RML Booklist: AANHPI Heritage Month
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Reading List for Adults
To celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, our staff have put together some books highlighting the varied stories of this community – from best-selling fiction to a great selection of memoirs. There are many new books in this category that are getting recognition. Celebrate this month by reading books by AANHPI writers. There are too many to recommend, so we have selected those that are available now at Rose Memorial Library!
Ren Yu is a swimmer. Her daily life starts and ends with the pool. Her teammates are her only friends. Her coach, her guiding light. If she swims well enough, she will be scouted, get a scholarship, go to a good school. Her parents will love her. Her coach will be kind to her. She will have a good life. Chlorine is a debut novel that blurs the line between a literary coming-of-age narrative and a dark unsettling horror tale.
In her hit Netflix comedy special Baby Cobra, an eight-month pregnant Ali Wong resonated so heavily that she became a popular Halloween costume. Wong told the world her remarkably unfiltered thoughts on marriage, sex, Asian culture, working women, and why you never see new mom comics on stage but you sure see plenty of new dads. Dear Girls is a heartfelt and hilarious letter to her daughters.
The Dream Builders
Oindrila Mukherjee
Written from the perspectives of ten different characters, Oindrila Mukherjee’s incisive debut novel explores class divisions, gender roles, and stories of survival within a society that is constantly changing and becoming increasingly Americanized.
If They Come for Us
Fatimah Asghar
Poet and co-creator of the Emmy-nominated web series “Brown Girls” captures the experience of being a Pakistani Muslim woman in contemporary America, while exploring identity, violence, and healing. Using experimental forms and a mix of lyrical and brash language, Asghar confronts her own understanding of identity and place and belonging.
Mott Street: A Chinese American Family’s Story of Exclusion and Homecoming
Ava Chin
A sweeping narrative history of the Chinese Exclusion Act through an intimate portrayal of one family’s epic journey to lay down roots in America. As the only child of a single mother in Queens, Ava Chin found her family’s origins to be shrouded in mystery. She had never met her father, and her grandparents’ stories didn’t match the history she read at school. Mott Street traces Chin’s quest to understand her Chinese American family’s story. Over decades of painstaking research, she finds not only her father but also the building that provided a refuge for them all.
A Living Remedy: A Memoir
Nicole Chung
Nicole Chung couldn’t hightail it out of her overwhelmingly white Oregon hometown fast enough. As a scholarship student at a private university on the East Coast she found community and a path to the life she’d long wanted. But middle class American life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. When her father dies at only sixty-seven, killed by diabetes and kidney disease, Nicole feels deep grief as well as rage, knowing that years of lack of access to healthcare contributed to his early death. And then the unthinkable happens – her beloved mother is diagnosed with cancer and COVID-19 descends upon the world. Exploring the enduring strength of family bonds in the face of hardship and tragedy, A Living Remedy examines what it takes to reconcile distance.
While Time Remains: A North Korean Defector’s Search for Freedom in America
Yeonmi Park
After defecting from North Korea, Yeonmi Park found liberty and freedom in America. But she also found a chilling crackdown on self-expression and thought that reminded her of the brutal regime she risked her life to escape. When she spoke out about the mass political indoctrination she saw around her in the United States, Park faced censorship and even death threats.
Orphan Bachelors: A Memoir
Fae Myenne Ng
In pre-Communist China, Fae Myenne Ng’s father memorized a book of lies and gained entry to the United States as a stranger’s son, evading the Exclusion Act, an immigration law which he believed was meant to extinguish the Chinese American family. During the McCarthy era, he entered the Confession Program in a failed attempt to salvage his marriage only to have his citizenship revoked to resident alien. Exclusion and Confession, America’s two slamming doors. This books traces the legacy of the Exclusion Act from Chinatown in the 60s (and its legendary ‘Orphan Bachelors’ – men without wives or children) to Manhattan in the 80s, to the desert of California in the 90s, until her return home in the 2000s.
Oh My Mother!
Connie Wang
In each essay of this hilarious, heartfelt, and pitch-perfectly honest memoir, journalist Connie Wang explores her complicated relationship to her stubborn and charismatic mother, Qing Li, through the “oh my god” moments in their travels together. From attending a Magic Mike strip show in Vegas to experimenting with edibles in Amsterdam to flip-flopping through Versailles, this iconic mother-daughter duo venture into the world to find their place in it, and sometimes rail against it–as well as against each other.
Goodbye Overdrive! It’s officially time to switch to the Libby app
The time has come – the Overdrive app is officially being discontinued as of May 1, 2023. Now is the time to switch to Libby, and fortunately it’s a great app and very easy to use! Here are our tips for getting the most out of Libby, and making it work on your current device.
Can my whole family use one log-in?
