We know. Typically, a summer reading list consists of the best new books of the season. Instead, KoreAm asked notable Korean Americans to recommend their favorite page-turners—new and old (some, like The Bible, are very old). Here’s what they have warming up their shelves.
Photograph by Eric Sueyoshi
A novel about overcoming incredible obstacles is a favorite from childhood for Michelle Rhee, the fearless Washington, D.C. school reformer.
By Esther Hautzig
“When I was in middle school, I read The Endless Steppe, the story of a young Jewish girl about my age, living a charmed life in Poland until she and her family are deported to a Soviet labor camp in Siberia during World War II. Her family has to pull together like never before to overcome unbelievable crisis, poverty, fear and sadness. I lost count of how many times I read that book! Later I read it with my oldest daughter, who loved it, and I can’t wait to share it with my youngest.”***
The new director of UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center, David K. Yoo, gives us a glimpse of what’s on his distinguished bookshelf.
Quiet Odyssey
By Mary Paik Lee
“This book is the autobiography of a woman whose life spans most of the 20th century and who writes simply but movingly about the experiences of her and her family.”
By Gary Pak
“This is a fictional story of Korean immigrants set in Hawai’i during the days of the sugarcane plantations. Pak gives the reader a sense of the experiences and imaginations of early Koreans on the islands as well as the ‘local’ culture that emerged.”
By Vijay Prashad
“Prashad gives a sweeping look at Afro-Asian connections and what he terms as the myth of cultural purity. Whether one agrees with Prashad or not, his ideas are engaging and his writing provocative and lively.”
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Actor and comedian Randall Park (yes, he’s the one from the KY Intense commerical) shares some interesting choices for his favorites list. We’re, um, speechless.
By 50 Cent
“When I think of people who went from incarceration to becoming one of the great leaders and influential thinkers of our time, I think of people like Nelson Mandela, Malcolm X and, of course, 50 Cent. Simply put, this book is a modern-day masterpiece. It is the literary equivalent of 50 Cent’s acting—menacing, often unfocused, but again, very menacing.”
Robert Pattinson: Eternally Yours
By Isabelle Adams
“I bought this book for the eight pages of glossy photos. Simply put, the dashing Robert Pattinson is our generation’s knight in shining armor. My favorite part of the book is when we learn exactly what Robert looks for in a girlfriend. Also, the part where we learn of his likes and dislikes. A must read!”
The Diary of Annie Frank
By Annie Frank
“This is not to be confused with The Diary of Anne Frank. This is the actual diary of a girl named “Annie Frank,” who I went to high school with. During our senior year, I stole her diary. Annie was a very popular cheerleader. From this page-turner, I learned just how popular—if you know what I mean!”
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Army 1st Lt. Dan Choi, an Iraq War veteran, has emerged as a leader in the movement to overturn the U.S. military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Appropriately, he counts these two books, rooted in moral truth and action, as some of the most influential in his life.
The Bible
“It is an enduring guide for many of the social justice and civil rights movements in America. It calls us to action based on principles of love and understanding. Jesus taught a gospel of fearlessness based in moral truths.”
By Martin L. King, Jr.
“The letter is an unequivocal condemnation of those who advise patience and comfort in the face of injustice. Waiting to stand up for truth is as sinful as perpetrating oppression. For any Korean American waiting or afraid to come out of the closet, this letter is explicit in its demand for urgent action.”
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Yangsook Choi, the writer and illustrator of children’s books Behind the Mask, The Name Jar and Rice is Life, describes her three favorite titles for youth, including one written in Korean.
By Louis Sachar
“A novel about an overweight boy who has to dig countless holes in the scorching desert in order to build character. I couldn’t stop smiling while reading it.”
By Mark Haddon
“This murder mystery delves into who killed the neighbor’s dog. Told by a 15-year-old autistic, mathematically gifted and socially hopeless boy, it’s an endearing story of the human mind.”
Wondki (written in Korean)
By Leolyung Kim
“An excellent, funny novel about a 17-year-old boy, whose father is a midget and whose mother is a Vietnamese migrant worker in Korea.”
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Elaine Kim, an ethnic studies professor at the University of California, Berkeley, is also the editor of essential texts related to the Korean American experience, including East to America: Korean American Life Stories. Her three current favorite books have an academic slant (naturally).
Boy Genius
By Yongsoo Park
“This transnational novel showcases Park’s considerable knowledge of ancient and modern Korean history and lore with raucously satirical hyperreality, carrying the eponymous main character from South Korea to the United States, excoriating the brutality of martial law in South Korea in the 1970s and early 1980s, and savaging the Korean American dream of a big house in a white neighborhood.”
By Grace M. Cho
Aiming to bring hidden experiences and perspectives into view, Cho challenges binaries, centering on marginalized figures like the military prostitute and the female shaman.”
By Leonard Chang
“I am drawn to Chang’s spare, elegant writing and gripping stories. His characters neither shed nor perform their Korean American identity. And he’s a male writer who respects and understands women.”
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Filmmaker Michael Kang, who directed the Korean American feature West 32nd and indie flick The Motel, which premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, chooses three Asian American titles that he believes should be made into movies.
By Maxine Hong Kingston
“A great portrait of the Asian American movement in its infancy. As a movie, it could also play with all the behind-the-scenes feuding between Maxine Hong Kingston and Frank Chin (on whom the protagonist is rumored to be based on).”
Shortcomings
By Adrian Tomine
“This graphic novel is a very clever anti-love story. It’s a snapshot of this generation of Bay Area artists/slackers. It also covers some of the New York Asian American film scene.”
By Chang Rae-Lee
“It is epic and moving without being overly sentimental. This was almost made into a movie by Wayne Wang, but ended up not happening in the 11th hour. The toughest challenge is casting an 80-year-old ethnically Korean Japanese American actor.”
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Jessica Cutler, the former Capitol Hill aide who very publicly detailed her horizontal life on the now-defunct Washingtonienne blog and in a novel with the same name, recommends some sexy summer reading.
By Françoise Sagan
“A tale of style versus substance in a summer vacation setting.”
By Charlotte Roche
“A less romantic and more natural description of one girl’s sexual discovery. Fun for reading aloud to squeamish boyfriends.”
By Ian McEwan
“A couple goes on vacation, and falls in love all over again. Freakiness (sexual and otherwise) ensues. Can’t believe this one hasn’t been made into a horror movie yet.”
