Join bestselling author and Grammy-nominated musician Michelle Zauner (Japanese Breakfast) as she shares the moving story behind her memoir Crying in H Mart, a powerful meditation on family, food, identity, and loss. Through lyrical prose and emotional honesty, Zauner explores her Korean-American heritage and her mother’s enduring influence, evoking the tastes and textures that shape memory.
Now in its 20th year, UCSB Reads is UC Santa Barbara’s award-winning common book program, bringing together the campus and Santa Barbara communities to engage with a single, compelling book each year. This year’s selection, Crying in H Mart, spent 60 weeks on The New York Times hardcover nonfiction bestseller list, received a 2022 American Book Award and the 2021 Goodreads Choice Award for Memoir & Autobiography, and was named a top book of the year by publications including TIME, The Atlantic, and Entertainment Weekly.
Michelle Zauner is a Korean-American musician, singer, songwriter, director, and author, best known as the lead vocalist of acclaimed indie pop band Japanese Breakfast. Her band’s third album, Jubilee (2021), peaked at No. 56 on the Billboard 200 and earned two Grammy nominations for Best New Artist and Best Alternative Music Album. TIME magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people of 2022.
This event is open to the public. Seating is first come, first served.