My Ten Favourite Books of 2020

 My Ten Favourite Books Of 2020

 

I don’t think I’ve posted one of these in a couple of years so, as part of my personal resurgence and return to the things I love, I’ve decided to resurrect my annual ‘ten favourite books’ list. Since it’s been a while, I just want to remind you that this list is not based on what was published in this post’s titular year but, rather, of the books I read in that year. In fact, only two books on my list were published in 2020. Moreover, the list, with the exception for the first one, is not in any particular order. They aren’t ordered, for example, in what I think to be the best written. I have neither the expertise nor the authority to do that. Far be it for a self-published novelist and blogger to judge anyone’s literary aptitude. 

 

What this list represents are the books that resonated with me the strongest. I thoroughly enjoyed each one and they’re all brilliant. As with pretty much anything, what often crosses our paths isn’t what’s new or what we want or think we want. Instead, we’re often led to what we need. Regarding the book I’ve placed at number one, it’s been on my radar for several years but I don’t think I read it until now because I wasn’t at the right place to read it before now. The things that mean the most or the things that bring you the greatest joy aren’t always the latest thing but, rather, the thing you need the most when you need it the most. As far as the book at number one, it’s the one that hit me the hardest; down to my core and made me ask the most questions of myself. Having said that, what’s one reader’s classic may be another’s pulp, so it’s quite subjective really. 

 

So, without further ado, here’s my list of favourite books I read in 2020. I can’t wait to see what 2021 brings. 

 

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craftby Stephen King (2010, Scribner)

America Is In The Heart: A Personal Historyby Carlos Bulosan (2019, Blackstone Publishing, audiobook; originally published 1946)

The One and Only Ivanby Katherine Applegate (2021, HarperCollins)

Eastman Was Hereby Alex Gilvarry (2017, Viking)

KillingCommendatoreby Haruki Murakami (2018, Knopf)

Carmela Full of Wishesby Matt de la Peña(2018, G. P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers)

Murder in the Squash Court by Jonah Barrington (1982, Stanley Paul Hardcover)

99 Ways to Die(Taipei Night Market, #3) by Ed Lin (2018, Soho Press)

Loveboat, Taipei(Loveboat, Taipei, #1) by Abigail Hing Wen (2020, HarperAudio)

Lucky – Anil Nayar’s Story: A Portrait of a Legendary Squash Champion by Jean Nayar (2020, Five Rivers Press)

 

 

Top Ten Books Of 2016

My Top Ten Books of 2016

And, here it is. My list of the top ten books I read in 2016. If you follow my blog, you’ll know that I do this annually and that my list is based on the books I read that year, regardless of the year in which a book was published. Interestingly, 2016 saw me read more recently published books (mostly 2015 and 2016) than I usually do. This year also drew me towards reading more non-fiction books as well.

What gets a book on my top ten is the following criteria: whether it changed a part of me or my life or how I look at life, the book’s emotional impact on me, how unique and creative I though the book was. Each book’s level of entertainment, education and ‘page turnability’ also determines if it makse the list or not. And, again, as I say every year, this is purely my subjective list. You may not like it and some of the books may be the kinds of books that don’t normally draw you to them but they called to me and I gladly shared a good part of my 2016 with them.

So, without further ado, here they are.

1. The Latinos of Asia: How Filipinos Break The Rules of Race by Anthony Christian Ocampo, Ph.D. Stanford University Press, 2016.

2. The Wild Robot by Peter Brown. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2016.

3. Incensed by Ed Lin. Soho Crime, 2016.

4. Arsene Wenger by John Cross. Simon & Schuster (UK), 2015.

5. Dog Man by Dav Pilkey. GRAPHIX, 2016.

6. The Sandwich Thief by Andre Marois, Patrick Doyon (illustrator). Chronicle Books, 2016.

7. Descender, Volume One: Tin Stars by Jeff Lemire, Dustin Nguyen (illustrator). Image Comics, 2015.

8. Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights: A Novel by Salman Rushdie. Random House, 2016.

9. Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits by David Wong (Jason Pargin). Thomas Dunne Books, 2015.

10. The Thank You Book (Elephant & Piggie #25) by Mo Willems. Disney-Hyperion, 2016.

Honourable mentions:

One-Punch Man, Volume One by One, Yusuke Murata (illustrator). VIZ Media, 2015

Captain Awesome and the New Kid (Captain Awesome #3) by Jim Kirby, George O’Connor (illustrator). Little Simon, 2012.

Happy New Year! - My Top Ten Books Of 2015

Well, it’s just ahead of us. I’m talking about 2016, of course. In fact, in just nine hours (here on the United States’ east coast, anyway), we’ll be toasting 2015 out and welcoming 2016 in. So, before I go no, let me say Happy New Year! I wish you a healthy, happy and successful 2016. 

This is also the time of year when all the various Top Ten lists come out in magazines, newspapers, entertainment and news shows and, of course, blogs. Not wanting to be left behind, as I do every year, here is my Top Ten list of books from 2015. Well, they’re the top ten of the books that I read in 2015 so some of them may have been published in previous years.  Anyway, here they are. Maybe you read some of them this past year too.

1. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami. Translated by Philip Gabriel. Vintage Paperback, 2015 (First published in 2013)

2. Monkey King, volume 19: Masters and Disciples by Wei Dong Chen, Chao Peng (illustrator). JR Comic, 2012.

3. The Stranger by Harlan Coben. Dutton Hardcover, 2015.

4. The Wicked Will Rise (Dorothy Must Die #2) by Danielle Paige. Harper Collins, 2015.

5. Saints (Boxers &Saints #2) by Gene Luen Yang. First Second Paperback, 2013.

6. Boxers (Boxers &Saints #1) by Gene Luen Yang. First Second Paperback, 2013.

7. The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri. Vintage Paperback, 2014.

8. Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña. G. P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2015.

9. Tina’s Mouth: An Existential Comic Dairy by Keshni Kashyap, Mark Araki (illustrator). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Hardcover, 2012.

10. 1Q84 (1Q84 #1-3) by Haruki Murakami. Knopf ebook, 2011.

Honourable Mentions: The Young Elites (The Young Elites #1) by Marie Lu, Star Wars: Aftermath by Chuck Wendig, We Are In A Book by Mo Willems, Guardian (Proxy #2) by Alex London

Review of Back Kicks and Broken Promises

This was a surprise to me. I didn't know she was doing it but I got a Twitter Direct Message last May from Lauren Lola, a reviewer for the website The Wind-Up Books Chronicle. Like I said I was very surprised and I'm also very honoured that she'd do this review. Thanks Lauren.


Anyway, click the link below to read it. 
http://tinyurl.com/ozlp5bp

Rubbing Elbows With A Star

With author Ed Lin 

at the Hill Country Chicken Restaurant 

on Broadway.

My goal as a writer is to be able to write and sell books that are entertaining, educational and mean something to my readers. I'd love to break out with some level of mainstream success (I use the word 'success' loosely because depending on an individual's perspective the word can connote different things) and, ideally, be in a position to give up my day job and write full-time. I also wouldn't mind breaking into the contemporary Asian American writing scene and, God and luck willing, be spoken of in the same breath and with the same respect as, say, Don Lee, Lisa See, Susan Choi, Jhumpa Lahiri and Ed Lin, just to name a few. Lofty aspirations, I know, but aspirations I am working to fulfill albeit with a lot of (self-imposed) stress and anguish. 

Until recently. 

