Year of the Asian: Reading Challenge Wrap-Up

The challenge is to read as many books written by Asian authors as you can! These books can be backlist titles (i.e. released in 2018 or earlier), new releases, and even ARCs. Any genre, format, or length is acceptable! Check out the fun levels we’ve made and decide which one you’ll aim for! LEARN MORE.

💖 SHOW LOVE TO THE #YARC2019 CREATORS 💖
CW from The Quiet Pond (thequietpond.com)
Lily from Sprinkles of Dreams (sprinklesofdreams.wordpress.com)
Shealea from (https://shutupshealea.com/)
Vicky from Vicky Who Reads (vickywhoreads.wordpress.com)

Earlier this year, we joined the YARC Challenge. We absolutely loved this challenge, and since the year is winding down, we figured it would be the perfect time to check in and see how we did —along with showcasing some of the books you need to get on your TBR.

MANDY

I aimed for about 10 reads, and I even created a pretty little list of books I was looking to read. Do you believe I actually followed that list?? Of course not. NEVER. I did actually manage 3/10 books that I had listed, and then went rogue.

 

What I Actually Read

✔️ The Beautiful by Renee Ahdieh

✔️ A Match Made in Mehendi by Nandini Bajpai

✔️ Quiet Girl in a Noisy World by Debbie Tung

✔️ The Best Lies by Sarah Lyu

✔️ Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

✔️ Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

✔️ Reflection by Elizabeth Lim

✔️ Book Love by Debbie Tung

✔️  Loveboat, Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen

*I also DNFed The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee at 40% but I didn’t finish it so I’m not counting it for this.

 

Favorites: Girls of Paper and Fire was easily my favorite of the bunch. It was such a lush and magical read that – while hard to read at times – was stunningly beautiful, hopeful, and ethereal. The Best Lies was quietly good read that was a twisted thriller that takes a look at toxic friendships. I didn’t think I was going to enjoy it as much as I did due to some of the reviews, but it was super well executed.

Final Result

I’m the Philippine tarsier (1 to 10 books), with me reading 9 books! I did wish I ended up reading more, but I’m certainly going to aim for more next year.

SHA

I aimed for 10 reads. I was nervous going into this challenge. Did I want to diversify my reading, yes, but all the preliminary books rec lists for the challenge had books that didn’t hold my interest. Then I ended up going to Australia and the last thing on my mind was digging through the library catalogues to find Asian authors who matched my reading preferences.

What I Actually Read

✔️ Stronger than a Bronze Dragon by Mary Fan

✔️ Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

✔️ Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

✔️ Smoke in the Sun by Renee Ahdieh

 

Favorites: Smoke in the Sun was by far my favourite. I enjoyed Descendant of the Crane.

Final Result

I’m the Philippine tarsier (1 to 10 books) level. When I’m back home next year, I’m going to put a better effort into searching for books. This might not have been a good time for me to try this challenge!

Did you join #YARC2019? Did you read any of these books?