Absolutely! With Libby, you can add as many library cards as you’d like and switch between them at any time, allowing each member of the family to take advantage of their full loan and hold limit and create their own tagged lists. You can also add cards from different library systems to your account. Another nice feature is that you can give each card a nickname.
What’s needed to create an account?
There are a few ways you can get started. The easiest is creating an account using just your phone number (no memorizing a password needed!) You can also log in using your Library card number and pin. We recommend searching for Rose Memorial Library by name, and linking your card to us. That way when you log in you will go straight to the catalog for Rose Memorial Library and see what WE have readily available.
Will Libby work with my ereader?
✔️ Kobo users can continue to browse, borrow and read ebooks directly on their ereader.
✔️ Kindle Fire users need to follow some special instructions to get Libby, since the Libby app is not yet available in the Amazon app store. If you have a Kindle Fire, read this.
✔️ Kindle users with devices like a Paperwhite or Oasis can read most Libby books by ‘sending’ the book to Kindle. The steps are easy, read this.
✔️ If you have a NOOK or similar ereader that’s compatible with Adobe Digital Editions (ADE), you can download Libby books on a computer, then transfer them to your device. Again, the process is easy, read this.
A heads up before you switch, Libby will not know where you left off in a book that you started in the OverDrive app. So we recommend either finishing your current read in the OverDrive app entirely, or making the switch at the start of a new chapter.
What features should I take advantage of on Libby?
Overall, the Libby interface is pretty intuitive but there are a few features which will give you the best experience:
- Use the Available Now feature. If you hate waiting for books, see what you can read or listen to right now.
- If we don’t have a book you want, use the Notify Me button to let us know! You will be alerted if the book is added.
- Allow the app to send you notifications when your book is ready – in the same way any other app on your device will alert you to new activity or messages.
I don’t see what I want – will you order it?
Yes! Our staff will be happy to order for you. Please contact us directly and let us know what you need and what format (eBook or AudioBook).
Special features just for Rose Memorial Library cardholders:
Rose Memorial Library is pleased to give our patrons access to some special content on Libby! In addition to eBooks and Audiobooks, we also offer classes with Craftsy (arts and crafts) and Classica (great music performances). We also provide access to the Great Courses series and movies and documentaries with Kanopy. These features show on your Libby homepage as EXTRAS.
Still need help? Set up a tech appointment with us. We’d be happy to sit down with you one-on-one to get Libby installed and running on your device!
Learn a New Language with MANGO!
Rose Memorial Library is pleased to now offer MANGO, the highest rated, personalized, adaptive language learning experience. MANGO provides the tools and guidance you need to expand your language skills wherever and however you learn best; it is language learning centered around YOU!
Some of MANGO’s features include:
- Over 70 world languages and more than 20 English courses
- Specialty courses that cover a range of culturally specific topics
- Downloadable lessons for offline access
- Bluetooth syncing and auto play for hands-free learning
- Study reminders for staying on track
- Additional Family Profiles for group learning
- Placement tests to begin exactly where your skillset suits you
World Languages and English Courses
Getting Started
Rose Memorial Library cardholders go to:
https://connect.mangolanguages.com/rosememoriallibrary/start
“Use Mango As Guest” requires your Rose Memorial Library card number and pin. “Sign Up” requires your Rose Memorial Library card number and pin, AND an email address.
Other RCLS cardholders go to:
https://learn.mangolanguages.com/welcome
For the easiest experience, follow these steps:
- Create a profile using one of the links above.
- Select your particular language course from over 70 options.
- Download the MANGO app to all your preferred mobile devices through the App Store or Google Play. Log in and get going!
Library staff are available to assist you with any part of the process. Call (845) 786-2100 or email kkimmel@rcls.org with any questions you may have.
Crafts & Drafts Fundraiser at Industrial Arts Brewing
Crafts & Drafts
Wednesday, April 26
6-8 PM
Industrial Arts Brewing Co.
55 W Railroad Ave, 25 | Garnerville, NY 10923
The Friends of Rose Memorial Library will be hosting Crafts & Drafts, a fun evening of crafting while sipping on local hand-crafted beverages at Industrial Arts Brewing Company in Garnerville. Your ticket is good for the craft (all materials and instruction provided), 1 beer or wine, and a raffle ticket for a fabulous door prize donated by a local business. Bring your friends!
All proceeds go to the Friends of Rose Memorial Library, which provides support for Rose Memorial Library.
About the Craft
You will be making a set of four coasters using an acrylic pour technique. Instruction will be provided by artist and Program Coordinator, Joy Buckhout, of Rose Memorial Library.
This event takes place in the beautiful taproom at Industrial Arts Brewing Co. in the Garnerville Arts building. You are welcome to bring your own food.
For more information or to join the Rose Memorial Friends Group email rmlfriends79@gmail.com