october is always my favorite month and this one was no exception but also i am exhausted and need a few weeks to recover 🙂

october highlights.

lots of lovely fall weather // sarah came to visit! // clinton school alumni reunion weekend // quick catch up with chrystal // buda besties reunion day // my first work conference was a success // ladies night adventures with maggie and abi // halloween party at sanjeet and benjamin’s

october books.

my reading slowed down quite a lot in october with everything else going on but will hopefully pick back up in november.

of women and salt by gabriela garcia. this was an adventurous kate book club pick, and i’m so glad i read it. it’s one of those books i might not have picked up on my own but that i very much appreciate having read. it tells the stories of multiple generations of women descended from a cuban family and outlines their various struggles and relationships. it’s hard to read in some places, but i thought it was very well-written.

piccolo is black: a memoir of race, religion, and pop culture by jordan calhoun. jordan writes one of my favorite newsletters, and his memoir felt like reading a longer version of the newsletter with more in-depth personal anecdotes. he weaves together stories from his childhood and adolescence with his memories of the cartoons and tv shows and movies and music that influenced those years. he touches on the importance of representation and dealing with racism and microaggressions as well as how he racked up a $1,000 phone bill from calling a bunch of 1-900 numbers. it’s a great mix of humor, humility, family, struggle, and pop culture references, and i really enjoyed reading it.

kitchen confidential: adventures in the culinary underbelly written and read by anthony bourdain. i sort of missed the rise anthony bourdain in the mid-2000s but have a number of friends who loved his books and shows and so have always vaguely known i would get around to them at some point. i borrowed his first book, kitchen confidential, through my libby app and mostly enjoyed it. originally published in 2007, there were some parts that don’t stand the test of time and were maybe made especially icky because i was listening to him read them, but for the most part it was an interesting look at restaurant culture in new york city in the 1980s and 90s and provided some interesting tidbits about his life both in and out of the kitchen.

2022 book tally to date: 55

the best things i watched.

i finally watched season 1 of ms marvel and loved it even more than i expected. i cannot tell you how great it was to see a young south asian woman getting to play a superhero or how incredible it was to see stories of partition and its impact played out on screen. i really loved this season and hope we get a second season soon. streaming on disney+

i also finally finally got around to finishing the first season of only murders in the building and loved it and have already flown through season 2. streaming on hulu

when sarah stayed with me we watched the third and final season of derry girls. it’s such a fantastic show and we both loved the final season. we both said that we now want to go back and watch all three seasons in one go [it’s only 25 half hour episodes], so perhaps that will happen at some point over the winter. streaming on netflix

other things i watched:

• hocus pocus while assembling my halloween costume [disney+]
• newsies because it’s great [disney+]
• almost finished with bad sisters [apple tv+]
• watched the first episode of shantaram [apple tv+]

the best things i listened to.

work is not your family | gloria chan packer . why it’s important to draw boundaries between your work and personal lives and how referring to work as your “family” can be harmful not just to you but to your colleagues. a very quick “if you only listen to one” episode.

a 6 year old changes history [a slight change of plans, october 3]. there have been lots of episodes recently about ruby bridges integrating her new orleans elementary school, and this was one of the best.

partition in film & tv [partition, october 3]. a discussion of how partition has historically been depicted in film and television and how that is changing as more asian and asian-american filmmakers are being included in the process.

watch your mouth [hidden brain, october 3]. very interesting episode about how the structure of the languages we speak can change how we see the world.

how to start professional networking (and feel good about it) [life kit, october 4]. some good tips on building and maintaining your network, and especially useful if you are currently or will soon be on the job hunt.

truth be told: the fight for women’s professional soccer [espn daily, october 4]. what happened when one of the nwsl’s most successful head coaches was accused of harassment and abuse, and how the players have banded together to ensure better treatment for everyone.

pakistan, under water [the daily, october 5]. how the floods in pakistan have impacted people’s lives.

for my sister, with puja shah [tuckered out with ami thakkar, october 6]. the first 15 or so minutes of the episode is puja and ami talking about the love they feel for their indian heritage and also how much it can sometimes suck to be a woman in indian society and i felt very seen by their conversation.

climate action’s hidden opportunities for women | zineb sqalli . a look at how including women in climate solutions will have a greater impact for everyone.

is remote work here to stay? with derek thompson [offline with jon favreau, october 9]. i have developed a bit of a crush on derek thompson in recent months and will listen to pretty much every interview with him. and especially so when it’s a topic that interests me.

how celeste ng writes fiery prose [re:thinking, october 11]. loved listening to these old friends talk about writing, communicating, and feeding curiosity.

what kara swisher has learned from decades covering tech [hbr ideacast, october 11]. great conversation with kara swisher. one thing she said about her employees has stuck with me: “i like people who are ambitious and who will eventually leave me.’

testing ‘nyt cooking’ recipes with melissa clark [fresh air, october 11]. melissa clark is the author of many of my favorite nyt cooking recipes and also my most recent favorite cookbook, so i loved listening to her process of developing and testing recipes. just maybe don’t listen if you’re hungry.

4 ways to design a disability-friendly future | meghan hussey . actionable steps on how to design a world built for everyone.

is dan snyder done as washington’s nfl owner? [espn daily, october 13]. great listen for anyone who is a football fan and wonders how this man is still allowed to own the washington football team.

is hybrid work doomed? [plain english with derek thompson, october 14]. one of those “if you only listen to one” recommendations.

the art and science of gathering [a slight change of plans, october 17]. i am not exaggerating when i say that reading priya parker’s the art of gathering totally changed how i approach gatherings of all kinds, from picnics to parties to work meetings, and i continue to read everything she writes and listen to every speech and interview because i am always learning something new from her. another “if you only listen to one” episode.

violence against women & what men can do to stop it — beyond the scenes [the daily show with trevor noah: ears edition, october 17]. a discussion of all the different types of women endure and the lengths we go to to keep ourselves and others safe. highly recommend listening to this one.

your abortion stories [you’re wrong about, october 17]. listeners share their abortion stories. they’re more nuanced than you think.

death of a name: mildred, bertha & todd [mobituaries with mo rocca, october 19]. mo looks into how and when certain names have gone out of fashion.

we need leaders who boldly champion inclusion | june sarpong . for all our talk of the importance of diversity and inclusion, leaders at organizations still tend to be white males. sarpong talks about the need for those in leadership to lead the charge in actually incorporating diversity and inclusion into their organizations and to lead by example.

the best things i purchased.

another month, another madewell sweater. i had a 50% off coupon to use and am extremely pleased with my purchase. [i’m wearing it in the picture below with maggie and abi]

i also purchased my flights to memphis for marathon weekend! for any of you memphians reading this, i’ll be in town november 30 – december 10.

the best things i read on the internet.

remembering loretta lynn. vulture

great profile on cori bush. the cut

how tech companies are [and aren’t] protecting our privacy in a post-dobbs world. aubrey hirsch via the audacity

why open office plans are the worst. ny times via adam grant

organizing playdates for your elderly parents. the cut via maggie

the six stages of having too many books. which stage are you? the new yorker

refinery29’s annual “voices of disability” collection of essays is always a great read. refinery29 via kelly dawson

hanif abdurraqib’s beautiful tribute to loretta lynn. ny times via anne helen petersen

what i think people think when they see me reading in public. the new yorker via cup of jo

when the hindu right came for bollywood. the new yorker via michael

how an idea becomes a podcast. culture study

happy november!

xx