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Lists

16 Essential Books to Read for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

by Powell's Books, April 29, 2021 3:45 PM
12 Essential Books to Read for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and this year we’re fortunate to be partnering again with our friends at APANO (Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon) to share a curated reading list. APANO is a statewide, grassroots organization, uniting Asians and Pacific Islanders to achieve social justice and find solutions to the disproportionate gaps in education, health, and economic prosperity that Asian and Pacific Islander communities often face.

APANO is led and staffed by a dynamic group of community experts, seasoned advocates, and volunteers and the books they share below are as impassioned, riveting, and diverse as the individuals that comprise APANO and the families and communities the organization is dedicated to serving.

The Joy Luck Club The Joy Luck Club
by Amy Tan

Amy Tan is a wonderful storyteller, and this book is a beautiful exploration of family, loyalty, adventure, spirit, immigration, and strong Chinese women. This is a classic that everyone should read. — Bea Yeh Ogden, APANO Community Space and Event Manager

Notes of a Desolate Man Notes of a Desolate Man
by Chu T’ien-wen

Chu T'ien-wen crafts a poetic exploration of LGBTQ+ culture in contemporary Taiwan: often heart-breaking, sometimes humorous, always captivating. Considered one of the most important contemporary Taiwanese novels: a must read. — Bea Yeh Ogden

Trese Trese
by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo

Dive into Filipino folklore mixed with modern storytelling in this comic book, soon to be on Netflix as an animated series. — Oliver Evangelista, Arts and Media Project (AMP) Member

Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear
by Matthew Salesses

Disappear is a brilliant take on identity, Asian invisibility, and adoption. This is not a typical "straddle two cultures" narrative. It follows a character who literally exists in two worlds, moving back and forth between parallel universes. It's smart, strange, uncomfortable, beautiful, and laugh-out-loud funny at moments. — Joon Ae Haworth-Kaufka, Arts and Media Project (AMP) Member

Please Look After MomPlease Look After Mom
by Kyung-sook Shin

This is a heartbreaking page-turner about an elderly mother from rural Korea who gets lost and disappears in Seoul. The novel explores the idea of memory, maternal love and sacrifice, and rural/urban and generational divides in changing Korea. — Joon Ae Haworth-Kaufka

The Dhammapada The Dhammapada
by Eknath Easwaran

These Buddhist teachings are for the beginner as much as they are for the lifelong Buddhist practitioner, for the nonbeliever as much as for the believer. Where other translations of The Dhammapada feel spiritually obtuse, Easwaran's clear and lyrical prose makes this collection of the Buddha's teachings accessible and highly enjoyable to read. This text has grounded me in any otherwise untenable world full of global suffering and perpetual social injustices. On page 150: "Why is there laughter, why merriment, when the world is on fire? When you are living in darkness, why don't you look for light?" It is through acceptance — not complacency or inaction — that we find liberation. — Jenny M Chu, Arts and Media Project (AMP) Member

The Body Papers The Body Papers
by Grace Talusan

A beautiful book about the complexities of family, navigating identity as an immigrant, living in your motherland, and the ways we carry our traumas with us. This book will break your heart and mend it back together. — Misha, APANO Staff

ESL or You Weren't Here ESL or You Weren't Here
by Aldrin Valdez

Tells the story of a queer Pinoy who immigrates to New York in the 1990s. This poetry book brilliantly explores identity, family, and the ways in which language flows through us. — Misha

Editor's note: This title is currently unavailable.

Subversive Lives: A Family Memoir of the Marcos Years Subversive Lives: A Family Memoir of the Marcos Years
by Susan F. Quimpo and Nathan Gilbert Quimpo

These autobiographical pieces by the Quimpo family, covering the martial law years under the Marcos dictatorship as well as before and after, weave long decades of struggle to constitute a gripping memoir. — Jake E. Vermaas, Arts and Media Project (AMP) Member/Volunteer

We Meant to Bring It Home Alive We Meant to Bring It Home Alive
by Armin Tolentino

Join spaceboy as these poems walk untethered in the expanse, then find their way back home again, deftly skirting the boundary conditions between longing, science, the body’s waterways, and the abyss of space. — Jake E. Vermaas

On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
by Ocean Vuong

It's the most beautifully written, heart-crushing, honest love letter (to his mother) that I have ever read. A deeply personal immigrant story of survival and trauma. — Jodi Kim, Communications Coordinator

All That You Can Ever Know All You Can Ever Know
by Nicole Chung

I have never felt more seen or heard after reading a book. As a Korean American adoptee, Chung's memoir is incredibly important work. The validation, support, and introspection that it provides is invaluable. — Jodi Kim

Pachinko Pachinko
by Min Jin Lee

I loved reading this historical fiction book about three generations of one Korean family, and the complicated influences and power structures that shape Korean Identity. It was a moving story that helped me understand my own history as a Korean American. — Megan Mancini, Arts and Media Project (AMP) Member

Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples
by Linda Tuhiwai Smith

This is one of the most important texts to be recently published. For any and all folx who wish to learn about the importance and impact of global decolonization movements, rematriation, land back, and the ongoing struggle of reclaiming indigenous knowledge and lifeways: read this book. — Bea Yeh Ogden

Interim Interim
by Des Spicer-Orak

This book highlights the intersections of identity through the lens of a queer Pasifika person, and tells a story of resilience, reclamation, and existence. Through the lens of relationships, Interim tells a story of healing. — Des Spicer-Orak, Pacific Islander Youth Health Organizer

IEP Jaltok, 80: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter IEP Jaltok, 80: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter
by Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner

This book tells stories of the fight and struggles of being Marshallese, highlighting the affects of climate change, nuclear testing, and resilience among the Pacific. — Des Spicer-Orak






Find more original content and reading recommendations on our
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month page.



Books mentioned in this post

Joy Luck Club

Amy Tan

Notes Of A Desolate Man

Tien Wen Chu

Dhammapada

Eknath Easwaran

Please Look After Mom

Shin, Kyung-Sook

Subversive Lives: A Family Memoir of the Marcos Years

Susan F. Quimpo

IEP Jaltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughtervolume 80

Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner

Pachinko

Min Jin Lee

ESL or You Weren't Here

Aldrin Valdez

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

Ocean Vuong

All You Can Ever Know

Nicole Chung

The Body Papers: A Memoir

Grace Talusan

Disappear Doppelganger Disappear

Matthew Salesses

We Meant to Bring It Home Alive

Armin Tolentino

Trese Vol1 Murder on Balete Drive

Budjette Tan, Kajo Baldisimo

interim

Des Spicer-Orak
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