Recs if you like There Are Rivers in the Sky...

Books where someone, at some point, lets out a breath they didn’t know they were holding. I fully intend to update this every time I come across this line, but let me know which ones are missing in the comments!

books that engage with water as a way to explore migration, multispecies kinship, race, capitalism, transatlantic slavery, and more. stories that take place in, on, or around the water. coastlines, swamps, rivers, maritime histories, and the oceanic.

An on-going attempt to track Asian authors in my Interested/TBR (and hopefully Finished) categories. Books are generally fiction/lit fic/fantasy with some memoirs. Authors span West to East Asia, the Asian diaspora, and mixed-race folx.

partly inspired by toni morrison’s concept of ‘rememory’, where the past haunts the present. these are stories where family ties, friendships, communities, trauma, or physical locations act as threads (or invisible string) to connect characters across distance or time and through generations.

a comprehensive list of books from each country in asia including books I want to read and have read! some countries have multiple books listed, but for starters each will have at least 1.

books inspired by a range of mythologies (mostly Greek, Egyptian, & Hindu)

Great historical fiction books - learn about the past and places with a dramatic and meaningful personal tale.

Novels with intriguing titles (that I read or that sound interesting) in English (either originally or translated); a mix of genres. Mostly 4+ words in the title, with some select 3-word-titles but no shorter ones. No parts of series except for the first book.

Books from the Florence and the Machine book club @betweentwobooks on IG

(I am not the book club admin, just a fan, and these are not all the books but I will add them all in soon, I promise)

For the former enjoyer of fantasy, sci-fi, and historical fiction series without the time or obsession to get through three or more books to finish a narrative. These books are majority historical fictions that unfold at an epic scale. Whether through one journey, generations, or centuries, these stories speak to identities (often cultural or of a nation) and to truths larger than themselves.

Please note that any post-Cold War narrative settings exist alongside more historical perspectives.

answer: they know their IPAs—————————————————— fiction books where the field of linguistics is mentioned or part of the plot (suggestions always welcome)

Mind you not just about academics or authors with a random abandoned PhD—more like the unbelievable people who manage to write bestsellers on a hundred notes stuck to their research paper drafts. Or at least worked long enough in the field to create believable fictional academics and niche academia jokes.

Unbound by fiction subgenres or personal ratings—feel free to propose more books in the comments!

Experiential reading. The mood, the words, the descriptions will transport you. You won't know if you're on your couch or in the snow-covered woods on an island off of South Korea.

Texts that explore the impact and lasting effects of colonialism.

A list of books set across different countries (mainly for the historical fiction globe trotters)

A collection of my favourite diverse reads that have BIPOC, Queer or Chronic illness/disability/neurodivergent rep.

Famous & recommended reads from around the world - for PB users by PB users!

Longlist for the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award for 2025. The Glass Bell Award honours novels that combine brilliant characterisation, a distinctive voice, and stories that truly connect with readers. Unique in the UK literary landscape, the prize is open to all genres, from literary fiction and crime to fantasy, horror, and speculative fiction.