Reads 365: No.9
December - Year in Review
A mix of literary classics & essential reads.
Some of the books features heavy subject matter, so please be mindful of the content warnings and research them fully.
Your mental wellbeing matters.
No-No Boy
by John Okada
Ichiro Yamada returns to Seattle after two years in prison for refusing to serve in the U.S. military during WWII—a "no-no boy" who answered "no" twice on the loyalty questionnaire. Okada's only novel explores Japanese-American identity, loyalty, and the psychological cost of incarceration with unflinching honesty.
✨ "I am an American." Three words that contain an entire generation's struggle for belonging
📚 Genre: Literary Fiction
📖 Necessary history
📚 Rediscovered classic (1957)
Essential reading for understanding the Japanese-American experience and the cost of standing by conviction.
#MarginsXReads #NoNoBoy #JohnOkada #JapaneseAmerican #AsianAmericanLiterature #LiteraryFiction #WWII #ClassicLiterature #BookCommunity #Bookstagram
If I Had Your Face
by Frances Cha
Four young women navigate modern Seoul's beauty standards, economic inequality, and the pressure to conform. Cha's debut exposes South Korea's obsession with plastic surgery, K-pop culture, and the brutal competition underlying the country's glossy surface.
✨ "In Seoul, everything is about your appearance."
📚 Genre: Contemporary Fiction
📖 Sharp critique of capitalism, misogyny, and impossible beauty standards
💄 Beauty culture critique
For readers fascinated by Korean culture beyond the K-drama glamor.
#MarginsXReads #IfIHadYourFace #FrancesCha #KoreanLiterature #ContemporaryFiction #KPop #BeautyStandards #WomensFiction #BookCommunity #Bookstagram #DebutNovel
The Hole
by Hye-Young Pyun
After a devastating car accident kills his wife and leaves him paralyzed, Oghi returns home to his mother-in-law's care. But something is wrong—terribly wrong—in this claustrophobic psychological thriller. Pyun builds dread with surgical precision in this dark exploration of grief, guilt, and revenge.
✨ Korean noir at its finest.
📚 Genre: Literary Fiction/Thriller
🕳️ A meditation on the holes we fall into, literal and metaphorical
🎭 Pages of creeping dread
#MarginsXReads #TheHole #HyeYoungPyun #KoreanLiterature #PsychologicalThriller #LiteraryFiction #TranslatedLiterature #Suspense #BookCommunity #Bookstagram
The Swimmers
by Julie Otsuka
An underground pool becomes the centre of a community of swimmers—until a crack appears in the bottom. Otsuka's lyrical novel shifts perspective to follow one swimmer into dementia, creating a haunting meditation on memory, loss, and what remains when we forget.
✨ "She remembers forgetting."
📚 Genre: Literary Fiction
🏊♀️ Lyrical prose that captures the rhythm of swimming and forgetting
🏆 National Book Award Longlist
A slim, powerful novel that will break your heart.
#MarginsXReads #TheSwimmers #JulieOtsuka #JapaneseAmerican #LiteraryFiction #Dementia #AsianAmericanLiterature #ContemporaryFiction #BookCommunity #Bookstagram
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
by Jamie Ford
During WWII, Chinese-American Henry falls in love with Japanese-American Keiko—just before her family is sent to an internment camp. Decades later, the discovery of belongings from the Panama Hotel triggers memories of first love, loss, and the Chinese and Japanese-American communities' complex relationship during the war.
✨ Ending the year with a story of hope amid darkness.
📚 Genre: Historical Fiction
🏨 Wartime Seattle
💔 First love across ethnic divides
A bittersweet love story that illuminates a complex chapter of American history.
#MarginsXReads #HotelOnTheCornerOfBitterAndSweet #JamieFord #HistoricalFiction #AsianAmericanLiterature #WWII #LoveStory #BookCommunity #Bookstagram #JapaneseAmericanHistory
December’s Year in Review list