Min Jin Lee's Reading List

Korean American novelist; author of Pachinko (2017 National Book Award finalist).

Min Jin Lee's Recommended Reading List — Translated East Asian Novels (2023)

Five translated East Asian novels she curated for Service95.

Sayaka Murata · 2016 · Buy on Amazon

"Sayaka Murata's brilliant novel follows 36-year-old Keiko Furukura, who has devoted half her life to working part-time at a Japanese convenience store."

Human Acts

Han Kang · 2014 · Buy on Amazon

"Set against the backdrop of the May 1980 Gwangju Uprising — a modern masterwork."

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982

Cho Nam-joo · 2016 · Buy on Amazon

"A powerful work of fiction exposing the inequalities and pressures faced by women in South Korea."

The Makioka Sisters

Junichirō Tanizaki · 1948 · Buy on Amazon

"Like a classic 19th-century marriage plot novel but told with modern wisdom."

Who Ate Up All the Shinga?

Park Wan-suh · 1992 · Buy on Amazon

"With clear-eyed prose and marvellous details, Wan-suh captures the atmosphere, deprivation and social upheaval of the time."

Books from NYT: Min Jin Lee on Pachinko (2024)

Extracted via LLM from auto-captions of NYT Podcasts (2024-07-29).

Source: www.youtube.com

The King James Bible

King James Translators · 1611 · Buy on Amazon

"The King James Bible — it has that Old English prose. The Bible is a tremendous work to understand Western literature and its canon."

Middlemarch

George Eliot · 1871 · Buy on Amazon

"I'm willing to say it's the best English language novel period, without question. George Eliot is probably the smartest girl in the room ever as a novelist, and she has a great heart."

Books from The Slowdown: Min Jin Lee on the Healing Power of Fiction (2024)

Extracted via LLM from auto-captions of The Slowdown (2024-04-11).

Source: www.youtube.com

Best American Short Stories 2023

Min Jin Lee (editor) · 2023 · Buy on Amazon

"In the history of Best American Short Stories — the most important anthology in the world that's edited in English for short stories."

Stoner

John Williams · 1965 · Buy on Amazon

"Have you read Stoner by John Williams? He's thought about it too and I think you might like it."

Books from Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry: Min Jin Lee and Tayari Jones (2026)

Extracted via LLM from auto-captions of Fox Center (2026-03-18).

Source: www.youtube.com

Kin

Tayari Jones · 2026 · Buy on Amazon

"It's a really beautiful book and you can buy it today. The reason I wanted to bring it out is because it's so good. You guys have to get this book."

In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens

Alice Walker · 1983 · Buy on Amazon

"I love that you referenced that essay. If you guys haven't read it, you should read it. It's so important and it's really powerful."

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Zora Neale Hurston · 1937 · Buy on Amazon

"I think Their Eyes Were Watching God is one of my favorite novels of all time. And I think Tea Cake is so hot."

Big Fiction

Dan Sinykin · 2023 · Buy on Amazon

"One of the reasons I read his book Big Fiction — I just tore through it. Have you read it? It's good. It's really good. It's important too."

Suggest an update?