nonfiction

  • July 2024 Reading Recap

    August 2, 2024 would have been James Baldwin’s 100th birthday. Inspirational author, cultural critic, and civil rights activist, Baldwin authored seven novels, and countless short stories and essays. I read several this month in honor of his birthday, and expect to read several more in August, as many organizations and institutions celebrate his work and

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  • June 2024 Reading Recap

    I had the good fortune this month to return to the Yale Writers’ Workshop, where I spent two weeks talking about craft with talented and inspiring authors, published and soon-to-be. But that also meant less time for reading, though I am well ahead of my annual reading goal of 100 books, having completed 70 at

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  • May 2024 Reading Recap

    It was like October in May this month, as I stumbled my way into three fantastic dark and twisty novels, all drawing on historical, literary, and newsworthy inspirations to tell their stories: Grievers by Adrienne Maree Brown, a pandemic-era dystopian fiction novel set in Detroit; James by Percival Everett, a retelling of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry

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  • April 2024 Reading Recap

    This month I was once again reminded of the stark difference between adoptee stories told by adoptees, adoptee stories told by non-adoptee allies, and adoptee stories told by those who use us as plot points, perpetuating inaccurate and harmful tropes. I read books that are examples of all three in April.   Please support adoptee

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  • March 2024 Reading Recap

    I had the good fortune to travel to the UK this month, researching the novel I am currently working on. One of the things I love about bookstores in the UK is the rich array of translations typically unavailable in US Bookstores. In fact, I read five of them this month, translated from French, Hebrew,

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  • February 2024 Reading Recap

    Another Black History Month of reading in the books though, quite honestly, I don’t read any differently his month than any other month; any month is a good month to read Black authors! Still, I thought I would use this opportunity to highlight the Black authors I read this month here, in case you’re looking

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  • Reflections on the Foremost

    What happens when you read the foremost [white] expert on a person’s work, before reading the work itself? No person of my complexion can visit this country without being struck with the marked difference between the English and the Americans. American abolitionist, historian, and author William Wells Brown, upon arrival in Liverpool, July 1849. For

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  • January 2024 Reading Recap

    January is the month of new year’s resolutions, and I have to confess that, after reading 178 books in 2022, my resolution last year was to actually read less. I think maybe I was concerned about letting my introverted tendencies “win” over other parts of me? It sounds silly now, but after having missed my

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  • Favorite Books of 2023

    This year I completed a whopping 180 books! (A breakdown of genres and author demographics will come separately, along with recommendations for broadening your reading in 2024). In the meantime, here are my favorites: 10 nonfiction and 10 fiction. Grab them from your local library or favorite indie! Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning (2020)

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  • December 2023 Reading Recap

    December is the time when I look back at all I’ve read the past year… and think about all the books I really wanted to get to but didn’t! I’ve also realized I now have so many unread books on my shelf, I could go all of 2024 without buying a single book. It won’t

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Women with long, curly hair seated on a stoop. She is wearing an army green jacket and jeans, smiling at the camera.