Every May we celebrate the rich history and culture of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Browse a curated selection of fiction and nonfiction books by AANHPI creators that we think your students will love. Find our full collection of titles for Higher Education here.
Books for Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month
By Coll Rowe | April 10 2024 | LiteratureHistorySociology
A Memoir
9781984898951
In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother's particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother’s tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food.
$17.00 US
Mar 28, 2023
Paperback
256 Pages
Vintage
- English > Comparative Literature > Memoir
- English > Comparative Literature: American > Asian American Memoir
- English > Comparative Literature: American > Asian American Non-Fiction
- English > Creative Writing > Memoir
- Interdisciplinary Studies > Race and Ethnic Studies > Asian American Studies
- Music > Music Appreciation > Rock
- See More
A Chinese American Family's Story of Exclusion and Homecoming
9780525557395
From the winner of the M.F.K. Fisher Book Prize and a New York Public Library Cullman fellow comes a sweeping narrative history of the Chinese Exclusion Act through an intimate portrayal of one family’s epic journey to lay down roots in America.
$18.00 US
Apr 23, 2024
Paperback
400 Pages
Penguin Books
- English > Comparative Literature: American > Asian American Memoir
- History > Period History: U.S. > America in the 20th Century (1945-2000)
- History > U.S. History > Asian American
- History > U.S. History > U.S. Cultural History
- History > U.S. History > U.S. Immigration History
- History > U.S. History > U.S. Urban History
- Interdisciplinary Studies > Race and Ethnic Studies > Asian American Studies
- Interdisciplinary Studies > Race and Ethnic Studies > Chinese American Studies
- See More
A Novel
9781640096189
Anne Tyler meets Jade Chang in this buoyant, good-hearted, and sharply written novel about a blithely optimistic immigrant with big dreams, dire prospects, and a fractured extended family in need of his help—even if they don’t know it yet.
$17.95 US
Jan 23, 2024
Paperback
304 Pages
Counterpoint
An Activist's Life
9780593315392
From the founder and director of the Disability Visibility Project, and the editor of the acclaimed anthology Disability Visibility, this groundbreaking memoir in essays offers a glimpse into an activist’s journey to finding and cultivating community and the continued fight for disability justice.
$19.00 US
Sep 06, 2022
Paperback
400 Pages
Vintage
- English > Comparative Literature > Disability Literature
- English > Comparative Literature: American > Asian American Memoir
- History > Topical History > History of Disability
- Interdisciplinary Studies > Social Science > Disability Studies
- Political Science > Introduction to Political Science > Political Ideologies
- Sociology > Social Change > Disability Studies
- Legal and Paralegal Studies > Legal Studies > Disability Law
- See More
The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong
9780593183984
Set against the glittering backdrop of Los Angeles in the gin-soaked Jazz Age and the rise of Hollywood, this debut book celebrates Anna May Wong, the first Asian American movie star, to bring an unsung heroine to light to reclaim her place in cinema history.
$32.00 US
Mar 12, 2024
Hardcover
480 Pages
Dutton
- English > Comparative Literature: American > Asian American Non-Fiction
- Film Studies > History > Film History
- Interdisciplinary Studies > Race and Ethnic Studies > Asian American Studies
- Interdisciplinary Studies > Social Science > American Popular Culture
- Sociology > Social Institutions > Popular Culture
- See More
An Asian American Reckoning
9781984820389
Poet and essayist Cathy Park Hong fearlessly and provocatively blends memoir, cultural criticism, and history to expose fresh truths about racialized consciousness in America. Part memoir and part cultural criticism, this collection is vulnerable, humorous, and provocative—and its relentless and riveting pursuit of vital questions around family and friendship, art and politics, identity and individuality, will change the way you think about our world.
$20.00 US
Mar 02, 2021
Paperback
224 Pages
One World
- English > Comparative Literature > Memoir
- English > Comparative Literature: American > Asian American Memoir
- English > Comparative Literature: American > Asian American Non-Fiction
- English > Creative Writing > Memoir
- Interdisciplinary Studies > Race and Ethnic Studies > Asian American Studies
- Sociology > Race / Class / Gender > Race Relations
- See More
9781603094504
A stunning graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei’s childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon—and America itself—in this gripping tale of courage, country, loyalty, and love.
$19.99 US
Jul 16, 2019
Paperback
208 Pages
Top Shelf Productions
- Education > Curriculum and Instruction by Subject > Reading and Literacy – Young Adult Literature
- English > Comparative Literature > Graphic Memoir
- English > Comparative Literature > Graphic Non-fiction
- English > Comparative Literature > Young Adult Literature
- English > Comparative Literature: American > Asian American Memoir
- English > Comparative Literature: American > Asian American Non-Fiction
- History > Global Conflicts > World War II
- History > Period History: U.S. > America in the 20th Century (1900-1945)
- History > Period History: U.S. > America in the 20th Century (1945-2000)
- History > Race and Gender Studies > History of Asian-Americans
- History > Survey Courses > U.S. History Survey – 1865 to Present
- History > Survey Courses > U.S. History Survey – Colonial to Present
- History > Topical History > History of Gender and Sexuality
- History > Topical History > History of LGBTQIA+
- History > U.S. History > Asian American
- History > U.S. History > U.S. Constitutional History
- History > U.S. History > U.S. Cultural History
- History > U.S. History > U.S. Immigration History
- History > U.S. History > U.S. Urban History
- Interdisciplinary Studies > Race and Ethnic Studies > Asian American Studies
- Interdisciplinary Studies > Social Science > American Popular Culture
- Interdisciplinary Studies > Social Science > American Studies
- Interdisciplinary Studies > Social Science > LGBTQIA+ Studies
- Interdisciplinary Studies > Women's and Gender Studies > LGBTQIA+ Studies
- Interdisciplinary Studies > Women's and Gender Studies > Race, Class, and Gender
- Political Science > Comparative Politics > Race and Politics
- Sociology > Race / Class / Gender > Gender Studies
- Sociology > Race / Class / Gender > Race Relations
- Sociology > Race / Class / Gender > Social Stratification
- Student Success and Career Development > Student Success > First-Year Experience
- See More
Related articles
October 29 2025 |
Human RightsSociologyLatinx and HispanicAnthropology
Contributed by Alexa Hagerty, author of Still Life with Bones: Genocide, Forensics, and What Remains. In the wake of genocidal violence, anthropologist Alexa Hagerty works with forensic teams at mass grave sites and in labs, discovering how bones bear witness to crimes against humanity and how exhumation can bring families meaning after unimaginable loss. She
Read more
October 9 2025 |
LiteratureHistorySociology
For Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which takes place on October 13th, we are sharing books by Indigenous authors and about Indigenous communities to honor their histories and cultures. Find a full collection of titles here.
Read more