Here at For Reading Addicts we wanted to create another reading challenge for ourselves and our followers, something a little different, something that perhaps takes us all out of our reading comfort zone and so we have decided that the For Reading Addicts reading challenge for 2017 will feature authors from around the world.
Each month we will select books written by authors who hail from a specific country and will then share that list on our Social Media pages and groups. We will then set up a discussion event for those who are taking part to chat about the books they read and to share their experiences of reading books from authors they may not ever have come across otherwise. We will also create a poll question asking for suggestions of authors for the next month’s country.
For our October challenge we asked our Cwts Book Club members for suggestions of authors from China. The list this vote produced was very long, these are the five books we have chosen, by the authors who received most votes, for our For Reading Addicts Reading Challenge 2017 October edition.
The Joy Luck Club – Amy Tan
In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, meet weekly to play mahjong and tell stories of what they left behind in China. United in loss and new hope for their daughters’ futures, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club.
Dreams of Joy – Lisa See
Nineteen-year-old Joy Louie has run away from her home in 1950s America to start a new life in China. Idealistic and unafraid, she believes that Chairman Mao is on the side of the people, despite what her family keeps telling her. How can she trust them, when she has just learned that her parents have lied to her for her whole life?
The Art of War – Sun Tzu
Beyond its military and intelligence applications from earliest days to the present time, THE ART OF WAR has been applied to many fields well outside of the military. Much of the text is about how to fight wars without actually having to do battle: it gives tips on how to outsmart one’s opponent so that physical battle is not necessary.
Miss Chopsticks – Xinran
Sisters Three, Five and Six don’t have much education, but they know two things for certain: their mother is a failure because she hasn’t produced a son, and they only merit a number as a name. Women, their father tells them, are like chopsticks: utilitarian and easily broken.
Dragon Seed: A Novel of China at War – Pearl S Buck
Farmer Liang Tan knows only a quiet, traditional life in his remote Chinese farming community. When news filters in that Japanese forces are invading the country, he and his fellow villagers believe that if they behave decently to the Japanese soldiers, the civilians might remain undisturbed.
This month’s books are by the authors that received the most votes, we hope that you can find something from the list to read and enjoy. If you’ve already read one of the books, you can still join in the discussion in the middle of October over in the discussion group.
We hope our reading challenge for 2017 will introduce you to authors you’ve never heard of and writing styles you’ve not encountered previously. We have kept the challenge as simple as possible and hopefully, each month you will be able find at least one book that you will enjoy reading.
For Reading Addicts Reading Challenge 2024
For Reading Addicts Reading Challenge 2023 – Read a Rainbow – October