John Ross and Busan-based author Chris Tharp talk about some of Korea’s several thousand islands and the English-language books written about them.

Looking for a great gift for a book-lover? We've got you covered! From coffee table books to fiction, historical fiction and expat accounts of life in Asia, Amy Chavez and John Ross weigh in on their favorites.

Super translator Ted Goossen talks about everything from first landing in Japan in 1968 to the differences between translating Haruki Murakami and HIromi Kawakami, especially the complexities of Kawakami's latest book: The Third Love.

Sam Baldwin tells John Ross about his memoir For Fukui’s Sake: Two Years in Rural Japan, his latest book Dormice & Moonshine: Falling for Slovenia, and his new project: a review website dedicated to travelogues and travel memoirs: https://travelmemoir.review

Actor and writer Mark Kitto talks about his novel China Running Dog, based on his experiences living in China in the 2000's. Much of his experience, rather surprisingly, parallels those of foreigners living in Japan at that time, but certainly not all of them! Take a deep look into what it means to be an outsider in China. In particular a foreigner who has fallen in love with the culture, wants to make his life there, and aspires to start a business. But if that person is hoping for their business to prosper, think again!

John Ross chats with former Time magazine correspondent Tim McGirk about his historical thriller The Wondrous Elixir of the Two Chinese Lovers.

Amy Chavez sits down with Lauren Scharf of The Minka Preservation Society (MINKA), an organization dedicated to preserving traditional farm houses and townhouses that retain the cultural essence of Japan's past. Find out more about Japan's old traditional houses as well as "akiya" (empty houses).

John Ross and Eryk Smith discuss Yao-Chang Chen's book "A Tale of Three Tribes in Dutch Formosa"

Today Amy Chavez sits down with Sally Burdon, a bookseller at Asia Bookroom in Canberra, Australia, which specializes in rare and secondhand books. From Japanese woodblock prints to Chinese classics and Taiwanese travelogues, Asia Bookroom is a treasure trove for readers and collectors alike.

Jake Adelstein is the author of Tokyo Vice, The Last Yakuza, Tokyo Noir. Today he talks to Books on Asia about his soon-to-be-released The Devil Takes Bitcoin: Cryptocurrency Crimes and the Japanese Connection (Scribe, Oct. 14, 2025).

Stephen Mansfield talks about his just-released book The Modern Japanese Garden (Thames & Hudson, Sept. 2025)

John Ross and Chris Tharp banter about books on Korea.

Hector Garcia talks about his new book: The Spirit of Shinto: Finding Nature and Harmony on Japan's Sacred Path

Marty Friedman is a multi-platinum guitarist and government-appointed Ambassador to Japan Heritage.

Ginny Tapley Takemori is a British translator whose translation of Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman was named in "The New Yorker" as one of the best books of 2018. Today we talk about her Takemori's recent translation Mornings Without Mii, a literary memoir by Mayumi Inaba that chronicles Inaba's two-decade bond with her rescued cat—Mii—intertwining themes of solitude, creativity, and companionship.

Lina Terrell is a translator of Japanese historical texts. Today we are going to talk about her recently released translation of The Legacy of the Ryukyu Kingdom: An Okinawan History (JPIC, 2025) by Takara Kurayoshi, a native of Okinawa. Before Okinawa, the unified and independent Ryukyu Kingdom existed for 400 years. What was this island nation like and what kind of world did it exist in?