Books by Asian Authors

[@remarkablylisa]

You are so well spoken and such a delight to watch. Thank you for making this video and sharing your thoughts

[@whatpageareyouon]

Thanks so much!

[@TheBookishLand]

This is such a wonderful and important video Alex! Thanks so much for sharing it and all the book recommendations. As an Asian who lives in the US (as a foreigner) I learnt so much about identity and society over the years, and really see how things evolved recently. Reading is a way I regain energy after every disturbing event happens.

[@whatpageareyouon]

Thank you Meonicorn! I watched your video too recently and really enjoyed it and was really enlightened by it. I hope all's well for you and where you are

[@BobTheBookerer]

I love this! Thank you so much for this brilliant list, and the really powerful introduction. I’ve only read ‘On Earth...’ from this list, which I adored, and I’m excited to check out the rest (I feel like I’ve had Jhumpa Lahiri recommended so many times now that I really have no excuse to pick up her work!)

[@whatpageareyouon]

That Lahiri is so good! I know it's no Booker but she did win the Pulitzer for it! ; )

[@BobTheBookerer]

@@whatpageareyouon Ha! I need an excuse to read some non-Booker things as well (although she was shortlisted for ‘Lowlands’ so I’ll read that eventually too!)

[@cesarjrligot3280]

Please know that the videos you upload are gold. Keep on recommending! Thank you. ❤️

[@whatpageareyouon]

Thanks so much!

[@thebibookboy794]

Thank you for the recs, all of these sound incredible and are now on my tbr! 💕

[@JasmineReads]

Thank you so much for this list, Alex!! We've finally got ourselves a copy of the Ocean Vuong. Can't wait to read it x

[@venticoldbrewser5593]

Thank you so much for this video, Alex! I'm putting Severance on my reading list now, and I've been wanting to read Minor Feelings. I'm loving Viet Thanh Nguyen's work. I plan to start reading The Committed this weekend.

[@whatpageareyouon]

I hope you like them! And I haven't read any Nguyen yet, I still need to get to The Sympathizer! It's amazing as a debut to have locked in the Pulitzer :O

[@venticoldbrewser5593]

@@whatpageareyouon I really enjoyed The Refugees as well even though he apparently never wants to write short stories again lol.

[@LeanneRose]

Thank you so much for sharing your recommendations 💖

[@RovingReader]

Such an important video! Thank you for making this!

[@frogyvox]

Excellent intro. Thank you for sharing this!

[@FiReadsBooks]

This is very apt right now. I didn’t realise how many Asian authors I have on my shelves, Amy Tan, Yiyun Li, Sayaka Murata are my current faves. I do think the recent shootings at the ‘massage parlour’ was violence against women, primarily. Misogyny and racism often go together..

[@heroinescorner]

thank you for putting all these books on my radar, especially minor feelings because i’ve been wanting to get into more essay collections this year. i already had a lot of black essay collections on my tbr, but i definitely need more collections written by asian authors as well.

[@whatpageareyouon]

Minor Feelings is great, it's still the only Asian/American collection I'm aware of, so there's still more for me to discover too!

[@BookishTexan]

Great list of books. I have not read enough works by Asian and Asian American authors.

[@Nyledam89]

Love this list. I've only read Ocean Vuong out of these so far but definitely want to read more. Thanks also for the donation links. I will be sure to check them out. Can't shop at the bookshops though since I'm in Germany.

[@somebenfen]

Thanks for these recommendations and for the resources. I really appreciated your thoughts about the recent horrific events. On Earth is a book that really intrigues me as well as How Much of These Hills is Gold. Another book that I'm curious about is a translated novel Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge.

[@whatpageareyouon]

I'd be so curious what you think of the Vuong, I know what you think of books a la Lie With Me so that may give me a hint! :O

[@AJ_Dunn]

Love this! One of my favorite Asian authors is Gish Jen. Her book Mona in the Promised Land is really good.

[@nikkivenable3700]

Hi Alex....I wasn't sure where to put this comment but I'll leave it here since you'll probably see these comments first because it's your most recent video...anyway, I picked up My Brilliant Friend set of 4 about 2 years ago now. I hesitated whether to read them or not for years(the covers suck..and I like a beautiful cover), but also the reviews weren't all that great for the first book. Well, then I came along and found you and you convinced me to read them, so I knew I had to get to them. I finally just started the series and am in love with it. I was nervous that it wasn't going to hold up to expectations, but it really has. I just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful suggestion and I can't wait to keep reading...I know you said that the first book is the weakest(I can see why...all the names(yikes)), but that said, it's still terrific.

[@whatpageareyouon]

Thanks Nikki, I'm glad you're loving it!

[@SixMinutesForMe]

I loved the audio of Sigh, Gone!

[@EricKarlAnderson]

📚❤️

[@TheREADhead]

Thank you for these recs! I havn't heard of any of them before! Two of my favorites by Asian authors were Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen and the Joy luck club, by Any Tan.

[@whatpageareyouon]

That Tan is a legend, I still need to get to it!

[@apocalypsereading7117]

i hadn't heard about the recent tragedy - thanks for explaining it here. you do a great job of providing context about the Asian-American experience in the US and then connecting that to your own individual experience and life as a reader. effortless segues! i wanna read the one that made you more of an anti-capitalist ~

[@whatpageareyouon]

Severance is the blueprint!! 💸

[@christinacampbellbooks]

Definitely want to read Severance this year!

[@marianryan2991]

Thanks for a thoughtful video. For recs, I loved Leaving India, a family history by Minal Hajratwala that beautifully brings to life the forces of colonialism and economic migration. Right now I'm reading an advance copy of Southbound, a compelling collection of essays by Anjali Enjeti on identity, inheritance, and social justice (as she orders the sections of the book). If anyone has missed Alexander Chee's wonderful essay collection, How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, I highly recommend picking it up!

[@whatpageareyouon]

Thanks for the recs! Of these I'm only aware of Chee, having read that collection. It's good to hear from you Marian!

[@marianryan2991]

@whatpageareyouon I’ve been lurking, haha.

[@perksofstef]

i'm adding interpreters of maladies to my tbr. i'm always looking for more first gen stories

[@whatpageareyouon]

It's so good!!

[@phrensies]

Have you read any Filipino (not Fil Am) writers?

[@whatpageareyouon]

Not yet! Do you have any suggestions of where to begin?

[@rainbowskygayandproud5507]

there is sunflower splendor by Wu-chi Liv and in the face of death we are equal by mu cao and blue boy by rakesh styal and funny boy by shyamse selvadrai and the clothesline swing by ramadan Danny and scent of apples by bienvenido N. snots and the anchored angel by Jose Garcia villa and the angel of history by rabih alameddine and Braden of ashes by Justin chin and ode to lata by Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla and don’t go back to sleep and of thee I sing and both are by Timothy Liv and take me home by Brian Leung and m.butterfly by David Henry hwang