Curated by Collections Services Supervisor Milo Ono

AANHPI Heritage Month is a time to honor and celebrate the rich cultures, histories and contributions of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. Whether you’re looking to deepen your understanding of AANHPI heritage or simply wanting to read powerful stories by AANHPI authors, here are 6 incredible books to add to your shelf in celebration of this meaningful month.

Rise: A Pop History of Asian Americans from the Nineties to Now
By Jeff Yang, Phil Yu & Philip Wang

Rise is a contemporary, comprehensive history of Asian American icons and pop culture. It includes colorful infographics, first-hand narratives, graphic essays, and beautiful illustrations.

Between the Deep Blue Sea and Me
By Lurline Wailana McGregor

From a Whisper to a Rallying Cry: The Killing of Vincent Chin and the Trial that Galvanized the Asian American Movement
By Paula Yoo

Written for young adults, this narrative nonfiction book details a symbolic event in American history—the 1982 murder of Vincent Chin—that ignited the Asian American Movement.

Rolling the R’s
By R. Zamora Linmark

Told from several characters’ perspectives, Rolling the R’s utilizes non-linear storytelling to immerse its reader in the story of a group of young Filipino American friends growing up in Hawaii in the 1970s. Full of pop culture and historical references, this book blends difficult topics, including the blatant discrimination condoned by the American education system, with the vibrant joy of growing up.

Rolling the R’s
By Epeli Hau’ofa

In this short satirical novel, Hau’ofa follows several indigenous residents of the fictional Pacific island Tiko as they misadventure through life and resist absurd colonial forces.

Night Sky with Exit Wounds
By Ocean Vuong

In this masterfully crafted debut poetry collection, Ocean Vuong, author of On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, examines how love, loss, and violence affect emotion, the body, and memory with fierce gentleness, queer metaphor, and raw honesty.

Homeland Elegies
By Ayad Akhtar

A deftly written work of fiction told though a series of vignettes about a Pakistani American father and his son searching for belonging in a country fueled by capitalism and laden with xenophobia and discrimination. Homeland Elegies was named one of the New York Times 10 Best Books of 2020.