Books I read in October 2021

October was the month I started listening to audiobooks in the car, so this is a LONG list of books.

Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong

I will be the first to admit that I don't know much about the anti Asian sentiment in the US. So this book definitely had me Googling a lot of the historic and current events referenced in this book. The book intersperses the author's personal experience of growing up as a Korean America and family history with discussions on art and literature and historical and current events. The book talks about feelings individuals possess as a result of being racialized.

Dear Girls by Ali Wong

I like many others, thoroughly enjoyed watching Ali Wong’s comedy specials on Netflix and I definitely wanted to read anything she wrote for the same reason! This is why I picked up Dear Girls by Ali Wong, in which she shares her stories with such vulnerability and tenderness that you can’t help but relate and laugh. Also hearing how her husband supports her just made me smile from ear to ear! I wish the same for myself as well!

Body Talk by Katie Sturino

A book on body positivity that I listened to in the car. I don't remember much other than it was a short book. Question to ask myself: Do I not remember the book because of my body dysmorphia or because the book is actually not memorable?

Yearbook by Seth Rogen

I was expecting this to be hilarious given the movies this man has made! This book delivered! It’s not just hilarious stories of Seth Rogen smoking up but also his coming of age in a country where weed was legal. It consists of stories that shaped him, being Jew-ish, meeting his wife, directing movies, etc. For anyone who loves watching Seth Rogen's movies, this book is a no brainer!

Malibu Rising: A Novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This book marks my return to reading fiction for a while again. It's a story of a family that "has it all" but is broken apart by their father's dessertion. It's a story of the Riva siblings, all of whom are successful in their own right but broken in different ways due to their absentee father and a mother driven to alcoholism. I say a lot of myself in Nina (yes the similarities in name also wasn't lost in me). She like me always puts others first, to her own detriment and never asks herself what she wants. I would want to watch a movie version of this book. I want to see what Amazon gods and goddesses are cast as the Riva siblings!

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

I cried while reading this book. Poppy has my dream influencer life :P It's a common trope of best friends who don't express their non platonic love to the other and as a result see their love interest fall in love with others. This book felt cathartic to read given the stage of life I am at. I would read anything and everything Emily Henry writes. Another book I want to see as a holiday movie.

My 2021 reading goals?

• Continue to read more poetry!
• Read more about the space of health, be it nutrition, mental health, physical health, etc.
• Try to get into audio books. I don’t think I will but it’s worth a shot. I strongly believe that listening to audio books is useless as you don’t capture or understand the content fully.
• Continue reading books by diverse authors.
• See my wider reading goals here.