Todaywe'regoingtobetaking a deepdiveintomyownpersonallibrary.
I wanttosharewithyousomebooksthat I'vereadrecentlyandsomeinsightfultakes I'velearnedalongtheway.
Solet's getstarted.
FirstupwehaveStayTruebyHuaHsu.
If I coulddescribethisbookinoneworditwouldbeidentity.
Sothisis a coming-of-agememoirthatshowshowouridentitiesareshapedthroughthosefoundationalfriendshipsthatwecreateinourlateteensearly 20s andthisbookhadmebythethroat.
It's sosoftandgentleyet I wasrippingthroughthebooklikeitwas a thriller.
I thinkit's because I wasimmediatelytransportedto a timethat I actuallyoftendaydreamaboutwhicharemylateteensearly 20s.
I thinkit's becauseeverythingwasjustsomuchmorerawandvividbackthenbecauseeverythingisfullofnovelty.
A lotofyourfirsthappenedduringthatperiodofyourlife.
You'vegotyourfirstlove, yourfirstrealnightout, yourfirstrealtasteofindependenceand I thinkit's a timewherewe'refiguringoutwhatwelikeandjusttryingon a bunchofdifferentidentitiesasiftheywere t-shirtsandreadingHua's reflectionsonhisearly 20s selffeltlike I waspeeringintothemindofsomeonethat I'd bedeathlyintimidatedof.
Manyofhisabrasivejudgmentswereactually a defensemechanism.
It's kindoflikethatmentalityofrejectthemfirstbeforetheycanrejectyoubutinternallyhewasjust a softie.
Sothisbookiskindoflike a diarybutthereis a plot.
ItfollowsHua's relationshipto a boythathemeetsincollegenamedKenandhequicklybecomesbestfriendswithhimwhichiskindof a surprisebecauseKenisthemainstreamtropeandasmuchHuatriestodistancehimselffromhim, theyendupbecominginseparablebecausetrueconnectionsaren't aboutthesurfacethings.
Wekindofallstoreandcollectdifferentversionsofourselvesaswegrowupandreadingthismemoirremindedmeoftheversionofmewhere I wassoinsecureandquestioningeverythingaboutmyself.
Like I usedtoworryaboutwhetherthemusicthat I waslisteningtowastooclicheorifmyclothesweren't inseasonanditprobablyjuststemmedfrommydeeprootedneedtobelikedandacceptedand I rememberjusttryingsohardtobemewhen I didn't evenrealizethat I wasintheprocessofbecomingmeandit's honestlyeasiertoconnectwithpeopleonceyoudropwhoyouthinkyoushouldbeandamplifythepartsthatmakeyouNextupwehaveTomorrowandTomorrowandTomorrowbyGabrielleZevin.
Thisoneisallaboutfriendshipandlove.
ItcentersaroundtwochildhoodbestfriendsSamandSadiewhobuild a companyovertheirmutualloveofvideogamesonlytolaterrealizethatthiscompanyissomethingthattheyusetoinvestintheirmutualloveforoneanother.
I feellikethisbookcaptureshowbeautifulandrarelifelongfriendshipsareandtheeffortthattakestomaintainandnavigatethem.
Sointhenoveltheycreate a videogamecalledIchigowhilethey'restillincollegeandspoileralertitiswildlysuccessfulandwhilethesuccessbringsthemcomfortandstabilityitalsobrings a lotofpressureandmessinessandinsecurities.
Therealityiswe'realreadylivingin a timewheremachinesareunderstandingourworldandit's rapidlychangingthewaywe'relivingtodayandofcoursethere's a bunchoffearanduneasesurroundingthistopicbutMaxdoesanincrediblejobdefiningandbreakingdowneachconceptclearlybecauseinordertobuildthefuturethatwewantwehavetobeabletounderstandit.
Thechapterthat I foundthemostfascinatingwastheonewhereheexploredallthedifferentAIaftermathscenarios.
Likeitalmostfeltlike I wasreadingsci-fibutthen I hadthischillingrealizationthatoneoftheseoptionscouldbeourfuture.
Likeallthosethumbnailsthataregeneratedonthatscreenarespecificallytailoredtoyouandeverytimeyouinteractwith a pieceofcontentorseeksomethingoutthealgorithmwillthenaddthattotheirdatasetsothentheycanrecommendyoumorecontent.
I'vebeencreatingcontentonlinesince 2010 so I feellike I'veexperiencedfirsthandtheprogressionofallthesedigitaltrendsandatthispoint I feellikeeverytime I scrollonsocialmedia I ambeingservedthesamecontentoverandoveragain.
I especiallylovethissectionwhenhe's talkingabouttasteandhowit's formedbecausetasteisfundamentaltodevelopingyourownsenseofselfandwiththesealgorithmstheyrunonourtasteandourpreferencesandwithoutthemitjustkindofguidesusintothismurkyvanillamiddle.
