31 Ways to Celebrate APAH Month 2021

Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month with our curated calendar of live events, recommendations, and on-demand content highlighting the traditions, talents, and contributions of Asians and Asian Americans.

See the Calendar

Discover your newest binge and get to our know our staff a little better with the Asia Society Texas team's favorite ways to stay entertained!

As part of our 31 Ways to Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month 2022, enjoy this special edition of Staff Picks highlighting fiction and nonfiction titles! With recommendations spanning memoirs to manga to cookbooks, we invite you to dive in for a fresh understanding and appreciation of food, history, and contemporary life.

Fiction | Manga | Nonfiction

What We're Reading: Fiction

Short Stories

Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap
Recommended by Mei Qi, Business and Policy Programs Manager
Learn More

Fiona and Jane by Jean Chen Ho
Recommended by Mei Qi, Business and Policy Programs Manager
Learn More

Useful Phrases for Immigrants: Stories by May-lee Chai
Recommended by Chris Dunn, Marketing and Communications Manager
Learn More

Novels

The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu by Tom Lin
Recommended by Chris Dunn, Marketing and Communications Manager
Learn More

Woman Running to the Mountains by Yūko Tsushima
Recommended by Michael Buening, Director of Performing Arts and Culture
Learn More

The Village of Eight Graves by Seishi Yokomizo
Recommended by Mei Qi, Business and Policy Programs Manager
Learn More

A Burning: A Novel by Megha Majumdar
Recommended by Chris Dunn, Marketing and Communications Manager
Learn More

Sci Fi and Fantasy

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
Recommended by Mei Qi, Business and Policy Programs Manager
Learn More

There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job by Kikuko Tsumura
Recommended by Mei Qi, Business and Policy Programs Manager
Learn More

The City Inside by Samit Basu
Recommended by Mei Qi, Business and Policy Programs Manager
Learn More

What We're Reading: Manga

Silver Spoon by Hiromu Arakawa
Recommended by Mei Qi, Business and Policy Programs Manager
Learn More

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku by Fujita
Recommended by Phuong Ha, Education and Outreach Manager
Learn More

A Man and His Cat by Umi Sakurai
Recommended by Phuong Ha, Education and Outreach Manager
Learn More

What We're Reading: Nonfiction

Memoirs

Both/And: A Life in Many Worlds by Huma Abedin
Recommended by Saleena Jafry, Director of Business and Policy
Learn More

You Can't Be Serious by Kal Penn
Recommended by Saleena Jafry, Director of Business and Policy
Learn More

My Life in Full: Work, Family, and Our Future by Indra Nooyi
Recommended by Saleena Jafry, Director of Business and Policy
Learn More

Cookbooks

Snacking Cakes: Simple Treats for Anytime Cravings by Yossy Arefi
Recommended by Phuong Ha, Education and Outreach Manager
Learn More

Parwana: Recipes and Stories From an Afghan Kitchen by Durkhanai Ayubi
Recommended by Chris Dunn, Marketing and Communications Manager
Learn More

Cultural Histories

You and I Eat the Same by Chris Ying
Recommended by Mei Qi, Business and Policy Programs Manager
Learn More

Rise: A Pop History of Asian America From the Nineties to Now by Jeff Yang, Phil Yu, and Philip Wang
Recommended by Michael Buening, Director of Performing Arts and Culture
Learn More

Underground Asia: Global Revolutionaries and the Assault on Empire by Tim Harper
Recommended by Michael Buening, Director of Performing Arts and Culture
Learn More

Anthology

Godzilla: Asian American Arts Network 1990–2001 by Howie Chen
Recommended by Michael Buening, Director of Performing Arts and Culture
Learn More

Business and Policy programs are endowed by Huffington Foundation. We give special thanks to Bank of America, Muffet Blake, Anne and Albert Chao, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Nancy Pollok Guinee, and United Airlines, Presenting Sponsors of Business and Policy programs; Nancy C. Allen, Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, and Leslie and Brad Bucher, Presenting Sponsors of Exhibitions; AARP, Sterling Turner Foundation, and Wells Fargo, Presenting Sponsors of Education & Outreach; Syamal and Susmita Poddar, Presenting Sponsors of Performing Arts & Culture; Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), Sponsor of the Japan Series; and Regions Bank, Title Sponsor for the internship program. General support of programs and exhibitions is provided by The Brown Foundation, Inc., Houston Endowment, Inc., the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, McKinsey & Company, Inc., National Endowment for the Arts, Texas Commission on the Arts, and Vinson & Elkins LLP, as well as Friends of Asia Society.

About Asia Society Texas

Asia Society Texas believes in the strength and beauty of diverse perspectives and people. As an educational institution, we advance cultural exchange by celebrating the vibrant diversity of Asia, inspiring empathy, and fostering a better understanding of our interconnected world. Spanning the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, our programming is rooted in the educational and cultural development of our community — trusting in the power of art, dialogue, and ideas to combat bias and build a more inclusive society.