Hello everyone! Happy spring!
We are excited to celebrate the month of May with you all by sharing another book list! May is both Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Jewish American Heritage Month! Below are books written by AAPI and Jewish authors and/or with AAPI and Jewish characters!
We hope you enjoy this list! As always, the buzzwords for each list are from the app Story Graph! To get Story Graph for free, you can click the link below!
Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
MYSTERY/THRILLER/HORROR
Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala
fiction mystery funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
Summer of the Big Bachi by Naomi Hirahara
fiction mystery mysterious slow-paced
Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha
fiction crime historical literary race challenging dark emotional medium-paced
The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey
fiction historical mystery mysterious slow-paced
Mimi Lee Gets a Clue by Jennifer J. Chow
fiction mystery lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
Aunty Lee’s Delights by Ovdia Yu
fiction mystery lighthearted mysterious slow-paced
Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier
fiction crime thriller dark emotional tense fast-paced
Haunting Bombay by Shilpa Agarwal
fiction historical horror emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced
The Face at the Window by Kiran Manral
fiction horror thriller dark slow-paced
The Graveyard Apartment by Mariko Koike
fiction horror mystery dark mysterious tense medium-paced
SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY/SPECULATIVE FICTION
The Farm by Joanne Ramos
fiction science fiction reflective slow-paced
Exhalation by Ted Chiang
fiction science fiction short stories adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced
The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
fiction fantasy adventurous challenging medium-paced
The Accidental Alchemist by Gigi Pandian
fiction fantasy mystery mysterious medium-paced
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
fiction fantasy historical adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced
Jade Fire Gold by June CL Tan
fiction fantasy young adult adventurous challenging slow-paced
Folklorn by Angela Mi Young Hur
fiction fantasy magical realism emotional funny reflective medium-paced
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
fiction fantasy historical adventurous dark slow-paced
Jade City by Fonda Lee
fiction fantasy adventurous dark medium-paced
The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart
fiction fantasy lgbtqia+ adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He
fiction dystopian science fiction young adult adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
Wicked Fox by Kat Cho
fiction fantasy romance young adult adventurous emotional lighthearted fast-paced
The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
fiction fantasy lgbtqia+ adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
ROMANCE/CONTEMPORARY/HISTORICAL FICTION
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
fiction contemporary romance emotional lighthearted medium-paced
House of Many Gods by Kiana Davenport
fiction contemporary historical emotional reflective slow-paced
Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu
fiction contemporary literary challenging funny reflective medium-paced
Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri
fiction contemporary literary emotional reflective sad slow-paced
When I’m Gone, Look for Me in the East by Quan Barry
fiction literary emotional reflective medium-paced
The Marriage Game by Sara Desai
fiction contemporary romance funny lighthearted fast-paced
Things We Lost to the Water by Eric Nguyen
fiction lgbtqia+ literary emotional reflective medium-paced
The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
fiction contemporary literary emotional reflective sad slow-paced
If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha
fiction contemporary literary challenging emotional reflective medium-paced
Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
fiction contemporary romance funny lighthearted medium-paced
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
fiction historical lgbtqia+ young adult emotional hopeful medium-paced
NONFICTION
Fairest by Meredith Talusan
nonfiction lgbtqia+ memoir challenging emotional reflective slow-paced
Not Quite Not White: Losing and Finding Race in America by Sharmilla Sen
nonfiction memoir race emotional informative reflective slow-paced
Heart of Fire: An Immigrant Daughter’s Story by Mazie K. Hirono
nonfiction autobiography biography politics emotional informative reflective medium-paced
Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong
nonfiction lgbtqia+ poetry emotional reflective sad medium-paced
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
nonfiction feminism memoir emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
nonfiction food and drink memoir emotional reflective sad medium-paced
Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang
nonfiction memoir emotional reflective medium-paced
Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong
