BookDragon Family Tag

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

20 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Afghan, Audio, Memoir, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

I picked up Gayle Tzemach Lemmon's already-bestselling debut title with a mission: after reading too many death-and-destruction books one after another, I needed some inspiration to reverse me out of a downward spiral. Our mutual involvement in a fabulous project which puts us on the same web...

Seven Fathers retold by Ashley Ramsden, illustrated by Ed Young

19 Apr, by SIBookDragon in British, Children/Picture Books, Chinese American, European, Fiction

International storyteller Ashley Ramsden retells a Norwegian tale about the rich rewards of patient tenacity. "One winter's evening, a lone traveler trudged down a winding forest road looking for a place to spend the night ...

The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea

18 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Latin American, Latina/o/x

If I hadn't had Luis Alberto Urrea himself read the majority of his novel to me via iPod, I would never have known the proper pronunciation of Parangarícutirimícuaro, not to mention a few choice insults! Good thing I also bought the book, because I wouldn't...

Ladder to the Moon by Maya Soetoro-Ng, illustrated by Yuyi Morales

15 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Indonesian American

"More than anything, I wished that my mother and my daughter could have known and loved each other," Maya Soetoro-Ng writes in her "Author's Note," mourning her late mother (anthropologist S. Ann Dunham), who died a decade before her granddaughter Suhaila was born. Through the infinite...

Beneath the Lion’s Gaze by Maaza Mengiste

14 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, African, Black/African American, Fiction

Decades ago, I went to college with one of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie's grandsons. Beyond the seemingly ubiquitous images back then of Ethiopia's barren natural disasters and widespread starvation, that worldly, quiet, thoughtful young man was my first real encounter with Ethiopia ...

Death Note I: Black Edition (vols.1-2) by Tsugumi Ohba, art by Takeshi Obata, translated by Tetsuichiro Miyaki

12 Apr, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers

So phenomenally successful is the Death Note series, it's available in multiformats in the U.S. alone. Not even considering all the endless spin-off enterprises like anime, films, and games, Death Note on the page comes in single volumes (12 total), or a complete box set, or even...

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

11 Apr, by SIBookDragon 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 SIBookDragon 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 SIBookDragon 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...

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

05 Apr, by SIBookDragon 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...

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

26 Mar, by SIBookDragon 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 SIBookDragon 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 SIBookDragon 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 SIBookDragon 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 ...

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

16 Mar, by SIBookDragon 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 SIBookDragon 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 SIBookDragon 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 SIBookDragon 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 SIBookDragon 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:...

A Tiger in the Kitchen: A Memoir of Food and Family by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan

06 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Memoir, Nonfiction, Singaporean American, Southeast Asian, Southeast Asian American

A toothsome distraction from the recent Tiger Mother hunt, journalist Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan offers A Tiger in the Kitchen: A Memoir of Food and Family, which takes readers from Carnegie Hall into fragrant kitchens, trading threatened stuffed animals for pineapple tarts, Prokofiev for pandan. Tan's strong-willed...