UCSB Reads 2026

The UC Santa Barbara Library and the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost are pleased to announce the selection of Crying in H Mart: A Memoir (2021) by Michelle Zauner for UCSB Reads 2026, the 20th anniversary of UCSB’s award-winning common book program.

Crying in H Mart is a vibrant and sensory memoir exploring self-discovery, grief, and Korean-American culture through the celebratory lens of food and family. Through a series of personal essays, Zauner recounts growing up as one of a few Asian-Americans in her Oregon town and reconnecting with her Korean identity as a young adult. When she moves home at 25 to care for her mother, who is facing terminal cancer, food becomes a vital language of love, memory, and cultural heritage. The book chronicles her coming of age and complex family dynamics, showing how she navigates the profound grief of a parent’s illness and death by embracing the traditions that define her.

Zauner’s debut book spent 60 weeks on The New York Times hardcover non-fiction bestseller list. The book received a 2022 American Book Award and the 2021 Goodreads Choice Award for Memoir & Autobiography. It was also named a top book of the year by numerous publications, including TIME, The Atlantic, and Entertainment Weekly. The New Yorker wrote: “Zauner has written a book you experience with all of your senses: sentences you can taste, paragraphs that sound like music. She seamlessly blends stories of food and memory, sumptuousness and grief, to weave a complex narrative of loyalty and loss.” 

Michelle Zauner is a young Korean-American musician, singer, songwriter, director, and author. She is the lead vocalist of acclaimed indie pop band Japanese Breakfast. The band’s third album, Jubilee (2021), charted on the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 56, and was nominated for two Grammy Awards – for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album. TIME magazine named Zauner one of the 100 most influential people of 2022. 

Now entering its milestone 20th year, UCSB Reads fosters a shared sense of belonging by bringing the campus and Santa Barbara communities together to read a common book that explores compelling issues of our time. Each year, an advisory committee composed of UCSB faculty, staff, students, and community partners helps the Library select an intellectually stimulating, interdisciplinary book by a living author that appeals to a wide range of readers and can be incorporated into the UCSB curriculum.

UCSB Reads 2026 will launch in January with a free book giveaway for UCSB students. Throughout the winter and spring quarters, the Library will sponsor a variety of free learning, experiential, and social events to explore the book’s themes. Instructors are encouraged to incorporate Crying in H Mart into their winter or spring courses. The Library will provide free copies of the book to all students who are assigned to read it as part of coursework. UCSB Reads 2026 will culminate with a free public talk by Michelle Zauner at UCSB Campbell Hall on May 7, 2026, presented in partnership with UCSB Arts & Lectures.

If you wish to teach the book, participate in events, or support UCSB Reads 2026, please email UCSBReads@library.ucsb.edu or visit www.library.ucsb.edu/ucsbreads2026. 

As we celebrate 20 years of UCSB Reads, we invite you to join in this valued tradition. The deeply personal yet universal themes of Crying in H Mart offer an opportunity to connect us across cultures and generations. We look forward to exploring this remarkable book with you.

David Marshall, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost

Todd Grappone, University Librarian