Japanese-American – Cannonball Read 17

Of course, after building up this title, you will need to wait until April 2026 for reading

Unbreakable: A Japanese American Family in an American Incarceration Camp (A Picture Book) by Minoru Tonai, Jolene Gutiérrez, and Chris Sasaki

October 29, 2025 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

When you read as many picture books as I do, once in a while one of two things (or both) can happen. The first is you think you’ve read it before (or at least a sample) or things start to feel similar due to similar subjects. A subject I am interested in are the Japanese-American internment camps from World War II. This is partly because I have family who is Japanese-American and when I realized this could be them it made it personal (I know […]

Misaka took his shot

Wat Takes His Shot: The Life & Legacy of Basketball Hero Wataru Misaka by Cheryl Kim

November 22, 2024 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I said that The Music Inside Us: Yo-Yo Ma and His Gifts to the World by James Howe is probably one of my favorite picture biographies this year. Or actually favorite reads from 2024, but it is not due until 2025. Therefore if you are looking for one of my favorite reads in 2024 and is out in 2024 for a picture biography, pick up Wat Takes His Shot: The Life & Legacy of Basketball Hero Wataru Misaka by Cheryl Kim and illustrated by Nat […]

Actor, activist, and author

My Lost Freedom: A Japanese American World War II Story by George Takei

April 18, 2024 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Named after an English king, he would go on and represent Asian Americans in Hollywood and beyond. Some know him as the “Oh my!” guy, some know him as a human and GLBTQ+ rights advocate, some know him as a playwright, but most probably know him as Mr. Sulu on Star Trek. His name is George Takei. He would live through several years of some of the worst American history during World War II. While we were fighting for Liberty in Europe and Japan, we […]

May 2022 Leftovers

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Hollywood Godfather: My Life in the Movies and the Mob by Gianni Russo

Twin Peaks: The Final Dossier by Mark Frost

Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara

American Tabloid by James Ellroy

Hot Springs by Stephen Hunter

Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier

Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier

Dead Soon Enough by Steph Cha

Bullet Train by Kōtarō Isaka

June 1, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

Here are the books I read in May 2022 that I didn’t get to give a full review for whatever reason. I read a lot of authors of AAPI descent; their books were all wonderful in their own respective ways… Sea of Tranquility **** Unquestionably a metacommentary on the author’s Station Eleven success in the shadow of Covid-19, it’s a beautifully written reflection on finding peace and contentment in the uncertainties of life. I don’t know that I enjoyed it as much as others did given […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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