Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Books By Asian-American Authors To Inspire Your Next Read
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage (AAPI) Month, and we’re so excited to be celebrating it all month long. Throughout May, watch the B3 Magazine and barre3 Instagram for stories highlighting members of our global barre3 community who identify as AAPI.
Today, we’re excited to share a list of books by Asian American authors full of fiction, memoirs, biographies, and more to help you answer the all-important question of what to read next. At barre3, reading is up there with movement as one of our favorite ways to find inspiration and connect with our communities, and we’re always seeking new ways to broaden our perspectives and support new and diverse writers. Dive into the list below—and if you have more recommendations, we’d love it if you shared them in the comments!
Fiction
Full disclosure: This book is impossible to put down. Convenience Store Woman follows the story of protagonist, thirty-six-year-old Keiko Furukura. Keiko never felt that she fit in before finding a job at Smile Mart—the convenience store where, at 18, she finds peace and purpose in the predictability of her work. She spends the next 18 years of her career at the store, but as family, friends, and other coworkers pressure her to find a husband and begin “proper” work, Keiko takes drastic steps to secure the simple life that brings her joy. – Recommended by Isabelle Eyman, barre3 Social Media Manager
Learn more about Sayaka Murata in this interview.
“My memories don’t feel as though they’ve been pulled up by the root. Even if they fade, something remains. Like tiny seeds that might germinate again if the rain falls. And even if a memory disappears completely, the heart retains something. A slight tremor or pain, some bit of joy, a tear.” – excerpted from The Memory Police
Learn more about Yoko Ogawa here.
“I am thinking of beauty again, how some things are hunted because we have deemed them beautiful. If, relative to the history of our planet, an individual life is so short, a blink, as they say, then to be gorgeous, even from the day you’re born to the day you die, is to be gorgeous only briefly.” – excerpted from On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous
Learn more about Ocean Vuong here.
In the near-future setting of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun, Klara is an “Artificial Friend” designed to support teenagers through their tech-saturated adolescent years. Themes surround technology’s role in society, mortality, social justice, and finding meaning and purpose in life. There’s a lot that’s discussed, but it’s woven seamlessly into a captivating narrative that you won’t be able to put down.
This is Ishiguro’s latest release, and we highly recommend picking up The Remains of the Day as well as Never Let Me Go if you want to dive further into his award-winning work. – Recommended by Isabelle Eyman, barre3 Social Media Manager
Learn more about Kazuo Ishiguro here.
While you may be familiar with Haruki Murakami’s fiction works, the author’s nonfiction memoir is an ode to running, writing, and endurance. The book covers Murakami’s preparation for marathons, during which he discusses his running routes through Tokyo, Boston, and Hawaii. His memories and insights take us through his journey to becoming a runner and writer, with observations applicable for a diverse audience. Fans of Murakami’s other works will recognize his familiar tone and perspective, used here for the purpose of sharing deeply personal yet universally relatable experiences. – Recommended by Sarah Racker, barre3 Digital Visual Designer
Learn more about Haruki Murakami here.
“Nobody’s life was untouched by loneliness; it was just a question of whether or not you were able to accept that loneliness for what it was. Put another way, everyone was lonely, and it was up to them whether they chose to bury that loneliness through relationships with other people, and if so, of what sort of intensity and depth.” – excerpted from There’s No Such Thing As An Easy Job
Learn more about Kikuko Tsumura here.
Historical Fiction
“There was consolation: The people you loved, they were always there with you, she had learned. Sometimes, she could be in front of a train kiosk or the window of a bookstore, and she could feel Noa’s small hand when he was a boy, and she would close her eyes and think of his sweet grassy smell and remember that he had always tried his best. At those moments, it was good to be alone to hold on to him.” – excerpted from Pachinko
Learn more about Min Jin Lee here.
Biography/Memoir
“Patiently educating a clueless white person about race is draining. It takes all your powers of persuasion. Because it’s more than a chat about race. It’s ontological. It’s like explaining to a person why you exist, or why you feel pain, or why your reality is distinct from their reality. Except it’s even trickier than that. Because the person has all of Western history, politics, literature, and mass culture on their side, proving that you don’t exist.” – excerpted from Minor Feelings
Learn more about Cathy Park Hong here.
