May 11, 2022

Emiko Jean Shares 5 Books About the Asian-American Experience

Celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month with recommendations from the author of Tokyo Ever After

Emiko Jean Shares 5 Books About the Asian-American Experience

Celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month with recommendations from the author of Tokyo Ever After

From memoirs to short stories to young adult fiction, Emiko Jean reflects on how each book encapsulates the many facets of the Asian American experience. 

Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong

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A collection of essays and a powerful book about Asian American identity told through history, psychology, and the author’s own personal accounts. It gives a voice to Asian Americans and deeply resonated with me, helping to articulate my feelings as a Japanese American woman. Hong also has a poetry background, and it shows while reading. The writing is honest, visceral, emotional, and well felt. It challenges perceptions and is a scorching anti-racist text that everyone should read.

We Are Not Free by Traci Chee

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This is a book I wish existed while I was a teenager. It is told from multiple points of view of young Nisei, second-generation Japanese American citizens, living during World War II. When I went to school, Japanese internment was a few lines in a textbook, and I felt deeply conflicted over this. I simply wanted more. More of an explanation and exploration of how pivotal the incarceration was for Japanese Americans and Asian Americans. Although it’s a historical novel, it is relevant today. What we don’t learn from our past, we are doomed to repeat it.

The Making of Asian America by Erika Lee

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An excellent, definitive non-fiction resource on the history of Asian Americans from the past to the present day. This is another text I wish had been available when I was growing up. It is a broad perspective on immigration, how many Asians ended up in the United States, and what they faced when they arrived. It sheds light on a blind spot in American history.

All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung

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In this memoir, Nicole Chung recounts her adoption by a white couple and her search for her Korean birth mother. With insights into transracial adoption and motherhood, this book is as absorbing as it is thought provoking. Chung’s existentialism is keenly felt and gently written about. It is a beautiful account of family and identity.

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

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A truly gorgeous collection of short stories chronicling the everyday life of Indians and Indian Americans that I have read several times. It is both a study in the craft of writing and an experience outside of my own. The stories are loosely connected with themes of identity, displacement, and culture. It shows how even the simplest of lives are unique and special. Within the pages, I found an uplifting and hopeful read.

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Last summer, we joined Emiko Jean for a heartfelt summer adventure in Tokyo Ever After. If you were hoping to make a return trip, we’ve got just the scoop for you. Our sources at the Tokyo Tattler say save the date, May 31st. There’ll be a royal wedding in the sequel, Tokyo Dreaming, and you’re invited. It’s the perfect celebration to close out Asian American Heritage Month.

Stories are more than words on page — they’re memory, tradition, and love carried across generations. 

This Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re honoring the voices that keep culture alive. In A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey, a Cuban-American teen finds herself far from Miami, but never far from the heart of home:

“Our story, our people live on in these words. They grow between pages that are sized to fit between a reader’s hands. Small, yes, but somehow they hold us all.” 

Here’s to honoring the voices that remind us where we come from– and where we’re going.  Drop a 🇨🇺 if you've read A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow (or if it's on your TBR!)
Ali Kriegsman has a gift for making the art of reinvention feel accessible and empowering. ✨

On this week's episode of Bookmarked, the Reese's Book Club podcast, @AliKriegs chats with @DanielleRobay about her new psychological thriller 'The Raise', reinvention, and her bold, fun approach to self-publishing. 

Listen now at the @iHeartPodcast app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you love to listen. 🎧
Hoping your week is filled with coffee and good reads! 📖☕ 

Our August Pick Once Upon a Time in Dollywood by @AshleyJordanWrites is one of those rare books that can lift your spirits and set a positive tone for the week ahead.
✨ From the voice of @ElianaRamage herself, prepare to be swept into the cosmos. To the Moon and Back will leave you star-struck 🌙🔭 Tap the link in bio to grab a copy.
"If you are on the hunt for a book that has heart, ambition and authenticity dripping from its pages, add this one to your TBR immediately."

📷+💬= @thatbookladybythesea
These characters are taking us back! We're HUGE Judy Greer fans. ✨

This week on Bookmarked, the Reese's Book Club Podcast, we welcome the incredible @MissJudyGreer! @DanielleRobay and Judy chat her new Stephen King movie adaptation, @HelloSunshine's The Last Thing He Told Me, and of course, dream bookclubs.

Listen on the @iheartpodcast app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you love to listen, and discover which of Judy’s other iconic characters got the book club invite🎧
GIVEAWAY ✨ We're giving away 5 advance copies of the coveted Gone Before Goodbye by @ReeseWitherspoon and @HarlanCoben. Be the first to dive in!

To ENTER:
1. Like this post 💙
2. Follow @reesesbookclub
3. Tag a friend!

Giveaway ends 9/24/25 at 11:59 PT. (5) winners will be notified by DM from @reesesbookclub. No purchase necessary. U.S. only. See official rules in our link in bio.
To the Moon and Back by @ElianaRamage truly shows us that the stars are in reach! ⭐ Grab this exclusive version, including a letter to YOU, an extra chapter, discussion questions, book club insights, and even a conversation with the author at the link in our bio.
#ad The ultimate literary escape is calling ✨ 

We teamed up with World of @Hyatt and brought you an unforgettable bookish adventure with upscale accommodations, scenic views, campfire conversations, and more. Grab your book club and prepare for the dreamiest getaway. Head to our link in bio to book your trip now!
Loving this bookish insight from @MissJudyGreer! Books truly meet us where we are, and take us to where we've never been! 💙

This week on Bookmarked, the Reese's Book Club Podcast, we welcome the incomparable @MissJudyGreer! @DanielleRobay and Judy chat all things power of story, female friendships in media, the new Stephen King book-to-screen adaptation, and more!

Listen on the @iHeartPodcast App, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you love to listen! 🎧

Photo courtesy of Gregory Russell.