Asabuki's first nonfiction book, a collection of essays written within the previous decade, was published under the title Hikidashi no naka no Umi (lit.
According to Asabuki, the title comes from a fantasy that the back of her desk drawer is connected to the sea, which helps her imagine her work reaching other people even when she writes alone.
[10] Writing for the Yomiuri Shimbun, novelist Sayaka Murata described the book's essays as feeling almost like short stories, and the resulting work as a "treasure".
[11] Asabuki regularly collaborates with other writers, artists, and musicians to create site-specific multimedia performances using readings from her work.
[12][13] She has cited Kenzaburo Oe, James Joyce, Mieko Kanai, and Roland Barthes as some of her favorite writers.