Tag: diverse

Top Ten Tuesday | Malaysian Authors

Posted May 5, 2025 by Haze in Top Ten Tuesday, Weekly Book Memes / 28 Comments

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.

Today’s topic is Authors (or books by authors) Who Live In My State/Country (submitted by Jennifer @ Funk-N-Fiction) 

I currently live in Canada but I am from Malaysia and I absolutely love today’s topic because I am able to promote a couple of my favorite authors and also discover some Malaysian authors I haven’t read! I didn’t love all the ones I’ve read, but I hope that sharing them here anyway will help the right audience find them. Clicking the link on their names will bring you to their author page on Goodreads.

Top Ten Tuesday Malaysian Authors

  1. Yangsze Choo – My absolute favorite Malaysian author, she has written The Ghost Bride, The Night Tiger, and The Fox Wife, all of which I’ve read and loved! Her first two books are steeped in Malaysian Chinese folklore and have wonderful fantastical elements. The Fox Wife is not set in Malaysia, but has the same beautiful storytelling. I recommend these books to as many people as I can. In fact, The Ghost Bride is my in-person bookclub’s current book of the month!

  2. Zen Cho – My next favorite Malaysian author, although I have only read The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water. She writes sci-fi and fantasy and has a good number of successful books. I loved The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water and I keep meaning to pick up more of her books.

  3. Tash Aw – He grew up in Malaysia but has since moved to England. There was a lot of hype around The Harmony Silk Factory when it came out, and I’ve read it but don’t remember very much about it except that I was underwhelmed, unfortunately. I haven’t read any of his other books.

  4. Vanessa Chan – The most recent Malaysian author whose work I read. I really wanted to like The Storm We Made but unfortunately couldn’t because I’m a character-driven reader and some of the characters’ behaviors in the book was just not believable for me. I was quite disappointed with the book but others have liked it and regardless of my own feelings about the book, I always wish success for my fellow Malaysians and hope they find the right audience.

  5. Vanessa Len – She is nationally Australian but has Malaysian Chinese roots. Her Monsters series has been quite successful, but unfortunately I dnf’d the first book of the series. It wasn’t for me but I hope others might find her and love her.

  6. Hanna Alkaf – I just found her through researching for this post and I am very excited about reading her books. It looks like she’s got several books with great ratings; I’m most excited about The Weight of Our Sky because it’s historical fiction set on May 13th, 1969, the day there was a racial war between the Chinese and the Malays in Malaysia. I grew up hearing about it as a cautionary tale but was never given details so I’m very curious to read this book!

  7. Tan Twan Eng – Another Malaysian author I just found out about and whom I’m excited to read. He writes The Gift of Rain and The House of Doors. These books are historical fiction set in the early 1900s in Malaysia. I’m just really starting to appreciate the intricate history of Malaysia/Malaya during the British colonial times, a lot of which we were never taught in school, and I’d love to read more about it!

  8. Sue Lynn Tan – She is the author of Daughter of the Moon Goddess and Heart of the Sun Warrior, two books in the Celestial Kingdom series. I have these books on my TBR but I haven’t gotten around to them yet. I don’t think I knew the author was Malaysian, but now that I do, I’m moving them up the TBR list. These are fantasy books about Chinese mythological figures, something I’m very excited to dive into!

  9. Rani Manicka – She has written four novels, two of which are set in Malaysia. The Rice Mother is her first book and is about a girl who moved to Malaysia for an arranged marriage at the age of fourteen and had several children by the time she was nineteen. She grows up quickly and takes care of her family through WW2 and the Japanese occupation. It sounds absolutely fascinating!

  10. Selina Siak Chin Yoke – The author has written two books in the Malayan series; The Woman Who Breathed Two Worlds and When the Future Comes Too Soon. Historical fiction set in British colonial times in Malaysia, which I’ve mentioned I’ve become more appreciative of. These books weave many of the different, rich Malaysian cultures into the story and I love seeing multicultural aspects of Malaysia being represented so I can’t wait to read these books too.

Have you read any of these books and/or authors? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?

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Book Review | Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers

Posted February 21, 2025 by Haze in Book Reviews / 0 Comments

Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers

Centuries after the last humans left Earth, the Exodus Fleet is a living relic, a place many are from but few outsiders have seen. Humanity has finally been accepted into the galactic community, but while this has opened doors for many, those who have not yet left for alien cities fear that their carefully cultivated way of life is under threat.

Tessa chose to stay home when her brother Ashby left for the stars, but has to question that decision when her position in the Fleet is threatened.

