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Around the World in 2000 Books

(give or take a few)

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    • Australia and Oceania
      • Australia
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      • French Polynesia, Cook, and Pitcairn Islands
      • Tonga, Samoa, Tuvalu, and Niue
      • Fiji and New Caledonia
      • Vanuatu and Solomon Islands
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    • Southeast Asia
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      • Philippines

Fiction

Philippine Short Stories 1925-1940

November 13, 2019November 13, 2019 ~ Kelly Dunagan ~ 2 Comments

Philippine Short Stories 1925-1940, Leopoldo Y. Yabes, ed., 1975

  • Philippines, #8
  • Borrowed from SF public library
  • Read December 2017
  • Rating: 4/5
  • Recommended for: completists

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Noli Me Tangere: Yesterday’s news

September 26, 2019November 16, 2019 ~ Kelly Dunagan ~ Leave a comment

Noli Me Tangere, José Rizal, 1887

  • Philippines, #7
  • paperback, received as a gift
  • Read October 2017
  • Rating: 4/5
  • Recommended for: Harriet Beecher Stowe fan clubs

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Cuentos Filipinos: Colonialism and condescension

July 30, 2019July 31, 2019 ~ Kelly Dunagan ~ Leave a comment

Cuentos Filipinos, Jose Montero y Vidal, 1883, translated by Renan Prado

  • Philippines, #5
  • Borrowed from SF public library
  • Read October 2017
  • Rating: 2/5
  • Recommended for: Miss Eleanor Lavish

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Potions and Paper Cranes: a bunch of bad things happen to a bunch of unlikeable people

June 12, 2019June 12, 2019 ~ Kelly Dunagan ~ 2 Comments

Potions and Paper Cranes, Lan Fang, 2013

  • Indonesia, #21
  • Kindle edition, $10
  • Read August 2017
  • Rating: 2/5
  • Recommended for: an additional perspective on race and gender in World War II-era Indonesia (but only if you’ve already read everything else)

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Daughters of Papua: Life’s a bitch. You know the rest.

May 6, 2019April 28, 2019 ~ Kelly Dunagan ~ 3 Comments

Daughters of Papua, Anindita S. Thayf, 2009

  • Indonesia, #18
  • Borrowed from SF public library (via Link+)
  • Read August 2017
  • Rating: 2.5/5
  • Recommended for: People who found Bambi just a bit too lighthearted

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A Very Sleep-deprived Assessment of “The Rainbow Troops,” or, Adventures in Toddler Jet Lag

March 23, 2019March 23, 2019 ~ Kelly Dunagan ~ 9 Comments

The Rainbow Troops, Andrea Hirata, 2005

  • Indonesia, #16
  • Kindle edition, $10.00 from Amazon
  • Read July 2017
  • Rating: 4/5
  • Recommended for: Bad news bears

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The Original Dream: A very inaccurate synopsis

March 4, 2019March 4, 2019 ~ Kelly Dunagan ~ 3 Comments

The Original Dream, Nukila Amal, 2003, translated by Linda Owens, 2017

  • Indonesia, #15
  • Kindle edition, $1.99 from Amazon
  • Read July 2017
  • Rating: 2.5/5
  • Recommended for: hot messes

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Beauty is a Wound

February 19, 2019April 28, 2019 ~ Kelly Dunagan ~ 3 Comments

Beauty is a Wound, Eka Kurniawan, 2002

  • Indonesia, #14
  • Borrowed from SF library
  • Read August 2017
  • Rating: 4.5/5
  • Recommended for: Anyone longing for a 100 Years of Solitude update written by Chuck Palahniuk
  • Content warning (after the jump): sexual assault

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Earth Dance

November 5, 2018November 5, 2018 ~ Kelly Dunagan ~ Leave a comment

Earth Dance, Oka Rusmini, 2000 (translated by Rani Amboyo & Thomas M. Hunter)

  • Indonesia, #13
  • Borrowed from SF library (interlibrary loan from UC Riverside)
  • Read July 2017
  • Rating: 3/5
  • Recommended for: scheming social-climbers and their hapless daughters

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Saman: A very inaccurate synopsis

September 14, 2018September 17, 2018 ~ Kelly Dunagan ~ 4 Comments

Saman, Ayu Utami, 1998

  • Indonesia, #12
  • Kindle, $5 on Amazon.com
  • Read: June 2017
  • Rating: 3.5/5
  • Recommended for: I don’t even know

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It’s been a long time since I wrote a blog post. Frankly it’s been a while since I read anything that wasn’t by NK Jemisin or Stephen King. But I still have all these books from Southeast Asia that I’ve read and haven’t written about, so I jumped back in with quick takes on a whole bunch of books from the Philippines, including this fantastic buddy-cop serial killer mystery starring two Jesuit priests.
Folsom Street Fair, 2015
#tbt to my last blog post of 2019: America Is in the Heart, by Carlos Bulosan
Drawings from today’s blog post, Philippine Food and Life by Gilda Cordero-Fernando. Link in profile.
Recent read: Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap
Excited about these recent library checkouts! Now to find a couple of new recipes that won’t scare a picky seafood-averse spouse or a preschooler who is highly suspicious of all sauces, soups, and stews...

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