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aweekinthelife's reviews
485 reviews
Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling by Jason De León
challenging
informative
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
picked up on audio after the National Book Awards. appreciate this ethnographical account of some of the smugglers leading people north to the US border and the complicated reasons people end up in that line of work.
this is focused on the lives of the smugglers that he gets to know, would be interesting to read a memoir by the author at some point too.
pairs well with: Everyone Who Is Gone is Here (Jonathan Blitzer)
this is focused on the lives of the smugglers that he gets to know, would be interesting to read a memoir by the author at some point too.
pairs well with: Everyone Who Is Gone is Here (Jonathan Blitzer)
Silencing Shanghai: Language and Identity in Urban China by Fang Xu
informative
slow-paced
4.25
academic investigation into how language policy is shaping the status of the Shanghainese dialect. was a good follow-up to Last Boat out of Shanghai (Helen Zia) where i have the historical development and growth of Shanghai then a leap forward into more modern day.
the Chinese language class I took this semester was also a China-based curriculum and through the class, I learned about some of these policies and the ways that the Chinese government views things which bolstered my understanding of the context.
the Chinese language class I took this semester was also a China-based curriculum and through the class, I learned about some of these policies and the ways that the Chinese government views things which bolstered my understanding of the context.
Connie: A Memoir by Connie Chung
funny
reflective
fast-paced
4.25
an interesting piece of the immigrant experience is that what media you know is often based on when your family arrived. i first heard of Connie Chung from Connie Wong's New York Time piece (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/05/11/opinion/connie-chung-named-after.html).
now in her late 70s, it was fun to listen to Connie describe her experiences growing up and getting into the news business. there's definitely strategies about the news business that makes me a little uncomfortable, but it is still helpful to think about how the stories that make the news are created. also got me thinking about how Vietnam was the first war Americans experienced on TV and how the current Israeli invasion is the most prominent aggression we are witnessing in real time on social media.
now in her late 70s, it was fun to listen to Connie describe her experiences growing up and getting into the news business. there's definitely strategies about the news business that makes me a little uncomfortable, but it is still helpful to think about how the stories that make the news are created. also got me thinking about how Vietnam was the first war Americans experienced on TV and how the current Israeli invasion is the most prominent aggression we are witnessing in real time on social media.
Dear Senthuran: A Black Spirit Memoir by Akwaeke Emezi
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
started out a little slow for me but really picked up in the second half as i got more invested in the people and Emezi's life. having read a few of Emezi's novels, i appreciated getting to learn about the author outside the novels and how the books intertwined with their life. haven't read freshwater yet, and now that's bumped higher on my list!
alright on audio, but maybe i would've gotten more into it in print.
alright on audio, but maybe i would've gotten more into it in print.
How to Read Now by Elaine Castillo
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
highly recommend, i think everyone should read this. might be the first book i buy on audio (all my other audio book reads have been from the library) and maybe also in print.
my first Castillo but i want to go back to pick up her first book (and she has a new one coming out aug 2025!). love that on the audio, she reads through the whole annotated bibliography (also, makes sense, given the book's title + content).
the book discusses various media and pop culture pieces in depth. it may be a little less relatable if you haven't seen/read the shows/books but i'm always out of the loop on pop culture references anyways so it didn't bother me. Castillo does a good job describing enough context that readers/listeners can still follow along and readily understand what she is talking about even if you've never seen the media piece.
pairs well with: how to hide an empire (for historical context that impact so much of this book)
reminds me of: trick mirror by jia tolentino
my first Castillo but i want to go back to pick up her first book (and she has a new one coming out aug 2025!). love that on the audio, she reads through the whole annotated bibliography (also, makes sense, given the book's title + content).
the book discusses various media and pop culture pieces in depth. it may be a little less relatable if you haven't seen/read the shows/books but i'm always out of the loop on pop culture references anyways so it didn't bother me. Castillo does a good job describing enough context that readers/listeners can still follow along and readily understand what she is talking about even if you've never seen the media piece.
pairs well with: how to hide an empire (for historical context that impact so much of this book)
reminds me of: trick mirror by jia tolentino
Chinese Theories of Fiction: A Non-Western Narrative System by Ming Dong Gu
informative
slow-paced
3.75
i found this informative and gave me some insight into some of the famous Chinese works like Journey to the West (西遊記), Golden Lotus (金瓶梅), Dream of the Red Chamber (紅樓夢) but the writing was dense and not the easiest to read/get through.
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
i don't remember how this ended up on my to read list exactly and i'm not necessarily mad about it but also not a standout. the book is well written from the perspective of an aging butler reflecting on his life and service to Lord Darlington, an old fashioned but quite influential english lord.
the structure is a constant cycle of Stevens (our narrator) mentioning something that recently happened, going into something in the past, then revising some stuff he told you prior. good for fans of (maybe reluctantly) unreliable narrators.
kinda matches time period and very high level theme of When We Cease to Understand the World but very different writing styles and approaches.
the structure is a constant cycle of Stevens (our narrator) mentioning something that recently happened, going into something in the past, then revising some stuff he told you prior. good for fans of (maybe reluctantly) unreliable narrators.
kinda matches time period and very high level theme of When We Cease to Understand the World but very different writing styles and approaches.
Stay True by Hua Hsu
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
a memoir of friendship and belonging as well as navigating grief. especially in the first 2/3 of the book, the experiences are mostly of the day to day and semi-mundane moments of daily life but with an emphasis on how these seemingly small experiences together add up into the relationships that last beyond those moments.
read this one in print, i can see how this kind of meandering reflections wouldn't be my favorite on audio.
read this one in print, i can see how this kind of meandering reflections wouldn't be my favorite on audio.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Murder
Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution by Helen Zia
challenging
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
4.75
this book follows the lives of four young people from childhood/teenage years into adulthood as they navigate life in and around Shanghai amidst the second sino-japanese war, world war ii, the kmt vs communists, and beyond.
i personally knew very little about shanghai specifically and appreciated the various perspectives from the four people that the book follows. highly recommend to learn more about this period of chinese history and understanding some of the various ways chinese diaspora has formed and why there are so many different perspectives and histories in chinese diasporas.
engaging on audio, probably would've been much slower for me to read in print.
i personally knew very little about shanghai specifically and appreciated the various perspectives from the four people that the book follows. highly recommend to learn more about this period of chinese history and understanding some of the various ways chinese diaspora has formed and why there are so many different perspectives and histories in chinese diasporas.
engaging on audio, probably would've been much slower for me to read in print.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Police brutality, and War
Dear Scarlet: The Story of My Postpartum Depression by Teresa Wong
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
this short graphic novel got me quite emotional. the author outlines her journey to pregnancy and navigating parenthood and postpartum depression. raw and vulnerable, this quick read should be on everyone's list especially for those who are in community with people who have/will give birth soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Pregnancy
Moderate: Blood and Vomit