South Asian Author Challenge

Here's another challenge that I am going to try to complete in the coming year: the South Asian Author Challenge sponsored by S. Krishna's Books. I am going for the lowest level: 3 books.

Here's a short list of books I am considering reading for the challenge. We have all of them in the high school library where I work so I know that I can get to them whenever I need them:

• Bitter Sweets by Roopa Farooki
• Invisible Lives by Anjali Banerjee--January 5, 2010
• The Householder by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
• Waiting for the Mahatma by R.K. Narayan
• Keeping Corner by Kashmira Sheth
• Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman

What is the South Asian Author Challenge?

This challenge is to encourage people to read books by South Asian Authors – South Asia being India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.  Please not that it does notinclude the Middle East!  The books can be from any time period, contemporary or classic.  If you want to talk about the challenge on Twitter or tweet your reviews, use the hashtag #saac.

What books qualify for the South Asian Author Challenge?

There are two requirements for a book to qualify for the South Asian Author Challenge, both of which must be met:

1) The author must be of South Asian descent.  It doesn’t matter if they’re third or fourth generation, or are only half South Asian – I’m pretty flexible on this issue.

2) The book must be about South Asia in some way.  It doesn’t have to be set in South Asia, as long as it’s about the culture or history in some way.  On the other hand, it can be set in South Asia and not be about South Asians.