PowellsBooks.Blog
Authors, readers, critics, media − and booksellers.

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.

Hilarious and insightful, this clear-eyed essay collection both brings you into the heart of growing up queer and Indian in West Virginia, and reflects on the biggest currents of our times — race, gender, sexuality, politics, place, what it means to be American. I couldn't put it down! — Jessica Yen (AMP Member)

For any parents and grandparents who struggle to connect with their littles. — Linh (APANO staff)

Beautiful Country is one of the books that changed Americanness in my eyes. I hope “half of the country” could open this book and open their eyes with their hearts. — Qi (AMP Member)

Our family friends created this beautiful book together about their journey as immigrants to a welcoming community in Hawaii. This book resonates with me as it is a story similar to my own family; it’s a story about how we open our hearts and always find the beauty in community. — Amy Powers (APANO, Co-Executive Director of Programs)

Editor's note: This title is currently unavailable through Powells.com.

I couldn’t read a chapter of this book without tearing up. It’s an exploration of the intersectionality of queerness and being a child of an immigrant parent wrapped up in poetic language that reminds me of a beautiful watercolor painting. — Lilly (AMP Member)

This is a brilliant, weird, and funny take on identity, invisibilization, transracial adoption, and the awkward challenge of personal authenticity. — Joon Ae Haworth-Kaufka (AMP Member)

A relatable story since I lost my father, who was a soldier in the Tibetan army during Communist China's occupation. The author travels to her mother's homeland, Tibet, where she finds deep connections to her heritage and a people trying to maintain cultural integrity despite Chinese occupation. — Tenzing (Tibetan-American APANO community member)

Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast shares this heart-wrenching memoir about the life and memory of her late mother who passed from cancer. Through her lyrical prose and exploration of Korean food (the style true to her songwriting), she explores the tension and love between mothers and daughters, and the grief that accompanies losing a loved one. — Misha Belden (APANO, Environmental Justice Manager)

The depth and breadth of Filipina and Filipina American writers in one book is both expansive and deeply personal. — Karen (APANO, Development Coordinator)

Editor's note: This title is currently unavailable through Powells.com.

I honestly don't know if I'd be Cultural Strategy Director at APANO without traci kato-kiriyama. As a friend, teacher, and mentor, traci showed me that not only can art and activism go together, but they NEED to go together if we want to create a radically just world. Her newest book of poetry is just as adventurous, heartfelt, and powerful as she is. — Candace Kita (APANO, Cultural Strategy Director)

This book is full of love and hard lessons. Jha raised her son how I would like to raise my own: to be kind, thoughtful, strong, and an advocate for women. — Sara Matsuzaki (AMP Member)

My child has a rare cancer. We are faced with mortality and difficult decisions daily and sometimes without time to think through or discuss options with experts. This book challenges our collective philosophy regarding health care and dying and prioritizes compassion for end of life and quality of life. — Linh (APANO Staff)

One of my favorite nonfiction reads of the pandemic! Part immigrant story, part ode to punk rock and skateboarding culture, part tribute to literature and the power of story to redeem us, this unique memoir is generous, moving, and funny. — Jessica Yen (AMP Member)

For anyone who feels like Asian Americans are more foreign or less American, as a new immigrant I am digging my root in with this book during this difficult time. — Qi (AMP Member)

My kids and I love the art and message throughout the book. As a mother, the message is very relevant for my kids about how we love, share love in our community, and all the ways we are connected to one another. — Amy Powers (APANO, Co-Executive Director of Programs)

I read this book right after the Atlanta shootings. It is a provocative examination of racial consciousness in America, especially in the AAPI community. — Lilly (AMP Member)

Want to laugh and cry, and then cry and laugh at the painful history of historical racism against Asian Americans? This book is pure genius at getting at the ways we have internalized exclusion and erasure. — Joon Ae Haworth-Kaufka (AMP Member)

Ocean Vuong is back at it with another poetry collection that's an absolute gut-punch, but in the best way. Vuong explores the realm of grief — how to sit in it, and how to survive. — Misha Belden (APANO, Environmental Justice Manager)

A book where the footnotes and appendices are just as interesting. You'll laugh, cry, and remember that we are all connected. — Karen (APANO, Development Coordinator)

This book was part memoir, history lesson, and cultural criticism. It had me laughing, crying, and wanting to do better for the BIPOC community. — Sara Matsuzaki (AMP Member)