In the past year, and throughout history, narratives surrounding Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have been rife with violence, hardship and grief. Yet they are so much more than their experiences of suffering — beyond tales of war and isolation, there is joy, confusion, anger and relief. In celebration of Heritage Month, we've compiled a reading list of works from Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander writers. Through a wide range of fiction, poetry, graphic novels and nonfiction, they explore everything from motherhood and displacement to sexuality. While the dimensions of race are tied up in many of these works, we offer a list that celebrates stories that venture outside of diaspora narratives. These books delve into weightier questions of race, identity and societal pressure, yes, but are also alive in their illustrations of the ordinary — the habits, nuances and expressions of love that make us who we are.