Asian American and Asian Pacific Islander Voices for Adults

May is Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month, and in honor of this, we have put together a list of titles by authors of Asian and Pacific Islander decent.

Updated April 28, 2024
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Mother ocean father nation : a novel
Batsha, Nishant
Paper Book
LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FINALIST LONGLISTED FOR THE MARK TWIN AMERICAN VOICE IN LITERATURE AWARD "A brilliant debut novel." --Joyce Carol Oates A brother and sister's paths diverge in the wake of political upheaval: one forced to leave, one left behind On a small Pacific...
Everything I learned, I learned in a Chinese restaurant : a memoir
Chin, Curtis
Paper Book
This "vivid, moving, funny, and heartfelt" memoir tells the story of Curtis Chin's time growing up as a gay Chinese American kid in 1980's Detroit (Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers). Nineteen eighties Detroit was a volatile place to live, but above the fray stood a safe haven:...
A living remedy : a memoir
Chung, Nicole
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK Winner, Tillie Olsen Award for Creative Writing Named a Best Book of the Year by: Time * Harper's Bazaar * Esquire * Booklist * USA Today * Elle * Good Housekeeping * New York Times * Electric Literature * Today From the bestselling author...
The singles table. [online electronic book]
Desai, Sara
Ebook
Opposites attract in this laugh-out-loud romantic comedy about a free-spirited lawyer who is determined to find the perfect match for the grumpy bachelor at her cousin's wedding.   After a devastating break-up, celebrity-obsessed lawyer Zara Patel is determined...
Great Country : A Novel
Gowda, Shilpi Somaya.
Paper Book
AN INSTANT #1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER From the New York Times bestselling author, a novel in the tradition of Celeste Ng's Little Fires Everywhere, exploring the ties and fractures of a close-knit Indian-American family in the aftermath of a violent encounter with the...
Hula
Hakes, Jasmin Iolani
Paper Book
Named a Best Book of the Summer by Harper's Bazaar and ELLE * Audiofile Magazine Earphones Award Winner "Stunning . . . An intricately built novel that spans decades, moving in and out of a collective voice, while also telling Hi'i's deeply personal and devastating story...
Every drop is a man's nightmare : stories
Kakimoto, Megan Kamalei
Paper Book
USA Today Bestseller "Rich and wise, humming with confidence." --New York Times Book Review "A knockout. Eleven knockouts. One KO for every story."--Elizabeth McCracken "Every Drop Is a Man's Nightmare is a frontrunner for Book of the...
Memory piece
Ko, Lisa
Paper Book
NAMED A VOGUE BEST BOOK OF 2024 ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE READS OF SUMMER 2024 "Adventurous. . .gritty and refreshingly girl-centric. . . lingers in the imagination." -The New York Times "Ko...draws characters with such deftness that...
Indian-ish : recipes and antics from a modern American family
Krishna, Priya
Paper Book
Named one of the Best Cookbooks of Spring 2019 by the New York Times, Eater, and Bon Appétit "A joy to cook from, and just as much fun to read." --Margaux Laskey, the New York Times A witty and irresistible celebration of one very cool and...
Yellowface : A Novel.
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Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK "Hard to put down, harder to forget." -- Stephen King, #1 New York Times bestselling author White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences... Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says she...
The manicurist's daughter : a memoir
Lieu, Susan
Paper Book
An emotionally raw memoir about the crumbling of the American Dream and a daughter of refugees who searches for answers after her mother dies during plastic surgery. Susan Lieu has long been searching for answers. About her family's past and about her own future. Refugees from...
The night eaters. Book 1, She eats the night
Liu, Marjorie M.
Paper Book
The Night Eaters: She Eats the Nights is the first volume in a graphic novel horror trilogy from author Marjorie Liu and illustrator Sana Takeda--the creative team behind the New York Times bestselling series Monstress. * Eisner Award Winner...
A place for us : a novel
Mirza, Fatima Farheen
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NATIONAL BOOK AWARD "5 UNDER 35" NOMINEE * NEW YORK'S "ONE BOOK, ONE NEW YORK" PICK Named One of the Best Books of the Year: Washington Post * NPR * People * Refinery29 * Parade * BuzzFeed "Mirza ...
A man of two faces : a memoir, a history, a memorial
Nguyen, Viet Thanh
Paper Book
LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD The highly original, blistering, and unconventional memoir by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer, which has now sold over one million copies worldwide With insight, humor, formal invention, and lyricism,...
A tale for the time being.
Ozeki, Ruth L.
Paper Book
A brilliant, unforgettable, and long-awaited novel from bestselling author Ruth Ozeki "A time being is someone who lives in time, and that means you, and me, and every one of us who is, or was, or ever will be." In Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao has decided there's only one escape from...
The bandit queens.
Shroff, Parini
Paper Book
GOOD MORNING AMERICA BUZZ PICK * A young Indian woman finds the false rumors that she killed her husband surprisingly useful--until other women in the village start asking for her help getting rid of their own husbands--in this razor-sharp debut. "A...
Chlorine
Song, Jade
Paper Book
In the vein of The Pisces and The Vegetarian, Chlorine is a debut novel that blurs the line between a literary coming-of-age narrative and a dark unsettling horror tale, told from an adult perspective on the trials and tribulations of growing up in a society that puts...
The good, the bad, and the aunties
Sutanto, Jesse Q.
Paper Book
What should have been a family celebration of Chinese New Year descends into chaos when longtime foes crash the party in this hilariously entertaining novel by Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties. After an ultra-romantic honeymoon across Europe,...
The Joy Luck Club.
Tan, Amy
Paper Book
"The Joy Luck Club is one of my favorite books. From the moment I first started reading it, I knew it was going to be incredible. For me, it was one of those once-in-a-lifetime reading experiences that you cherish forever. It inspired me as a writer and still remains hugely inspirational."...
Banyan Moon : a novel
Thai, Thao
Paper Book
A TODAY Show #ReadWithJenna Book Club Pick "A riveting mother-daughter tale." -- Elle "Radiant. ... An intimate account of one family's planting of roots in American soil and the sacrifices great and small that each member makes along the way." -- Washington Post A...
Late bloomers : a novel
Varadarajan, Deepa
Paper Book
An IndianAmericanfamily is turned upside down when the parents split up thirty-six years into their arranged marriage​in this"heartwarming journey of self-discovery" (Southern Living). "Touching . . . both funny and moving-a family drama the entire family can enjoy."-...
On earth we're briefly gorgeous : a novel
Vuong, Ocean
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller * Nominated for the National Book Award for Fiction * Ocean Vuong's debut novel is a shattering portrait of a family, a first love, and the redemptive power of storytelling New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century ...
Crying in H Mart : a memoir
Zauner, Michelle
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the indie rock sensation known as Japanese Breakfast, an unforgettable memoir about family, food, grief, love, and growing up Korean American--"in losing her mother and cooking to bring her back to life, Zauner became herself" (NPR). * CELEBRATING...

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