I contributed to a crowd fund last fall to help finance the publication of an issue of Hyphen Magazine, the premier magazine of Asian American culture, goings on, art, music and literature. As a result of my financial support, I was pleasantly surprised that I'd won lunch with the esteemed  Ed Lin, the first author to win three Asian American Literary Awards (AALAs) and the author of Waylaid,  This Is A Bust and Snakes Can't Run. We met at Hill Country Chicken (1123 Broadway, at the corner of 25th Street and near the Flatiron Building) on a wet and cold February Saturday, a few days after one of the multitude of snowstorms we had last winter. Having won three AALAs and looking at some of Ed's pics online, he looked like a very serious fellow. I am, too, but not in the way I judged Ed to be based on his accolades and the focus of his expression. So, while I was excited for our lunch, I was a touch nervous but, as soon as I shook his hand, all my apprehensions left me. Ed, you see, is a funny, easygoing guy. Naturally, we talked about writing. We also talked about 1980s video games, movies, Ninja Turtles and food. We talked about our day jobs - he's a journalist, I'm a teacher - and New Jersey where we both grew up. 

We're both serious about our writing but meeting Ed and hanging with him for an hour or so, I was reminded that writers - not all of us, anyway  - are stuffy high brow literati. And we don't have to be. We're real people who write about real things and fantastical things. Ed, of course, isn't the only successful writer I've met and many of the writers I've met seem like regularly people too. I'm also too old and experienced in life to get star struck but, as I pursue my writing career with serious conviction, sometimes I forget to take a moment and enjoy what life has put in front of me. Thanks to Ed Lin, just from his demeanour, I've started to enjoy those everyday moments with a fresher perspective. So, not only do I need to thank him again for some of the best fried chicken I've ever had, I need to thank him for being who he is,  for 'keeping it real.'

Thanks Ed. 

Asian Books Blog

Recently, I was contacted by Raelee Chapman of the Asian Books Blog in Singapore. She wanted to conduct an interview about my writing process and my experiences having independently published Back Kicks And Broken Promises, my first novel. The interview went live today and here's the link to the interview. Enjoy. 

My Top Ten Books of 2014

MY TOP TEN BOOKS

Being a lover of books – as a reader and, of course, as a writer – and with ‘Top Ten’ popping up almost everywhere you look this time of the year, I feel compelled, as I did last year, to share the top ten books I read in 2014. Since this list is of the books I read in 2014, be aware that not all the books were published in 2014. In some cases, the book may be thirty years old. Additionally, some books that are beloved by many may not rate as highly on my list as others may like and that may be due to many factors. Sadly, I may have already been ‘brainwashed’ by more recent books of a similar vein or I read the book around the same time the movie version came out and, having seen some previews for the film, I may have been unintentionally influenced. So, without further ado, here is my list of top ten books I read in 2014 with the one I enjoyed the most at number one.

1.     Waylaid by Ed Lin (Kaya Production, 2002; first published in 2001)

2.     The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson (Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2012)

3.     Under The Blood-Red Sun by Graham Salisbury (Wendy Lamb Books, 2008; first published in 1994)

4.     Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith (Penguin Young Readers, 2014)

5.     The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances by Matthew Inman (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2014)

6.     Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige (Harper Collins, 2014)

7.     The Living by Matt de la Peña (Delacorte Press, 2013)

8.     The Fault In Our Stars by John Green (Penguin Young Readers, 2012)

9.     Amulet, volume 1: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi (GRAPHIX, 2008)

10. Monkey King, volume 7: The Expulsion of Sun Wu Kong by Wei Dong Chen and Chao Peng (Illustrations) (JR Comics, 2012)

Honourable Mentions:

The Giver by Lois Lowry (Laurel-Leaf Books, 1994; first published in 1993) and Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (Tor Books, 2010; first published in 1985).

Being A Fan - My Day At BookCon

I attended BookCon last Saturday. BookCon is one of the events that happens in conjunction with Book Expo America (BEA) and it's the book fans' day to celebrate their favorite authors, attend panels, get autographs, buy book-themed merchandise and get free galleys and other swag from publishers. It was, and will be again in 2015, held at the Jacob Javitts Convention Centre in NYC and it was an enjoyable madhouse. A friend who also attended and with whom I tried to meet up for lunch, refereed to it as a 'religious experience.' In addition to being a lover of books, she's also an English Lit teacher so you can imagine the overwhelming elation she must've felt. 

