12 Books We're Loving this AAPI Month
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month is a wonderful opportunity to read new and new-to-you stories from the Asian diaspora. Below we’ve rounded up a few books our booksellers are loving at the moment by Asian and Asian American writers.
Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou
This novel is biting, hilarious, a little sad, and truly wild from start to finish. It has twist after twist and I found it truly hard to put down! Ingrid is an unlikely and flawed hero who you can't help but root for, and this book's exploration of being Asian American (and an academic) is so wonderfully honest. Come for the incredible cover, stay for the fantastic content. --Jacs
Yolk by Mary HK Choi
Mary is a genius! This book about two sort-of-estranged sisters coming together over illness and the struggles of young adulthood is literally perfect. Cannot recommend enough! And check out her other two books after!! -- Isabel & Jacs
Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
Interior Chinatown is a masterful work of fiction, playing with form to navigate the question of visibility and representation for non-Black BIPOCs in media and art. With meditations on home, family, and personal identity, Yu will grab you from the first page and leave you with a new understanding of what it means to see yourself in the world. -- Anna
All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami
If you loved the quirky, emotional outsiders in Breasts and Eggs or Heaven, you will love this next book from Japanese literary star Mieko Kawakami. Exploring deep social and ethical dilemmas or taboos with an eye for sly humor, she joins a new wave of international feminist literature poised to take the literary world by storm. I’m so glad her work has reached America. -- Colleen
Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong
This essay collection by poet Cathy Park Hong is an instant classic. A deconstruction of Hong's experience as an Asian American in this country, a rageful call to attention, and an immersive, pleasurable, and moving reading experience, this book is not to be missed. --Emma
All Flowers Kneeling by Paul Tran
“My purpose is precision. / Even when I’m unclear I’m deliberate. / When I’m deliberate I’m liberated.”
It’s hard for me to believe that this is a debut, given how skillful, expansive, and yes, deliberate Paul Tran’s writing is. What works so beautifully here is the way each piece plays with volume—some feel quiet, and others build into a piercing crescendo, all without saying a word aloud. Confronting themes of violence, survival, love, and more, All the Flowers Kneeling is an incredibly rich text. Gorgeous, evocative, and deeply affecting. -- Julia
Portrait of a Thief by Grace D Li
I love a good heist novel, and this one totally delivers! Portrait of a Thief follows a ragtag group of Chinese American college students who are hired to steal back precious Chinese artifacts from Western museums around the world. The characters were incredible to get to know, and I loved the thoughtful examination of diaspora identity and the museum as a colonial site. It’s also an edge-of-your-seat exciting read, with beautiful prose to boot! - Julia
Messy Roots by Lauren Gao
Laura Gao's graphic memoir follows her from childhood in Wuhan, China to adulthood in San Francisco and everywhere in between. Filled with a relatably high amount of teen angst and the identity struggles of being an immigrant in America, it is heartfelt and emotional but also has some really funny moments. The art style is great and there are so many silly hidden moments, I was fully laughing out loud at points. I had a great time reading it and I learned a lot, definitely recommend! -- Jacs
I Won’t Give Up My Rubber Band by Shinsuke Yoshitake
This sweet story about a little girl finding a rubber band is an incredible catalyst for big ideas about ownership, respect, resilience, and the power of creativity! You’ll dream with a child about her future and come away a little wiser. -- Anna
Kalamata’s Kitchen by Sarah Thomas, Derek Wallace, Jo Kosmides Edwards
Local Brooklyn author Sarah Thomas shares her love of Indian culture and food! Kalamata’s Kitchen is the first book in a series following a young girl named Kalamata and her sidekick, an alligator name Al Dente. Kalamata is nervous about the first day of school when she remembers how brave she felt during her trip to India, where she and Al visited the spice market and fearlessly tried new foods and flavors. I love that it shows kids can use stuffed animals to express themselves and their feelings! Look for the next book out in June!-- Jacque
Tidesong by Wendy Xu
This book is wonderful — Wendy Xu has done it again! Sophie Wu is preparing for her magic school audition, but when a mysterious dragon boy washes up on the beach, she and her family discover they have some bigger magical problems to contend with. Tidesong is a beautiful ode to growing up and growing into your magic, both metaphorical and literal! -- Isabel
Hundred Years of Happiness by Thanhha Lai, Nguyen Quang, Kim Lien
This beautifully illustrated book of a Vietnamese granddaughter aiming to remind her grandmother of happier moments will warm any parents’ heart. There’s a mouthwatering sticky rice recipe that punctuates this story to really lift the story off the page, too! -Ericka
For more book recommendations follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our newsletter.
