may 2026

less reading this month. had a final paper due, went on three trips, and had a friend visit.

...we did buy a few "new" books tho, lol. i'm certainly doing better than i had previously, but j and i have this "rule" where we have to buy something from every small independent bookseller we visit and there are quite a few used bookstores in slc so...

that being said, as soon as i'm done with my current book, i'm starting the one about mormanism, which i'm really excited about since we're living in slc. while living in hawaii, i read a couple books about hawaiian history and was really excited to connect the places i'd been reading out to the places i was actually seeing. i hope to be able to learn more about slc too, thru this book. 

train dreams [2025]

npr - The missing men of the American marriage market
atlas obscura - The Blacksmith Turning Decades of Chinese Bombs Into Kitchen Tools
  (we have a few of these knives!! i don't have a cleaver now since we travel so much, but i have one waiting for me when we get back)

April 2026

No time to die [james Bond film] [2021], windfall [2022], confessions of a good Samaritan [2023], whiplash [2014], Saturday night [2024]

ira glass (editor) - the news kings of nonfiction
notable articles in the book:
mark bowden - tales of the tyrant
lee sandlin - losing the war
dan savage - my republican journey
michael pollan - power steer
david foster wallace's host was also interesting, but i've read/listened to too much of the same thing in the last couple years so this was just... too depressing to like

no articles this month as i've been focused on books! ...and moving to slc, lol. 

March 2026

good luck, have fun, don't die; moulin rogue [2001], lost and love [2015], the discovery [2017], one battle after another,  blackberry [2023], anatomy of a fall [2023], project hail mary

steve pond - the big show: high times and dirty dealings backstage at the academy awards

Evan osnos - age of ambition: chasing fortune, truth, and faith in the new china

two books in one month!! granted these are finished in the month, not started but anyway. no articles cause i've been focused on my books, and my midterm paper, and on moving from hp back home for a week before moving to slc. 

February 2026

Frankenstein, brighter summer day [1991]

Karel čapek - r.u.r. [the first robot uprising book ever!]

the atlantic - Why Taylor Swift’s Accent Has Changed 
axios - Where Christian nationalism is most dominant in the U.S.
billboard - The Rise of ‘Mumble Rap’: Did Lyricism Take a Hit in 2016?
thrillist - Young Queer Christians Are Going on a New Kind of Pilgrimage 
the guardian - Armed US immigration agents drive off with toddler after arrest of father
the guardian - It’s time to accept that the US supreme court is illegitimate and must be replaced

the atlantic - Young Men Aren’t the Only Ones Struggling 

the atlantic - How Private Equity Is Changing Housing
"corporations now own a remarkable one in 11 residential real-estate parcels in the 500 urban counties with data robust enough to analyze. In some communities, they control more than 20 percent of properties."
"“They’re pulling all the starter homes off of the market in low-income, high-minority-density neighborhoods,” George McCarthy, the president of the Lincoln Institute, told me—a trend that is intensifying the country’s yawning racial wealth and homeownership gaps."

the atlantic - ‘Commuting Is Bad’—Particularly for Women 
"A 10-minute increase in average commute time decreases by 4.4 percentage points the probability that married women in the area work. The effect was driven pretty much entirely by moms, rose with the number of children they had, and was bigger for those with younger children."
"A study this year, using data from Norway, found that after having a child, mothers reduce their commute time considerably more than fathers do, leaving them with fewer and lower-quality job opportunities. And a paper last year, looking at Germany, found that women’s willingness to sacrifice wages for a shorter commute jumps by 130 percent after they have a child and does not start to decline again until the child reaches age 12."

the atlantic - The Podcast ‘Productivity’ Trap 
"...why subpar nonfiction is so much better than subpar fiction,” Garner wrote. “With nonfiction at least you can learn something.” That’s how I used to feel about podcasts. At least they help me improve my grasp of international affairs and prepare for the AI apocalypse."
this is definitely me... 

January 2026

started my Chinese cinema class so am watching ~2 films a week. also started my other chinese class so all reading will be dedicated to that textbook.

Laborer's love [1922], New women [1935], battle of triangle Hill [1956], buddha's palm [1956], dragon Inn [1967], anora [2024], not your model minority [2021], the herdsman [1984], to live [1994]

Julie Salamon - Hospital: man, woman, birth, death, infinity, plus red tape, bad behavior  money, god, and diversity on steroids

december 2025

no articles this month!! too busy with finding an la apartment, moving, cleaning, parents coming home, baking, going to palm springs for a weekend, going to sd for a weekend, friend get-togethers... plus i finished a book :)

 meet joe black [1998], wallace and gromit: vengeance most fowl [2025], rental family, idiocracy [2006]

peter h gleick - bottled & sold: the story behind out obsession with the bottled water