The Fire Kimono by Laura Joh Rowland MYS ROW 2008 (JAPAN)
This is a historical mystery novel concerning samurai and the medieval Japanese court in the Genroku period (1688-1704).

The Ginseng Hunter by Jeff Talarigo FIC TAL 2008 (CHINA, KOREA)
A Chinese-Korean ginseng hunter near the Chinese border with North Korea meets a young North Korean prostitute refugee and learns about the oppression in her native country.

Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out by Yan Mo FIC MO 2008 (CHINA)
This novel is about landowners and reincarnation in China. Translated from the Chinese.

Rogue Warrior: Dictator’s Ransom by Richard Marchinko and James DeFelice 2008 FIC MAR (KOREA)
This is a contemporary military thriller about rogue terrorists and the prevention of nuclear war set in North Korea.

Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh FIC GHO 2008 (INDIA, CHINA)
This is a seafaring tale about the history of the opium trade as it relates to India and China.

Swan, volume 13. by Kyoko Ariyoshi YFIC ARI (JAPAN)
This graphic novel in the manga style (read in the right-to-left format) is the latest volume of a series which began in 2005 about a teenage girl who strives to be a great ballerina. This series is one of the classics in the shouyo manga style.