Next year, booklovers at UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) will be encouraged to read “Crying in H Mart,” a bestselling memoir about cultural identity and grief, the university announced this week.
As the university’s community-reading initiative, UCSB Reads, which invites students and faculty to read the same book for discussions every year, has selected “Crying in H Mart” as the 2026 book.
In “Crying in H Mart,” its author Michelle Zauner (also the frontwoman of the indie pop band Japanese Breakfast) explores grief and losing her Korean mother to terminal cancer.
Zauner, a biracial Korean American who grew up in Oregon, stayed connected to her roots through Korean food, especially after her mother’s death. In her New York Times bestselling memoir, Zauner processes her grief by embracing the Korean traditions with the backdrop of Korean grocery chain H Mart.
Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast at The 16th Governors Awards held at The Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood on November 16, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
“In 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,” UCSB Reads said in explaining its 2026 pick. “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.”
UCSB Reads 2026 will launch in January, giving away free books to students. Then, readers can attend free and social events to explore the book together throughout the winter and spring quarters.
Instructors are also encouraged to incorporate the book into their courses, the university said. Free copies of the book will be available for students through the university library as well.
Zauner herself will speak at a free public event at the school in May 2026.
Published in 2021, “Crying in H Mart” was a critical and commercial hit as it spent 60 weeks on the New York Times hardcover non-fiction bestseller list and was named a top book by TIME and the Atlantic.