Tag: asian american

Top 5 Wednesday (7/4): Best Books of 2018

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Happy Independence Day! We have a nice break this week due to the holiday, so time to take a quick breather and share what some of my favorites are for this year. This list includes both writing, graphic novels and manga.

  1. America is not the heart by Elaine CastilloAmerica is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo
    An historical fiction looking at the cross-section of being Filipino and American in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 80’s/90’s. Seriously, a must read novel. I love the fact that the author writes the experience of being Filipino so well that I’m reminded of my in-laws, and catches the feeling of being an Asian person in the 90’s. I also enjoyed the inclusion of the LGBTQ element, which was totally unexpected but handled really well.

  2. The Eating Instinct by Virginia Sole-SmithThe Eating Instinct: Food Culture, Body Image, and Guilt in America by Virginia Sole-Smith
    This book hasn’t been released yet, but from an ARC I received, this book is seriously top on the list for non-fiction books for me this year. As a person with Celiac Disease, this book somehow caught a lot of the complex feelings around food and eating and placed it into a book. I never knew what orthorexia was before this, but I think this is going to become a bigger issue as time goes by. I’m looking forward to reviewing this book closer to it being released in November.

    tokyo tarareba girls

  3. Tokyo Tarareba Girls, Vol. 1 by Akiko Higashimura
    Just got this from NetGalley yesterday, and I do-not-regret-it! On first view, I was taken aback because the main characters did remind me of the characters from Princess Jellyfish. Reading into it, though, I was soooo pleasantly surprised. She really captures being an ADULT woman trying to navigate love and life, and this is geared towards your older readers who can really relate either personally or through friends.

    kimetsu no yaiba

  4. 鬼滅の刃 1 [Kimetsu no Yaiba 1] by Koyoharu Gotouge
    A 80’s/90’s style shonen that DOESN’T make you feel like it’s going to drag on for-ev-er. A really enjoyable action-packed read.

    x3

  5. 古見さんは、コミュ症です [Komi-san has a communication problem] by Tomohito Oda
    Bite-sized. Fluffy. Happiness. So cute. Just read it. Here’s my previous review on the series.

Currently Reading: June 10 edition

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I’ve been requesting a lot of books to read that look interesting, so this list is GROWING! A lot of these are ARCs, so reviews won’t be coming out for some time. Let’s get down to business. 🙂

The Eating Instinct by Virginia Sole-SmithThe Eating Instinct: Food Culture, Body Image, and Guilt in America by Virginia Sole-Smith
Release Date: Nov 13, 2018 through Henry Holt and Co.

I’ll be writing a review for this book once the release date nears (likely mid-October), but this is a reading that I’m so pleasantly surprised by. As someone with Celiac Disease, I felt a bit called out because it is so hard to not get pulled into the whole food culture issue in America… but this is *not a bad thing.*

I have so many thoughts that I cant wait to share on this. 🙂

Confidence Creator by Heather MonahanConfidence Creator by Heather Monahan
Won in a Goodreads giveaway — Thank you!

If you want to boost your confidence, take a peek at this! Although I’m not exactly a fan of the writing style, the takeaways so far have been great and I feel that although this is meant for women, men can definitely take some lessons from this book.

I’ve found myself quickly going through this, so if you’re short on time, you can easily read a chapter during a quick break!

Real Food Fake Food by Larry Olmsted

Real Food/Fake Food: Why You Don’t Know What You’re Eating and What You Can Do about It by Larry Olmsted

5/27: A great read so far, this book is going into the issue of food fraud on a global scale and how this fraud is taking advantage of the people eating it. Who could’ve realized how much of an issue the name of products are?

6/8: Still a fantastic read, however this book can be very dry at some points with how much information the author shares about different types of food fraud. I’m currently slowly making my way through the wine chapter because it’s incredibly dry. Just taking a while!

America is not the heart by Elaine Castillo

America Is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo

5/27: Another great read, this book feels all too real to how SF Bay Filipinos are in reality. I could seriously hear the voices of my in-laws when reading this book, complete with the Tagalog and other dialects that I have no idea what they mean.
There were some complaints about these not being translated, but it’s easy enough to pull up Google Translate and put in phrases so you know. Otherwise, for an authentic experience, leave it untranslated. 🙂

6/8: On hold to read other books right now…

Currently Reading: May 27 edition

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Real Food Fake Food by Larry Olmsted

Real Food/Fake Food: Why You Don’t Know What You’re Eating and What You Can Do about It by Larry Olmsted

A great read so far, this book is going into the issue of food fraud on a global scale and how this fraud is taking advantage of the people eating it. Who could’ve realized how much of an issue the name of products are?

America is not the heart by Elaine Castillo

America Is Not the Heart by Elaine Castillo

Another great read, this book feels all too real to how SF Bay Filipinos are in reality. I could seriously hear the voices of my in-laws when reading this book, complete with the Tagalog and other dialects that I have no idea what they mean. There were some complaints about these not being translated, but it’s easy enough to pull up Google Translate and put in phrases so you know. Otherwise, for an authentic experience, leave it untranslated. 🙂