May TBR
I know this is late, as it is now May 2, but I honestly could not narrow down my options. Every time I looked at my shelves something different would call to me. When I'm in the middle of a book, I think of other books I'd like to read constantly. By the time I finish a book, I can no longer remember what those were or they don't fit my mood anymore.
I complained about this quandary to my kid, who brilliantly reminded me that May is Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. So, I created a list of books I own by AAPI authors. These books span all the genres on my shelves, so whatever mood I'm in, I can find a book to fit it! My kid is a genius.
Morgue: A Life in Death by Dr. Vincent DiMaio - I started this one already. It is on my 10 oldest books on my shelves list, and I figured why not get one more of these knocked out while I decide what's next. It's basically a memoir by a guy who handled some pretty high-profile suspicious death cases. Obviously this is not by an AAPI author, but it checks a box.
For the list of AAPI books, I think I'll divide them by genre.
HISTORICAL FICTION
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee - This is about a woman in Korea in the first part of the 1900s who falls for a wealthy man, but when she gets pregnant she finds out he's already married. She refuses to become a mistress and marries a minister who is heading to Japan. Apparently, it covers 4 generations of the family.
The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo - I think this is set in Malaysia, but is threaded with Chinese folklore. A man's dying request to his houseboy is to find his severed finger in 49 days, or his ghost is forced to wander the world. A girl in a danchall receives a "gift" of a finger and sets about finding its owner. You can see how the two stories combine. Also, there's a tiger stalking the town.
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang - This is historical fantasy, but I put it here for the historical parts. The land is fictional, but it is based on China's history during the first part of the 1900s.
Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang - This is more historical than fantasy, but there are fantastical elements. This is set in 1828 at Oxford, specifically the Royal Institute of Translation.
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong - Ok, I didn't realize I had so many historical fiction titles by AAPI authors. This is set in the 1920s in Shanghai. It is sort of a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, but not. In this one, the rival gangs become infested with some kind of disease that makes them claw their own throats out. Juliette and Roma have to come together to figure out how to save all the people.
CONTEMPORARY FICTION
What We Were Promised by Lucy Tan - This is about a Chinese family who have recently returned to Shanghai from America. They are wealthy and pampered in their high-rise apartment. The husband and wife are both struggling with unease and it all comes to a head when the husband's brother shows up after years of exile with a gang.
Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo - This is a YA romance about a KPOP idol who is on the cusp of international fame. Right now, she just wants a hamburger. She is sneaking out of her hotel room when she runs into a boy who is sneaking into the hotel to try to get info on her for a tabloid.
SCIENCE FICTION
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan - Science Fiction might be a bit of a stretch for this book, but it is a bit of a dystopian. The government is on the hunt for mothers who might have a small lapse in judgment about their children, like looking at their phone while their child is on the playground. They put them in a home and decide if they are capable of caring for their children.
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu - During China's Cultural Revolution, the government sends communications to aliens to attempt first contact. On Earth, the people are separating into factions of people who are planning to welcome the strangers and those preparing to fight the invasion.
NONFICTION
Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche by Haruki Murakami - This is pretty much what it says on the tin. In 1995 someone released Sarin in a Tokyo subway, killing 14 people and injuring 1000 others. I feel like only Murakami could spin it to discuss the culture of Japanese people.
CLASSIC
I Am a Cat by Soseki Natsume - And we are back to the early 1900s with this one. The author uses the observations and musings of a cat to satirize the upper middle class of Japan.
HORROR
Strange Houses by Uketsu - I know. Horror isn't really my jam, but floorplans are. I love floorplans. This is about a writer who is looking at a house whose inhabitants disappeared without a trace. He starts to find dead space between the walls. Then there's another house. And a dead body. I don't know how the author plans to cram all this into 200 pages, but here we are.
OK. This is not all of the books on my shelves by AAPI authors, but it is a fair few. Surely I can find something from this list that will fit the bill in May. Plus, a lot of these books will fit boxes on the r/Fantasy Bingo I'm doing, not to mention the other Bingo I've got going.