Welcome to another edition of Pacific Reader, our annual book review of new (and not so new) books by or about Asian Pacific Islanders. Once again with dozens of books published every week, our coverage barely touches the surface but we hope it will give you an idea of what’s out there. Besides the book reviews, we have stories on the new and exciting API Flying Bookshelf, profiles of writers, and responses to an essay about how the mainstream critical establishment shortchanges writers of color when it comes to their coverage.
Enjoy the summer! With the advent of pop-up neighborhood lending libraries, your public library and, of course, your local independent bookstore, you have no excuses not to have a book in hand. Get reading! Enjoy your summer. We’ll be back later this year with a look at books for young adults and children.
—Alan Chong Lau
IE Arts Editor and Pacific Reader coordinator
API Flying Bookshelf: A library of art, literature, and visibility
Author Aimee Phan asks why mainstream critics fail writers of color? We answer.
‘Bamboo Women’: Stories defy ‘model minority’ mythology
‘Yellow Peril!’ documents historical manifestations of ‘Oriental phobia’
Celeste Ng’s ‘Everything I Never Told You’ inviting to readers
‘The Untold History of Ramen’ serves insight to our dinner tables
Building Chinese America: A look at the ‘first Chinese American’
‘Nisei Daughter’ bold and truthful, full of historical treasures