recently read: giovanni's room
28: plus seen library in new york on october 9
Knowing what book someone is reading and what parts they resonate with most can be so intimate. It reveals their interests, where their head is at, and what excerpts are so significant that they will mark up a page because they think it’s worth revisiting at a later time. I’m fascinated by what books others gravitate towards and I find that it helps me get to know them better and gives me a small glimpse into who they are at their core. No one asked for these book reviews, but maybe it’s my way of showing who I am and what I’m interested in – beyond the clothes, the products, and my career. Or at the very least, encourage some to look up from their phones and instead towards the pages of a good book.
But before I get to sharing my favorite quotes from Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin and Minor Detail by Adania Shibli, I want to tell you all that Seen Library is finally coming back to New York on Wednesday, October 9! Make sure to read to the end to learn more about the intimate, private event.
Book no. 5 of 2024
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
Just beautiful. And heartbreaking. A novel set in 1950s Paris centering a character grappling with sexuality and masculinity. James Baldwin is an artist and each sentence he writes is a work of art. This was my first time reading Baldwin and I look forward to reading more.
Underlined quotes:
“And we got on quite well, really, for the vision I gave my father of my life was exactly the vision in which I myself most desperately needed to believe.”
“Americans are funny. You have a funny sense of time — or perhaps you have no sense of time at all… It’s as though with enough time and all that fearful energy and virtue you people have, everything will be settled, solved, put in its place.”
“Tell me, what is this thing about time? Why is it better to be late than early? People are always saying, we must wait, we must wait. What are they waiting for?”
“It was a gesture of great despair and I knew that she was giving herself, not to me, but to that lover who would never come.”
“And I’m beginning to be tired of being in places for no particular reason.”
“If I could make you stay, I would… One day, perhaps, you will wish I had.”
Book no. 6 of 2024
A glimpse into the erasure of Palestinian land, language, culture and history due to Israeli occupation and settlers. It’s a short, quick read that shows how much the present is reflective of the past.
Underlined quotes:
“Besides, sometimes it’s inevitable for the past to be forgotten, especially if the present is no less horrific.”
“I see how mercilessly the wind is pulling at the grasses and trees, shaking their branches in every direction, while the leaves tremble and writhe back and forth, nearly ripping off as the wind viciously toys with them. And the plants simply don’t resist. They just surrender to the fact of their fragility, that the wind can do what it wishes with them, fooling around with their leaves, passing between their branches, penetrating their boughs, tossing the sound in every direction.”
Seen Library Book Giving and Dinner — October 9 in New York
While Seen Library events are primarily in Los Angeles, I have hosted a few events in New York, London and even Paris.
In New York, there have been a range of Seen Library events: a small book exchange with friends, an Asian-American centered book giving and dinner in a private loft, a public pop up and book giving where 100% of proceeds were donated to fund reproductive rights for underserved communities, a book giving and dinner with Cou Cou Intimates, and lastly, a casual meet-up in the park.
It’s been almost a year since doing an open-to-the-public event and I’m so looking forward to doing another very soon :)
*all spots have been filled*
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