March Book Breakdowns

 Title: Crying in H Mart 

Author: Michelle Zauner 

Summary/Themes: 

An unflinching, powerful memoir about growing up Korean American, losing her mother, and forging her own identity.

In this exquisite story of family, food, grief, and endurance, Michelle Zauner proves herself far more than a dazzling singer, songwriter, and guitarist. With humor and heart, she tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother's particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother's tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food.

As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band--and meeting the man who would become her husband--her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother's diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her.

Vivacious and plainspoken, lyrical and honest, Zauner's voice is as radiantly alive on the page as it is onstage. Rich with intimate anecdotes that will resonate widely, and complete with family photos, Crying in H Mart is a book to cherish, share, and reread.

Notable Quotes/Moments: 

"Hers was tougher than tough love. It was brutal, industrial-strength. A sinewy love that never gave way to an inch of weakness. It was a love that saw what was best for you ten steps ahead, and didn't care if it hurt like hell in the meantime. When I got hurt, she felt it so deeply, it was as though it were her own affliction. She was guilty only of caring too much. I realize this now, only in retrospect. No one in this world would ever love me as much as my mother, and she would never let me forget it." 

"Love was an action, an instinct, a response roused by unplanned moments and small gestures, an inconvenience in someone else's favor." 

"In fact, she was both my first and second words: Umma, then Mom. I called to her in two languages. Even then I must have known that no one would ever love me as much as she would." 

Genre/sub-genre: Non-fiction 

Available Formats: Physical book at the DFL, Audiobook and e-book on Libby 

Personal Thoughts: 

I've been a fan of Japanese Breakfast, Michelle Zauner's band, for years; when I saw that she was coming out with this memoir last year, I was really looking forward to reading it. This book was moving, powerful, and brutally honest. Zauner does an amazing job of revealing the complexities of her relationship with her mother. This book is for anyone who has lost a mother-like figure to them, or who has connected with a family member through food. 

Recommended Resources/Read-Alike Books: 

Speak, Okinawa by Elizabeth Miki Brina 

Tastes Like War by Grace M. Cho 

Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong 

Umma (2022) with Sandra Oh 

Title: The Queer Principles of Kit Webb 

Author: Cat Sebastian 

Summary/Themes: 

Kit Webb has left his stand-and-deliver days behind him. But dreary days at his coffee shop have begun to make him pine for the heady rush of thievery. When a handsome yet arrogant aristocrat storms into his shop, Kit quickly realizes he may be unable to deny whatever this highborn man desires.

Notable Quotes/Moments: 

"I used to think that revenge was about defending one's honor, but it turns out that honor is just spite dressed up for Sunday." 

Genre/sub-genre: Non-fiction 

Available Formats: Physical book at the DFL 

Personal Thoughts: 

This book was just fun. This story has ballads about highwaymen, coffeehouses, nobility, heists, and romance; you'll feel called to the grittier version of the regency era just in the first chapter. Kit Webb is the perfect Robin Hood character; as a highwayman, he would rob the rich to make his living, but decided to give it all up to run a coffeehouse in London. In a lot of ways, this book felt cozy; the atmosphere of the coffeehouse provides a warmth throughout the story. There's also strong message throughout the book of tearing down the upper class (in this case, the regency). Would definitely recommend if you're looking for a light-hearted, historical romance. 

Recommended Resources/Read-Alike Books: 

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore 

Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston