Welcome back to a new installment of Bookmarked, a series in which our favorite authors, readers, and otherwise bookish people share their best book recommendations and reading rituals.

I’m thrilled to have California-based author Rachel Khong as our interviewee today.

If you’ve read Rachel’s first novel, Goodbye, Vitamin, you’ll already know that she is an extraordinarily talented and perceptive writer. Her new novel, Real Americans (out on April 30th!), elegantly touches on so many topics I’m interested in, like class, multiracial identity, and complex familial relationships. (And if you’ve been here long enough…it’s a full-circle moment for us: Rachel’s debut novel was our second book club pick back in 2017 when this newsletter was called Girls’ Night In!)

I hope you’re as excited as I am to read her new book and this interview. Enjoy! –Alisha

Get to Know Rachel Khong, Author of “Real Americans”

Hi, Rachel! Please give us a little teaser about what your new book is about.

Real Americans is about three generations of a Chinese American family. One of the questions it’s interested in is: How do we become who we become?

What inspired it?

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly, but I’m always writing what I want to read into existence. I began writing the book in December 2016, after the American election. I wanted to write about power, identity, and agency.  A novel is the best way I know how to explore so many themes in one project.

How did you approach writing Real Americans as your second novel after the success of your first book, Goodbye, Vitamin? Did your writing process change at all?

A second novel is a little bit tricky. There are expectations where there weren’t with the first novel. But with Real Americans, I learned to take myself more seriously as a writer, to write with more confidence and faith that things would turn out (even when they seemed very far from done!). And one of the ways I took writing more seriously was that I gave my novel writing my best hours, my morning hours. This book was written over many, many mornings!

You said in a previous interview that Real Americans was inspired by wanting to write an escapist novel like Ferrante's Neapolitan series after the 2016 election. How did you go about trying to make an immersive world for the reader?

I want to clarify that I don’t endorse escaping from reality! There are very real injustices that we need to be engaged in and fighting against. But yes, I wanted to write something that was immersive, that was separate from the news cycle, which felt so loud at the time, and still feels loud now. There can be an urgency to the news cycle that detracts from the actually important things in our lives.

I wanted to recreate the sort of reading experience that I had as a child, where I would retreat into the world of a book for hours at a time, that feeling of being swallowed whole by a book. Creating that immersive world was one of my goals. I read this book over and over again in a variety of formats—reading it on paper, on the screen, on my Kindle—in order to make sure that it was paced well, that it flowed.

You have a background in food writing, having been the former executive editor of Lucky Peach. What were your go-to writing snacks while working on this book?

I drank a lot of matcha. I’m actually not a big snacker, but I love leftovers. Yesterday’s dinner is usually what I’ll have for lunch.

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I read that you were once part of an Asian women writers’ karaoke book club in San Francisco. Is that still going on? What's your go-to karaoke song and a book you'd pair with it?

Sadly, I’m not part of it anymore! I moved away from San Francisco in July 2023. But I highly recommend that combination of karaoke and books. I recommend book clubs, period; being part of a book club is one of my favorite ways to socialize. It’s been a while since I’ve done karaoke, but my most recent go-to song has been Tears for Fears, “Head Over Heels.” It talks about four-leaf clovers, which appear in my book, so maybe I’d pair that song with Real Americans, actually!

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Rachel’s Reading Rituals

What does your reading routine or ritual look like?

I read every night before bed. But I aspire to read more during the day. Whenever I do, I remember how pleasurable that is! So I really should do that more. I love reading a book in one sitting, but I also like books that can be savored. And I usually have one novel or nonfiction book I’m reading at a time, with some short stories and poems alongside that.

What's your ideal/dream reading setup?

The ideal reading experience is on a rainy day, with a cup of herbal tea (lately, I've been loving hibiscus and hawthorn) and my cat, Bunny, purring on my chest.

What’s your favorite indie bookstore?

It’s too hard to choose a favorite, but I love Green Apple Books in San Francisco. Their tote bag is my favorite; it says, “So many books, so little time.”

How and where do you discover new books to read?

Recommendations from friends and other authors. And bookstore browsing.

Can you show us your bookshelf?

Rachel’s Book Recommendations

A book you’d recommend to all your friends:

alphabet by Inger Christensen

A book that impacted you during your childhood:

Half Magic by Edward Eager

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A book that would make a great book club pick:

Memory Piece by Lisa Ko

A book that made you think recently, or has really stuck with you:

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar

A book that gave you all the feelings:

An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken

Thank you, Rachel!

• You can purchase Rachel’s new novel, Real Americans, from Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or your local bookstore.

• Rachel is going on a book tour! Check it out if you’re in one of these cities…

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• Follow Rachel on Instagram here

• Subscribe to the Downtime newsletter for more recommendations and conversations on books, style, and everyday pleasures

• Tag @alisharamos on Instagram with your thoughts

P.S.

I’m giving away a copy of Real Americans to one of my paid subscribers. The winner will be chosen with a random number generator. If you’re not yet, sign up here for the paid tier for access to all newsletter posts, the full archives, the comments section, our subscriber chat, book club, giveaways, and more. (And congrats to Kristen, who won the last giveaway!) x

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