Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
Islands and Empires: 21 Essential Books to Understand Taiwan's History & Heart
25
items From the tech-heavy corridors of the silicon shield to the haunting beauty of rural folklore, Taiwan is an island defined by its resilience. This curated list of 15 essential reads offers a window into the complex history, vibrant culture, and delici...
Sections
3
Award-Winning Literature & Fiction
Islands and Empires: Stories of Power and Survival
Cultural Roots & Flavors
Award-Winning Literature & Fiction
🏆 WINNER OF THE 2026 INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE 🏆 WINNER OF THE 2024 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR TRANSLATED LITERATURE Get to know early 20th-century Taiwan and the story between two women.
Taiwan Travelogue: A Novel
🏆 2026年国際ブッカー賞 受賞 🏆 2024年全米図書賞（翻訳文学部門）受賞 🏆 2024年日本翻訳大賞 受賞
台湾漫遊鉄道のふたり
Read this for an unyielding, ground-level epic of human survival and soil: the author captures the raw grit of Hakka pioneers battling harsh mountain wilderness, malaria, and colonial rule in late 19th-century Taiwan. It is not just historical fictio...
Wintry Night
Read this for its devastating courage: it fearlessly exposes how abusers weaponize art and language to manipulate, dismantling the myth that high culture equals morality. A heartbreaking, necessary masterpiece.
Fang Si-Chi's First Love Paradise: A Novel
Read this for an unforgettable, sensory journey through 1990s Taipei: it uses nostalgia, botany, and layered history to capture the bittersweet grief of wandering a homeland that constantly erases its own past.
The Old Capital: A Novel of Taipei
Read this for its pioneering fusion of female erotic desire, White Terror trauma, and native botany: published shortly after martial law lifted, it uses an intimate romance between a gentry heiress and a real estate tycoon, and the battle over an anc...
The Lost Garden: A Novel
Winner of the Bronze Prize in the Historical Fiction category at the Foreword Reviews magazine's INDIES Book of the Year Awards 2024.
Banana King Ngoo Tsin-sui
An absolute masterpiece of Taiwanese literature. This epic trilogy follows three generations of a Hakka family as they battle nature, hardship, and the shifting tides of colonial empires. From the rugged wilderness of the 19th century to the scars of...
Wintry Night Trilogy
Recommended by The New York Times in its “33 Works of Fiction and Poetry Coming This Fall” list in 2022. The story is about Taiwan’s local culture, and explores themes of family, gender, and identity.
Ghost Town
Taiwan's 17th-century Game of Thrones. A gripping historical novel about Koxinga and the fall of Dutch Formosa. It’s epic, violent, and historically fascinating.
Lord of Formosa by Joyce Bergvelt
An award-winning graphic memoir. This visually stunning story makes the complex history of Taiwan’s democratic movement accessible and deeply moving.
The Boy from Clearwater: Book 1
Winner of the 2014 Prix du Livre Insulaire (Fiction).
The Man with the Compound Eyes
Longlisted for the Man Booker International Prize (2018) and the winner of the China Times Open Book Award and Eslite Bookstore’s “Author of the Year.” The Stolen Bicycle is both a majestic historical novel and a profound intimate meditation on memory, family and home.
The Stolen Bicycle
Islands and Empires: Stories of Power and Survival
From the tech-heavy corridors of the silicon shield to the haunting beauty of rural folklore, Taiwan is an island defined by its resilience. This curated list of 15 essential reads offers a window into the complex history, vibrant culture, and delici...
Financial Times Business Book of the Year. If you want to know why Taiwan is the center of the modern world, read this. A gripping history of the silicon shield.
Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology
The definitive 2026 update on Taiwan. Horton offers a masterful blend of reporting and historical context to explain how this "ghost nation" became a vibrant, indispensable democracy.
Ghost Nation: The Story of Taiwan and Its Struggle for Survival
A heartbreaking epic of the White Terror era. This novel follows a family’s struggle for survival across decades of political upheaval. Essential for understanding Taiwan's path to freedom.
Green Island: A Novel
Perfect for general people who want a quick yet insightful look at why this small island plays a big role in the world.
Why Taiwan Matters: A Short History of a Small Island That Will Dictate Our Future
Essential for anyone seeking to understand the island’s political, social, and cultural evolution.
Forbidden Nation: A History of Taiwan
For the deep-thinkers. A brilliant look at how Taiwan redefined itself in the 21st century. It's concise, modern, and very enlightening for anyone curious about Taiwanese identity.
Revolutionary Taiwan: Making Nationhood in a Changing World Order
Cultural Roots & Flavors
The most important Taiwanese cookbook of the decade. It’s a profound exploration of the island's unique culinary identity, proving through every recipe that Taiwanese food is a distinct and glorious world of its own.
Made in Taiwan: Recipes and Stories from the Island Nation (A Cookbook)
A cultural roadmap through Taiwan's kitchen. This book masterfully explains how the island’s complex history—from its indigenous roots to Japanese influence—created the legendary flavors of today's night markets.
The Food Of Taiwan: Recipes from the Beautiful Island
Carry the soul of Taiwan’s street food with you! This dainty metal badge celebrates the island's most famous invention—Bubble Milk Tea. A tiny, golden-plated '吉祥物' to pin on your bag or jacket. It’s a playful nod to the sweet, chewy joy that put Taiw...
【LAI HAO】Taiwan Bubble Tea Badge
Master the ritual of Taiwanese tea with this elegant starter set. Featuring a minimalist Kung Fu Gaiwan and premium Lishan Oolong, it’s designed for those who seek beauty in slow living. Lishan tea is the pinnacle of high-mountain brews—grown amidst ...
Wolf Tea Relaxing Kung Fu Gaiwan with Delicate Lishan Oolong Tea
Can't decide on one tea? Taste the entire mountain range. This award-winning set features three single-origin Oolongs from Taiwan’s most iconic peaks: Lishan (orchid & mist), Shanlinxi (forest & cool), and Alishan (sunny & floral). Each t...
【Wolf Tea】Oolong Tasting Journey Set
Write it, fold it, and keep it a secret. These playful notes feature Taiwan's iconic wildlife—including the Leopard Cat and Formosan Black Bear. Their unique folding design keeps your messages private. A whimsical, pocket-sized '吉祥物' for your station...
Whispers of the Wild: Taiwanese Wildlife Secret Notes