Kip, a reluctant young apprentice, itches for change but doesn’t know where to find it.

Sawyer, a lost and lonely newcomer, is just looking for a place to belong.

When a disaster rocks this already fragile community, those Exodans who still call the Fleet their home can no longer avoid the inescapable question:

What is the purpose of a ship that has reached its destination?

For the Reading Challenge(s):
2025 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #TBD)

The Reason

Because I loved the first two books in the Wayfarer series; The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, and A Closed and Common Orbit and I want to continue the series.

The Quotes

“Our species doesn’t operate by reality. It operates by stories.”

“We are a longstanding species with a very short memory. If we don’t keep record, we’ll make the same mistakes over and over again.”

“The only way to really appreciate your way is to compare it to somebody else’s way. Figure out what you love, specifically. In detail. Figure out what you want to keep. Figure out what you want to change. Otherwise, it’s not love. It’s clinging to the familiar–to the comfortable–and that’s a dangerous thing for us short-term thinkers to do.”

“Knowledge should always be free. What people do with it is up to them.”

The Narrator(s)

Patricia Rodriguez. Same narrator as with the first two books and still as enjoyable.

My Thoughts

This book is a little different from the first two books, but while I was surprised and a little blindsided with the way it went, after I took the time to process my feelings, I think I love it for precisely that reason.

There are a few different main characters in this book, and the one I resonated with the most is Sawyer. I really like him as a person, and I felt like his story was the most interesting even though it didn’t end up where I expected it to. I also really like Eyas’ story. It was really interesting to see her perspective about the work she does and the respect she shows towards rituals and beliefs.

The worldbuilding is one of the best things about this series. I love how diverse and different everyone is. I love the way the author is so good at showing us the differences and similarities we all have, no matter where we come from, who we are, what we believe. There’s one more book in the series and I’m excited to read it, but I hope that the author will continue to write more books in the series.

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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Book Review | A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

Posted January 12, 2025 by Haze in Book Reviews / 1 Comment

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers

Lovelace was once merely a ship’s artificial intelligence. When she wakes up in an new body, following a total system shut-down and reboot, she has no memory of what came before. As Lovelace learns to negotiate the universe and discover who she is, she makes friends with Pepper, an excitable engineer, who’s determined to help her learn and grow.

Together, Pepper and Lovey will discover that no matter how vast space is, two people can fill it together.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet introduced readers to the incredible world of Rosemary Harper, a young woman with a restless soul and secrets to keep. When she joined the crew of the Wayfarer, an intergalactic ship, she got more than she bargained for – and learned to live with, and love, her rag-tag collection of crewmates.

A Closed and Common Orbit is the stand-alone sequel to Becky Chambers’ beloved debut novel The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet and is perfect for fans of Firefly, Joss Whedon, Mass Effect and Star Wars.

For the Reading Challenge(s):
None

The Reason

This is the second book in the Wayfarer series; I just reread the first one, The Long Way to A Small, Angry Planet and this is also a reread and a buddy read with my online bookclub. I plan to read the next books as well.

The Quotes

“I love learning. I love history. But there’s history in everything. Every building, everybody you talk to. It’s not limited to libraries and museums. I think people who spend their lives in school forget that sometimes.”

“And seriously, anybody working in a job that doesn’t let you take a nap when you need to should get a new job.”

“Owl had said it was important to know how swearing worked, and it was okay under the right circumstances, but that Jane shouldn’t swear all the time. Jane definitely swore all the time. She didn’t know why, but swearing felt fucking great.”

“Just because someone goes away doesn’t mean you stop loving them.”

The Narrator(s)

Patricia Rodriguez. Same as with the first book, I loved her narration and I was completely immersed!

My Thoughts

This is the second book in the Wayfarer series but they’re only tangentially related; set in the same world with a few of the same characters from the first book, but otherwise, a completely different story. This one follows Lovelace/Lovey as she navigates a new body and a new identity for herself. She becomes Sidra, and she’s living with Pepper, whom we also meet in the previous book.

One of the core themes of this book is about finding out who you are, and almost all the main characters in the book has different stories that cover this same theme. One of the things I love most about Becky Chambers’ books is how she explores diverse peoples with different cultures and beliefs and yet show us that they all have some things in common. I also love it because we have the same issues in real life in trying to figure out who we are.

I’ve read the first and second books in this series and loved them, but I haven’t read the next books and I’m eager to get to them and have my mind blown over again with the interesting insights the author shares with us about humanity. I also love the found family aspect in her books, which is so very present here as well. I highly recommend these books!

My Rating

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?

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