“I survived because I remained soft, because I listened, because I wrote. Because I huddled close to my truth, protected it like a tiny flame in a terrible storm. Hold up your head when the tears come, when you are mocked, insulted, questioned, threatened, when they tell you you are nothing, when your body is reduced to openings. The journey will be longer than you imagined, trauma will find you again and again. Do not become the ones who hurt you. Stay tender with your power. Never fight to injure, fight to uplift. Fight because you know that in this life, you deserve safety, joy, and freedom. Fight because it is your life. Not anyone else’s. I did it, I am here. Looking back, all the ones who doubted or hurt or nearly conquered me faded away, and I am the only one standing. So now, the time has come. I dust myself off, and go on.” – excerpted from Know My Name
Learn more about Chanel Miller here.
“I can hardly speak Korean, but in H Mart I feel like I’m fluent. I fondle the produce and say the words aloud—chamoe melon, danmuji. I fill my shopping cart with every snack that has glossy packaging decorated with a familiar cartoon. I think about the time Mom showed me how to fold the little plastic card that came inside bags of Jolly Pong, how to use it as a spoon to shovel caramel puff rice into my mouth, and how it inevitably fell down my shirt and spread all over the car. I remember the snacks Mom told me she ate when she was a kid and how I tried to imagine her at my age. I wanted to like all the things she did, to embody her completely.” – Michelle Zauner
Learn more about Michelle Zauner in this article.
Short Stories
“Still, there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination.” – excerpted from Interpreter of Maladies
Learn more about Jhumpa Lahiri here.
“I selected fifty-four millimeters for the space between my eyes. All my life, my eyes had been far apart and, growing up, the other kids called me “Hammerhead.” Something nobody tells you is that when you die a death in which your face and body are utterly maimed, you get to choose your face in heaven. Your body, to some extent, as well, because you’re given a body that corresponds to your chosen face. But skin color, nose shape, lips, and teeth—it’s all up to you. That’s the silver lining.” excerpted from “My Dear You”
Learn more about Rachel Khong here.
Join us in celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month all throughout May and beyond. Follow along on Instagram and tune in right here on the B3 Magazine for in-depth interviews, features, and more. And if you’d like to start your barre3 journey, sign up and get your first month of barre3 online for $1, or find your local studio.
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage (AAPI) Month, and we’re so excited to be celebrating it all month long. Throughout May, watch the B3 Magazine and barre3 Instagram for stories highlighting members of our global barre3 community who identify as AAPI.
Today, we’re excited to share a list of books by Asian American authors full of fiction, memoirs, biographies, and more to help you answer the all-important question of what to read next. At barre3, reading is up there with movement as one of our favorite ways to find inspiration and connect with our communities, and we’re always seeking new ways to broaden our perspectives and support new and diverse writers. Dive into the list below—and if you have more recommendations, we’d love it if you shared them in the comments!
Fiction
Full disclosure: This book is impossible to put down. Convenience Store Woman follows the story of protagonist, thirty-six-year-old Keiko Furukura. Keiko never felt that she fit in before finding a job at Smile Mart—the convenience store where, at 18, she finds peace and purpose in the predictability of her work. She spends the next 18 years of her career at the store, but as family, friends, and other coworkers pressure her to find a husband and begin “proper” work, Keiko takes drastic steps to secure the simple life that brings her joy. – Recommended by Isabelle Eyman, barre3 Social Media Manager
Learn more about Sayaka Murata in this interview.
“My memories don’t feel as though they’ve been pulled up by the root. Even if they fade, something remains. Like tiny seeds that might germinate again if the rain falls. And even if a memory disappears completely, the heart retains something. A slight tremor or pain, some bit of joy, a tear.” – excerpted from The Memory Police
Learn more about Yoko Ogawa here.
“I am thinking of beauty again, how some things are hunted because we have deemed them beautiful. If, relative to the history of our planet, an individual life is so short, a blink, as they say, then to be gorgeous, even from the day you’re born to the day you die, is to be gorgeous only briefly.” – excerpted from On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous
Learn more about Ocean Vuong here.
In the near-future setting of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun, Klara is an “Artificial Friend” designed to support teenagers through their tech-saturated adolescent years. Themes surround technology’s role in society, mortality, social justice, and finding meaning and purpose in life. There’s a lot that’s discussed, but it’s woven seamlessly into a captivating narrative that you won’t be able to put down.
