Ideal Bookshelf 1199: Asian/Pacific Islander Writers

In May 2021, on Instagram and in honor of AAPI month, you all recommended books by Asian and Pacific Islander authors, and there were SO MANY excellent ones, and so many different people that are supposed to fit into that label. This doesn’t even include everything that was suggested, although I tried hard to bring in as many as possible. I’m not sure if this is useful or totally too much, but I do feel like it shows how crazy it is to try to contain so many beautiful stories in one hashtag (and one heritage month!). ❤️📚❤️

We will donate $4 per print purchased to Hawaii Literacy (@hawaiiliteracy), an organization based on Oahu. Their mission is "to empower Hawaii’s children and adults with essential reading, writing, and lifelong learning skills to strengthen themselves, families and communities." They also have a bookmobile!

• First offered in August 2021
• Archival pigment ink print on fine art paper
• Based on original paintings by Jane Mount

 

BOOKS INCLUDED:

• Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev
• The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
• If You Leave Me by Crystal Hana Kim
• Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
• Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
• The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
• The Latehomecomer by Kao Kalia Yang
• What We Carry by Maya Shanbhag Lang
• Well-Behaved Indian Women by Saumya Dave
• Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwork
• The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
• Native Speaker by Chang-Rae Lee 
• House of Many Gods by Kiana Davenport
• Trust Exercise by Susan Choi
• A Golden Age by Tahmima Anaiti
• Machinehood by S.b. Divya
• Stealing Buddha's Dinner by Bich Minh Nguyen
• Miracle Creek by Angie Kim
• The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
• The Making of Asian America by Erika Lee
• How to American by Jimmy O. Yang
• From a Native Daughter by Haunani-Kay Trask
• The Magical Language of Others by E.J. Koh
• Wild Swans by Jung Chang
• The Leavers by Lisa Ko
• Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
• Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong
• How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa
• The Collected Schizophrenias by Esmé Weijun Wang
• Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T. Kira Madden
• All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung
• The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
• Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha
• The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim
• Sigh, Gone by Phuc Tran
• The Black Tides of Heaven by Neon Yang
• Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn
• The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
• On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
• How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee
• Exhalation by Ted Chiang
• Fairest by Meredith Talusan
• Know My Name by Chanel Miller
• The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
• Jade City by Fonda Lee
• Soft Science by Franny Choi
• How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C. Pam Zhang
• Eat a Peach by David Chang
• Little Gods by Meng Jin
• Strangers From a Different Shore by Ronald Takaki
• The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
• Severance by Ling Ma
• A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
• Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
• America Is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo
• Where We Once Belonged by Sia Figiel
• Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
• Speak, Okinawa by Elizabeth Miki Brina
• The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
• Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino
• Good Talk by Mira Jacob
• Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
• Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
• Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien
• The Fortunes by Peter Ho Davies
• Sour Heart by Jenny Zhang
• A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
• First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung
• Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen by Queen Liliuokalani
• A Nail The Evening Hang On By Monica Sok
• The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez
• Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie
• No-No Boy by John Okada
• This Is Paradise by Kristiana Kahakauwila
• The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
• Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier
• Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan