Thank you for giving me more books to add to my TBR list, Ocean Vuong sounds right up my alley from that excerpt. I love your writing and can see the similarities.
You’re too kind (and I’m too proud—started reading On Earth… and his writing is so plainly outstanding and cuts so deeply)! Hope to see one of his books in one of your snaps one day 😉
So many gems here Angela, loved reading your takes! I’ve added Ocean Vuong to my list and now it becomes top of the list! La chimera sounds very interesting also, I love that you’re in a movie club!!!
As someone who has never stuck to a book club, I love the movie club! I’m a very leisurely reader, so it’s hard for me to commit to read a book that I didn’t choose, but a movie, even one I may not be looking forward to watching, is easier to finish 😅 we’ve been going strong for a year and a half now, and the feeling of community is awesome!
Now I want to read Ocean Vuong! I love that you are (imperfectly) sharing your heritage with your son. It's really hard even in a post-colonial society where my ethnicity is the majority but white-worship is still apparent...it'd be harder for you as a third culture kid.
This is why I love your insight, my friend. Sometimes when I’m feeling bummed about how I can hand down a heritage I’m not close to myself, I get tied up in the idea that it would be easier to do if I’d grown up or stayed in or returned to the Philippines. So I appreciate you reminding me that every situation has its own set of challenges.
I need to watch that show. I’ve been hearing about it a lot! Love you want to share your Filipino heritage with your son, that’s the best gift we can give our kids! Also I read two Murakami books and I loved them!
1Q84 is the first Murakami I ever read, and an earlier draft I had of this post discussed Men Without Women at length, that one is one of my favorites :)
was just talking about emperor of gladness with friends this weekend, def adding to my list now! read on earth ages ago and i loved it but also that’s bcs i am basically programmed to love it, it’s so up my alley haha. also love that substack didn’t notify me abt the tag but i was so excited to see our soggy rat boy that i clicked on this immediately bcs i wanted to hear you talk about la chimera so much ❤️🔥
Oh Substack, you enigma. Soggy rat boy is such perfect imagery. I also kinda felt, watching La chimera, that he looked like Nicholas Hoult but with the pretty dialed down and the rizz dialed up—the dials might be inversely related?? Anyways, did you see Disclosure Day?
I’ll be curious to see how the two Vuong novels compare; I read an interview that specifically said the two are pretty different, you and I will need to compare notes!
I liked but didn’t love Challengers, too! And book clubs are tough for me, I think it’s probably because I don’t want to commit to a whole book that I didn’t choose. Movies are easier, because it’s just a couple of hours, you know?
Thank you for giving me more books to add to my TBR list, Ocean Vuong sounds right up my alley from that excerpt. I love your writing and can see the similarities.
You’re too kind (and I’m too proud—started reading On Earth… and his writing is so plainly outstanding and cuts so deeply)! Hope to see one of his books in one of your snaps one day 😉
So many gems here Angela, loved reading your takes! I’ve added Ocean Vuong to my list and now it becomes top of the list! La chimera sounds very interesting also, I love that you’re in a movie club!!!
As someone who has never stuck to a book club, I love the movie club! I’m a very leisurely reader, so it’s hard for me to commit to read a book that I didn’t choose, but a movie, even one I may not be looking forward to watching, is easier to finish 😅 we’ve been going strong for a year and a half now, and the feeling of community is awesome!
Now I want to read Ocean Vuong! I love that you are (imperfectly) sharing your heritage with your son. It's really hard even in a post-colonial society where my ethnicity is the majority but white-worship is still apparent...it'd be harder for you as a third culture kid.
This is why I love your insight, my friend. Sometimes when I’m feeling bummed about how I can hand down a heritage I’m not close to myself, I get tied up in the idea that it would be easier to do if I’d grown up or stayed in or returned to the Philippines. So I appreciate you reminding me that every situation has its own set of challenges.
I need to watch that show. I’ve been hearing about it a lot! Love you want to share your Filipino heritage with your son, that’s the best gift we can give our kids! Also I read two Murakami books and I loved them!
I’m trying to, as best as I can! And that’s awesome you liked his work, do you remember which ones?
Men without Women and 1Q84, both great! Now don’t remember if those are the ones you mentioned, ha
1Q84 is the first Murakami I ever read, and an earlier draft I had of this post discussed Men Without Women at length, that one is one of my favorites :)
That book, the Men Without Women, I also really loved.
was just talking about emperor of gladness with friends this weekend, def adding to my list now! read on earth ages ago and i loved it but also that’s bcs i am basically programmed to love it, it’s so up my alley haha. also love that substack didn’t notify me abt the tag but i was so excited to see our soggy rat boy that i clicked on this immediately bcs i wanted to hear you talk about la chimera so much ❤️🔥
Oh Substack, you enigma. Soggy rat boy is such perfect imagery. I also kinda felt, watching La chimera, that he looked like Nicholas Hoult but with the pretty dialed down and the rizz dialed up—the dials might be inversely related?? Anyways, did you see Disclosure Day?
I’ll be curious to see how the two Vuong novels compare; I read an interview that specifically said the two are pretty different, you and I will need to compare notes!
I never call my newsletter the same thing, are we supposed to? 🫢😁
I liked Challengers, didn’t love it.
I have read one Murakami book, can’t recall the name (it was a Book Club pick, not my choice).
I think it’s very sweet that you’re looking for ways to share your Filipino heritage with your son.🥰
I liked but didn’t love Challengers, too! And book clubs are tough for me, I think it’s probably because I don’t want to commit to a whole book that I didn’t choose. Movies are easier, because it’s just a couple of hours, you know?