2019 is the Year of the Asian

I haven’t joined any year long reading challenge in the past because it seemed too long a time for me. Some of the challenges I have seen just make me feel “too” pressured to read a certain type or genre of book.

I thought this was the same with The Year of the Asian Reading Challenge. I really wanted to join the first time I saw the announcement post over at The Quiet Pond but I’m still on a book buying ban and can’t just go out and buy a ton of books by Asian authors even if I want to.

Last week, I finished A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna and I just love it! It’s sooooo freaking good! Don’t worry, I’ll post a full review this weekend or early next week.

I remembered that Shealea, the creator of The Year of the Asian Reading Challenge, was the one who recommended it months ago. I tweeted her thanking her how much I love the books to pieces and it gave me the boost I need to finally commit to this challenge.

So what’s the Year of the Asian Reading challenge, you ask?

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, any format, and any length. Check out the fun levels we’ve made, and decide which one you’ll aim for!

In order for a book to count, you must start and finish it in 2019 because the challenge ends on the 31st of December this year. This means that books started in 2018 and finished in 2019 do not count. Likewise, any books started in 2018 and finished in 2019 do not count either. Rereads count, too, as long as you reread them within 2019.

– Shealea

If it’s something like you would want to join then head over to announcement posts of the hosts for more details (Shealea from Shut Up Shealea, CW from The Quiet Pond, Lily from Sprinkles of Dreams, and Vicky from Vicky Who Reads).

I’ll be going for the Philippine tarsier. At the moment, I only have five to seven books by Asian authors on my physical and e-book shelves and I also wanna be practical so I’ll settle for 1-10 books but hopefully, I surpass this number!

I think the beauty of this reading challenge is that we can read any genre as long as it’s written by an Asian author. As a big mood reader it’s really great for me.

My Reading Tracker

This is where I’ll be tracking the books I finished throughout the challenge.

January

February

• Kiss and Cry by Mina V. Esguerra