Start The Day Global today is all over the place with our first item, a look at global literature in translation, with the added filter that all the books are by “women of colour”.
Michelle Turner of Mocha Girls Read asked,
Why should we read translated fiction? The answer is quite simple. It opens us up to different cultures and allows us to see fresh perspectives. Last year alone the United States published over a million new titles. You would think that you have many opportunities to explore different worldviews. But alas, this is not the case.
When you consider that only 3% of published books are translations from other countries, you realize that the odds of you being able to steal a glimpse into these worlds is akin to a miracle.
Turner takes us through a great selection of titles and authors from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Guadelope, Iran, Japan, Korea, Mexico and Oman.
Find out what they are over at Mocha Girls Read.
Next to South East Asia, where we take a look at “5 Must Read Comics and Graphic Novels from the Philippines.”
Arvyn Cerézo opens,
Here at Book Riot, we can’t stress the importance of reading diversely enough. And no, it’s not just about diversity by race and gender, but also diversity by book formats and genres. As much as we hate it, comics and graphic novels are still being ridiculed and counted as not “true reading.”
So if you’re into comics and you made the decision to diversify your reading preference in 2020, here’s a list for you to consider.
For brevity I include just one mention here – A Filipino comic book soon to be a Netflix series: Trese: Book of Murders by Budjette Tan, illustrated by Kajo Baldisimo
Coming soon as a Netflix TV series, Trese is a suburban horror fantasy graphic novel. It follows heroine Alexandra Trese as she solves crimes committed by supernatural creatures. The best thing here is that the monsters are based on the Philippine mythology, something that is largely untapped in the Western media.
Some volumes of the series also won several Philippine National Book Awards—proving that it’s worth your time.
Read about all over at Book Riot.
We stay with a comics theme next with an exclusive interview with Chile’s Gabriel Rodriguez, the artist behind the comic book Locke And Key, which by happy coincidence is also about to launch on Netflix.
Age of the Nerd explains,
The first book was published back in 2008. The story revolves around the Locke family who moves into there ancestral family home after the murder of their father. The family discovers magical keys, which they must use against evil creatures who want the keys and their powers.
At SDCC (San Diego Comic Con) we had the amazing opportunity to interview Gabriel Rodriguez the artist behind Locke and Key. In the interview, we discussed how he met Joe Hill the writer of the comic book and a lot about art and inspiration.
Head over to Age of the Nerd for the full interview.
Finally for today, it’s another list: “Unmissable Female Writers at the 12th Emirates Airlines Festival of Literature.”
The Emirates Airline Festival of Literature is showcasing 12 fantastic female writers for its 12th edition (4-9 February 2019). This year it is shining the spotlight on the acclaimed female writers who help make sense of the world, either through their characters’ stories, or their own experiences. Bringing new insights, historical and modern-day issues are evaluated through an individual’s actions or the choices an author’s characters make, with relationships put to the test and the effects on personal lives examined under a literary microscope.
Taking just three from the twelve:
The winner of the 2019 Man Booker International Prize Jokha Alharthi, is at the Festival with Celestial Bodies, translated by Marilyn Booth. It brings to life the intertwined tales of three sisters and the secrets and conflicts – both internal and external – of their small Omani society, revealing the broad strokes of history alongside the personal interplay of characters striving to tell their own stories.
Christina Dalcher is the author of Vox, a nightmarish vision of a future where women are forbidden from speaking more than 100 words a day. Vox is often recommended to fans of The Handmaid’s Tale and offers a window to a frightening version of a world not too dissimilar from ours.
Born into a political dynasty, Fatima Bhutto’s novel The Runaways poses provocative questions on what attracts young people to extremism. What drives her characters to leave behind their ordinary lives and what vulnerability makes them believe they will find redemption in religious violence? Bhutto’s novel is not just about radicalisation, but about the people drawn to it, and the experiences of poverty, disaffection and alienation that bring them to crisis.
Read more via Nasher News.
