May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, which is a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. A rather broad term, Asian/Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).

Learn more about Asian Pacific American Heritage Month here.

 

Join the library in honoring Asian Pacific American Heritage Month by checking out a book written by or about Asian Pacific Americans or by joining the library in reading and discussing Pachinko by Min Jin Lee on Thursday, May 26th at 6:00 p.m.

Register for the Pachinko discussion here.

 

Check out a list of 20 adult fiction and nonfiction books recommended by librarians that are by or about Asian Pacific Americans. Click the title to place a hold on the item.

White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

The Best We Could Do: An Illustrated Memoir by Thi Bui

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

Exhalation by Ted Chiang

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

Pachinko by Ming Jin Lee

Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang

The Leavers by Lisa Ko

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Severance by Ling Ma

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Frankly in Love by David Yoon

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Anti-Racists Reads

While at first glance this list seems extensive, it is certainly not exhaustive. The works listed below by Tredyffrin Township Librarians are not the only titles that discuss race and racism in the United States; there are many more titles and authors of color that we could not include due to space and time. Comment below if there are titles or authors you think should have been included. 

For all books, we provided links to Chester County Library System’s Libby (when available), the Chester County Library Catalog (when available), and a link to purchase either through Wayne’s Main Point Books or Amazon.com. There are a few items, however, that are not immediately available through Libby. As of June 2nd, Tredyffrin Townships Libraries are still closed and not offering curbside pick up at this time, so please do not place holds on physical items until the library offers these services. 

Babies & Toddlers • Grades K-2 • Grades 3-6 • Young Adults • Adults

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