Asian-American Lit

It’s been a good year for me for African-American literature.  Thanks to the Free Library of  Philadelphia and the Kindle app on my phone, I’ve had free and easy access to good fiction and non-fiction titles by and/or about African-Americans.  For fiction, I particularly enjoyed “The Turner House,” by Angela Flournoy, and for non-fiction, I particularly enjoyed “First Class: The Legacy of Dunbar, America's First Black Public High School,” by Alison Stewart. 

With Asian Pacific American Heritage Month fast approaching, I thought I’d make a list of really good books by Asian-Americans and/or about Asian America.  Stars after the title mean I haven’t read it yet but it is very high up on my wish list.  As always, I welcome your recommendations too. 

1.       Su Beng – “Modern History of Taiwanese in 400 Years”

2.       Jeff Chang – “Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop”

3.       Amy Chua – “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother”

4.       Maxine Hong Kingston – “The Woman Warrior” ***

5.       Al Hsu – “Grieving a Suicide: A Loved One's Search for Comfort, Answers & Hope” ***

6.       Jhumpa Lahiri – “In Other Words”

7.       Jennifer Lee – “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food”

8.       Celeste Ng – “Everything I Never Told You” ***

9.       Chang Rae-Lee – “Native Speaker” ***

10.   Sonia Shah – “The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years”

11.   Ron Takaki – “Double Victory: A Multicultural History of America in World War II”

12.   Ron Takaki – “Strangers from a Different Shore”

13.   Sudhir Venkatesh – “Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets”

14.   Frank Wu – “Yellow”

15.   Shawna Yang Ryan, “Green Island” ***