As we celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage (AAPIH) Month, it immediately reminded us of the Oscar-winning movie of the year, “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” This movie vividly and philosophically depicts the human experience of love, kindness, and possibilities through the lens of an Asian American family. This sci-fi comedy opens up the existence of a multiverse that connects various possible lives to the present realities. It won seven Oscar awards, including Best Picture, Best Lead Actress (Michelle Yeoh), Best Supporting Actor (Ke Huy Quan) and Best Director. Michelle Yeoh made history, becoming the first Asian actress to win the best lead actress Oscar.
Each year, our collections steadily grow, reflecting the increasing number of literary books about and by Asian Americans. Since AAPIH Month last year, we’ve acquired quite a few literary books about and by Asian Americans. The popular ones include the following titles.
Books by and about Asian Americans
Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner
In this book, Michelle Zauner, a Korean American, tells stories about growing up as an Asian American in Eugene, Oregon, struggling with her mother’s high expectations of her and her realization of her family heritage. All were brilliantly illustrated through her beautiful language and family photos. It’s a great read.
The Chinese Groove: A Novel by Kathryn Ma
The author tells a riveting story about an immigrant young man from China who tries to achieve his American dream in San Francisco.
Four Treasures of the Sky by Jenny Tiunghui Zhang
This book is about the life of a kidnapped Chinese girl living in America.
For more newly acquired resources about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, please go to Library Search and use the following subject headings: Asian Americans in Literature; American literature – Asian American authors.
Past AAPIH Month celebration events and documents:
Since 2020, the librarians at Emory’s Woodruff Library have published blog articles every year to provide the background and history of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The subject librarians have actively developed fantastic collections on all related subject areas of AAPIH. Here are the links to their blogs.
• Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with Emory Libraries, 2020
• The social and political activism of the Asian American movement, 2021
• The social and political activism of the Asian American movement, 2022
For AAPIH Month, business librarian Saira Raza interviewed Emory Libraries’ Asian American librarians and staff. Here is the link to her beautiful article about their lives and expertise.
Librarians in the RESC (Research, Engagement, and Scholarly Communications) division developed a variety of collections about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. They also worked on several blogs to introduce and recommend them.
• Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Scholarly Journals and E-books
• Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Primary Sources
• Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Streaming Video and Multimedia Resources
Whether you’re of Asian heritage or not, we know you’ll enjoy learning more about the contributions, struggles, and family traditions of Asian Americans.
—by Guo-Hua Wang, head of the International Area Studies Team and Chinese Studies librarian