Category Archives: Uncategorized

A Promised Land by Barack Obama Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10 I pre-ordered this book on November 20, 2020, a mere two weeks after the presidential election in which Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump. By this time, Trump had already voiced his intentions to fight his damndest to overturn the results of the election. Now, as I’mContinue reading “A Promised Land Review”

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10 This book was a gift from my friend Amanda, who loves fantasy and science fiction novels. If you know me, those aren’t my choice genres, although I do read them occasionally. Most of the time I read a fantasy novel and it doesn’t hit the sameContinue reading “The Poppy War Review”

Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10 I finished A Promised Land before Interior Chinatown, but I’m writing the reviews in the opposite order because Obama is …uhh.. kinda loquacious (but he also talks about a LOT, which is why it’s taking me a while to write this review). These two books could notContinue reading “Interior Chinatown Review”

The other day I was washing grapes (a bowl full of them), and when I wash any sort of fruit inside a bowl, I try to rub each of them at least once so I can get rid of whatever is on the surface. But since I don’t actually count each one and identify them,Continue reading “How long do you have to wash grapes for?”

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10 I finished this book in September, but never really felt motivated to write the review until now, because I’m about to finish Obama’s memoir (and by about to finish, I mean I have 300/700 pages left to read), and writing reviews out of order justContinue reading “A Man Called Ove Review”

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10 During this quarantine, I have often found myself alone with my thoughts of what my future was going to look like. I don’t think I was alone in this — many of my friends had similar reckonings: what did they actually want to do withContinue reading “When Breath Becomes Air Review”

The Martian by Andy Weir Rating: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆ 6/10 Wow, this is my first review in almost a month. I haven’t been reading as much because I’ve been busier at work, and the book that was in progress (this one) was only meh. It was entertaining, don’t get me wrong. I liked the ingenuity of MarkContinue reading “The Martian Review”

The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho Rating: ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆ 4/10 Can’t talk, need to pursue my personal legend and follow my heart….

Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10 During a hike with Charlie and Catherine, I was asked what Minor Feelings was about. I couldn’t verbalize an answer. After a long string of “umm”s and “it’s like”s, I eventually forced out a vague description: “it’s an examination of being Asian in America”. That wasn’tContinue reading “Minor Feelings Review”

An Elegant Defense: The Extraordinary New Science of the Immune System: A Tale in Four Lives by Matt Richtel Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9/10 Matt makes the science of immunology extremely accessible in this book. It’s not perfect by any means — there are, for example, no citations (??) in the entire book — but it’s enlighteningContinue reading “An Elegant Defense Review”