So Long a Letter by Mariama Bâ (trans. Modupé Bodé-Thomas)

Recently widowed, Ramatoulaye is required to take sole responsibility for the long mourning process of her late husband. A husband she has not seen in over four years – not after he married his second wife. In a letter to her friend, Ramatoulaye recalls both of their experiences as students impatient to change the world, as wives suffering in the private sphere of marriage, and as mothers witnessing the dangers of Westernisation.

I started this at the end of July but I haven’t finished it yet, so it’s definitely a high priority for this month.

Taiwan Travelogue by Yáng Shuāng-zĭ (trans. Lin King)

Disguised as a translation of a rediscovered text by a Japanese writer, Taiwan Travelogue is a bittersweet story of love between two women, nested in an artful exploration of language, history and power. May, 1938: The young novelist Aoyama Chizuko sails from Japan to Taiwan where her interpreter proffers tantalising glimpses of island life and helps her to taste as much of cuisine as her larger-than-life appetite can bear.

I was supposed to finish this book before an author talk I went to last month, but I only got about 60% through. I’m really enjoying it though, so this is my first priority for finishing in September.

Provenance by Ann Leckie

A power-driven young woman has just one chance to secure the status she craves and regain priceless lost artefacts prized by her people. She must free their thief from a prison planet from which no one has ever returned. Ingray and her charge will return to their home world to find their planet in political turmoil at the heart of an escalating interstellar conflict.

We are continuing the Imperial Radch readalong this month with Provenance, the first of three spin-off standalone!

Everything Happened at Once by Choi Jin-young

A mutant virus has swept half of the world’s population overnight. The known world has collapsed. The new world is a lawless place where children’s livers are believed to provide immunity.

In one apartment block, an unlikely pack break out of quarantine in a stolen lorry and brave an achingly empty world once teeming with colour. The desolate reaches of Eurasia are signposted with fellow defectors and found family.

I also decided to add another new addition to the list from my recent purchases so that this list doesn’t feel to similar to last month’s (one of my top tips for avoiding a prolonged slump).

Café. Waiting. Love by Giddens Ko (trans. Shanna Tan) (ARC)

Si-ying, a young woman working at a café in Hsinchu, Taiwan, harbours a secret crush on the handsome Tse-yu, who regularly visits with a new girlfriend. However, her life takes a turn when she befriends the quirky and earnest Ah Tuo. He takes her on adventures and introduces her to an eclectic mix of people who aren’t what they seem to be – a triad boss who is a cinephile and a laundrette owner who whips up exquisite dishes worthy of Michelin stars (but only on a Sunday!).

This came out on the 27th of August so it’s my highest ARC priority.

The Serpent’s Longing by Namita Kumari (RC)

She has worn a thousand shapes and never wanted to keep a single one. He crossed a sea with nothing but a dream of her. But loving her is quietly spending the powers it took him a lifetime to gather. And loving him will cost her every shape she has ever worn, until she is only one woman — mortal, ageing, with a single life to give.

I received a copy of this book from the author and said I’d probably get to it in August but… if you read my wrap up post, you know how that went.

An Empire in the Clouds by Ai Jiang (ARC)

When Xilian discovers a plot to overthrow her brother, Yun, the Emperor, by creating a deadly flood, she flees to the drowning continent of Opera. There Xilian seeks out her exiled brother Lang to help in her efforts to disrupt the advisors’ plans and remove them from court.

No Face, abandoned by the empire of Piao, plots to destroy those who tore their family apart. When Xilian is caught and imprisoned and No Face discovers the shocking truth about their past, the two must work together to stop the advisors and unify their two lands or lose everyone they love to flood and revolution.

This book comes out on the 8th of September, but I doubt I’ll get to finish it before then, but hopefully within the week or so after release.

異人茶跡 [Formosa Oolong Tea] Vol 1 by 張季雅 [Kiya]

The story of how a Scottish merchant and Xiamen trader brought Taiwanese oolong tea to the world in the late 19th century.

I’ve read the first chapter of this but then paused it whilst I was busy with my dissertation. I plan on reading a chapter a month now until I finish it.

Lake of Souls by Ann Leckie

Journey across the stars of the Imperial Radch universe.
Listen to the words of the Old Gods that ruled The Raven Tower.
Learn the secrets of the mysterious Lake of Souls.

Yes, this is FOURTH month I’ve put this on my TBR. Blame the thesis. I will read the three Imperial Radch stories before we start the Provenance buddy read in September though (which basically means I plan to binge them today/tomorrow).

조선조 후기 여성 지성사 [Women’s Intellectual History in the Late Joseon Dynasty] by 이혜순 [Lee Hye-sun]

This book goes through some of the most prominent Korean writers of the 18th and 19th centuries and frames their ideas about womanhood and morality as a kind of ‘intellectual history’.

I’ve already read the first chapter, but I plan on reading through the conclusion of each section and the final paragraph to get an overview of Lee’s argument this month.