In light of recent events in the US–namely, the shootings in Atlanta last week that resulted in the deaths of eight people, including six Asian American women–I want to make it unequivocally clear that I support the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. There are many ways to show support, from monetary donations to attending marches, but for those of us who are readers, I wanted to also give some titles of books by Asian and Asian American authors, across a wide range of genres. The publishing industry has a history of failing authors of color, and that includes authors of Asian descent. Buying and reading their books sends a message to publishers that readers value these stories, and that these stories are important to tell. Of course, we should be reading diversely all the time, but if you find that Asian authors are not well-represented in your reading…well, this is a great place to start.
I’m breaking this post out by listing a book for each genre, along with its author’s racial/ethnic identity. This list is by no means comprehensive, and I’ll admit, there are some great titles that I left off mostly for space purposes–but each title on this list is one that I have read and wholeheartedly recommend. Also, the authors’ identities I have listed are what I could find from their website bios; if any of my information is inaccurate, please let me know so I can correct it.
As an additional note: if you are planning to purchase any of these titles, please consider buying them from an Asian American-owned bookstore. For a list of options, check out this LIST from Libro.fm.
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Metaphors and Miscellanea 