As promised, here’s a sneak peek at a handful of Asian stories I plan to read for the #YOAS challenge. This isn’t a comprehensive list by a long shot. My TBR pile shuffles like a deck of cards; I’m easily distracted by stories that interest me or covers that jump out at me in all their gorgeous glory. But these have been on my mind as of late, so I’m stacking them at the top.

Books in animated gifs: books dancing waltz

TBR Pile

Side note: I’ve already read two of these titles. Because a considerable amount of time has passed, I want to revisit them! I’m currently reading Wicked Fox by Kat Cho, who I’ll be interviewing next month.

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

Empress Of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

A Chime of Windbells by Harold Stewart

Wicked Fox by Kat Cho

Pandemonium and Parade by Michael Dylan Foster

The Bird And The Blade by Megan Bannen

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

The Code of the Samurai by inazo nitobe


TBW List

As I mentioned in the original YOAS post, this challenge extends to all forms of stories so long as Asian lore/legend/mythology is a central element. Here are three anime films that have been on my TBW (to be watched) list since forever. Are you watching anime for this challenge? Let me know which ones!

My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ) by Hayao Miyazaki

Castle In The Sky 天空の城ラピュタ ) by Hayao Miyazaki

Grave of the Fireflies 火垂るの墓) by Akiyuki Nosaka


The Basic Rules

Let’s be real: life is busy. Sometimes we simply don’t have time to read, even when we’d love to. I’ve kept these rules as basic so you can participate comfortably at your own pace.

  • Number of books read + your level of participation = as much as you’d like.
  • YOAS is dedicated to all Asian-inspired stories, regardless of whether the author identifies as Asian.
  • The stories can be: self-published, traditionally published, or independently published.
  • The stories can be in any form (graphic novels, film, books, documentaries, etc).
  • You can join any time in 2019, but for any story to count toward the challenge, it must be read and posted within one year from the 2019 start date (June 2019).

And there you have it, lovely readers! I will prioritize books on my TBR over other forms, but I think it could be interesting to cross-examine Asian-inspired stories in film. Other book bloggers participating this year:

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Got recs? I’d love to hear them.