Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is currently hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and explain why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

The South by Tash Aw

Blurb from Goodreads

A radiant novel of longing that blooms between two boys over the course of one summer—about family, desire, and what we inherit—from celebrated author Tash Aw.

When his grandfather dies, a boy named Jay travels south with his family to the property he left them, a once flourishing farm that has fallen into disrepair. The trees are diseased, the fields parched from months of drought.

Still, Jay’s father, Jack, sends him out to work the land, or whatever land is left. Over the course of these hot, dense days, Jay finds himself drawn to Chuan, the local son of the farm’s manager, different from him in every way except for one.

Out in the fields, and on the streets into town, the charge between the boys intensifies. Inside the house, the other family members confront their own regrets, and begin to drift apart. Like the land around them, they are powerless to resist the global forces that threaten to render their lives obsolete.

At once sweeping and intimate, The South is a story of what happens when private and public lives collide. It is the first in a quartet of novels that form Tash Aw’s masterful portrait of a family navigating a period of great change—a reimagined epic for our times.

Why I Want To Read It

Happy Monday everyone! Well, technically it should be “Happy Tuesday everyone!” Just like that, we are down two weeks into 2025. We are already midway through the first month of the year. How has the new year been so far? I hope that 2025 is showering everyone with positive news and blessings. I hope everyone is able to pick up their energies because, as we all know it, life must still go on. There is still a long way ahead of us. Nevertheless, I hope everyone started the work week on the right note. I hope you all had a good start to the workweek. I hope everyone makes it through the week. More importantly, I hope everyone is doing well, in mind, body, and spirit, not only this week but for the rest of the year.

Despite the new year, some things never change. As has been customary, I am kicking off the blogging week with a fresh Goodreads Monday update, the second for 2025. With the new year comes new goals and resolutions. For this year, I have quite some lofty goals. For one, I have already set my reading goal to 100 despite historically initially setting it at a more conservative level. I guess I want to challenge myself and maintain the reading momentum I built in the past three years. I also plan to read more translated works to reduce the gap between books originally published in English and translated literary works.

Anyway, back to what this weekly bookish meme is about. As mentioned, the start of the year comes with reading goals. As such, the book I am featuring this week is a book that is part of a reading goal. Like last week’s featured book, Ethiopian writer Baalu Girma’s Oromay, Tash Aw’s The South is part of my 2025 Top 10 Book I Look Forward To. I have not heard of either writer nor have I encountered any of their works. However, I am always looking forward to venturing into uncharted territories. Tash Aw, I learned, is a Malaysian writer who made his literary debut in 2005 with the novel The Harmony Silk Factory. The book was longlisted for the prestigious Booker Prize. It also made it to the long-list of the world’s prestigious 2007 International Impac Dublin Award and the Guardian First Book Prize. His 2013 novel Five Star Billionaire was also longlisted for the Booker Prize.

For all the accolades he received over the years, it makes me wonder how come I never encountered Aw before. Nevertheless, I am glad I encountered him while searching for books to include to my 2025 Top 10 Books I Look Forward To list. He is set to release a new novel, The South. It is his fifth novel and is a familiar presence in similar 2025 most anticipated book releases lists. It has an intriguing premise – it seems to be a work of queer fiction – which immediately piqued my interest. Beyond the book’s promising plot, I am looking forward to exploring the work of a fellow South East Asian. Should it materialize, I think he will just be the third Malaysian writer whose work I read. It is sad but I admit that my exploration of South East Asian literature is paltry at best.

The South is about to be released on February 13. For now, I just hope I get to obtain a copy of the book without having to wait for long. How was your Monday, Tuesday rather? What books have you added to your reading list? Do drop it in the comment box. For now, happy Monday and, as always, happy reading!