I'd never attended a 'con' before although I've always wanted to - and may still yet - attend ComicCon. The other times I've been to BEA and its related events, I've gone from somewhat of an insider's perspective. I'm an writer, with one book out so far (Back Kicks And Broken Promises), and I've gone to BEA attend workshops, network, and to learn about the business. This year, however, my schedule didn't allow me to take the three days off from my day job to attend BEA in earnest so I decided to go as a fan and attend BookCon. After all, what lover of words and book wouldn't want to? And, who knows? One day I might be on the other side, signing autographs or speaking as part of a panel, so I might as well make sure I know how my readers might feel. Ha ha!

Well, a few days post event, I have to say it was well worth it. It was crowded, there were long lines (I didn't get into the chat between Alex London  (Proxy, Guardian) and Veronica Roth (The Divergent series) but I did get to attend the Stan Lee (Marvel Comics, Zodiac) interview and the dystopian panel with Veronica Roth, Marie Lu (The Legend series), Danielle Paige (Dorothy Must Die) and Alaya Dawn Johnson (The Summer Prince). From both sessions, I walked away with free teasers - a galley sample of Lu's upcoming The Young Elites and a teaser booklet of Roth's Four series and a signed galley sample of Lee's upcoming novel, Zodiac. 

In addition to these two fan-targeted sessions, I also attended a couple of less fan and, perhaps, more industry-type sessions. The first one I went to was a discussion with an esteemed panel of authors that included two of my favourites,  Matt de la Peña (The Living, Mexican WhiteBoy), who I refer to as 'my mentor' after having taken three workshops with him and for his major influence in guiding my hand as I wrote Back Kicks, and Grace Lin (Dumpling Days). It was called We Need Diverse Books (WNDB), a campaign spearheaded by Asian American author Ellen Oh (Warrior, Prophecy). In a nutshell, the panel discussed the need and ways to get books written, published and distributed to our youth of colour with story lines and protagonists that better represent them and that allow other (read: not of colour) children - and adults - to learn about and understand the other side of the ethnic colour spectrum. As an Asian American author, I was naturally pulled to this panel. And, I am fully behind Oh's campaign and will do whatever I can to support it. I do believe WNDB is planning its first event in Washington, DC for 2016. 

The second non-fan centred panel I attended was a discussion with two publishers who specialise in putting out books for minority readers - Cinco Puntos and Just Us Books. Both publishers seem to specialise in books for Hispanic and African American readers but I'm sure, with a good story, they'd consider books by and for other ethnic groups. What was interesting to learn at this session, though, was that more than half the books by and about minorities come from indie or small presses like Cinco Puntos and Just Us. It's about time the big houses get on the diversity train. Lee And Low is another publisher focusing on diverse books, particularly for children, and its imprint Tu Books focuses on science fiction and fantasy. 

In addition to the above panels, I roamed the show floor and picked up some galleys. Partly because I was green in how things worked, but also because I didn't want to pick things up indiscriminately (which part of me regrets), I didn't get some of the free totes and other swag and books the hordes of fellow attendees got. Next time, I'm going to have to be more aggressive and barge my way through. I've never done a Black Friday 2am shopping spree but the way the crowds stormed in I can imagine it's very similar. Of the books on hand, and one of the freebies I regret missing, the one that seemed to be the most pushed (I base this on seeing placards and posters for it just about everywhere I turned) was E. Lockhart's We Were Liars. Next time, the instant I feel an inkling for a book, for whatever reason, I'll snap it up or queue up and bring it home. 

So, will I go again? Yeah, if I'm not attending BEA proper or off in another city doing a book signing of my own books, Back Kicks or the one I'm finishing writing now. Hmm. Haha. For those of you who were there - and of the masses who were there the majority appeared to be women and girls ranging from about 12 to 40 - I hope you had as much fun as I did. 

Happy reading!