2024 Media Consumption to Date

Books, in order:

1. The Burning God, R.F.Kuang – the third book of the Poppy War Trilogy (I read the other two in 2023). It’s dark, and violent, but was the first series I ever read about early 20th-century Chinese history, written by a Chinese-American author, featuring all Chinese characters. I felt seen and understood by a book for the first time.

2. The Secret History, Donna Tart – good to finally read it and know what the hype is all about! Tart is a brilliant writer. Accurate depiction of pretentious New England old money. Chilling character actions that stuck with me. 

3. Tell Me How It Ends, Valeria Luiselli – an essay. If I were to recommend anything I’ve read this year it would be this one. Luiselli is a translator for undocumented Latin-American children facing deportation. Eye-opening, thought-provoking, well written. 

4. Babel, R.F.Kuang – Great stand-alone novel. Kuang is incredibly knowledgeable about linguistics, the art/violence of translation, and the politics of late-19th century Britain that led to the Opium Wars. Yet another book of hers that made me feel seen.

5. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin – I loved the writing and the morally gray characters and the description of video games, but I recommended it to a friend who hated it. She (no longer in her twenties) thinks that it’s a book that only people in their twenties would enjoy. Our conversation left me feeling torn.

6. Yellowface, R.F.Kuang – not a huge fan of this type of satire but she makes some interesting points about the publishing industry, also, I'm just a big supporter of Kuang.

7. Turtles All the Way Down, John Green – classic YA novel, John Green throwback. I liked it.

8. Ready Player One, Ernest Cline – did not like. Waste of my time. Tedious to even talk about why I didn't like it.

9. Rangers Apprentice books 3 & 4, John Flanagan – great throwback to my obsession with rangers apprentice back in elementary school. I made my mom buy me a piece of green fabric that I wore as a cloak. These were the two best books in my opinion.

10. The Three-Body Problem, Liu Ci Xin – super interesting! Super clever sci-fi writing! Really enjoyed the big questions he tackles in here. Have not watched the Netflix adaptation, do not want to watch. 

11. She Who Became the Sun, Shelly Parker-Chan – Thanks JC for recommending this. This is definitely a spoiler but when the main character’s name was revealed at the end I gasped out loud, because it’s the name of an incredibly well known figure in Chinese history. Even I, who grew up in the US and have very little knowledge of Chinese history, knew this name. Cool.

12. The Princess Bride, William Goldman – fun read. The movie stays very true to the book, but the book does have more backstory on Inigo Montoya and Fezzik. Also, Buttercup is so stupid in the book, it killed me. Also, the book doesn’t have a happy ending for Westley and Buttercup, which I thought was super interesting.

It feels like I read a lot more books this year, but it’s because I’ve picked up and put down a lot of them; except Ready Player One, I don’t tend to finish books I don’t like.

I also bought a switch last month, and am having a GREAT time playing games.

Games, in no particular order:

1. Little Nightmares (finished) – indie horror. My roommate’s girlfriend played it with me and we screamed a lot. It’s a good game with a clever storyline, great ambiance, and beautiful design, but also terribly spooky; would not play alone, but was fun with a friend.

2. Breath of the Wild (still playing) – I like it, but the open world is a bit overwhelming, as well as how long the story is; also I get motion sick from the camera movement so I’m not playing it very much.

3. Hades (still playing) – my absolute favorite so far! Greek mythology holds a special, nostalgic place in my heart and being able to play a game set in Hades’ realm is a dream! The art is gorgeous, the story is interesting, the action is so fun.

4. Undertale (finished) – had to play it, finally. I thought it was good, although the tumblr millennial humor’s gone a bit stale now (rip, the end of a great era of self deprecating jokes). I’m sure it would’ve made a much bigger impact on me if I’d played it like 8 years ago.

Music: I told my friend I wanted to get into Kpop and asked her to make me a playlist. She got very excited and made one for me that is over 12 hours long. I'm listening to a handful of songs every day, I'm sure I'll finish by the end of this year. Mr. Chu by Apink is my current favorite.

Podcasts:

1. Diss and Tell – a deep dive into individual celebrities’ drama. I listen to it when I drive from Seattle back home or vice versa; the pettiness of it all keeps me awake.

2. Dungeons and Daddies – a D&D podcast. Super funny.

3. All the NPR ones – current events, politics, blah blah blah.