic, almost unbelievable turn after his enlistment; the fact that it's true doesn't make it any easier to understand.