- Dear Girls - Ali Wong; Sept 2022 ⭑⭑⭑☆☆
- honest, vulgar, feminist, unapologetic, and fucking hilarious. each chapter blends seamlessly with the next, like a good album, which is what i wanted. reminded me of my mom (in the best way).
- How We Fight for Our Lives - Saeed Jones; Sept 2022 ⭑⭑☆☆☆
- a memoir of a black gay man's coming-of-age, the constant suppression of a part of oneself and pain of being treated as mere fetish is gorgeously expressed. while beautifully written, i think i would prefer to read more of his poetry. his prose is stuffed to the brim with poetic devices, and while it is pleasant to visualize, it often took away from the situation he was writing about and carried away on its own. which is to say, it seemed like a romanticized fiction of a life rather than a real one (which missed the mark entirely in terms of what i had wanted).
- Talking to Strangers - Malcolm Gladwell; Sept - Oct 2022 ⭑⭑⭑⭑☆
- not the pedantic read i expected it to be. well-researched, well-organized, and well-defended. i was relatively convinced by his argument and the whole book felt like listening to an easy-reader version of a graduate thesis, which it essentially is, and a very good one. reflects on the challenges of communication from cultural, social, and psychological perspectives, while managing to address the presence of societal privilege and intersectionality.
- Cult-ish - Amanda Montell; Oct 2022 ⭑⭑☆☆☆
- enjoyed the linguistic focus on the widespread concept of the "Cult", and how the concept of a cult is defined by the subtle changes in use of language. while the points being made were mostly reasonable, some of the ideas were a bit of a stretch. wishing there was more research to support but the field itself seems a very limited one in academia.
- Kitchen Confidential - Anthony Bourdain; Oct 2022 ⭑⭑⭑⭑☆
- it was initially slightly haunting to listen to considering the author himself has passed a few years ago, however i quickly forgot about this as i was led into the whirlwind that is the modern restaurant industry. bitingly opinionated and asshole-ish, but also brilliantly funny and knowledgeable in his field, certainly enough to be able to share it in an enjoyable way to the audience. a very fun read.
- Missing from the Village - Justin Ling; Oct 2022 ⭑⭑⭑⭑☆
- documentation of the disappearances, and eventually revealed serial killings of gay men in toronto's queer community, and the tense relationship between the community with law enforcement. author is objective while remaining unpretentious and empathetic, and analyzes the fundamental systemic problem that carries on from past into the present, sharing a solution of his own in hopes of preventing further tragedy. very good case study. i'm genuinely curious about what was going on in the head of the murderer himself (but i understand that wasn't the focus of this book).
- This is Going to Hurt - Adam Kay; Oct 2022 ⭑⭑⭑☆☆
- a series of amusing anecdotes/diary entries that illustrate the life of a doctor (ob/gyn) with all of its highs (saving lives) and lows (...). an easy listening experience, save for some gore, rot, and very unfortunate deaths of patients, the last being heartbreaking to hear being retold by the author from his diary entry written shortly after the experience. i now doubly respect hospital staff everywhere.
- The Diary of a Bookseller - Shaun Bythell; Oct - Nov 2022 ⭑⭑☆☆☆
- The Crane Wife - C. J. Hauser; Nov 2022 ⭑⭑⭑☆☆
- Stay True - Hua Hsu; Nov 2022 ⭑⭑⭑⭑☆
sep 13 2022 ∞
jan 7 2023 +