Welcome to Litsy!

I‘m finally ready to share my reads for the month of May! In recent years I‘ve been reading more books by Asian Asian/American authors (and especially by Japanese/Japanese American authors, since that‘s my heritage). This year, in honor of AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) Heritage Month, I decided to read books by AAPI authors for the entire month of May. I couldn‘t get enough! But this selection was fantastic.🏮#mayreads2021

review here: https://debbybrauer.org/#the-making-of-asian-america-a-histor...

I learned so much from this comprehensive overview of Asian American history that I think I highlighted two-thirds of the book! Erika Lee shows how Asian Americans literally helped to build the Americas and the United States as plantation slaves, railroad workers, small business owners, civil rights activists, and human beings who just wanted the right to be residents in their adopted homelands. Asian American history is American history.

Ooh this is the song of my people!!! 👊👊👊 #biracial #Asian #AsianAmerican #hafu #mixedraceasians

If I have to choose one sentence that summarizes Erika Lee‘s The Making of Asian America, I think this comes close. Certainly it is the book‘s repeating theme.

Just started reading this, my pick for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. It‘s been on my TBR for a while so I‘m excited to finally dig into it. Prolly will be my only read for the month of May since it clocks in at just over 500 pages!

#DiverseNonfiction #UncannyOctober This was a great and complex #nonfiction book about the #history of Asian Americans.

#readjanuary day 21: #atopicyoudliketoknowmoreabout

After reading The Fortunes, which tells of the lives of three Chinese-American historical figures (my thoughts here: https://reallifereading.com/2017/01/19/the-fortunes-by-peter-ho-davies/), I've been wanting to read more nonfiction about Asian-Americans - history, culture, diversity, politics, policies etc.
Would love your recommendations!

This book should be required reading. Eye-opening. My understanding of US history has been completely transformed. #readoverthis #overthis #diversereads

Halfway through and this book is breaking my heart. So difficult to learn about the violent racism exacted against so many different Asian immigrant groups, as well as the exclusionary policies both the US and Canada supported. Heartbreaking, but a necessary education. Heartbreaking because it feels all too familiar. Have we learned nothing from our history? #readdiversebooks #overthis #readoverthis

Starting this one on audio today after reading about it in Bustle's article "18 Books Every White Ally Should Read" https://www.bustle.com/articles/144531-18-books-every-white-ally-should-read

Pretty interesting so far. A facet of history I was never exposed to in school. And so my education continues. #overthis #diversereads #audiobooks

Very necessary. This book is more than the history of my people. It's the history of all of us. It's a story untold too long. I beg everyone to read this book.

An engaging and very necessary read. I knew bits and pieces of this story but Lee sets them within a very diverse and comprehensive narrative - mostly focused on US-based immigration but touching on Canadian and Latin American history, too. Thanks @Runwithskizzers for always recc'ing this one.

I have to power-read the last 200 pages (due back to the library and someone has a hold on it, grr) but on almost every page I have "holy shit people are assholes" going through my head. Amazing and necessary work of history.