This is Ishiguro’s latest release, and we highly recommend picking up The Remains of the Day as well as Never Let Me Go if you want to dive further into his award-winning work. – Recommended by Isabelle Eyman, barre3 Social Media Manager
Learn more about Kazuo Ishiguro here.
While you may be familiar with Haruki Murakami’s fiction works, the author’s nonfiction memoir is an ode to running, writing, and endurance. The book covers Murakami’s preparation for marathons, during which he discusses his running routes through Tokyo, Boston, and Hawaii. His memories and insights take us through his journey to becoming a runner and writer, with observations applicable for a diverse audience. Fans of Murakami’s other works will recognize his familiar tone and perspective, used here for the purpose of sharing deeply personal yet universally relatable experiences. – Recommended by Sarah Racker, barre3 Digital Visual Designer
Learn more about Haruki Murakami here.
“Nobody’s life was untouched by loneliness; it was just a question of whether or not you were able to accept that loneliness for what it was. Put another way, everyone was lonely, and it was up to them whether they chose to bury that loneliness through relationships with other people, and if so, of what sort of intensity and depth.” – excerpted from There’s No Such Thing As An Easy Job
Learn more about Kikuko Tsumura here.
Historical Fiction
“There was consolation: The people you loved, they were always there with you, she had learned. Sometimes, she could be in front of a train kiosk or the window of a bookstore, and she could feel Noa’s small hand when he was a boy, and she would close her eyes and think of his sweet grassy smell and remember that he had always tried his best. At those moments, it was good to be alone to hold on to him.” – excerpted from Pachinko
Learn more about Min Jin Lee here.
Biography/Memoir
“Patiently educating a clueless white person about race is draining. It takes all your powers of persuasion. Because it’s more than a chat about race. It’s ontological. It’s like explaining to a person why you exist, or why you feel pain, or why your reality is distinct from their reality. Except it’s even trickier than that. Because the person has all of Western history, politics, literature, and mass culture on their side, proving that you don’t exist.” – excerpted from Minor Feelings
Learn more about Cathy Park Hong here.
“I survived because I remained soft, because I listened, because I wrote. Because I huddled close to my truth, protected it like a tiny flame in a terrible storm. Hold up your head when the tears come, when you are mocked, insulted, questioned, threatened, when they tell you you are nothing, when your body is reduced to openings. The journey will be longer than you imagined, trauma will find you again and again. Do not become the ones who hurt you. Stay tender with your power. Never fight to injure, fight to uplift. Fight because you know that in this life, you deserve safety, joy, and freedom. Fight because it is your life. Not anyone else’s. I did it, I am here. Looking back, all the ones who doubted or hurt or nearly conquered me faded away, and I am the only one standing. So now, the time has come. I dust myself off, and go on.” – excerpted from Know My Name
Learn more about Chanel Miller here.
“I can hardly speak Korean, but in H Mart I feel like I’m fluent. I fondle the produce and say the words aloud—chamoe melon, danmuji. I fill my shopping cart with every snack that has glossy packaging decorated with a familiar cartoon. I think about the time Mom showed me how to fold the little plastic card that came inside bags of Jolly Pong, how to use it as a spoon to shovel caramel puff rice into my mouth, and how it inevitably fell down my shirt and spread all over the car. I remember the snacks Mom told me she ate when she was a kid and how I tried to imagine her at my age. I wanted to like all the things she did, to embody her completely.” – Michelle Zauner
Learn more about Michelle Zauner in this article.
Short Stories
“Still, there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination.” – excerpted from Interpreter of Maladies
Learn more about Jhumpa Lahiri here.
“I selected fifty-four millimeters for the space between my eyes. All my life, my eyes had been far apart and, growing up, the other kids called me “Hammerhead.” Something nobody tells you is that when you die a death in which your face and body are utterly maimed, you get to choose your face in heaven. Your body, to some extent, as well, because you’re given a body that corresponds to your chosen face. But skin color, nose shape, lips, and teeth—it’s all up to you. That’s the silver lining.” excerpted from “My Dear You”
Learn more about Rachel Khong here.
Join us in celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month all throughout May and beyond. Follow along on Instagram and tune in right here on the B3 Magazine for in-depth interviews, features, and more. And if you’d like to start your barre3 journey, sign up and get your first month of barre3 online for $1, or find your local studio.
