Recently, I started watching When Life Gives You Tangerines. Oh my, what a beautiful story about the love between parents and their children in three generations. The story spreads between the 1960s and the 2000s. I love everything vintage, so more reason to love this drama. Also, it’s about a poor family, a refreshing watch after all the handsome, rich and perfect love stories from K-dramas until now.

This series reminds me of all the books I have read in the past, and very recently this year, about family sagas. These are all books I would read again in a heartbeat:

Pachinko: easily top of the list. Historical fiction set in Japan and Korea. Plus, the limited series features Lee Min Ho. But, definitely read the book before watching the series.

Miracle Creek: heart-breaking story of an immigrant family, from Korea to the US. If you enjoy legal thriller, courtroom scenes, this will undoubtedly be a page-turner for you.

The Joy Luck Club: this book is too famous not to read. Mom & daughter relationships from 5 families where the moms play mahjong together.

The Distance Between Us: this is a memoir of a little girl who crossed the US-Mexican border. Couldn’t put this book down, it was as if a friend was telling their life story to you in person.

The Mountain Sings: I’ve never read such a story in English by a Vietnamese author. This is a dual narrative told by the grandmother and the grand-daughter in war times. Many Vietnamese words, phrases and idioms were kept in the original Vietnamese, followed by beautiful translations. I cried every chapter.

In the Shadow of the Banyan: another wartime story of a royal princess who fled from her home. Life in Myanmar in this book just reminds me so much of my homeland.

Interior Chinatown: I picked up this book after hearing Jimmy Yang would lead the series. Always a great decision to read before watch. This book is so unique, it’s written like a play of someone’s life.

Nuclear Family: super interesting read (a character is a ghost!) of a Korean family living in Hawaii and how their lives changed after their son attempted to cross the demilitarized zone into North Korea.

And many more on my to-read list: The Sympathizer, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Songs of the Humpback Whale, The Kite Runner, and the list goes on.