Saturday, November 28, 2009

My Challenges! 2010 Debut Author, South Asian Author

I'm currently writing this in an airplane on my way home :)

I've decided to participate in the 2010 Debut Author Challenge hosted by Kirsti at the Story Siren. You can find more information about the challenge here It's from Jan. 1, 2010- Dec. 31, 2010.

My goal is to read all the poc debut books of 2010 and I'm not sure how many that is so this list is a work in progress.

I'm going to read

1. The Red Umbrella by Christina Diaz Gonzlalez

2. Shooting Kabul by N. H. Senzai

3. A Mesquite in the Rose Garden by Guadalupe Garcia McCall

4. Caleb + Kate by Cindy Martinusen-Coloma

5. Sea by Heidi R. Kling (this book may be an off-color review since the main character is white but an important secondary character is Indonesian)

6. Eighth Grade Superzero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich (MG)

7. Tortilla Sun by Jen Cervantes (MG)

8. Secret Saturdays by Torrey Maldonado (MG)

South Asian Author Challenge

Date: Jan. 1, 2010-Dec. 31, 2010

This challenge is hosted by S. Krishna and you can find more info here

Since I have a whole year to do this challenge my goal is to read 10 books. I want to read 10 YA with two extra MG books. The book must be by an author of South Asian descent and about South Asian culture (South Asia consists of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka).

A list is not needed for this challenge, but for me lists keep me focused and on task (this list is in no particular order).

1. Indie Girl by Kavita Daswani

2. Secret Keeper by Mitali Perkins

3. Beneath My Mother's Feet by Amjed Qama

4. Monsoon Summer by Mitali Perkins

5. Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos

6. Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman

7. Neela's Victory Song by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (MG)

8. Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan

9. Child of Dandelions by Sheenaz Nanji

10. Naming Maya by Uma Krishnaswami (MG/YA)

11. Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier

12. A Group of One by Rachna Gilmore

I found a great resource here , it's given me so many awesome titles to check out. I will be reading all these books on the list even after the challenge ends.

I found that site through this list which is another fantastic resource. It lists YA books for teens from all ethnic backgrounds!

24-Hour Read-A-Thon update


I'm going to have to edit the Read-A-Thon a bit due to the fact that I'm participating in a service project on Monday so I'll have to get up early. Therefore, I'll need plenty of rest on Sunday so I'm going to start my Read-A-Thon Friday night and go till Saturday night. I will try and post a review on that Friday and Saturday as well.

I'm so excited for all the challenges and the read-a-thon :D

18 comments:

  1. you could try rohington mistry- a fine balance/ family matters/ tales from ferozeshah bagh if you have not read his.

    hanif kureshi- my ear at his heart, buddha of suburbia

    jaishree mishra- ancient promises

    kamila shamsie- kartography, broken verses

    nadeem aslam- songs of the rainbird, wasted vigil and maps for lost lovers

    daniyel muenuddin- in other rooms, other wonders,

    for this second challenge of urs :)

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  2. Thank you. Are these mostly YA or more adult fiction/non fiction?

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  3. Ack! Sry for posting on the wrong entry... Real commen this time:

    lol I've been seeing the Red Umbrella title floating around a lot... It sounds promising.

    A little technicality: Gaslight Dogs isn't Lowachee's debut. However, it is a first in her new series, so maybe it will count to your challenge that way? ^^;;

    Hmm, this South Asian challenge sounds interesting... I definitely haven't read as much as I would like... *contemplates joining*

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  4. Oh thank you for the info on Gaslight! I have to take it off then since it must be a debut.
    Join the South Asian challenge!! I would love to read your reviews, especially if we happened to read any of the same books (it'd be great to see if we had way different reactions. haha).

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  5. lol okay you've convinced me, I'm in. I needed an excuse to check out more of Marina Budhos' works, anyhow. (I adored Ask Me No Questions, I'm looking forward to your reactions to it. =D)

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  6. I've read Born Confused. Loved it. I have and want to read, Indie Girl. Loved Secret Keeper. I have Ask Me No Questions. Saw Wanting Mor at Doret's. Must get to it.

    You know I have many of these. Let me know if you want me to send you any.

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  7. so excited to see you joined the debut author challenge! and even more excited to see that there are some poc debuts for your list! if i come across any, i'll be sure to give you a heads up! good luck!

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  8. Hey I gave you a blog award! =D You can collect it here =D

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  9. @ Ah Yuan- I've already read Ask Me No Questions but it was a few years ago, so I never got to review it. I recall really liking it. Thanks for the award, I've never gotten this one!

    @Color Online- Thanks for the offer. I'm hoping to get some giftcards for Christmas that I can use to buy the books :)

    @the Story Siren- I would love if you give me a heads up that would be very helpful! I'm eager to participate

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  10. Thanks so much for adding my book TORTILLA SUN to the list. I am honored and thrilled. You've got a great list here! Happy reading.

    Jennifer

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  11. Hi Jennifer. Thanks for stopping by! I look forward to reading Tortilla Sun :)

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  12. I'm going to be on the lookout for The Red Umbrella, because we just published an article in MultiCultural Review about the unaccompanied children who came from Castro's Cuba as part of Operation Pedro Pan. One of the Pedro Pan alumni interviewed for the article is Florida's U.S. Senator Mel Martinez.

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  13. I'm honored to be on the list ! Happy reading.

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  14. Looking forward to seeing how many debut novels with poc you find. If I come across any I will let you know.

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  15. Thanks so much for including Superzero on this great list! You've got a lot that I want to read myself. And I've loved some on your SA author list -- Secret Keeper, Monsoon Summer, Ask Me No Questions and Climbing the Stairs are wonderful. Hmmmm....I may need to pull together a re-reading list!

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  16. Thanks for adding my book, A MESQUITE IN THE ROSE GARDEN, to your list of books to read. I was super excited to see it make the cut.

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  17. Ari, a couple of South Asian authors have debuts coming out. Will post on my blog soon, but they sound *amazing*. Good luck with the challenge and thank you for the shoutout!

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I love to hear from you!! Thank you for sharing :) And don't be Anon, I try to always reply back and I like to know who I'm replying to ;)