Tastehasalwaysbeeninformedbyoutsideforceswhetheryouaregoingto a showorlookingthrough a magazineoryourfriendrecommendsyousomethingbutnowthatsomuchofourcultureisonlineandinformationisdelivereddigitallylikethefeelingofacquiringtasteisislikeitfeelssoullessandcolorlesswhichkindofleadsustowherewearerightnow.
Sothisbookwas a reminderthatalthoughweliveinanalgorithm-definedworldwedonotneedtoletthealgorithmdefineus.
Touchgrassifyouwillandmaybeyouwanttotalktomorepeopleobservewhatpeoplewerewearinginreallifegotomoreartgalleriesandjustacquiretastethiswayliketasterequireseffortitshouldnotbe a passiveexperienceandyoushouldlikethingsbecauseyoutrulylikethemnotbecausetheinternettoldyouto.
Onewordtodescribethisbookiscircumspectwhichessentiallymeanstoconsiderallcircumstancesandconsequencesbeforeyoutherearesomanydelusionsinourculturethatwejustblindlyacceptandthiscollectionofessaysreallychallengesthemandmakesyouseethemthrough a differentlight.
When a girlisbornwe'retaughttobeveryawareofoursurroundingsandhowwe'rebeingperceivedtheworldrequiresustobeappealinginsomewaysowe'retrainedtomake a presentationofourselvesputonmakeupmaintainyourfigureironyourhairandthisiswhywomenhavedominatedthepersonalbrandingsectionoftheinternetmorethanmen.
Thesetofstandardsthathavebeenperpetuatedthroughthedecadeshavenowbecome a careerforustobecometheidealwomanandweseeitallthetimeonsocialmediait's likethereallyskinnygirlfitgirlinanaloesettaking a selfieinherpilatesclassorlikeshe's sipping a matchalattereading a trendingbookonbooktalk.
As I wasreadingthis I hadthisout-of-bodyexperiencewhere I realizedhowbizarremyjobactuallyis.
Thiscanrangefromwhohasbiggerboobsor a smallerwaist, whocanarticulatebetterordishbetteradvice.
It's like a competitionovereverythingandwithinfluencercultureonsocialmedianowtheviewerhas a visualscoreboardonhowallthesecontentcreatorsareranked.
Technologyhasnotonlyreinforcedthiscompetitionbutexpandedthedemandsandthisessayjustmademedig a lotdeeperaboutwhat I'vegottenmyselfintointhiscareerandalsowhatkindofcontentthat I wanttoproduceformyplatform.
Thethingis I stillgetdeeppleasurefromconstructing a cuteoutfitortrying a newtechniquefor a smokyeyebut I think I alsowanttocontinuesharingaccessiblerecipesandvideoslikethiswhere I'm talkingaboutthings I learnedfrombooksthathavechallengedtheway I think.
Thefinalbook I haveisHuntGatherParentbyMickalynDucliffe.
Thisistheoneparentingbookthat I wouldgiftanyonewith a toddler.
OnewordtodescribethisbookwouldbeTEAMwhichistechnicallyanacronymso I guess I'm cheating.
A majorthingthat's changedafterreadingthisbookisnow I releasetheneedtoentertainmychild.
What I meanbythisispriortoreadingthisbookwhenever I'd bespendingtimewithmyson I wouldcreatethisandplayroomsbutnow I focusonjustinvolvinghiminmyeverydaylife.
I knowthismightsoundlikeobviousto a lotofpeoplebutitwasnewstome.
When I'm gettingmail I saymailtimeandthenhehelpsmelikeopenthemailboxwiththekeyandhelpsmeopenupalltheletters.
It's justlikereallysweetand I thinkbecause I amjustincludinghimintolikethechoresandeverydaythingsthat I do I'm nownotscramblingtogeteverythingdonewhenhe's likesureeverythingtakes a littlebitlongerbutit's reallysweetandsuchlikeanamazingbondingmoment.
Whenwe'recookingtogetherheactuallyhashisownlittleknifeandhe'lljustcutthefruitinwhatevershapethathewantslike I don't interfereordon't correcthim I justlethimdohisthingandifheasksforhelpthen I'lljustsaywatchmamaandthen I'llshowhimhow I doit.
I don't know I feellikethismajortweakhasjusthelpedusbondevenfurtheranditbuildsconfidenceinhimandmebecausewe'rebothprettynewtothisthing.
Alrightfolksthatis a wraponthisvideo.
Thesewerethesixstandoutsthatreallygotmethinking.
Ifthereis a selectionofbooksorjustlikeonetakeawaythatyougotfromsomethingthatyourecentlyreadpleaseshareinthecommentsdownbelow.
I trulyloveitwhenitbecomeslikethreadanddiscussionsoleavesomeloveleavesomeofyourinsightsand I'llseeyouguysinthenextone.
Bye!
Heyeveryone!
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