Books on Asia

Amy Chavez, John Ross
  • 4.5 (8)
  • Books
  • Updated Biweekly

Books on Asia is your guide to finding quality books on Japan and Asia, including travel, literature, current events, and culture. Explore Asia in-depth. Hosted by Amy Chavez.

  1. 5d ago

    Japanese Literary Prizes—How many do you know?

    Amy breaks down Japan's most prestigious literary prizes — starting with the twin titans of the Japanese book world, the Akutagawa and Naoki Prizes, both announced twice a year, every January and July, on the very same day. Up your knowledge ahead of the next announcement of the winners on July 15, at around 6 pm! Most Japanese literature fans can probably guess who the Akutagawa Prize is named after (hint: Rashomon) — but how many know who the Naoki Prize honors? And while the Tanizaki and Mishima Yukio Prizes might be obvious, can you guess what the Noma Prize is for? Or what genre dominates that newspaper-sponsored heavyweight, the Yomiuri Prize? Amy sorts them all out — the history, the famous winners, and the controversies, including the AI scandal that rocked the Akutagawa Prize when 2024 winner Rie Kudan admitted to using ChatGPT in her prize-winning novel. Plus: how Japan's prize culture differs fundamentally from English-language institutions like the Booker Prize, Pulitzer or Nobel Prize for Literature — and why winning in Japan can launch a career instead of just crowning one. The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.  Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan. The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.

    24 min

  2. Jun 22

    Taiwan Travelogue: Food and Friendship in Japanese Formosa

    John Ross chats with Eryk, his Formosa Files co-host, about the International Booker Prize-winning novel Taiwan Travelogue. Set in colonial Taiwan in 1938, the story is told by narrator Aoyama Chizuko, a young Japanese novelist, who, accompanied by her brilliant Taiwanese interpreter, Chi-chan, travels around the island in search of memorable meals. The original Chinese edition came out in 2020. It caused quite a stir, as author Yang Shuang-zi was misleadingly credited as being the translator. (No translation was needed, however – this story was entirely fictional, not the rediscovered Japanese text it purported to be.) The English edition, translated by Lin King, was published by Graywolf Press in late 2024 to much acclaim. John has some strong opinions on the book and does not hold back in expressing them. Publisher link: https://www.graywolfpress.org/books/taiwan-travelogue The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.  Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan. The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.

    35 min

  3. Jun 15

    Replay: Tina deBellegard—The Art of the Short Story

    Episode Notes Today we're talking with Tina deBellegarde about short stories: What makes a good short story, and why certain short story writers are so appealing. Tina has been nominated for the Agatha Award for Best First Novel, has a short story published in the Mystery Writers of America anthology called "When a Stranger Comes to Town," and most recently won the USA Prize in the Writers in Kyoto annual story competition. They start the topic of the podcast by highlighting some Japanese short story writers such as Haruki Murakami and Banana Yoshimoto, Hiromi Kawakami, Aoko Matsuda, and Kyoko Nakajima. and foreign writers, including Lafcadio Hearn and, more recently, Rebecca Otowa. Amy also mentions two short story collections from China, one by the well-known author Xu Xu called Bird Talk, and an anthology of flash fiction called The Pearl Jacket and Other Stories: Flash Fiction from Contemporary China  which prompts a discussion on flash fiction, which Tina defines for us and elaborates upon, including the works of Mieko Kawakami. Lastly, Tina reveals what her favorite books on Japan are: Kyoto: Seven Paths to the Heart of the City by Diane Durston Kokoro by Natsume Sōseki Untangling My Chopsticks by Victoria Abbot Riccardi The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.  Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan. The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.

    33 min

  4. Jun 8

    Whistling Arrows and Heavenly Horses: The Han-Xiongnu War

    Whistling Arrows and Heavenly Horses: The Han-Xiongnu War John Ross speaks with Scott Forbes Crawford about his book The Han-Xiongnu War, 133 BC–89 AD. For more than two centuries, Han China fought a bitter struggle against the Xiongnu, a powerful confederation of horse-riding nomads from the Asian steppe. This was far more than a border war. It helped shape the future of China, transformed Central Asia, and opened the routes that would become known as the Silk Road. In writing this history, Scott followed the example of China’s greatest historian, Sima Qian (the subject of BOA episode 82), and took a biographical approach. We learn about remarkable figures such as Modun, the ruthless founder of the Xiongnu Empire; Li Guang, the legendary “Flying General”; the explorer Zhang Qian; and Princess Jieyou, a royal diplomat/spy who spent decades advancing Han interests deep in Central Asia. Notes: The full title of Scott Crawford’s book is: The Han-Xiongnu War, 133 BC–89 AD: The Struggle of China and a Steppe Empire Told Through Its Key Figures (Pen & Sword, 2023) To learn more about Scott’s work, including his novel Silk Road Centurion, visit his website: https://www.scottforbescrawford.com/   The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.  Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan. The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.

