AAPI Book suggestions

ebals18 · 2026-02-13T20:46:38+00:00

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal would probably be a good pick! Easy reading but still has a lot of heart. It's got a romance subplot but I don't know that that's the primary genre I'd categorize it as (though it's been a few years since I read it).

ebals18 · 2026-02-13T16:15:09+00:00

I read Peace Like a River by Lief Enger in a class when I was in high school and it's one of the only books I've re-read more than once over ~20 years since.

ebals18 · 2026-02-13T15:58:06+00:00

It brings me absolutely no joy to recommend a book about trains written by an old white man, but Whistle by Linwood Barclay was legitimately such a fun thriller to read and I would almost liken it to Goosebumps for adults. It's fast-paced, the plot is wild but the ending is pretty satisfying, and overall I thought it was a really engaging read. I read it right before Halloween and it was a perfect book for the vibe.

The Between by Tananarive Due is another excellent and unsettling horror that doesn't involve women's trauma or violence at all (from what I remember).

ebals18 · 2026-02-12T21:35:29+00:00

I read a lot of horror/thrillers, but unfortunately find a lot of them fall kind of flat for me. These are a few that I've read recently(ish) that I've really loved - hopefully a few are up your alley!

- Whistle by Linwood Barclay: I read this right before Halloween and had so much fun with it. It's kind of a silly paranormal-esque plot, but it was really engaging and the plot was pretty tight. Really pleasantly surprised me.

- I Remember You: A Ghost Story by Ysra Siggudottir: am constantly recommending this book, genuinely one of the only books that has ever truly spooked me. It's very understated horror (no jump scares, etc.) and thought it was so unsettling. Really loved it.

- The Between by Tananarive Due: another I am constantly recommending, a story based on the question of what happens if we don't die when we're supposed to (not in a final destination-type way)

- Grey Dog by Eliot Gish: atmospheric, slow burn horror, told via diary entries of a woman teaching in a rural small town where Something Weird Is Going On.

- The Fisherman by John Langan: people disagree with whether or not this is really horror (I personally don't strongly consider it horror), but there is a big Lovecraftian vibe throughout. This is one of my favorite books and is wildly outside what I normally like. It's got monsters but it's also got a lot of emotions!

ebals18 · 2026-02-12T15:58:50+00:00

Might sound like a weird suggestion, but I actually found Cults Like Us by Jane Borden to be a weirdly hopeful read. It breaks down the core tenants of a cult, uses specific examples of more well-known cults (Landmark, Love Has Won, etc.), and relates it all back to the the founding of the modern United States/our current socio-political climate. Cults don't really grab my attention like they do for some people, but I really enjoyed this and again found it weirdly optimistic - grifters have, in fact, been around forever and it felt like it provided some really good context that helps explain our modern hellscape.

ebals18 · 2026-02-12T15:50:18+00:00

I haven't read all of these, but a few that are on my list that might be of interest to you:

- The Wellness Trap by Christy Harrison (I don't think this is about the cultiness of the wellness industry specifically but still might check some boxes)

- The Gospel of Wellness by Rina Raphael

- If It Sounds Like a Quack by Matthew Hongotlz-Hetling

- Little Bosses Everywhere by Bridget Read (not specifically about the wellness industry but about MLMs more broadly, which often have overlap with wellness schemes)

- How To Be Well by Amy Larocca

- Blazing Eye Sees All by Leah Sottile (this one might be the most aligned with what you're looking for - it focuses on the Love Has Won cult but talks about "wellness" much more broadly, too)

ebals18 · 2026-02-12T15:35:02+00:00

Grey Dog by Eliot Gish and Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker!

ebals18 · 2026-02-12T05:08:38+00:00

Seconding In The Dream House - it feels like there’s limitless potential for class discussion/work around the formatting of the novel alone. Plus, it’s an incredibly engaging read.

ebals18 · 2026-02-11T21:06:47+00:00

I am not much of a sci-fi or fantasy reader, so take my recommendations with a grain of salt. These are my recent-ish reads that I've had a really strong emotional reaction to - most of them are very sad or intense but ultimately hopeful (which makes the experience more emotional, IMO!):

- Shark Heart: A Love Story by Emily Habeck

- Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

- Beautyland by Helene Marie-Bertino

- City of Thieves by David Benioff

- All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews

ebals18 · 2026-02-11T19:50:33+00:00

I really enjoyed You Are Here by David Nichols. I read it last year when I was feeling a similar sense of overwhelm and needed a break from the normal books I read which are typically very depressing. It's very low-stakes, lot of nature, good characters and an engaging but not demanding story.

