Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met, well-read, and well-fed.
So the Pulitzer Prizes were announced. It seemed a little out of nowhere, but here they are! I haven’t read any of the books, but I actually tend to like Pulitzer Prize winning books, so I’ll make sure to add them to my TBR. If you’re thinking, well duh, of course you usually like award-winning books, there has been a time when I didn’t, but I won’t get too shady about that… this time.
Anywho, it’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month! Of course, we read diversely all year round, but with AAPI month, it becomes clear that I could be doing a better job of reading and recommending books by Native Pacific Islander authors. Today’s books include a Pacific Islander author as well as other AAPI authors writing in different genres.
Nibbles and Sips
Years ago when I was sharing an apartment with a friend, she introduced me to “meatloaf” with lentils. I wasn’t used to eating lentils much, but this had put them on my radar. Enter today’s recipe, which has been really popular on TikTok lately. Vegan lasagna! I don’t have much experience with vegan cheese, but it looks pretty good here, and I’ve already been sold on lentils replacing meaty+ tomatoey things. Poppy offers up two videos, the first of which you can just use to make a lentil bolognese, while the second gets you more pasta action.
Now for the books!
Books that Highlight the AAPI Experience
The Magical Language of Others by E.J. Koh
When Koh was a teenager, her father was offered a really good position back in Korea, which he accepted. The plan was to leave her and her brother in California for three years while both her parents lived in Korea. Only, her father’s work contract kept extending, making Koh ultimately feel abandoned by her parents. After some years pass, Koh rediscovers the letters her mother had written to her in Korean when they were separate. In them, her begged her for love and to forgive her for leaving. As she sets to translating the letters, she revisits that time and others in her family’s history. She starts to see the experiences of the women in her family in new ways. The image of her mother becomes more nuanced and she begins to better understand her grandmother, who witnessed the 1948 Jeju Island massacre. Poetry further serves to help her work through her feelings of abandonment, as well as understand the intergenerational trauma present in her family.
Ocean’s Kiss by Lani Wendt Young
Telesa Vasa Loloa is the otherworldly guardian of the ocean and all of Oceania who was crafted by Tongan god Tangaloa. When the island of Niua is threatened, marine biologist Daniel Tahi has to make the decision to embrace the gods of his people, or risk letting the island succumb to an ancient danger. A mutual love of the sea may unite Daniel and Telesa, and hopefully save the island in the process.
Dating Dr. Dil by Nisha Sharma
It’s not that Kareena doesn’t believe in love, it’s just that she’d rather be restoring her classic car than actively searching for a partner. That is, until her father says he’s going to sell her mom’s house and she makes a deal with him. If she gets engaged in four months, he’ll give her the house. A wrench in her plans comes in the form of Dr. Prem Verma, who is the host of the Dr. Dil Show. They get into an argument that goes viral. Now she has a man in her life, but in the worst way. The viral argument doesn’t do Dr. Verma any favors, either, since it’s messed up his plans for getting the funding to build a local community center. Kareena’s aunts come out of the cut and offer him funding for the center if only he can convince her that they were meant to be together. This is enemies-to-lovers that gets a little spicy. IYKYK.
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
Suggestion Section
Censorship news: Idaho rep claims libraries are trying to destroy families
Science fiction and fantasy books coming out this month!
The Dictionary of Lost Words is Reese’s May pick
Trust by Hernan Diaz is NYPL’s pick
Bono is publishing his memoir this fall
I hope this newsletter found you well, and as always, thanks for hanging out! If you have any comments or just want to connect, send an email to erica@riotnewmedia.com or holla at me on Twitter @erica_eze_. You can also catch me talking more mess in the new In Reading Color newsletter as well as chattin’ with my new cohost Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.
Until next week,
-E