BookDragon Origin/Ethnic Background

Palestine’s Children: Returning to Haifa and Other Stories by Ghassan Kanafani, translated by Barbara Harlow and Karen E. Riley

11 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Palestinian, Short Stories, Translation

Contrary as I am, I find I must start with this book backwards. The final entry in this important title by one of Palestine's literary icons is not only the collection's highlight, but it is undoubtedly one of those haunting 'what-if' situations that you'll find...

The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer

10 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, European, Fiction, Jewish

Sometimes, nothing satisfies like a sweeping family saga: convincing enough to believe the characters truly existed beyond the bound pages, long enough to feel like they've become a part of your lives, inspiring enough to mourn their company once the words are finished. Thus is Julie Orringer's...

House of Five Leaves (vol. 2) by Natsume Ono, translated by Joe Yamazaki

08 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Being madly appreciative of Natsume Ono's not simple, one of the most clever, time-bending manga I've ever been so lucky to read, I definitely felt a personal sense of pride when I heard this week that Ono's latest series-in-English-translation, House of Five Leaves (click here...

Lost & Found by Shaun Tan

08 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Australian, Australian Asian, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers

The literati around the world have surely got the memo that 2011 is Shaun Tan's year. Every few weeks, he seems to be back in the news with new accolades (all well-deserved, I must add ...

We’ll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

06 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Korean American, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

Been waiting to exhale? Here it comes ...

The Story of Lee (vol. 1) by Seán Michael Wilson and Chie Kutsuwada

05 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, British, British Asian, Chinese, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Hong Kongese, Young Adult Readers

The greatest strength of this series debut is, without a doubt, the art: the first spread, for example, captures the eponymous Lee gliding along on her bike, then the shock of a narrowly-missed collision with an elderly woman, and the embarrassed apology as she picks...

It’s Not Summer without You by Jenny Han

04 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Korean American, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

First things first: do NOT read further if you haven't read Part 1 of Jenny Han's sigh-inducing Belly-trilogy, The Summer I Turned Pretty. Why spoil this delicious experience? Trust me ...

The Lake by Banana Yoshimoto, translated by Michael Emmerich

01 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Japanese, Translation

Balanced with deft reminders of impermanence –from vivid dreams and outdoor art to once-a-year cherry blossoms and death – Banana Yoshimoto’s latest is a love story with a higher-than-usual satisfying-sigh factor. Chihiro, an artist, and Nakajima, a graduate student in genetics, finally meet after watching and...

Around the World on Eighty Legs by Amy Gibson, illustrated by Daniel Salmieri

30 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Children/Picture Books, Nonethnic-specific, Poetry

Warning: reading this whimsical globe-trotting picture book debut from Amy Gibson with your young 'uns will surely make them peripatetic adventurers sooner than later in life. Divided by continent, Gibson wanders the globe sharing giddy, often enlightening poems about animals familiar and hidden. In South America,...

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

26 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

With very good reason, Jennifer Egan's fifth title, A Visit from the Goon Squad, won the 2011 National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction, announced earlier this month. As with most major award winners, I try to take a look or a listen (forget the cat; curiosity...

I’ll Give It My All … Tomorrow (vol. 2) by Shunju Aono, English adaptation by Akemi Wegmüller

24 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

Shizuo Oguro's definitely getting older, although not quite yet better. Having quit the corporate life at age 40 determined to become a manga artist in volume 1, Oguro is now 42 and facing creative rejection, trying to convince himself that "Great talents bloom late." His friend – the angry...

The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman

20 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Jewish, Nonethnic-specific

Everything about this multilayered title shouts fraud ...

I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass

19 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific

As I've upped my running mileage (doggedly training for Leadville 100 in 2012!), my book consumption via iPod has increased dramatically. One of my favorite audible treats is to listen to the author read to me ...

Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea by Guy Delisle, translated by Helge Dascher

17 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Canadian, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Korean, Memoir, Nonfiction, North Korean, Translation, Young Adult Readers

In another century, travelers wrote a few postcards. Today's modern wanderer might send group emails or abbreviated texts; the more techno-savvy might start a blog and instantly upload the pictures from those tiny devices. The really ambitious write essays and even books. Guy Delisle (thank goodness!)...

Daytripper by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá, introduction by Craig Thompson

16 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, South American

Daytripper is a gift of unexpected brilliance. That's all you really need to know. And just as I soooooo appreciated knowing almost nothing about this title before I opened its enticing pages, I will try not to spoil a moment for you. If you're not ready to...

Dragon Chica by May-lee Chai

15 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Cambodian American, Chinese American, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Southeast Asian American

May-lee Chai’s second novel is one of those titles to consider reading from the end, in this case with the "Acknowledgements," where the Chinese Caucasian hapa Chai recounts her long personal involvement with the Cambodian American community. At 15, writing for her Midwest hometown newspaper in the...

Cinnamon Baby by Nicola Winstanley, illustrated by Janice Nadeau

13 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Canadian, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race

Miriam is a magical baker who makes her cinnamon bread last because it's her favorite. When Sebastian bicycles by her Alchemy Bakery with his violin, he's drawn in by her "sweet-smelling voice," and after a year of buying a loaf every single day, asks Miriam...

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

12 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers

Perhaps because Beth Hoffman's debut is read so charmingly by Jenna Lamia, who also narrated Kathryn Stockett's bestseller The Help, I couldn't help making endless comparisons ...

First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung + Author Interview

10 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Cambodian, Cambodian American, Memoir, Nonfiction, Southeast Asian, Southeast Asian American

For someone who has experienced hell, Loung Ung is a bright, welcoming voice filled with inviting laughter. She’s warm: “I just had dinner with my writing group last night. They’re my PenGals. I just love them! I don’t know what I would do without them.” She’s practical:...

Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit: A Book of Changing Seasons by Il Sung Na

09 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in British, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Korean

Surely the wintry melée is over, especially since our son and I have the tell-tale signs of sneezing and wheezing with the bursting buds. Not that we're complaining, of course! Celebrate the warmth with little rabbit and his friends as they shed the last season. All...