Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu Charles Yu’s book Interior Chinatown is a swift kick to the gut—an unexpected, powerful jab at stereotypes and anti-Asian racism that manages to be hilarious as well as heartbreaking. Told entirely in screenplay format, it stars Willis Wu as GENERIC ASIAN MAN, a bit player in his own life. Willis is an … Read more
As the shock wave created by the video of George Floyd’s murder continues to reverberate, people—especially white people—are asking “What can I do? How can I be an ally?” and one part of the answer is always “educate yourself about structural racism.” To that end, these title suggestions will help get you started thinking about … Read more
Highway of Tears: A True Story of Racism, Indifference and the Pursuit of Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls by Jessica McDiarmid Ramona Wilson, a bright, bubbly teenager from Smithers, B.C., was last seen alive the evening of June 11, 1994. As teenagers are wont to do, Ramona told her mother she’d … Read more
Paddling With Spirits: A Solo Kayak Journey by Irene Skyriver Some people throw themselves a dance party for their 40th birthday. Irene Skyriver chose to celebrate hers with a solo kayaking trip from Ketchikan to her home on Lopez Island. Years later, she recounted her momentous journey in Paddling With Spirits: A Solo Kayak Journey. … Read more
Things That Make White People Uncomfortable by Michael Bennett The Super Bowl may be over and the New England Patriots’ sixth championship win noted in the record books, but there’s plenty about professional football and racism in the United States to make white people ill at ease, and who better than Michael Bennett to spell it … Read more
The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater At Whatcom County Library System (WCLS), we believe that the act of reading offers readers a window into other people’s lives, and that reading develops empathy. We host more than a dozen book discussion groups for the public each month at libraries across Whatcom County (see Events at https://www.wcls.org for dates and … Read more
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai Rebecca Makkai’s The Great Believers is a spot-on portrayal of the devastation and heartbreak of the AIDS crisis and the lasting legacy of those who survived it. In it, Makkai deftly weaves together two stories told in alternating chapters; one focusing on a group of friends in Chicago’s Boystown in the 1980s, … Read more
There There by Tommy Orange Tommy Orange did not grow up around books or aspire to be a writer. A recent graduate from the MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts, this debut novelist who came to writing late in life is making quite a splash with his first book, There There, a polyphonic story … Read more
Crazy, Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan In library school (yes, there’s such a thing, it’s a master’s program in Library and Information Science that trains professional librarians) students learn Rosenberg’s First Law of Reading: “Never apologize for your reading taste.” So there’s no need to feel embarrassed if you occasionally (or regularly) get sucked into … Read more
The Abu Dhabi Bar Mitzvah: Fear and Love in the Modern Middle East by Adam Valen Levinson With the recent news that Saudi Arabia will soon be offering tourist visas, the publication of Adam Valen Levinson’s new memoir/travelogue, The Abu Dhabi Bar Mitzvah: Fear and Love in the Modern Middle East, is perfectly timed. More than … Read more