    30 min

  5. Jun 1

    Don Weiss: Future of the Shikoku Pilgrimage

    Amy Chavez talks to Don Weiss, currently mid-way through the Shikoku Pilgrimage — Japan's 1,300 km Buddhist route that has been walked for almost as many years. Pilgrims share their journey with Kobo Daishi, patron saint of the 88-temple circuit and founder of Shingon Buddhism in Japan. Don explains his "gratitude pilgrimage," what it means and why he is undertaking it. Along the way, he speaks with fellow pilgrims and priests at a number of temples to assess the experience for international visitors. While the 88-temple route faces challenges — from local depopulation to overtourism — Don finds common ground in conversations with priests about how overseas visitors might help keep the tradition alive, and what temples can do in turn to make the route more welcoming to those coming from abroad. Don's book Echoes of Incense, about his first trip around the ancient pilgrimage route decades ago, is available as an e-book on Amazon in English and Japanese. You can follow Don on his gratitude pilgrimage via his You Tube Channel The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.  Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan. The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.

    34 min

  6. May 25

    Sima Qian–China’s Grand Historian (with Tim McGirk)

    Sima Qian – China’s Grand Historian (with Tim McGirk) John Ross chats with repeat guest Tim McGirk about Sima Qian (c. 145–86 BC), the Father of Chinese History. He earned this accolade for his monumental work, the Shiji (usually translated as Records of the Grand Historian). It covers more than two thousand years, from the legendary early emperors up to Emperor Wu, under whom Sima Qian lived and fell afoul. Sima Qian would use his history writing to criticize cruel leaders, most notably Qin Shi Huang, the despotic first emperor of China, who burned books and attacked the humanistic legacy of Confucius. The backstory of the Records is one of the great bibliographic tales of all time. And as McGirk explains, the man and his work were inspiration for his historical novel, The Wondrous Elixir of the Two Chinese Lovers. Books discussed: Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian (English translation by Burton Watson, Columbia University Press, 1961, 1993, 1996). The Wondrous Elixir of the Two Chinese Lovers by Tim McGirk (Plum Rain Press, 2025) Related episodes: In episode 53, John chatted with Tim about his Plum Rain Press novel The Wondrous Elixir of the Two Chinese Lovers. It weaves the story of archeological discoveries in modern-day Mexico with that of Xu Fu, a Taoist alchemist/priest sent to bring back the secret of immortality. And in episode 65, John and Tim talked about Simon Winchester’s biography of Sinologist Joseph Needham, The Man Who Loved China. The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.  Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan. The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.

    29 min

  7. May 18

    Hiroshima's Last Witnesses and Japan's Nuclear Future

    M. G. Sheftall has lived in Japan since 1987. He has a PhD in international relations and modern Japanese history from Waseda University in Tokyo. Since 2001, he has been a professor of modern Japanese cultural history and communication at the Faculty of Informatics of Shizuoka University. He lives in Hamamatsu, Japan. Amy Chavez talks about Sheftall's books on the Asia Pacific War, in particular Hiroshima: The Last Witnesses and Nagasaki: The Last Witnesses both oral histories featuring interviews with survivors of the atomic bombs. Has Japan's 80 years of peace education been all for naught? The book serves as a prescient warning given the current political climate and Japan's complex relationships with the US, Taiwan, China, and the broader world. Recent developments—including Nihon Hidankyo's 2024 Nobel Peace Prize and the ongoing protests against revising Article 9—bring this subject into sharp focus. Against this backdrop, the author offers his own perspective on Japan's nuclear future. The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.  Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan. The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.

    32 min

  8. May 11

    Jason Nieling and Paul Bresin of the Sightseeing Japan

    Sightseeing Japan John Ross is joined by Jason Nieling and Paul Bresin of the Sightseeing Japan Podcast, which started back in 2019 and now has over 160 detailed but fun episodes. The two Japanophiles discuss how their show explores Japan through episodes on culture, food, and travel. Jason and Paul share a range of fiction and non-fiction book recommendations. Book Recommendations You Gotta Have Wa (1977) by Robert Whiting. (Amy spoke with Robert about his Tokyo Junkie memoir back in 2021.) Battle Royale (1999, Eng. 2003) by Koushun Takami Tearmoon Empire (2019) by Nozomu Mochitsuki Samurai Rising: The Epic Life of Minamoto Yoshitsune (2016) by Pamela S. Turner Massacre at Shirakawa (2023) by I. J. Parker Earthlings (2018 / Eng. 2020) by Sayaka Murata Convenience Store Woman (2016, Eng. 2018) by Sayaka Murata. (Amy spoke with translator Ginny Tapley Takemori in an episode last September) Be sure to check out the Sightseeing Japan Podcast.           The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.  Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan. The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.

    29 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

Books on Asia is your guide to finding quality books on Japan and Asia, including travel, literature, current events, and culture. Explore Asia in-depth. Hosted by Amy Chavez.

Information

  • Creator
    Amy Chavez, John Ross
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    87
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2018-2020 Amy Chavez, 2021-2025 Amy Chavez / Stone Bridge Press, 2025 Amy Chavez
  • Show Website
    Books on Asia

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