YARC 2020 Update: Almost There!

The longest/shortest year ever is finally coming to an end, and I’ve already surpassed my original Goodreads challenge of reading at least 60 books!! This is a huge deal for me as I went nearly four years without reading much at all, and reading 50 books last year was a bit of a struggle, so I’m thrilled that I’ve seemed to find a good place with reading again. I’ve already bumped my goal up to 75, but since I just finished my 70th book, I think I’m going to try for 85-90 by January 1, 2021 – wish me luck!

At the beginning of the year, I set a goal of reading 41-50 books by Asian authors in 2020 as a part of the Year of the Asian Reading Challenge hosted by CW, Shealea, Lily, and Vicky. With a little under 2 months left to go to complete the challenge, I thought I’d do a little update on my progress!

YARC Progress as of Nov. 9, 2020

1. The Surprising Power of a Good Dumpling by Wai Chim (4/5 stars)

2. Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim (5/5 stars)

3. The Perfect Escape by Suzanne Park (3/5 stars)

4. The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall (4/5 stars)

5. Unravel the Dusk by Elizabeth Lim (5/5 stars)

6. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong (5/5 stars)

7. Vanessa Yu’s Magical Paris Tea Shop by Roselle Lim (3.5/5 stars)

8. I’ll Be the One by Lyla Lee (4.5/5 stars)

9. Where Dreams Descend by Janella Angeles (2.5/5 stars)

10. The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo (3.5/5 stars)

11. I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn (4/5 stars)

12. The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart (4.5/5 stars)

13. The Dragon Warrior by Katie Zhao (4/5 stars)

14-19. Last Game volumes 1-6 by Shinobu Amano (4/5 stars)

20. When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon (3/5 stars)

21. American Panda by Gloria Chao (3/5 stars)

22. The Fallen Hero by Katie Zhao (4/5 stars)

23. Caster by Elsie Chapman (4/5 stars)

24. Spell Starter by Elsie Chapman (3/5 stars)

25. Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell (4/5 stars)

26. Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao (4/5 stars)

27. The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo (4/5 stars)

28. Jade City by Fonda Lee (4/5 stars)

So far, these are the books by Asian authors that I’ve read this year, earning me the Malayan Tapir badge! I’m still hoping to get the Asian elephant badge by reading 41-50 books, and I think I can get there by the end of 2020. I’m currently listening to There’s Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon and plan on reading 10 Things I Hate About Pinky next, along with The Dragon Republic and The Burning God by R.F. Kuang (pray for me), plus so much more. I don’t know if I’ll meet my goal, but my year has been full of amazing books by authors of color, so regardless…