Kevin Chong, writer

What I'm listening to: the same Johnny Cash CD has been in my car for months, but a friend has turned me on to Tinariwen, a band from the Sahara. I also picked up new albums by Kurt Vile and Holly McNarland.

What I'm reading: the last novel I really loved was I Haven't Dreamed of Flying in a While, by Taichi Yamada. It's about a man who meets a woman in a hospital room; she turns out to be ageing in reverse. It's like a kinky Benjamin Button. I'm also reading Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games with my girlfriend's eight-year-old. He's already finished the trilogy while I am stuck on the first book, although I like it.

What I'm watching: Google determined I am a middle-aged woman based on my web history. I blame that on my searches for Bachelor/Bachelorette spoilers. I also love Parks and Recreation and Mad Men.

What artists I'm following: Guy Delisle, an animator graphic novelist. I'm working on a piece of fiction about 'overseas Chinese' in contemporary China, so I recently read Delisle's graphic novel, Shenzhen, and his other travelogues, Pyongyang and Burma Chronicles. I like how he mixes in cultural observations with his personal preoccupations; travelling needn't always mean escaping from your own life.

Where I'm surfing: news, social networking, and theoatmeal.com. I'm reading a lot of blogs about living in contemporary China, although most are from expat perspectives.

Chong recently published his fourth book, the memoir My Year of the Racehorse: Falling in Love With the Sport of Kings.