But One Last Thing....

Also, this is the cover of my new novel, Olivia & Sophia.  I hope you like it.

Olivia & Sophia is a fictionalised account of the adventures of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, the founder of Singapore, as seen through the eyes of his two wives.

It's in paperback, from Monsoon Books, publishing Nov 1 in Asia and Australia, and next year in the UK.  I'll post more about it when I'm back...

Closing Until October 25

I will be travelling in the States for the next 2 weeks, so I'm closing Asian Books Blog for the duration.  It will resume with The Sunday Post on October 25. Until then: happy reading!

Svetlana Alexievich WinsThe Nobel

Alexievich at the Nobel ceremony

The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2015 has been awarded to the Belarusian author Svetlana Alexievich "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time."

Lion City Lit: New Books From Ethos

Asian Books Blog is based in Singapore. Lion City Lit explores what’s going on in the City-State, lit-wise. Local publisher Ethos Books has recently launched a slew of new books, and will be launching several more at the upcoming Singapore Writers Festival, SGWF, which will run Oct 30 - Nov 8.  Click on the highlighted link to explore  a selection of what Ethos is offering...

This Week in Asian Review of Books

See the Asian Review of Books for ever-interesting discussion. Here is a list of its newest reviews, excerpts, letters, essays, and round ups:

Holy Ghosts: The Christian Century in Modern Japanese Fiction by Rebecca Suter reviewed by Todd Shimoda
China and Cybersecurity: Espionage, Strategy, and Politics in the Digital Domain, edited by Jon R. Lindsay, Tai Ming Cheung and Derek S Reveron reviewed by Nicholas Gordon
Aa Maratheyum Marannu Marannu Njan: And Slowly Forgetting That Tree by KR Meera, translated by J. Devika reviewed by Jane Wallace
The Iran Nuclear Deal: A Definitive Guide by Gary Samore, et al. reviewed by Francis P Sempa
Princess Bari by Hwang Sok-yong, translated by Sora Kim-Russell reviewed by John W. W. Zeiser
Changing Chinese Cities: The Potentials of Field Urbanism by Renee Y. Chow reviewed by Simone van Nieuwenhuizen
Tor Aman and Mehr Gul by Salman Rashid

The Sunday Post

A rojak* of items that caught my eye this week…

500 Words From Nick Wilgus

500 Words From...is a series of guest posts from Asia-based, locally-published authors, in which they talk about their latest books. Here Nick Wilgus, who is now based in the USA, but who lived and worked in Asia for many years, discusses The Curious Corpse, the latest title in his Father Ananda murder-mystery series, published by Hong Kong-based Crime Wave Press.