nonfiction essays memoir race challenging informative reflective medium-paced
RESOURCES/LINKS
Jewish American Heritage Month
MYSTERY/THRILLER/HORROR
The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon
fiction mystery science fiction challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced
The World to Come by Dara Horn
fiction historical magical realism emotional reflective slow-paced
The Tribe by Bari Wood
fiction horror thriller dark slow-paced
Indemnity Only by Sara Paretsky
fiction crime mystery mysterious fast-paced
Nursery Crimes by Ayelet Waldman
fiction mystery lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
Permed to Death by Nancy Cohen
fiction crime mystery mysterious fast-paced
The Ritual Bath by Faye Kellerman
fiction crime mystery thriller mysterious medium-paced
These Violent Delights by Michah Nemerever
fiction lgbtqia+ challenging dark reflective slow-paced
The Rabbi Who Prayed with Fire by Rachel Sharona Lewis
fiction mystery adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced
SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY/SPECULATIVE FICTION
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
fiction fantasy historical adventurous reflective slow-paced
The Light of the Midnight Stars by Rena Rossner
fiction fantasy adventurous reflective medium-paced
The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman
fiction historical literary emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
From Dust, A Flame by Rebecca Podos
fiction fantasy lgbtqia+ young adult adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
Starglass by Phoebe North
fiction science fiction young adult adventurous slow-paced
The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R.M. Romero
fiction fantasy historical magical realism young adult emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
This Rebel Heart by Katherine Locke
fiction historical young adult challenging informative medium-paced
The Way Back by Gavriel Savit
fiction fantasy historical young adult adventurous mysterious fast-paced
Burning Girls and Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes
fiction short stories adventurous dark medium-paced
A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay
fiction fantasy historical adventurous slow-paced
Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller
fiction dystopian fantasy science fiction adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
fiction fantasy young adult adventurous mysterious medium-paced
ROMANCE/CONTEMPORARY/HISTORICAL FICTION
The Orchard by David Hopen
fiction religion emotional reflective slow-paced
Last Summer at the Golden Hotel by Elyssa Friendland
fiction contemporary emotional lighthearted slow-paced
On Division by Goldie Goldbloom
fiction contemporary challenging emotional reflective slow-paced
Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer
fiction contemporary literary emotional reflective medium-paced
Home in the Morning by Mary Glickman
fiction historical emotional reflective slow-paced
Nemesis by Philip Roth
fiction historical literary dark reflective sad slow-paced
Milk Fed by Melissa Broder
fiction contemporary lgbtqia+ literary emotional reflective fast-paced
Beyond the Pale by Elana Dykewomon
fiction historical lgbtqia+ emotional informative reflective slow-paced
Sarahland by Sam Cohen
fiction lgbtqia+ short stories dark funny reflective medium-paced
All My Mother’s Lovers by Ilana Masad
fiction lgbtqia+ literary emotional reflective medium-paced
Dissident Gardens by Jonathan Lethem
fiction historical literary emotional sad slow-paced
NONFICTION
A Year Without a Name: A Memoir by Cyrus Grace Dunham
nonfiction lgbtqia+ memoir emotional informative reflective medium-paced
Jews on Broadway: An Historical Survey of Performers, Playwrights, Composers, Lyricists and Producers by Stewart F. Lane
informative reflective medium-paced
Orthodox Jews in America by Jeffrey S. Gurock
nonfiction history religion
The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey Into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred by Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
nonfiction feminism lgbtqia+ memoir race science challenging informative medium-paced
Miriam’s Kitchen by Elizabeth Ehrlich
nonfiction autobiography biography food and drink reflective slow-paced
Hunger Makes a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein
nonfiction feminism memoir music reflective medium-paced
Surviving Autocracy by Masha Gessen
nonfiction essays history politics informative reflective slow-paced
Continuum by Chella Man
nonfiction lgbtqia+ race young adult informative inspiring reflective fast-paced
Save the Deli: In Search of Perfect Pastrami, Crusty Rye, and the Heart of Jewish Delicatessen by David Sax
nonfiction history informative slow-paced
Yiddishkeit: Jewish Vernacular and the New Land edited by Harvey Pekar and Paul Buhle
nonfiction comics history challenging reflective slow-paced
Backing into Forward: A Memoir by Jules Feiffer
nonfiction biography comics memoir funny reflective slow-paced
Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman by Abby Stein
nonfiction lgbtqia+ memoir religion emotional reflective fast-paced
RESOURCES/LINKS
