Sunny > Recent Status Updates

I am trying so hard to get into this book. It's been on my to-read list for 10 years, and the author is coming to my city for a talk...but, I am struggling with the writing. I am not connecting with the characters. The storytelling is dull and monotonous. I'll give it a few more tries, but man, I was expecting a lot more from a Pulitzer winner.

I'm abandoning this book. Read Jason Hickel or Naomi Klein instead. Ritchie's messages are misleading. The biggest red flags: when she touted the virtues of Hans Rosling's Factfulness, and then claimed degrowth is not a viable solution. Not addressing our capitalist system/overconsumption means she's advocating for the status quo at this point, which is wrong and harmful. No wonder Bill Gates loved this book. Bye.

I love this book so far and am disappointed it took me this long to read Kawakami's work. It's Haruki Murakami-esque (am I gonna get my hand slapped for this? Maybe) in it's stream of consciousness style, unclear plot, and detailed descriptions of life's mundanities, but without the female objectification that is all too commonplace in Murakami's writing. This one is relatable and lingers in my head.

Reading Asian American memoirs about daughters dealing with their mothers deaths is probably not a smart idea around the holidays, as there's this expectation to be happy and joyful. I cried. A lot. First Kat Chow's "Seeing Ghosts" (5/5) and now "Crying in H-Mart." I appreciate Zauner's voice--raw, spirited, vulnerable--and her descriptions of Korean food, how it heals, bonds, an act of love and remembrance.