5 South-Asian Books on my TBR | including beautiful upcoming 2021 releases!

Hello everyone!

I wanted my second post of 2020 to be something that I’m excited for and proud of- so I thought what better than sharing some of the amazing South-Asian books that I want to read?

As most of you know, I’m Indian-American and I’m passionate about uplifting Asian authors. In 2020 I realized that I barely read *any* books by South Asian authors, and one of my 2021 goals is to change that.

So here are some amazing books by South Asian authors that you should definitely read!

A Time To Dance by Padma Venkataraman

My friend Vaishnavi recommended this book to me- it’s about a South Indian girl named Veda who is a classical dancer losing the ability to dance because of an injury. It’s told in verse and sounds beautiful and poignant. I do Indian Classical music and love it so much (I used to do dance as well but I stopped this year actually) so I feel like I’ll resonate a lot with this book.

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

I’ve been meaning to read TGW for so long, especially since its sequel released and is apparently even better than the first one! It’s a heist novel with a diverse set of MCs which is wonderful! It’s also set in a historical setting, which I’m really excited for because I tend to either read books set in modern-day or completely different worlds 😂

The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

This was one of my most anticipated reads for 2020, and I finally got the book! I can’t wait to read it 💕 This is about a Bengali Muslim lesbian and her relationship with her identity, family, and her crush, a bisexual Afro-Brazilian, who is also her business rival. It sounds adorable and I’m looking forward to reading this book!

Rise of the Red Hand by Olivia Chadha

Rise of the Red Hand is an upcoming 2021 release about a dystopian South Asia. I don’t read a lot of dystopian, but I’m so curious to see what the worldbuilding will look like! I’m told that it also sparks conversations about climate change, environmentalism, and classism, which makes it even more exciting!

Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating by Adiba Jaigirdhar

First of all- LOOK AT THAT COVER. It’s beautiful! Hani and Ishu is another 2021 release that I can’t wait for. And it’s by Adiba, the same author as The Henna Wars, so I’m also super excited for this. I mean, it’s literally sapphic South Asians fake dating- I can’t wait to read it!

Here are some links to other people’s lists of Asian books you should read!

~ Shealea’s Asian book registry

~ Fanna’s South Asian book list

~ Prutha’s 2021 anticipated releases

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Wow- this is the shortest post I’ve written in several months 😭 But let me know what you think if you’ve read any of these novels! Also, has anyone heard Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo? It’s SO GOOD.

Anyway, have an amazing day everyone! I’d love to be posting more but sadly I have no post ideas :(( let me know if you have any ideas I can steal! 👀