Year Of Asian Stories | A 2019 Reading Challenge

❤️こんにちは, Lovely Readers❤️

I’m stoked to announce that Bookish Valhalla will be hosting a Year Of Asian Stories, our very first reading challenge in four years! I know, I know. Reading challenges typically begin in January and proceed throughout the year. In a perfect, little world, YOAS would have followed that narrative. But we like breaking the rules, and honestly, reading is fun no matter when you do it so long as you enjoy the book.

Why We Created YOAS: We decided to start this reading challenge for a number of reasons, some of which may be considered rather controversial. For starters, we are freaking out over the stunning new releases coming out this year, and the Asian authors who wrote them. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t stalk Kat Cho and Joan He and their debut novels. I’ve been screaming for years that I wanted to read more Asian-inspired novels, and boy did the universe deliver! But with the all the gorgeous diversity taking place, and the reading challenges boosting much-needed voices, I couldn’t help feeling as though there were a number of truly amazing Asian stories out there falling through the cracks simply because the author wasn’t Asian.

Diversity and inclusion can be a truly beautiful thing, but only if it includes everyone — when all forms and voices are given a place to be celebrated. We want to stress that we completely support stories written by Asian authors, but we also wanted to do a reading challenge that isn’t exclusive.

Continue reading for all the info on how to join the Year Of Asian Stories Reading Challenge!

⛩️ INTRODUCTION|GUIDELINES ⛩️

Welcome to the Year Of Asian Stories Reading Challenge of 2019, also known as YOAS. Like many other challenges, we will read as many books as we comfortably can, throw monthly discussions/Book Babbles, and just have fun while discovering stories we’ve never read before. Unlike other reading challenges out there, however, YOAS doesn’t end in 2019. We continue for a full year to the summer of 2020.

We’re not going to give you elaborate guidelines or rules or anything like that. Ain’t nobody got time to be sifting through rules when there are books out in the world waiting to be snatched up! So our guidelines are about as basic as they can get:

The number of books you read and your level of participation is up to you entirely.
This reading challenge is dedicated to reading all Asian-inspired stories, whether or not the author identifies as Asian.
YOAS is open to any books so long as they feature an element of Asian folklore, mythos, or legend.
1. The stories can be of any length.
2. The stories can be from any genre.
3. The stories can be from any form.
  1. The stories can include poetry, graphic novels/manga, anime (Spirited Away, for example), foreign films, or a series/documentary dedicated to the topic. All of these, in their own way, are stories.
4. The stories can be Traditional, Indie, or self-pubbed.
In order for a story to count, it must be finished one year from the start date of YOAS. This means that, technically, you don’t have to finish in 2019, but do need to actively participate somehow during this time.
You can join any time in 2019.

❤️ HOW TO JOIN ❤️

Make an announcement: Declare your intention to participate in YOAS on any social media platform (Twitter, Facebook, blog, Goodreads, etc).

If you don’t have a blog, create a thread on Twitter, Goodreads, or Facebook. Use the hashtag (#YOAS) to track your progress. Please make sure to link back to this page so that other readers can join in the fun!
If you do have a blog, announce your participation via a blog post. In this post, you can set a goal for yourself or share a list of stories you intend to read. Whatever you want 😀 Again, please make sure to link back to this page so others can join the reading challenge too.

Grab our badge: Display the YOAS badge on your blog or social media accounts 😀

Read, read, read: Begin reading and track your progress. Team up with another participant and do a readathon bookclub style. Share your reactions via Twitter chats. Whatever you want to do, so long as we all have fun doing it together.

Rant & Rave: Don’t forget to share the experience with the other participants. Did someone else read the same book as you? Visit their blog or Twitter thread to chat all about it. Once a month, blast an update post on your blog or announce where you stand in the personal goal you set. Challenge other readers to step out of their comfort zones with book recommendations. Or perhaps celebrate a story you’ve come to love, and let the author know by tagging them. Just be active…..and be reading 😀

If you’re joining us for YOAS, please comment below with a link to your announcement post. Early next week, we’ll be making our own announcement (including stories we intend to read this month) and will link all the participants in every post (and stalk you, of course).