Expand your mental horizons with one of these literary getaways

Vacation time is just around the corner for many of us,but between the tight economy and health concerns about travel,a good number of folks will probably op for being armchair tourists this season.

With that in mind,I'm holding not one,but two great giveaways to make the time fly. The good people at Grand Central Publishing are giving out two sets of five paperback books each that celebrate cultural diversity and good reading.




For Asian Heritage Month, the set of five includes one of my favorite debut novels of the past few years,Free Food For Millionaires by Min Jin Lee. It's a wonderfully smart and stimulating read that I wholeheartedly recommend.

Along side Free Food is Jennifer 8 Lee's amazing account about the history of American Chinese food in The Fortune Cookie Chronicles and food writer Kim Sunee's memoir,Trail of Crumbs.



The five pack is rounded out with a pair of titles that are new to me yet sound rather intriguing.

Transparency is a short story collection by Frances Hwang that focuses on the struggles of immigrants in everyday situations as in one of her stories,Garden City,where a worn out married couple is trying to evict a deadbeat tenant even as they must face the aftermath of their teenaged son's death. Hwang has won several awards for her writing,including a Rona Jaffe Foundation award and she appears to be one to watch for.

Last but not least is Strangers From A Distant Shore by Ronald Takaki,which takes a closer look at the history of Asian American immigration. Takaki has written several nonfiction books with a multicultural take on history such as Double Victory,A Different Mirror and A Larger Memory,all of which have been well received by critics and readers alike.





The other five pack honors Latino Book Month and two of the titles featured here are a pair that I've recently had the pleasure of reading,B as In Beauty by Alberto Ferraras and Hungry Woman In Paris by Josefina Lopez.

They're both fabulous books and while I haven't read the others in this collection,I'm sure that all of them together make for some very satisfying summer reading.





The other three books are The Disappearance of Irene Dos Santos by Margaret Mascarenhas,which has it's leading lady being haunted by the ghost of a former friend in her dreams that also has grave consequences for her pregnancy,and Into The Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea that has a young woman deciding to recruit a fresh batch of men to revive her ailing home town along with providing some protection from a nearby gang of crooks looking to take things over.

Rounding out this collection is Houston,We Have a Problema by Gwendolyn Zepeda,about Jessica Luna,a twenty six old who prefers to make any major life decisions based on fate and advice from Madame Hortensia,her neighborhood psychic. However,a couple of situations arise that not even a sign from above can help Jessica chose the right path to take for her future happiness.

So,if you would like either one of these sets,just leave a comment at this post over the weekend and I'll choose two winners on Monday. This giveaway is open to both U.S and Canadians and also to help my decision making ability along,please mention your favorite pop culture take on either one of these cultures.

You can pick a book,movie or TV show that you feel highlights the best of Asian or Latino life and times. I hope everyone has a great weekend and a Happy Mother's Day that suits your style,whether you seek a dose of magic realism:



or are just looking for a bit of quality time with your mom: