mark

27

[theloneclarinetist]

extremely unpopular opinion:

paperbacks > hardbacks

[meetmarky]

this is how it always is by laurie frankel | ★★★★★

certified marky's favorite

i loved this book so much. it’s about a family that navigates one of the siblings transitioning, and i really feel like this story was written for parents. laurie frankel has a transgender daughter, and she perfectly encapsulates all of the fears, the uncertainties, the big and small everyday decisions that parents have to make. some people might think this book is controversial, but nothing about figuring out how to love and support your child, and approaching everything with curiosity instead of assumptions or judgment, felt controversial to me. this one is a must read!

[meetmarky]

solito by javier zamora | ★★★★★

certified marky's favorite

i cried so much reading this memoir. to be honest, you hear the words “crossing the border” ask a kid and don't think too hard of it, and even today those words are thrown with such little reverence. it wasn’t until i read zamora’s book that I had a concrete idea of the harrowing experiences millions of immigrants go through — traversing for days across the desert in blistering heat with people you don’t know but treat like family, picking cacti needles from your skin and your neighbor’s, trusting the instincts of strangers, missing home and having no way to contact them.

it was incredibly sobering, and it led me down a rabbit-hole of reading more about how the US is the source of global destabilization in so many countries, and yet will blame, criminalize, and abuse immigrants for choosing to come here for a better life. i highly highly recommend everyone to read this. it’s my favorite book so far this year. 

[meetmarky]

strangers by belle burden | ★★★★☆

i read this memoir in one day, and throughout it, i wavered between feeling devasted, and also unconcerned. yes, it’s devastating that a man, someone you loved and trusted for 20+ years, so nonchalantly decided to leave you and your kids, and of course right at the beginning of a pandemic. that is gut-wrenching and horrible. but also, this family is part of the wealthy .1%. miss girl was “quarantining” at Martha’s vineyard (i use quotes because is it really quarantining if you own land that’s the size of a football field?)

during the separation, she worried less about childcare and making ends meet, and more about what people at the country club thought of her (but also, she’s valid in her worry of the social implications of a separation, too) lol. i literally alternate between being empathetic and callous because while her husband was absolutely a villain (asking her to make him a sandwich was an incredible low blow, just wow), her wealth shielded her from a lot of the unfair burden that other women face in these situations.

i mean, this book taught me that there are beaches locked behind “beach keys” and ownership is passed down by generations… for one of his gifts to her, he surprised her with a beach key lol.

did i also tell you her grandmother was a famous actress and her family has ties with CBS and the Vanderbilt family?

all that said, i am giving it 4 stars because i clearly enjoyed reading this, and my nosy self had to look up all the reddit threads spilling all the tea LOL. looking forward to watching gwenyth paltrow act her ass off

[meetmarky]

hey friends! my name is mark. i'm 27, filipino, and i like to read books, watch tv, run, and play video games! hoping to get back into tumblr because i miss it and i need a place to share and document life