If I loved H Mart before, it took on a whole new meaning with Michelle Zauner’s story. As a bridge child between the old world and the new, Zauner chronicles the struggles with her family as she attempts to find her place in American life. Rife with Korean food, Korean culture, and a difficult love, …
From Monday February 5, 2024: Maximum Shelf: Ocean’s Godori Elaine U. Cho‘s debut novel, Ocean’s Godori (Hillman Grad Books/Zando, April 23, 2024), is a rollicking space adventure featuring a brave new world in which a united Korea leads the solar system, but unrest is never far away. When ace pilot Ocean Yoon’s best friend’s life implodes, she’s the …
Koh approaches her historical novel with an unwavering interest in the human heart & the way politics, war, & things of such scale affect the realms of intimacy and interpersonal relationships. Koh uses language with the utmost elegance, her prose is poetic & confident with imagistic, memorable metaphors. Her characters feel flesh & bone; yearning …
This book is so many things, and I love all of it because David Chang is unflinchingly real. He talks through being a child of immigrants, depressions, imposter syndrome, making mistakes, reaching out for help and walking away from that help. As an entrepreneur, I saw myself and I saw how I can become a …
It’s time for a Thursday Theme, where we shine a spotlight on some of the titles featured in this week’s Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association regional bestseller list. May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Let’s celebrate the first week with bestselling books by Asian American authors, and let’s work on getting some books by …
In her book, Minor Feelings: an Asian American Reckoning, poet, critic and essayist Cathy Park Hong wrote: “For as long as I could remember, I have struggled to prove myself into existence.” For me, this line sets the tone for one of the most thoughtful and important books I’ve read in years. I had to …
This is a book that is uplifting, funny, charming, hopeful, and HELPFUL to tweens! The main character, Yumi, wants to do stand-up comedy. Her parents want her to go to SSAT tutoring to get into a private school and earn a scholarship. But when a bizarre opportunity that just requires some identity theft and a …
When I was fifteen, my parents returned to South Korea and left me behind with my brother in America. My mother started writing me letters in Korean, a language I could not fully understand at the time. Over a decade after she wrote me, I translated her letters into English. In one letter, she writes: …
