Afterparties
A collection of stories about Cambodian American life in California. This title is also available as an eBook on Libby, in eAudio on Libby, as an eBook on Hoopla, and in eAudio on Hoopla.
Fiction to Celebrate Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2024
In 2024, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh recognizes and celebrates peoples within Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.
Originally commemorated in 1977 as Pacific/Asian American week, celebrated during the first 10 days in May. Over the years, the recognition has evolved and changed into a full month celebration during May, recognizing and including a wider group of identities in the Asian and Pacific diaspora.
The month of May was chosen for its historical relevance, as the first Japanese immigrants came to the United States on May 7, 1843 as well as the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad on May 10, 1869-an endeavor almost entirely completed by Chinese laborers.
Throughout the month of May, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will amplify the AANHPI identities through booklists, displays, resources, and programs in our locations and communities.
You can sign up for a free library card here.
If you are new to our eResources, check out these tutorial videos on how to get started.
If you’re looking for more book suggestions, we’re happy to recommend them to you! Use this Book Recommendation form to send us some information about what you like to read and we’ll curate a list just for you.
If you have any additional questions, you can contact a librarian through Facebook, Instagram or X. You can also call us at 412-622-3114 or email us at info@carnegielibrary.org
All This Could Be Different
Graduating into the long maw of an American recession, Sneha is one of the fortunate ones. She’s moved to Milwaukee for an entry-level corporate job that, grueling as it may be, is the key that unlocks every door: she can pick up the tab at dinner with her new friend Tig, get her college buddy Thom hired alongside her, and send money to her parents back in India. She begins dating women–soon developing a burning crush on Marina, a beguiling and beautiful dancer who always seems just out of reach. This title is also available as an eBook on Libby and in eAudio on Libby.
Banyan Moon
The death of the matriarch of a Vietnamese American family puts a reunion in motion that has three generations of women looking back on their lives and relationships. This title is also available as an eBook on Libby, as an eBook on Hoopla, in eAudio on Libby, and in eAudio on Hoopla.
The Brightest Star
A biographical novel based on the life of Anna May Wong, the first Asian American star of Hollywood. This title is also available as an eBook on Hoopla and in eAudio on Hoopla.
Dust Child
Two Vietnamese sisters work in a bar in Sài Gòn in 1969 and get caught up with American GIs. In a parallel narrative set decades later, a veteran and an orphan return to Vietnam to reckon with their pasts.
Every Drop Is a Man's Nightmare
A collection of stories featuring mixed native Hawaiian and Japanese women encountering strange spirits and witnessing weird events.
Holding Pattern
In a transitional period of life, Kathleen Cheng is back in her mother’s house, but her mother isn’t the same as in her childhood, and both women must renegotiate how they see each other. This title is also available as an eBook on Libby.
Hula
Set in Hilo, Hawai’i, a sweeping saga of tradition, culture, family, history, and connection that unfolds through the lives of three generations of women–a tale of mothers and daughters, dance and destiny. This title is also available as an eBook on Hoopla, in eAudio on Libby, and in eAudio on Hoopla.
King of the Armadillos
Victor Chin fears his life is over when, at age 15, he is diagnosed with leprosy and sent to quarantine at a federal institution. But what he finds amongst the patients there is friendship, first love, the power of music, and a new sense of freedom. This title is also available as an eBook on Libby.
The Man in the Mcintosh Suit
A fast-paced noir story set in 1929 California and presented in graphic novel format, about a Filipino American migrant worker pulled into an investigation of his cousin’s estranged wife.
Nuclear Family
In this funny family saga it is 2018 and the Cho family is about to expand their plate lunch business across Hawai’i, and their son is in Seoul to teach English – where he is possessed by the ghost of his grandfather and subsequently detained by the government. This title is also available as an eBook on Libby, in eAudio on Libby, and in eAudio on Hoopla.
Paper Names
A saga that spans three decades and told from three different perspectives: a Chinese-born engineer turned Manhattan doorman, his daughter who we meet at age nine and follow through adulthood, and a lawyer with a dark family secret and who lives in the same building. This title is also available as an eBook on Hoopla and in eAudio on Hoopla.
The Sense of Wonder
An Asian American basketball star walks into a gym. No one recognizes him, but everyone stares anyway. It is the start of a joke but what is the punchline? When Won Lee, the first Asian American in the NBA, stuns the world in a seven-game winning streak, the global media audience dubs it “The Wonder”–much to Won’s chagrin. Meanwhile, Won struggles to get attention from his coach, his peers, his fans, and most importantly, his hero, Powerball!, who also happens to be Won’s teammate and the captain.
Straw Dogs of the Universe
A family saga starting in poverty in rural China, moving to California where the railways are just being built, and on to struggle to integrate into American society.
The Vibrant Years
An unexpected windfall creates turmoil in an Indian American family.
When the Hibiscus Falls
Stories that connect generation of Filipino and Filipino American women with themes of community and family. This title is also available as an eBook on Hoopla.