BOOKISH ASIA with Plum Rain Press
Episodes
E-16 - THE WONDROUS ELIXIR OF THE TWO CHINESE LOVERS by Tim McGirk (Plum Rain Press, 2025)
25 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The first emperor of China dispatched a Taoist priest named Xu Fu to bring back the elixir of immortality. Xu Fu and his fleet vanished. Some legends ...
E-15 - THE CUTTLEFISH by Chris Tharp
31 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Busan-based author Chris Tharp chats with John about The Cuttlefish, his hilarious novel set in the fictional East Asian island nation of Sukhan. Th...
E-14-CHINA RUNNING DOG by Mark Kitto
26 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
China Running Dog by Mark KittoControversial China figure and author Mark Kitto chats with John about his new novel, China Running Dog, set in the da...
E-13-TAIWANESE FEET: MY WALK AROUND TAIWAN by John Groot (Almas Books, 2020)
22 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Taiwanese Feet: My walk around Taiwan by John Groot (Almas Books, 2020) Canadian John Groot first came to Taiwan in 2001, fell in love with the isla...
E-12 - FOR FUKUI’S SAKE: TWO YEARS IN RURAL JAPAN by Sam Baldwin (2011, Baka Books)
07 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Sam Baldwin chats about his life-changing two years as an English teacher on the JET Programme in the Japanese town of Ono, Fukui Prefecture. Snow-lov...
E-11 - SHOOT, ASK... AND RUN! by Chris Stowers (2025, Earnshaw Books)
06 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
John talks with Taipei-based photographer Chris Stowers about his new book, “Shoot, Ask ... and Run!,” an account of his journalistic travels and...
E10 - 50 USEFUL TIPS ON CHINA: FROM A GUY WHO ALMOST GOT IT by Ralph Jennings (Earnshaw Books, 2023)
03 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Veteran East Asia journalist Ralph Jennings discusses his guide to understanding Chinese people and culture. His “Useful Tips” are better describ...
E9 - THE MAN WHO MADE CHINA A LITERATE NATION – ZHOU YOUGUANG, FATHER OF THE PINYIN WRITING SYSTEM by Mark O’Neill (Joint Publishing H.K., 2023)
03 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Zhou Youguang (周有光) was one of the creators of Hanyu Pinyin, a system of romanization for Chinese characters. Introduced to PRC elementary schoo...
E8 - THE GOOD LORD WILLING AND THE CREEK DON’T RISE: PENTIMENTO MEMORIES OF MOM AND ME by Robert Norris (Tin Gate, 2023)
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Robert Norris has been in Japan since 1983, mostly in Dazaifu (near Fukuoka on the island of Kyushu). He retired from university teaching in 2016, ret...
E7 - THE BARTER TRADE: A NOVEL by Chris Ruffle (Earnshaw Books, 2024)
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Chris Ruffle returns to Bookish Asia (we covered his memoir A Decent Bottle of Wine in China in Episode 2) to discuss his autobiographical novel, wh...
E6 - WHERE EVERY GHOST HAS A NAME: A MEMOIR OF TAIWAN INDEPENDENCE by Kim Liao (Rowman & Littlefield, 2024)
12 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
American Kim Liao describes unraveling her family’s mysterious history. Her grandfather was Taiwanese independence movement leader Thomas Liao (1910...
E5 - THE LAST TIGERS OF HONG KONG: TRUE STORIES OF BIG CATS THAT STALKED BRITAIN'S CHINESE COLONY by John Saeki (2022, Blacksmith Books)
20 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
John Ross talks with John Saeki about tigers in Hong Kong. The big cats once made frequent and sometimes deadly forays into the territory, even reachi...
E4 - HARMONY EXPRESS: TRAVELS BY TRAIN THROUGH CHINA by Thomas Bird (2023, Earnshaw Books)
23 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Thomas Bird was living in Southern China when he decided to explore the country by train and write a book about it. A great idea – and long overdue;...
E3 - BLURRED BOUNDARIES: A MARTIAL ARTS LEGACY AND THE SHAPING OF TAIWAN BY HONG ZE-HAN, translated by Christopher Bates (2023, YMAA Publication Center)
23 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
John talks with Chris Bates about one of Taiwan’s greatest ever martial artists, Hong Yixiang 洪懿祥 (1925–1993). He was Taiwan’s foremost ma...
E2 - A DECENT BOTTLE OF WINE IN CHINA by Chris Ruffle (2016, Earnshaw Books)
23 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ever dream of owning a vineyard? Yorkshireman Chris Ruffle did, and to make things even more interesting he decided to do it from scratch in the count...
E1 - THE ISLAND: A PERSONAL ACCOUNT OF TAIWAN’S EXTRAORDINARY TRANSFORMATION by Mark O’Neill (2024, Earnshaw Books)
23 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Veteran Hong Kong-based journalist and prolific author Mark O'Neill tells us what Taiwan was like in the early 1980s, when he first came to study ...