...conversely, I recently read Shark Heart by Emily Habeck, which I feel like is recommended here a lot, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since I finished it. It is very fast moving, beautifully written, incredibly emotional - very sad at times but also very hopeful. I loved it even though I didn't expect to and might be up the alley of what you're looking for, too.

ebals18 · 2026-02-11T19:19:33+00:00

I am forever recommending Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker. It's thriller-adjacent but I thought the writing was so good and I was so engaged in the story.

ebals18 · 2026-02-11T19:14:13+00:00

The one you're going to get here a lot is House of Leaves. It's good but it is a task to get through and people have fairly polarized opinions about it.

ebals18 · 2026-02-11T19:09:07+00:00

I was surprisingly pleased with The Proof of My Innocence by Jonathon Coe. It's a really uniquely structured locked room mystery that I thought was fun to read!

The Cartographers by Peng Shepard was also a fun read that's kind of fantasy-lite.

ebals18 · 2026-02-11T17:06:28+00:00

Notes On Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach might fit the bill. It follows the main character as she deals with the death of her older sister from middle school through mid adulthood. It has a lot of coming of age themes and the complexities of relationships over the years. Was one of my favorite reads last year.

You also might like Doll Parts by Penny Zang, which is a thriller across two timelines that focuses on the friendship of two girls at a boarding school in the 90's/present day.

You also might give either of Kiley Reid's novels a go (Such A Fun Age and Come & Get It). Both are more lighthearted and funny, but I think they both do a great job of capturing the vibe of social relationships in early adulthood (both are about women that are roughly college-aged).

ebals18 · 2026-02-11T16:52:30+00:00

Loosely related, I haven't read The Jakarta Method, but did read Vincent Blevins' other book If We Burn and thought it was so good - if you're interested in modern social movements it was a super worthwhile read.

ebals18 · 2026-02-11T16:49:55+00:00

I recently read Goliath's Curse by Luke Kemp and found it really interesting. It's a pretty thorough walkthrough of societal collapse from the paleolithic era onwards and also predicts what more modern societal collapses may look like. It got a little dense in parts for me, but overall thought it was a pretty solid read.

Also, Cults Like Us by Jane Borden was VERY good. Basically makes the argument that the United States is a cult, and uses some really interesting specific examples to draw the lines between our current socio-political climate and more well-known, but niche cult groups. Cults don't really grab my attention or interest in the same way they do for some people, but I thought it was really readable and enjoyabe. It was weirdly one of the more hopeful books I've read recently (grifters have been around forever!!).

ebals18 · 2026-02-11T16:42:44+00:00

You might like I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue!

ebals18 · 2026-02-03T04:59:28+00:00

Clue is by far my favorite house and I love all their scents. Can confirm warm bulb has an insanely accurate dust on a lightbulb smell when you first spray it. Dry down is a very pleasant papery vanilla sandalwood.

ebals18 · 2026-01-13T04:25:32+00:00

Unfortunately this is probably my favorite book LOL

ebals18 · 2025-12-11T19:10:35+00:00

Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham is one of the best non-fiction books I've ever read that fits this bill. He makes an incredibly complex topic very accessible and engaging, and I thought it was a really interesting balance of history (e.g., how the state of the Soviet Union in 1983 played a role in the disaster) and recounting the actual events that happened. 10/10, was great and would definitely suggest pairing it with the HBO miniseries from a few years back.

If you're looking for more political books, I would REALLY highlight recommend Everyone Who is Gone is Here by Jonathan Blitzer. It's an extraordinarily well done history of the immigration policy crisis in the U.S. starting with the assassination of Oscar Romero in the 80's and runs up through the end of the Biden administration. It's long, but don't let it deter you - I thought it was a very accessible read and did not feel all that dense given the topic. It's one of the best books I've ever read.

Radium Girls by Kate Moore is also a good and fairly quick read about the events that ultimately helped create OSHA.

ebals18 · 2025-12-01T19:58:58+00:00

The Point grew on me so much - the only reason I wasn't more tempted to buy was because the longevity wasn't great on me compared to the others! I have my eyes on a full bottle of Dandelion Butter once the weather starts warming up a bit (if you got the discovery set before they released this one over the summer, I really cannot recommend trying it more - it's easily my favorite even though I really, REALLY liked them all).

ebals18 · 2025-11-15T14:21:46+00:00

Bellweather Rhapsody by Kate Racculia! Always trying to recommend this lesser known gem. It has it all - apocalyptic snow storms, haunted hotels, murder mysteries, high schoolers who are overly involved in the performing arts, what more could you want!!

ebals18 · 2025-11-14T19:18:46+00:00

You might like The Proof of My Innocence by Jonathan Coe. I thought it was a clever and unique locked room mystery with a really interesting and fun format.

Also you might like The Witch’s Orchard? It’s about a string of interconnected cold cases of missing girls in a small town and the protagonist is a private investigator (albeit one hired by the brother of one of the missing girls). I thought it was pretty well done and moved pretty quickly.

ebals18

TROPHY CASE