There is, in fact, no master plan, but this is what is happening: I'm growing.
No, I'm not referring to the physiological impact of the morning oatmeal cookie (butterscotch!). I'm referring to my spheres of interest, the books I'm reading, the ways I'm paying attention to the news, the bravado I displayed when I buckled down to learn how to throw a clay pot on a wheel (to learn, not to master; hardly master), the expanding repertoire in the kitchen. Hisham Matar's
The Return has taught me some of the history, geography, and politics of Libya (and disappeared dissidents). Rebecca Mead has taught me
Middlemarch and George Eliot. Katie Roiphe has taught me John Updike, Maurice Sendak, Dylan Thomas, and James Salter (among others). Scott Anderson, with his glorious
New York Times Magazine essay, has taught me the antecedents of contemporary Middle East. Viet Thanh Nguyen is teaching me, with his Pulitzer winning
The Sympathizer, the Vietnamese experience of war.
The world is complex. The news requires perspective. Life is once. I'm going deeper.
The Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) has revealed the winners of the 2015 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature (APAAL).
According to the press release, the organization aims to “promote Asian/Pacific American culture and heritage” and recognize “titles published from October 2014 to September 2015 based on their literary and artistic merit” with these awards.
Below, we’ve collected free samples of many of the honored works for your reading pleasure.
Adult Fiction
Winner: Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Honor: Don’t Let Him Know by Sandip Roy
Adult Non-Fiction
Winner: The Making of Asian America by Erika Lee
Honor: Canton Restaurant to Panda Express by Haiming Liu
Honor: The Good Immigrant: How the Yellow Peril Became the Model Minority by Madilyn Y. Hsu
Young Adult
Winner: P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han
Honor: Ink and Ashes by Valynne E. Maetani
Children’s Books
Winner: Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton
Honor: Blackbird Fly by Erin Entrada Kelly
Picture Books
Winner: Juna’s Jar by Jane Bahk
Honor: Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music written by Margarita Engle and illustrated by Rafael Lopez