Book Recommendations: Asian Pasifika Heritage Month Edition – 35 Asian and Pacific Islander Books to Read Today and After API Heritage Month!

Asian and Pasifika Heritage Month Edition is a month-long event at The Quiet Pond during the month of May, where Asian and Pasifika authors are invited to celebrate being Asian and Pasifika work and literature! Find the introduction post for Asian and Pasifika Heritage Month here.

What a month May has been for the Pond! We hosted 16 Asian and Pasifika authors this month, and I am so proud and happy with the awesome stuff that my co-bloggers and I did to uplift and share Asian and Pasifika literature this month. And of course, thank you to everyone who visited, shared and supported our work, and joined in our celebrations for Asian Pasifika Heritage Month. (Here is a full list of all the features we did this month!)

Our Friend is Here! An Interview with Fonda Lee, Author of Jade City – On the Journey, Challenges, and Victories of Writing The Green Bone Saga Trilogy – and What’s Next

Our Friend is Here! is a guest feature at The Quiet Pond, where authors, creatives, and fellow readers, are invited to ‘visit’ the Pond! In Our Friend is Here! guest posts, our visitors (as their very own unique character!) have a friendly conversation about anything related to books or being a reader — and become friends with Xiaolong and friends.

Our Friend is Here: Asian and Pasifika Heritage Month Edition is a month-long event at The Quiet Pond during the month of May, where Asian and Pasifika authors are invited to celebrate being Asian and Pasifika work and literature! Find the introduction post for Asian and Pasifika Heritage Month here.

What an incredible month Asian Pasifika Heritage Month has been. We have had the privilege to host an array of wonderful guests, who visited us and shared with us their work, their thoughts, and their passions. Today guest is one that, if you have visited us at the Pond for awhile, will be known to you. I am a huge fan of her work – I’ve read all of her books and her epic urban fantasy trilogy, The Green Bones Saga, remains to be one of my favourite series of all time – so you would have undoubtedly heard me rave about her. Friends, our very last guest for Asian Pasifika Heritage Month at the Pond 2021 is the brilliant Fonda Lee.

Our Friend is Here! An Interview with Mitali Perkins, Author of You Bring the Distant Near – On Writing a Multigenerational Story, Coming of Age and Trauma, and What’s Next

Our Friend is Here! is a guest feature at The Quiet Pond, where authors, creatives, and fellow readers, are invited to ‘visit’ the Pond! In Our Friend is Here! guest posts, our visitors (as their very own unique character!) have a friendly conversation about anything related to books or being a reader — and become friends with Xiaolong and friends.

Our Friend is Here: Asian and Pasifika Heritage Month Edition is a month-long event at The Quiet Pond during the month of May, where Asian and Pasifika authors are invited to celebrate being Asian and Pasifika work and literature! Find the introduction post for Asian and Pasifika Heritage Month here.

There‌ ‌are‌ ‌very‌ ‌few‌ ‌books‌ ‌on‌ ‌my‌ ‌Ultimate‌ ‌Favorites‌ ‌shelf,‌ ‌but‌ ‌a‌ ‌book‌ ‌that‌ ‌will‌ ‌always‌ ‌have‌ ‌a‌ ‌place‌ ‌on‌ ‌that‌ ‌shelf‌ ‌is‌ ‌‌You‌ ‌Bring‌ ‌the‌ ‌Distant‌ ‌Near‌ ‌‌by‌ ‌Mitali‌ ‌Perkins.‌ ‌This‌ ‌novel‌ ‌is‌ ‌a‌ ‌YA‌ ‌multigenerational‌ ‌masterpiece‌ ‌that‌ ‌focuses‌ ‌on‌ ‌women‌ ‌in‌ ‌each‌ ‌generation‌ ‌of‌ ‌a‌ ‌Bengali‌ ‌family‌ ‌who‌ ‌immigrated‌ ‌to‌ ‌New‌ ‌York‌ ‌from‌ ‌London‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌1970s‌ ‌and‌ ‌follows‌ ‌their‌ ‌story‌ ‌to‌ ‌present‌ ‌day.‌ ‌I‌ ‌remember‌ ‌listening‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌audiobook‌ ‌in‌ ‌the‌ ‌car‌ ‌and‌ ‌wanting‌ ‌to‌ ‌befriend‌ ‌all‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌Das‌ ‌women,‌ ‌from‌ ‌independent‌ ‌feminist‌ ‌Sonia,‌ ‌to‌ ‌fiercely‌ ‌protective‌ ‌Ranee.‌ ‌ 

Our Friend is Here! An Interview with Clarissa Goenawan, Author of In The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida – On Trusting the Writing Process, Grief, and Mental Health

Our Friend is Here! is a guest feature at The Quiet Pond, where authors, creatives, and fellow readers, are invited to ‘visit’ the Pond! In Our Friend is Here! guest posts, our visitors (as their very own unique character!) have a friendly conversation about anything related to books or being a reader — and become friends with Xiaolong and friends.

Our Friend is Here: Asian and Pasifika Heritage Month Edition is a month-long event at The Quiet Pond during the month of May, where Asian and Pasifika authors are invited to celebrate being Asian and Pasifika work and literature! Find the introduction post for Asian and Pasifika Heritage Month here.

The minute I heard about Clarissa Goenawan’s Rainbirds, it went on my TBR as one of my most anticipated books of 2018. The relationship between mental health, mystery, and a quiet slice of life intrigued me immediately. Rainbirds and her next release, The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida, exist within the same community of people, and give a sense of closeness, but also vastness, considering the tone and subject matter. While reading both, I loved the feeling of intimacy gazing upon these characters’ lives, but also the broad philosophical questions woven into the story.

Our Friend is Here! An Interview with Maiya Ibrahim, Author of Spice Road – On Crafting Tea Magic, Her DVPit Journey, and Sharing Cultural Mythology in Storytelling

Our Friend is Here! is a guest feature at The Quiet Pond, where authors, creatives, and fellow readers, are invited to ‘visit’ the Pond! In Our Friend is Here! guest posts, our visitors (as their very own unique character!) have a friendly conversation about anything related to books or being a reader — and become friends with Xiaolong and friends.

Our Friend is Here: Asian and Pasifika Heritage Month Edition is a month-long event at The Quiet Pond during the month of May, where Asian and Pasifika authors are invited to celebrate being Asian and Pasifika work and literature! Find the introduction post for Asian and Pasifika Heritage Month here.

At the Pond, we love rich worldbuilding with fascinating magic systems inspired by culture and mythology. So when I heard about a new young-adult trilogy titled Spice Road set in an Arabian-inspired land with a teen who must protect her people’s tea magic – yes! tea magic! – I was immediately enthralled, and I wanted to learn more.