AACC Summer 2021 Reading List

By AACC Staff & Friends

S

ummer is in full force. We hope you find the time to do the things you love during these warm summer days, such as relaxing with a well-written book! Whether you’re in the mood for a tear-jerking memoir, an enchanting fictional trilogy, or a thought-provoking theological work, AACC writers and editors have compiled a list of books from a variety of AAPI authors to enrich your summer reading. At AACC, we want to highlight and recommend books that amplify Asian American voices and speak to our experiences. In this list, you will find books from a diverse range of authors and genres that will inspire and encourage you. We hope that you will find one of these books to be a welcome addition to your summer reading list.

Art and Faith: A Theology of Making by Makoto Fujimura

In Art and Faith, Makoto Fujimura explores the reality of God as the first and ultimate Creator, and the impact of this truth on our creativity as an expression of God’s extravagant and abundant love in creation. He describes how believers are uniquely invited and empowered to “co-create” with our heavenly creator as his image bearers, filled with the hope of redemption and vision of the new Creation. Drawing on the Scriptures as well as Japanese Kintsugi and other artistic and literary traditions, Fujimura suggests that this spiritual act of “making” offers deeper insight into the nature of life and the loving character of God. Regardless of your vocation, this book will encourage and inspire you to new levels of worship through creativity.

-  Grace Liu 

Becoming All Things: How Small Changes Lead To Lasting Connections Across Cultures by Michelle Ami Reyes

Michelle Ami Reyes brings a fresh, thoughtful, and wise voice to the ongoing conversation about bridging divides between racial and ethnic groups. Becoming All Things is a challenging read—but it's the necessary kind of challenge that provokes thought and reflection, causes me to ask why I'm reacting or pushing back on what I'm reading, and prompts me to really account for my everyday thoughts and actions. It made me uncomfortable, and I'm glad it did. This book is truly helpful and has already prompted some good conversation with friends, in addition to prompting me to begin to engage differently with folks who aren't yet friends, but could be someday.

- Jenilyn Swett

Three Mile an Hour God by Kosuke Koyama

Three Mile an Hour God by Kosuke Koyama is for the person that feels overwhelmed with the prospect of committing to an entire book. Koyama, a Japanese missionary who lived in Thailand, writes his reflections on various passages throughout the Bible. Chapters range from anywhere to 1-3 pages. It's the perfect book to slowly read over the summer, and slowness is a theme that runs throughout the entire book. Koyama begins his reflections with the reminder that God does not run. God walks, slowly, at the average walking speed of three miles an hour. His reflections touch on several topics ranging from syncretism to our dependence on technology. Throughout, Koyama reminds us that even as God slowly walks with us, we miss out on the beauty of life if we also don't slow our pace.

-  Justin Nitta 

SunLit Lands Trilogy by Matt Mikalatos

Matt Mikalatos’ SunLit Lands trilogy seamlessly bridges biblical theology, social realities, and the pursuit of justice. Set in a magical land full of dragons, mermaids, and shark people, this Christian fantasy series connects the problems of the SunLit Lands to our own, including the historical realities of slavery, immigration, and more. With fun, witty, relatable storytelling Mikalatos paints a picture of the world we so desperately need to understand.

- Dr. Michelle Ami Reyes

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

When Breath Becomes Air is the posthumously published memoir of Paul Kalanithi, a promising neurosurgeon on the verge of completing his residency at Stanford when his life and future is thrown into uncertainty as he is diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. In the face of mortality, Kalanithi’s future and life goals are brought into question as he wrestles with the perennial question, what makes life worth living? In the spirit of writers such as the preacher of Ecclesiastes and Leo Tolstoy, Kalanithi offers a lesson in living through the vantage point of death. Wonderfully profound, theologically rich, and emotionally engaging, When Breath Becomes Air is a must-read and welcome addition to any summer reading list.

- Joshua Huver

A History of the Philippines: From Indio Bravos to Filipinos by Luis H. Francia

How old were you when you learned about the Philippine-American War or that the Philippines was colonized by Spain and then the United States? This book dives into the history of the Philippines from pre-colonial days to the present. Though this is an amazing resource for a Filipinx wanting to learn about their ethnic heritage, this is a book for everyone. By including perspectives and parts of stories that were left out of our history textbooks in the US, it challenges the way we view European and American history and adds insight to discussions about racism, colonialism, militarism, and even missiology.

-  Esther Guy

Halo-Halo: A poetic mix of culture, history, identity, revelation, and revolution by Justine Ramos

This book is a work of art. Through her slam-style poetry, Ramos gives insight into the experiences and psyche of the Filipinx diaspora. At times, her words feel like lament. Other times, like revolutionary anthems. Ramos doesn’t just describe, she makes you feel. For example, in her poem, Ferdinand Magellan, she talks about sitting in a history class as the teacher talks about the famous explorer being “killed by savages in the Philippines,” and you can feel the tension in her body and the wrestling with her identity as the other students in the class stare at her.

- Esther Guy

From A Liminal Place: An Asian American Theology by Sang Hyun Lee

From a Liminal Place: An Asian American Theology by Korean-American Theologian Sang Hyun Lee beautifully weaves together Asian American existence with many key theological topics. Lee ultimately witnesses to the God who possesses an Asian American face, who is present in solidarity with Asian Americans, and who loves Asian Americans in and through their particularities. Not only does Lee give full voice to the trauma and pain of Asian American’s (marginality), but also to the beautiful discipleship that can take place in Asian American existence (liminality). Personally, this text helped me realize that my Asianness is not something God desires to erase like American society, but rather, my Asianness is something deeply loved by God. It is Lee's advocating work, embodied in this text, that is credited for the creation of the Asian American Program at Princeton Seminary. I believe this book is a must-read for Asian American Christians.

- Isaiah R. Hobus 

Prey Tell: Why we silence women who tell the truth and how everyone can speak up by Tiffany Bluhm 

In recent years, it’s become evident that the systems in place that are designed to silence women who are victims of sexual harassment, abuse, and assault are not simply outliers and subversive means of oppression in a larger culture of goodness, but rather, the water in which we all swim. Tiffany Bluhm’s book Prey Tell not only examines why and how this has come to be, both in church settings and beyond, but also concludes with a model of true allyship, pulling in the biblical precedent of Nathan’s boldness in confronting David with his own abuses of power. Weaving in personal stories and gospel truths, this book is a confrontation and a call to action anchored in biblical ethos and logos that every person should take to heart.

- Denise Kruse

Photo by Link Hoang on Unsplash