Fiction Books for Travel Lovers! 📚
A list of books I've read with beautiful imagery that will take you across the world! 📖 I hope you enjoy my recommendations ☺️
Japanese stories 🎋
Books I LOVED that transported me to Japan whilst reading them as the authors created beautiful scenes! 🇯🇵
One of my favourite Japanese translated titles ever! 🫶🏼 Short & sweet, I read this in one sitting. If you're looking for a book which will transport you to Tokyo, pick this up, I still daydream about the scenery I read. This is the story of Kei...
Another Japanese translated book I fell in love with and wholeheartedly recommend! 💗 A moving story featuring incredible descriptions of Sentaro's life in Japan: cherry blossom trees, working in a confectionery shop and the friendship between himsel...
A feminist book that drew me in from the beginning to the end! 🤰🏻 This book follows the life of Ms Shibata, the only woman working in the office, who is fed up with being assigned menial jobs such as clearing away dirty cups used by her male collea...
A book about books! 📚 A heartwarming story about a grandfather's second-hand bookshop in a Japanese town. His grandson, Rintaro, is in love with the shop which features towering bookshelves and thousands of books. When his grandfather passes, he is ...
An interesting look into the lives of the Korean community who fled the Civil War and live in Japan. When Claire's grandparents first moved to Japan, they opened a pachinko parlour (which works similarly to a casino). Her grandparents are in their ni...
The first book I read featuring a Japanese cat which made me fall in love with Japanese books featuring cats! ☺️ If you could extend your life by a day, by removing something from the world, what would you get rid of? I loved this story so much; it h...
An emotional tale about the power of a cat and their ability to rekindle a bond between a husband and wife living in Tokyo. If you love books with vivid descriptions of Japanese life and architecture, I'd recommend reading this. Chibi, the neighbouri...
Book 1 of an incredible Japanese series you must read if you like time travel! Perfect for an autumnal day ☕️ As I cosied up with my blanket on a rainy day, I began to picture myself observing the scenes at this underground cafe filled with history; ...
A must read for book lovers! 📖 Set in Tokyo's book town (Jimbocho), this is the story of a second hand bookshop located in an old wooden building and the healing power of reading. Takako is 25 years old and not a fan of reading, until her life flips...
Another wonderful book featuring lovable Japanese cats! 🐈 Here are 4 beautiful stories which show how intelligent cats are and the ways they subtly leave clues for us humans, to create a better life, through their observations of our behaviours. Thi...
Korean & Chinese stories 🥢
An on-going list of books I recommend, set in South Korea & China. I enjoyed these as they made me feel like I was living in these countries as I read! 🇰🇷🇨🇳
A must read feminist story which focuses on widespread misogyny in South Korea. This is an incredible, educational, well written book which read more as a non-fiction piece than fiction due to the author's use of statistics throughout the book. Sadly...
A whimsical/magical realism story based in China which will leave you with so many questions! 👀 Set in Beijing, Song Yan lives in an apartment with her husband and mother-in-law; longing for a child, Song Yan feels isolated when her husband ignores ...
Refugee & war stories 🧳
Some of my favourite fiction titles I've read that document war and refugee stories from across the world 🌏 These vivid stories tugged on my heart when I understood the peaceful lives they had to leave behind…
A heartfelt story documenting the story of a beekeeper and artist from Syria who must leave their old lives behind due to war. I fell in love with the imagery of their home country and jobs! 🏡 They document their journey across continents navigating...
This book weighed heavily on my heart as it is inspired by true events of domestic workers in Cyprus! 🧳 This is the story of Nisha, a Sri-Lankan nanny, who must leave behind everything she knows. Hoping to earn an income in Cyprus, to support her da...
A historical fiction title based in 1990s Sarajevo. Muslim, Croat and Serb residents work together to build community and resistance against the nationalist gangs. This was a hard-hitting story about the Bosnian War and I learned a lot through this d...